Cabo San Lucas, Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Wide Open Excursions – A Real Baja Desert Racing Experience!
LosCabosGuide.com Activity Review
14 November 2008 - by David Mandich
People come to Cabo for excitement, and one of the most thrilling experiences one can have in Baja (or in the world) is to drive one of Wide Open Excursions’s Baja Challenge Race Cars on their professionally designed, groomed track outside Cabo San Lucas. Need more adrenalin? You can drive one of their race machines on a single or multi-day off-road expedition, or enter one in the SCORE Baja 1000 race!
Wide Open Excursions’s Off Road Lapping Facility - A mere 15 minutes outside Cabo, Wide Open Baja has a 2.2-mile desert off-road driving course. The course is full of bumps and jumps where you’ll get serious air (up to one meter high - 5 meters distance). There are S-turns, banked curves, and roaring straight-aways to challenge. You’ll scream along off-road at up to 60mph on a course rough enough to tear an SUV to pieces. But these high-tech desert machines love every minute of it – and so did I!
Prior to my race I watched an instructional video full of pointers like how to downshift prior to entering a curve, letting off on the gas before becoming airborne, turning in the direction of slides and more. Then I put on my helmet., climbed into my car and strapped in.
High Tech Racing Vehicles - The Baja Challenge desert race vehicles feature high-performance 2.2 liter Subaru engines and are the same vehicles used in the famous Baja 1000 races. Not race replicas. The real deal. The carbon fiber dash in my car had full instrumentation including GPS and inter-com/radio. The fully suspended Beard racing seats with 5-point harness coupled with the Bilstein racing shocks, makes taking meter high jumps incredibly effortless, comfortable and safe at high speeds.
A photographer is available to take photos of your death-defying leaps and 4-wheel slides. Minimum driver age is 16, minimum passenger age 12. You race at your own speed, with the track staff monitoring your position at all times for safety. Tip – ask to drive a rig that won a Baja 1000 and really make your racing fantasies come true.
Wide Open Baja Tours - Here, the fun begins where the pavement ends. Choose from an All Day Tour from Cabo to Todos Santos; to 3, 4 and 7-day tours of the Baja peninsula starting from Ensenada or Cabo San Lucas.
You’ll race through arroyos, across deserts, through river canyons and explore remote villages – stopping at deserted beaches along the way to relax, surf, or snorkel. You’ll enjoy great food from Baja bar-b-que to gourmet cuisine, and spend your evenings having margaritas while relaxing in a Jacuzzi at a First-Class hotel (where available).
New This Season is a 6-hour Todos Santos tour that begins in Cabo, cruises off-road along coastal mountain tracks through villages, arroyos, and along beaches ending in the artist’s colony of Todos Santos for lunch at the Hotel California, returning to Cabo before sunset.
Race the SCORE Baja 1000 - If you ever dreamed of being a star on ESPN or the Speed Channel – here is your chance! Each year well over a dozen Baja Wide Open race vehicles are chartered by private individuals to compete in the famous SCORE Baja 1000. Wide Open’s 300-person support team includes helicopters, planes, mechanics and BF Goodrich support trucks.
With Wide Open Baja on your team you don’t have to build, maintain or race support your own vehicle as they provide everything necessary for a totally turn-key racing experience including practice sessions if needed. Start your engine.
LosCabosGuide.com Activity Review - 14 November 2008 - by David Mandich
Rev it Up—Wide Open Excursions - Cabo - Extreme Adventure
Los Cabos Magazine Issue 10, Spring 2006 - article by Bradley Fraser
Los Cabos offers up a big bag of activities, from low intensity spa getaways to high intensity kite surfing. A day with Wide Open Cabo falls into its own category - it's a rush! Where else can you drive a real Chenowth Magnum off-road racecar on a three-mile dirt racetrack in the Baja California desert?
The Wide Open office is in downtown Cabo near City Club. We were four: Mark, a thirty-something pilot; James, a university student; Javier, a Deejay; and yours truly. After the orientation, an air-conditioned van shuttles us 20 minutes north of Cabo San Lucas to the test track. During the ride, Mark asks about the car specs (1600 cc Volks engine, 90 HP, double Weber carbs). Jorge, our driver and guide, says the cars are “power balanced” for the track, that I think really means they go fast enough to take you to the edge of control, without going over.
Another orientation at the track and we’re outfitted with a two-way radio-embedded helmet and goggles. The cars are safety rigged with racing seat belts, roll bars, and netting. Jorge takes us around the tracks in one of the larger cars. This alone could be a thrill ride at Disneyland. He shows us where the jumps and tricky turns are located - jumps?
It's my turn. I hop in my flashy orange Chenowth, they secure my belts, go over a few more instructions and I get the green flag. It's time to GO! The first few laps are shorter, on the inside of the big track to get a feel for the car, a good thing because this feels WAY different than my vintage Trooper. You’re really low-slung so your field of vision is the steering wheel and the front shock towers for reference. The desert track is another wild card for the novice (that's me). The corners are banked and gnarly with washboard rolls the size of giant watermelons. Your world is loud engine revs, bouncing tires and shock towers, cacti and flying dust. It feels really macho, and this is just on the training track!
I have done my two inner laps, I have a better feel for things, and I am green-flagged for the big desert track. There were no jumps on the inner track to catch air, but on my first lap, I see the first jump on the horizon, seconds later I am air born (in the car) and I don't see the track, just the tops of cacti and blue sky. Harummpppp—it sounds something like that—I land (in the car) and head into the straightaway where you can attain speeds of 50-60 mph. It doesn't sound fast but it feels fast, and that's what matters. The banks and the bumps in the corners on the larger desert track seemed to magnify with each successive lap. I feel more confident and drive faster and smarter. I also fly off the jumps higher. They radioed me to let me know it was my last lap. Since I had been flying around the track in a blurry bouncing ball of dust, I took it at a Sunday driver’s pace so I could see where I had been. Going slowly the track became wider, the banks and bumps larger.
While I was on the track, I never had to worry about another car. For safety, the track attendants keep the cars away from each other. The boy in me wanted to race (and pass) other cars but it makes sense to not allow it, and I had more fun competing with myself.
Mark was so stoked that he bought more laps. James hopped out after his ride and shouted to his father that it was the BEST thing he had ever done. James had a cactus jump in front of his car. The cactus survived, James was okay, the car intact, the staff knew about these crazy running cacti—that normally jump in front of cars at night—and handled it extremely well. Deejay Javier had his iPod plugged into his head with a bustin' big smile on his face.
Wide Open Cabo gives you the chance to race around the desert in a really cool, tricked-out race car, catch some air, eat some dust, and challenge your motor skills. Do it.
Wide Open Excursions also offers four to seven-day high-speed, off-road adventures throughout the peninsula to places few have ever been. Driver-guides are winners of the legendary Baja 500 and 1000 races. If you have the time, it’s a great way to experience Baja “raw.”
Los Cabos Magazine Issue 10, Spring 2006 - article by Bradley Fraser
No, our cars don't have wings. But they definitely fly.
The Ultimate Thrill Ride - Cabo San Lucas Off-Road Racing
The billowing dust plumes behind the high speed off-road racing car as it careens through dips, bumps, jumps and high speed turns. The closest most of us get to this scene is watching the world-renowned Baja 1000 race on ESPN. But now, not only can you witness this thrilling experience up close and personal, you can actually take the wheel of one of these Chenowth Magnum race cars just like the pros. The newest adventure to hit Los Cabos is offered by a company called Wide Open Baja and after hearing all the local buzz, I decided to give it a try.
At the Wide Open Excursions office, my wife, Rosey, and I signed up for that morning’s outing. While she asked question after question, I looked at the pictures that dotted the walls, showing sleek race cars going airborne over various jumps. I was getting excited and my wife could tell, however, she managed to bring me down to earth long enough to listen to an explanation of some of the safety precautions taken to ensure guests have safe, albeit exciting experiences. Rosey’s anxiety about our upcoming adventure turned to doubt. She decided that, perhaps, she would just watch, rather than drive, and proceeded to lecture me about not getting carried away. A small group of us were finally loaded into a van and transported to the track on the Pacific Ocean side of Cabo San Lucas. The atmosphere was that of pure exhilaration. None of us really knew what to expect. I just could not fathom that we were actually going to drive these sleek machines by ourselves.
Upon arrival, we chose helmets, gloves, and goggles and settled in to find out what was expected of us. Antonio Marriquez, our instructor, covered all aspects involving the safe operation of the vehicles and gave us driving tips to help us negotiate each corner, bump and jump on the course. He then loaded us up in a four-seated version of the car we would be driving, and took us around the track to familiarize us with the layout. By the time we had traveled about halfway around the track, I started having concerns about whether or not I would be able to do this. Antonio took us over jumps and raced through tight rutted turns. I was amazed at how effortlessly the car (or was it Antonio?) handled the terrain. After completing our in-structional lap, it was our turn to venture out on our own.
Rosey was still unsure about driving but decided I needed supervision, so she rode along with me. Strapped in and raring to go they waved the green flag. I slammed my foot on the accelerator and left the start line in the dust. After an explosive start, I proceeded with a bit more caution as the first turn approached. With helpful (ahem) suggestions from the missus on how fast to go and when to slow for the turns, I was getting the hang of it. By the second lap around the three-mile course, I had increased my speed. The faster I went the louder Rosey yelled at me and the more fun it became. She was holding on for dear life which turned out to be quite a bonus since it prevented her from clocking me.
Having developed a bit of familiarity with the course, I floored it as I approached the next jump. What a blast! Teeth clenched and hands gripped tightly to the wheel, we launched into the air and floated for what seemed like an eternity. The landing was remarkably soft and with my heart thumping wildly in my chest, we approached the next turn. The turns were the most thrilling and sliding through rutted out berms was truly intoxicating.
I took a total of seven laps and felt ready for the Baja 1000 by the time I finished. I wanted to drive forever. I told my wife, since apparently she was an expert, that she should take the wheel. Without any hesitation we switched seats. Now I was really terrified. Being a good husband, and a new pro, I felt that I should give her advice but she was never one to take criticism and told me to be quiet and enjoy the ride. She went from not really wanting to drive, to laughing and screaming in excitement as we twisted and turned and flew around the track. She actually posted the second fastest time of the day on her final lap. We were amazed at how quickly and easily we learned to drive these vehicles. Great ride, great fun, great experience. The rest of the group we went out with readily agreed.
Wide Open Excursions also offers three to seven-day adventures where you will enjoy the ultimate in high-speed, off-road driving throughout the majestic Baja peninsula. On these trips you can explore unspoiled beaches, hidden canyons, historic missions and the living desert. All guides are past winners of the legendary Baja 500 and 1000 races, and will take you to places in the Baja peninsula that few have ever been. Although the scenery is rugged and wild, the nights are spent in the best hotels available.
Article by Randy Turner - Los Cabos Magazine - Issue #8 - Spring 2003
