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Off-road racing is a form of
motorsports Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...
consisting of specially-modified vehicles including
cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...
,
SUVs A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definitio ...
,
trucks A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
,
motorbikes A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
,
quadbikes An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is stra ...
and buggies racing in
off-road Off-roading is the activity of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain. Types of off-roading range in intensity, from leisure drives with unmodified vehicl ...
environments (e.g. snow, dirt, mud, etc.).


North America


Desert racing

Desert racing Desert racing is the act of racing through the desert in a two- or four-wheeled off-road vehicle. Races, which generally consist of two or more loops around a course covering up to , can take the form of Hare and Hound or Hare scramble style even ...
began in the early 20th century. An early racing sanctioning body in North America was the
National Off-Road Racing Association The National Off-Road Racing Association (usually abbreviated NORRA) is a desert off-road racing association. History It was founded in 1967 by Ed Pearlman and Don Francisco. At the time it was the first racing sanctioning body devoted solely to o ...
(NORRA) co-founded in 1967 by
Ed Pearlman Ed Pearlman is a co-founder (together with Don Francisco) of the National Off-Road Racing Association (1966), the first exclusively off-road racing organization, and its first president. The inaugurating event of NORRA was "Mexican 1000 Rally", whi ...
. The first event was a race across the Mexican desert, south-eastwards through most of the length of
Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
, originally from Ensenada to
La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
. The event was first called the Mexican 1000, and it later became known as the
Baja 1000 The Baja 1000 is an annual Mexican off-road motorsport race held on the Baja California Peninsula. It is one of the most prestigious off-road races in the world, having attracted competitors from six continents. The race was founded by Ed Pearl ...
.
The event is now sanctioned by
SCORE International SCORE International (Southern California Off Road Enthusiasts) is an off-road racing sanctioning body in the sport of desert racing. Founded by Mickey Thompson in 1973, SCORE International was purchased from Sal Fish in late 2012. and is run by i ...
. 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 The Best In The Desert (BITD) Racing Association is an American desert off-road racing association, based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Casey Folks, and is currently owned by his sons Daryl and Bryan Folks. BITD runs the Vegas To R ...
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 Mojave or Mohave most often refers to: *Mojave Desert *Mojave River *Mohave people *Mojave language Mojave or Mohave may also refer to: Places * Fort Mojave Indian Reservation * Mohave County, Arizona * Mohave Valley, a valley in Arizona * Mohav ...
(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 Lucerne Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) and valley landform in the southern Mojave Desert, in western San Bernardino County, California. Geography The geographic valley is defined by the surrounding Granite Mountains, Ord Mountains, ...
regions of the
Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...
in California.
Mojave Desert Racing Mojave or Mohave most often refers to: *Mojave Desert *Mojave River *Mohave people *Mojave language Mojave or Mohave may also refer to: Places * Fort Mojave Indian Reservation * Mohave County, Arizona * Mohave Valley, a valley in Arizona * Mohav ...
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.
King of the Hammers King of the Hammers is an off-road race that combines desert racing and rock crawling. This race is held in February on Means Dry Lake at Johnson Valley, California, United States. The race is broadcast live on Ultra 4 Racing's website. King of ...
is one of the most popular desert races and it was started in 2007 by Dave Cole and Jeff Knoll.


Short course racing

Short course off-road racing Short course off-road racing is a form of auto racing involving the racing of modified vehicles on a dirt road closed course of a short length (tens of kilometers / miles or less). It is distinct from long course desert racing such as the Baja 10 ...
is held on a circuit of less than five miles (such as
Crandon International Off-Road Raceway The Crandon International Off-Road Raceway is a short course off-road racing racetrack, located near Crandon, Wisconsin, United States on U.S. Route 8. The course hosts the World Championship Off-Road Races, Red Bull World Cup, Forest County Po ...
). The races involves left and right turns of various radii, jumps, and occasional washboard runs and gravel pits. Another format made popular by the
Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group The Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG) was a sanctioning body for an American short course off-road racing series that took place inside stadiums. Some events were televised, including on TNN and ESPN. History Mickey Thompson raced desert ...
was called stadium racing, where off-road racing vehicles were used in a temporary off-road racetrack constructed inside a
stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
. The U.S. Off Road Championship Series was held by Pace Motorsports in the late 90s and shown on ''TNN Motor Madness''. In 2012,
Robby Gordon Robert Wesley Gordon (born January 2, 1969) is an American auto racing driver. He has raced in NASCAR, CART, the IndyCar Series, the Trans-Am Series, IMSA, IROC and the Dakar Rally. He is active in top-tier off road motorsports such as BITD, N ...
created the
Stadium Super Trucks The Stadium Super Trucks (SST), formerly known as Speed Energy Formula Off-Road, is an American short course off-road racing series created by off-road racer and former IndyCar and NASCAR driver Robby Gordon in 2013. Sanctioned by the United State ...
, an offshoot of the Micky Thompson Entertainment Group; after racing primarily in stadiums and off-road courses during its inaugural season in 2013, the series has since placed more emphasis on asphalt tracks like street circuits and road courses. A simpler, shorter track format is popular at many county fairs, and is called Tough (or Tuff) Truck competition. These tracks are ordinarily much shorter and feature individual, timed runs. During the 2010s, there were two major organizations promoting short course off road racing in the United States. The TORC: The Off Road Championship, derived from series racing in the Midwestern United States, promoted races in Eastern, Midwestern, and some Western venues before cancelling all events in 2018. The
Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, also known as LOORRS, was a short course off-road racing series in the United States and also in Mexico beginning in 2015. The series featured events in Arizona, California, Nevada, Missouri and hosted a weeken ...
(LOORRS) focused on promoting events mainly on the West Coast until its closure in 2020. Both series featured professional off-road drivers and race teams. There are also several grassroots organizations, one of the longest-tenured being the Mid America Off Road Association, which promotes short course off-road racing in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.


Other formats

The general idea of off-road racing can also extend to include
Hillclimbing Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the fir ...
or any other form of racing that does not occur on a specified, paved track. The
Frozen Rush The Red Bull Frozen Rush is an off-road motorsport match race on snowy alpine skiing slopes. The event debuted in 2014 featuring eight short-course and desert off-road racing drivers. '' Road & Track'' magazine said "The unique action provided a ...
features off-road trophy trucks racing on snowy ski slopes. Among drivers, the
Pikes Peak International Hill Climb The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), also known as The Race to the Clouds, is an annual automobile hillclimb to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, USA. The track measures and has over 156 turns, climbing from the sta ...
is one of the oldest and most popular hillclimbs in the United States.


New Zealand

In New Zealand, off-road racing runs its own class structure and has a multiple-round national championship. Its flagship event, the two-day, 1000 km Taupo 1000, is a stand-alone international endurance race which is currently held every other year. The event started life in 1992, as the "made for television" Bridgestone 1000 and was the first Offroad Endurance Race in New Zealand to include teams from Australia, New Zealand and the USA. That event was won outright by Les Siviour of Australia driving a Class 6 Nissan Patrol, for Team Nissan. The most successful and popular racer in the sport's history in New Zealand is multiple outright and class national champion Ian Foster of Henderson, Auckland. At the height of his career he had amassed 21 back to back wins, driving for Team Tamiya in an Unlimited Class 1 race car built by Cougar Race Cars. Ian was one of the co-founders of the sports national organising body, known as ORANZ.


Europe

In Europe, "off-road" refers to events such as
rallying Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...
,
autocross Autocross (also called "Solo", "Auto-x" or "Autoslalom") is a timed competition in which drivers navigate one at a time through a defined course on either a sealed or an unsealed surface. It is a form of motorsports that emphasizes safe competitio ...
or rallycross, while desert races and
rally-raid Rally raid, also known as cross-country rallying, is a form of long distance off-road racing that takes place over several days. The length of the event can be as short as 2–3 days for a cross-country baja to as long as 15 days with marathon ra ...
s such as the
Paris-Dakar The Dakar Rally (or simply "The Dakar"; formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally") is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal, ...
, Master Rallye or European "bajas" are called Cross-Country Rallies.
Beach racing Beach racing is a motorsport offshoot of enduro and motocross racing. As the name implies, riders on solo motorcycles, quad bikes, or sidecar combinations compete on a course marked out on a beach, often with man made jumps and sand dunes being co ...
events are also held predominately in northern Europe. In
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
n countries, "off-road" racing can refer to a type of motorsport known as Formula Off Road, which involves driving extensively modified vehicles through a difficult course up an uphill terrain. There are many other type of races in Europe. Most Eastern Europe countries have their own National Offroad Championships and many other races from 1 day to 7 days .


Australia

Australian off-road racing has a similar format to North America, involving various classes of highly-modified vehicles with differing level of engine and physical restrictions racing anywhere from 20-600 kilometres usually over a weekend. It differs in format to North America due to its high use of private land and class restrictions. Multiple series currently exist in both national, state and club forms, often decreasing in track and weekend-total length down that order. Two organisations individually cover and organise the majority of events, them being
Motorsport Australia Motorsport Australia, formerly the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS), is the nationally recognised governing and sanctioning body for four-wheeled motorsport in Australia. It is affiliated with the Federation Internationale de l'Au ...
and
Australian Auto Sport Alliance The Australian Auto-Sport Alliance (AASA) is an organisation that promotes and administers motorsport in Australia founded in 2003. The AASA formed due to dissatisfaction with the governing body of Australian motorsport, the Confederation of Aust ...
; these separate organisations involve licensing, permits, funds handling and timing in their roles, among many more.


Classes

Off-road vehicles in Australia are organised into classes to organise and improve competition. The below information is according to the specifications of Australian Off Road Racing Australia. The first class is the 'Pro' or 'Unlimited' Class, buggies and truggies limited to an engine capacity of 6000 cc, inclusive of adjusting factors due to turbo charging or other correction factors. These are generally the fastest cars in events. Next is Class 1, or 'Pro-Lites', them being buggies and truggies having an engine restriction of 3500cc naturally-aspirated. After that is Class 2, commonly known as Super 1650's, are buggies and truggies with two crew members and sport an engine restriction of 1650cc naturally aspirated, inclusive of correction factors. Next is Class 3, a more uncommon class of buggies and truggies with two crew members and an engine restriction of 1330cc inclusive of correction factors. After that is Class 4, involving automobiles that comply with the Wild 2WD technical regulations and are limited to an engine capacity of 6000cc, inclusive of correction factors. Next is Class 5, involving two-crew automobiles complying with the Power 2WD technical regulations and limited to an engine capacity the same as Class 4. After that is Class 6, two-crew automobiles that comply with the Super PRV technical regulations and are limited to an engine capacity between 1201cc and 2050cc, inclusive of correction factors. Next is Class 66, similar to Class 6 but limited to 1200cc naturally-aspirated. After that is Class 7, two-crew automobiles that comply with the Stock 4WD technical regulations and are limited to an engine capacity of 6000cc, inclusive of correction factors. Next is Class 8, including automobiles that comply with the Super 4WD technical regulations and have an engine capacity of 6000cc inclusive of correction factors. Finally is Class 10, buggies and truggies that comply with the Wild 2WD technical regulations and are limited to an engine capacity of 2500cc naturally-aspirated.


Popular races

The most popular off-road race in Australia is the Finke Desert Race near Alice Springs, Northern Territory. It involves a 460km-long race to the small community of Aptula (Finke) and back again, racing alongside what was the Old Ghan railway for a large portion. Many years after its inception in 1976, it now boasts media coverage and a large field contending for the title of the 'King of the Desert'.


See also

* Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame *
Desert racing Desert racing is the act of racing through the desert in a two- or four-wheeled off-road vehicle. Races, which generally consist of two or more loops around a course covering up to , can take the form of Hare and Hound or Hare scramble style even ...
*
Beach racing Beach racing is a motorsport offshoot of enduro and motocross racing. As the name implies, riders on solo motorcycles, quad bikes, or sidecar combinations compete on a course marked out on a beach, often with man made jumps and sand dunes being co ...


References


External links


National Off-Road Racing Association
website {{DEFAULTSORT:Off-Road Racing Off-road vehicles