The final day of racing at the 2025 NORRA’s Baja Mexican 1000 was in no way a ceremonial finish. Although stages were relatively short, those stages were very technical and several class battles, as well as the overall winners, still needed to be determined. Race directors Eliseo Garcia and Jimmy Lewis did not let up a single day; especially the last. The rally was far from over.
In the rally format, it’s all about total time. You can win a lot of stages, as Pro Rally Class rider Kevin Archer has, but one or two bad days can put you hours behind the leader. Those at the front run a measured pace that takes into account which riders are a threat and which riders are let go because they are hours behind. The goal is to ride within the limits of the bike and your physical condition. You might feel very good so you push hard to put time on the competition, or you could be struggling so you ride smart and let others make mistakes. Anyone who succeeds will have run a fast pace using every part of the equation; mechanical, physical and mental capabilities.
The motos had another day of sand, rocks, dust and navigational challenges. Pro Rally class rider Alex Ritz held a slight lead in the race for the overall, but two 60+ class riders, Robert Creemers and Larry Engwall were close on his tail. Justin Moore was fourth overall and held second place in the Pro Rally Class. Michael Frederick, the top Amateur Rally class rider, rounded out the top five overall.
On special stage one, Justin Moore was the fastest, but Alex Ritz had just over an hour advantage so Moore’s win by 22 minutes was not a threat. Ritz was second, Yvan Perroud third. There was only one more stage available to make time on the leaders. Alex Ritz had 16 minutes on Robert Creemers in second overall and 26 minutes on Larry Engwall in third. Kevin Archer took the final stage win going into San Jose Del Cabo. He won four stages in the rally; earning third place in the Pro Rally class and seventh place overall on his Honda CRF450. Justin Moore was second and Yvan Perroud was third place again. Ritz Finished fourth. As mentioned, it was the final opportunity to gain time and Larry Engwall used it. He finished the final stage in seventh position; Robert Creemers was fourteenth fastest. The time gap allowed Engwall to overtake Creemers in the overall standings and win the 60+ riders class by only 40 seconds. It doesn’t get any more competitive than that.
The final standings have Ritz with the overall win and Pro Rally class champion. Engwall is second overall and 60+ rider’s class champion. Creemers is third overall and second in 60+. Fourth overall and second in Pro Rally was Justin Moore. Fifth place overall and Amateur Rally class winner was Michael Frederick. Third place in Pro Rally and sixth overall is Scott Purcell. Kevin Archer is seventh overall. Second place in Amateur Rally class Abbott Cowan is eighth overall. Rounding out the 60+ class podium in third place is Yvan Perroud who finished ninth overall. The final spot in the top ten goes to Max Kramers who also earned a third place podium in the Amateur Rally class.
Alex Ritz came out strong on day one and managed that position with consistent riding the entire way. He refused to waiver from his strategy throughout. “Yes, results are now official!” says Alex. “We are happy to make it to San Jose del Cabo. My goal was to ride safe, avoid navigation errors and penalties, and to have fun. If you check all of those boxes, turns out you might win!” Alex shared the winning strategy, but it’s not that simple. First you need to beat Baja and get to the finish every day.
In the four wheeled classes things were just as tight. Much would be determined on the final stages. Brent Fox had been putting on a clinic out front until he had a transmission failure on stage one of day five which cost him precious time. This left Dave Mason and Mark Post as the biggest contenders for the overall win. Post had assembled a team of Hall of Fame drivers which included Larry Ragland, Rob MacCachren and Robby Gordon all taking a stint behind the wheel with Mark and his co-driver Brent Bauman navigating the entire way. With Larry Ragland behind the wheel, they won stages 2 and 3 on day five which helped them to close within 11 minutes of overall leader Dave Mason.
Having lost time to mechanicals on day five, there were two fast, experienced drivers who were on full kill during stage one of day six. One was Brent Fox, the other was PJ Jones. Lucky for us, they both had in car cameras that were sending live footage to NORRA TV. Watching them curve up a tight, twisty course at harrowing speeds was incredible. Any slight deviation off course would send you into rocks, trees or over a cliff. With all the talented drivers in their high horsepower vehicles at the front, it was PJ Jones who ran the fastest time taking the win in stage one. He was followed by three other UTV’s that found the technical trails to their liking. Gabriel Torres Corzo was second, Max Gordon third and Thomas Purcell fourth. Dave Mason finished fifth place with a time of 49.03. Mark Post was not having fun wrestling the big, burly Black Diamond through such narrow twisty trails. He finished 6 minutes and 27 seconds behind Mason.
The following stages were much of the same; very tight, very technical and with nearly no opportunities to go wide open and that’s what the Black Diamond is made to do. Max Gordon won stage two and Dave Mason gained another 2 minutes in the race for the overall. The final stage of the day was even more menacing as it made its way through a tree filled sand wash. Mark Post’s Black Diamond had the decals scraped right off the bed sides during the stage. Drivers were dodging obstacles like Neo dodging bullets in the Matrix, but now in deep, power robbing sand. The number 711 Ford Ranger of Richard Bartell ran out of gas in the stage, but the incredible Baja Sur fans came to his rescue. Their team effort with the fans led to a finish and the Vintage 6-cyl Trucks class winner’s trophy.
“During the last five or six miles to the finish line there were hundreds of people lining the course,” said Jose Armenta who was in the number 711 truck. “Families with kids, brothers, uncles, aunts, grandmothers; everybody was out for the day to cheer on the racers. The sand was soft and the kids had built some pretty big jumps. Not wanting to disappoint, we sailed high over the jumps to the cheers of the local race fans! I thought that I’d blown the engine when the truck sputtered to a stop. After checking under the hood with the local race fans, we found out we were out of gas! One fan crawled under his truck with a screwdriver and filled a gallon water jug from his fuel line. We put the gas in the tank and old #711 roared back to life!”
Benjamin Button took the final stage victory with Brent Fox letting everyone know he’s never backing down by finishing second. Greg Distefano went out strong also with the third place finish. Dave Mason was fourth and Bob Briggs fifth. This was only the third race for Briggs in this truck after its complete restoration. He’s a solid contender and can’t wait to come back for the NORRA 500.
The final day of racing enabled Dave Mason to achieve his mission of winning the overall. Mark Post and his dream team finished second. Bob Briggs was third, Zak Langley fourth and Matt Cullen fifth. “It feels incredible,” said Mason. “This is the biggest win of my career, racing against several legends and hall of famers in our sport. Winning this is a testament to my awesome team who did an amazing job this week and gave me a perfect race car each day. I was so comfortable pushing hard. Everything went smoothly; the Yokohama 40” tires were durable beyond belief. It all worked out. It took every detail being covered to make it happen. I love this NORRA race and I’m so glad we could finally bring home an overall victory in our 4th year trying!”
The race for the overall had everyone on the edge of their seats. There were so many talented drivers in the mix. The Evolution 6100 class was one of the fiercest competitions ever. Congratulations to Zak Langley for coming out on top. The course this year was very challenging. Several top contenders were beating their rivals, but were humbled by Baja, the ultimate competitor. One veteran racer, who beat all others, including the Baja Peninsula, was Oliver Flemate in Evolution class 11. He had over four hours lead on a stacked field of class 11 racers after the final stage. Second place Blake Wilkey was admittedly whipped after running such an incredible pace for the entirety of the rally trying to chase Flemate down. Hector Sarabia finished third.
Cesar Cuevas takes the top UTV finish, the prize money and the Fab School overall UTV Trophy in his Polaris ProR. Other prestigious awards were earned like the Bilstein Madonna Award that went to Mark McMillin. Kat Bacon won the Mary McGee trophy that honors women like Mary who make a huge impact on NORRA’s Baja. The Evolution Era winner is Dave Mason. Historic Era winner is Mark Post. Bob Howle takes the Vintage Era win. Iconic Driver Ramon Castro takes the Pioneer Era win driving the entire way in an open faced helmet and bandana covering his face! Challenger Era winner is a much deserved Travis Dutemple in his famous Toyota. Legends Era was won by Jim Greenway and the Motos by previously mentioned Alex Ritz.
Every NORRA’s Baja Mexican 1000 makes memories that last a lifetime for competitors, Meyers Manx Safari Expedition participants, NORRA staff and volunteers and our great sponsors Bilstein, Meyers Manx, Ford Performance, Speed UTV and the Fab School. However, this year’s event will go down as one of the best. This year’s live stream coverage on NORRA TV covered it all. Go check out every minute of it, you’ll understand why NORRA’s Baja is the greatest Baja racing experience. NORRA’s rally format provides the rush of competition, but also allows participants to relax each evening in a unique location in Baja. The spectacular backdrops, challenging terrain and distinctive Baja culture provide the greatest Baja has to offer. After experiencing it just once, you too will be hooked. Everything you need to know about the Mexican 1000 and NORRA 500 can be found at www.norra.com Go to the site and find out for yourself why NORRA’s Baja has exploded in popularity. Don’t miss out on the fun, competition and incredible challenges that only NORRA’s Baja can deliver.
