Fantasy Junction

Description

1991 Toyota Mexican 1000 Race Truck
VIN: JT4VN93D5N5028834
Period Factory Racing Livery

In the 1960s, the Baja 1000 was a loosely organized and largely unrestricted point-to-point race sanctioned by the late Ed Pearlman, founder of the National Off Road Racing Association (NORRA). It was an off road race because there were no paved roads heading down the Baja peninsula. Racing legend Parnelli Jones' participation is credited with legitimizing the Mexican 1000, while earning overall wins in Bill Stroppe's Ford Broncos in 1971 and 1972. Around the same time, James Garner and ABC Sports helped to publicize the event in mainstream media, and commercial interests began to take root. By 1973, the Mexican government recognized the race could be an opportunity for profit and founded the Baja Sports Committee, renaming the Mexican 1000 to the Baja 1000, and attempted to sanction the event on their own. This proved to be much more difficult than originally anticipated. The event headed downhill for several years before ultimately being turned over to Sal Fish- President of S.C.O.R.E., who has successfully cultivated it into one of North America's premier professional motorsports events, and the longest uninterrupted point-to-point road race on the globe.

In 2008, Mike Pearlman, Ed's son, announced plans to re-vamp the National Off Road Racing Association and hosted a newly formatted Mexican 1000, an event focusing more on camaraderie and honoring the pioneering history of the original race as it was made in the late 1960s and early 1970s than an outright speed contest such as the present day Baja 1000. Two main groups of cars would be considered for eligibility: Pre-1991 vehicles similar to those which participated in the original 1000, and alternative fuel vehicles of virtually any description. The majority of the cars, trucks, bikes, and side cars entered were pre-1991, effectively making the Mexican 1000 a light-hearted, vintage Baja 1000. The May 2009 inaugural event covered approximately 1240 miles over 4 days, about 85% of which were outright speed stages and the balance in speed regulated \"transit\" stages. Participants were thrilled, and a glow radiated through the desert racing community of this newly formatted event.

“You’ll probably get stopped at some point and have to pay off the cops. You will almost certainly have to weld something at what would have been your lunch stop. Your kidneys will be bruised, you might get stuck in the sand, and by the time you make it to the other end of the silt beds, you’ll have adobe-lined lungs. This may be enough to turn off all but the most dedicated motorsports enthusiasts, but for those of us on the lunatic fringe, NORRA’s Mexican 1000 is a fresh new frontier.”- Spencer Trenery

Barriers to entry are low, and the event is accessible to virtually anyone. Eligible vehicles are not expensive or hard to come by, and no racing license or even a physical is required. Although we would not recommend it, you can take the green flag without any racing experience- off road or otherwise- and down the peninsula you go, racing off into Mexico.

Although light hearted, this is very much an accessible, mini-Dakar experience. Multi-time Baja 1000 champions wield quarter million dollar trophy trucks running on “alternative fuel” alongside budget minded competitors fielding hokey contraptions sure to falter en route. Present at this year’s event were 14 of the 43 Baja 1000 overall winners. This provides a rare opportunity where new comers to desert racing can find themselves sharing a bowl of chips and salsa with 12 time champion Larry Roeseler, or multi-time winner and desert racing legend Bob Gordon. entries ranged from early 1960s Meyers Manxs to late model, 850hp trucks claiming alternative fuel usage.

The vehicle offered here is a 1991 Toyota V6, 5-speed pick-up, fully prepped for the event; tube framed front to rear, 44 gallon fuel cell, Lowrance navigation computer, twin spare tires, a boxed and re-enforced differential housing, and even an extra driveline attached to the chassis for emergency installation, and of course a shovel.

Painted to replicate Ivan Stewart's 1993 overall winning Toyota SR5 truck, it has proved to be a favorite among Mexican \"Yota\" enthusiasts. Under the previous ownership this truck finished the 2009 running of the Mexican 1000, and under the Fantasy Junction racing banner it has finished in both 2010 (winning the class, 29th overall), and in 2011 (2nd in class and 10th overall). Considerable preparation and testing prior to the 2011 event yielded a trouble free run from Mexicali to Cabo San Lucas!

Included with the sale is a massive stack of documentation and a healthy contingent of spare parts. The Toyota is a currently registered, titled, and insured in California as a 1992 Toyota pick-up truck.

Although not easy, The Mexican 1000 is an epic event. It is long, hot, tiring, and fraught with unknowns. It provides an instinctual challenge which has almost nothing to do with the other competitors in the race. The challenge is with yourself- to make the right decisions that will ultimately get you and your vehicle across a range of difficult terrains to the finish line in Cabo San Lucas. Speed is almost not a factor. If you don’t break something you'll win your class, but you most likely will require repairs. Long time desert veterans talk about racing in Baja as an addiction- an intoxication rooted in the primitive pleasure of defeating the terrain and traveling where humans really are not meant to be.

Much like the Carrera Panamericana road race in mainland Mexico has become a yearly pilgrimage for adventurous vintage racers, NORRA’s Mexican 1000 will blossom into the next “must do” destination event for racing and rally enthusiasts who have grown tired of speed regulated drives through predictable locations.

The 2013 running of the NORRA Mexican 1000 is April 29th through May 3rd. All offers and trades considered.

The above vehicle information is complete and accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time it is posted to this website. Corrections or additional information is always appreciated. All advertised prices exclude government fees and taxes, any finance charges, any dealer document preparation charge, and any emission testing charge. Vehicles are subject to prior sale. All advertised to be true but not guaranteed. We assume no liability for errors or omissions.

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Fantasy Junction  •  510-653-7555  •  1145 Park Ave, Emeryville, CA 94608