page_title: Off-road racing
section_title: Desert racing
hierarchical_section_title: Off-road racing / North America / Desert racing
caption_attribution_description: English: SCORE Class 10 turning into the Ensenada river at the start of the 2007 Baja 500.
context_page_description: Off-road racing is a form of motorsports consisting of specially-modified vehicles racing in off-road environments.
context_section_description: Desert racing began in the early 20th century. An early racing sanctioning body in North America was the National Off-Road Racing Association (NORRA) co-founded in 1967 by Ed Pearlman. The first event was a race across the Mexican desert, south-eastwards through most of the length of Baja California, originally from Ensenada to La Paz. The event was first called the Mexican 1000, and it later became known as the Baja 1000. The event is now sanctioned by SCORE International.
  Most desert races are set up on government recreational land and have tracks that run anywhere from 25 to 1000 miles. Various classes of vehicles run a different number of laps depending on the size of the engine or the set-up of the suspension system. Currently, there are several smaller series. One of the most popular is the Best in the Desert series, which is known for the Vegas to Reno race (the longest off-road race in the US with the 2009 Vegas to Reno race measuring 1000 miles). 
  The Mojave Off-Road Racing Enthusiast (MORE) series started in 1997 as a small, family-oriented race series. MORE uses tracks set up on desert land in the Barstow and Lucerne Valley regions of the Mojave Desert in California. Mojave Desert Racing series has drawn many competitors from the now defunct CORR races.
  On August 14, 2010, a modified Ford Ranger pickup truck, racing in the MDR sanctioned "California 200", careened off the track into a group of spectators, killing eight, and raising questions about the future of off-road racing on public lands.
caption: 2007 Baja 500
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