Desert Off-Road Racing Basics

What is desert off-road racing?


Desert Racing is a motorsport that takes place mostly in open deserts, forests and mountain areas. Most racing is held on public lands, with a few that are held on private property. In all cases the race organizers receive permission to hold the race from the land owner or manager. In the case of public land use in the U.S. the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is the government agency that issues such permits.

There are two types of race layouts. Point-to-point or lap based. Point-to-point means that the race starts in one location and ends at another without traveling over the same course more then once. A lap based race means that the race cars have to complete a set amount of laps to finish a race. Races are anywhere between 100 and 1000 miles in length. Average speeds are between 20 and 60 miles per hour depending on the vehicle and the terrain.

All races happen on existing roads like here in Nevada

All races happen on existing roads. These roads are used by power companies or farmers on days outside of the race event. Driving next to assigned road is often illegal by the land owner and promoter. When caught it will lead to a penalty or disqualification of the racer.

Typically the race course is surveyed for wildlife prior to being used and staying on the assigned race course assures a minimum impact on the environment. The idea that race cars just go wild in the desert is a misconception that may come from video games and movies. The fact is that the fastest way around a race course is on the existing dirt road. Driving next to the course in the wild desert you would have to conquer unknown rocks and plants that would not only ruin the wildlife but also slow you down or break your vehicle.

Class 11 is an unmodified VW Bug

Race cars are divided into multiple classes. At the bottom you have bone stock VW bugs, then modified pick-up trucks to purpose built race cars. Top speeds of 120mph can be reached but most of the time race cars will average much lower speeds.

All race cars undergo a safety inspection prior to the race. This assures that they are compliant within the class rules and meet safety standards. Over the years, the safety standards have increased to the point where injuries to race drivers are very rare.

This is similar to what has happened over the years to all forms of Motorsports. Just like a NASCAR vehicle can hit a concrete wall at over 100mph and the driver walks away from the accident, the same is true in desert racing. 5 Point seat belts, roll cage, fire retardant clothing, helmets and neck restraints are used and need to be re-certified frequently.

Race fans freely watch the race alongside the race course

Since the races happen on wide open public lands, spectating is often unrestricted. A race fan can watch the race at any point alongside the race course and often move alongside the course for a 2nd opportunity to see the race vehicles again miles later assuming the race course is longer then the access road in-between 2 spectating points. Some race courses are more restrictive then others and may only offer a few designated spectating points. Hardly ever is there an admission fee to watch the races happening.

At some known spectating areas that attract large crowds the spectating area is controlled with ropes and enforced by law enforcement or security provided by the race promoter. The Lucerne MDR California incident on August 14th is the first and only accident involving a race car hitting spectators in the capacity it happened. Eight spectators lost their lives and many more suffered major and minor injuries.

There have been accidents involving spectators over the years but they were rare and involved single spectators not large groups. Whenever such incidents happened measures where put in place to reduce this from happening again. Often speed limits were introduced in pit areas or security was increased to force crowds further away from the race course.

Large crowds gather prior to the Baja 500 to celebrate the race

Eduction to show the risks of spectating takes place constantly. Race promoters advise spectators to stay clear of the course, enthusiast forums such as this site (RDC) constantly discuss the dangers of standing too close. It is no secret that race cars need their space to go fast in a safe manner. The MDR promoter has clear guidelines posted on their website .

Despite the horrible accident that just happened, desert off-road racing has a very clean safety record. Millions of spectators and racers participate in races nearly every weekend and the casualty and injury count is very low. Spending the weekend night in any town and getting hit by a drunk driver is more likely to happen then suffering any harm surrounding an off-road race.

Desert racing is a family sport. Lots of families head out every weekend to the desert and enjoy driving in their jeeps, dirt bikes, quads or buggies. For most of us we discovered the beauty in our local deserts. Watched astounding sunsets, viewed plants bloom in the spring or watched coyotes from the distance. Some people watch NASCAR, some drive stock cars, some collect stamps and we like to play in the desert.

Not everyone may fully “get it”, but we hope to have you understand and respect what we the off-road racer do. Maybe come out to a race and experience it to get an understanding for our sport.


Taken from : http://www.race-dezert.com/home/desert-off-road-racing-basics-9659.html