Off-road racing

Off-road racing is a motorsport where specially modified vehicles—including cars, SUVs, trucks, motorbikes, quadbikes, and buggies—compete on unpaved terrain like snow, dirt, and mud. The sport has distinct formats and traditions across different regions.

In North America, desert racing got its start in the early 1900s. The National Off-Road Racing Association (NORRA), co-founded by Ed Pearlman in 1967, was an early sanctioning body. Its first event was a race across the Mexican desert, running southeast through most of Baja California from Ensenada to La Paz. Originally called the Mexican 1000, it later became the Baja 1000 and is now sanctioned by SCORE International. Most desert races take place on government recreational land, with tracks ranging from 25 to 1,000 miles. Vehicle classes run different numbers of laps based on engine size or suspension setup. Several smaller series exist, including Best in the Desert, known for the Vegas to Reno race—the longest off-road race in the U.S., with the 2009 edition measuring 1,000 miles. The Mojave Off-Road Racing Enthusiast (MORE) series began in 1997 as a small, family-oriented group, using desert land in California’s Barstow and Lucerne Valley regions. The Mojave Desert Racing (MDR) series has drawn many competitors from the now-defunct CORR races. On August 14, 2010, a modified Ford Ranger pickup racing in MDR’s California 200 veered off the track into spectators, killing eight and raising concerns about off-road racing on public lands. The King of the Hammers, started in 2007 by Dave Cole and Jeff Knoll, is another popular desert race.

Short course off-road racing takes place on circuits under five miles, like Crandon International Off-Road Raceway. These tracks feature left and right turns of varying radii, jumps, washboard sections, and gravel pits. Stadium racing, popularized by the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group, built temporary off-road tracks inside stadiums. The U.S. Off Road Championship Series, run by Pace Motorsports in the late 1990s, aired on TNN Motor Madness. In 2012, Robby Gordon launched Stadium Super Trucks as an offshoot of the Mickey Thompson group; after racing mainly in stadiums and off-road courses in its 2013 debut season, the series later shifted toward asphalt tracks like street circuits and road courses. A simpler, shorter format called Tough (or Tuff) Truck competition is common at county fairs, with much shorter tracks and individual timed runs. During the 2010s, two major U.S. organizations promoted short course racing: TORC: The Off Road Championship, which grew out of Midwestern racing and held events in Eastern, Midwestern, and some Western venues before canceling all events in 2018; and the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS), which focused on West Coast events until its closure in 2020. Both featured professional drivers and teams. Grassroots groups also exist, such as the Mid America Off Road Association, which has long promoted short course racing in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

Other off-road racing formats include hillclimbing and any racing not on paved tracks. The Frozen Rush features off-road trophy trucks racing on snowy ski slopes. The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is one of the oldest and most popular U.S. hillclimbs.

In New Zealand, off-road racing has its own class structure and a multiple-round national championship. Its flagship event, the two-day, 1,000 km Taupo 1000, is a stand-alone international endurance race held every other year. It began in 1992 as the made-for-television Bridgestone 1000, held over two days in a large man-made forest near Taupo. The race consisted of six laps of 160 km each and was open to motorcycles, quad bikes, off-road race cars, SUVs, and rally cars. It was the first off-road endurance race in New Zealand to include teams from Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S.

In Europe, “off-road racing” refers to events on unsealed circuits like autocross or rallycross. European “bajas” are types of cross-country rallies. Beach racing events are mainly held in northern Europe. In Scandinavian countries, “off-road” racing can mean Formula Off Road, where extensively modified vehicles drive through a difficult uphill course. Many Eastern European countries have their own national off-road championships, with races lasting from one to seven days.

Australian off-road racing is similar to North America’s format, with various classes of highly modified vehicles—subject to different engine and physical restrictions—racing 20 to 600 kilometers, usually over a weekend. It differs from North America in its heavy use of private land and class restrictions. Multiple series exist at national, state, and club levels, with track and weekend length generally decreasing down that order. Most events are organized by two bodies: Motorsport Australia and the Australian Auto Sport Alliance.