Hill Climb Racing is one of the oldest forms of motorsports competition. The most famous in the USA is the Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb which has been run for over 100 years. There are a number of other smaller hill climb events in North America, particularly in the Northeastern USA and Colorado. Unfortunately the paved events, including Pikes Peak, no longer allow motorcyles or quads so if you want to complete with something other than a car we’re currently your only North American option!
A Hill Climb is a timed competition where competitors start at the bottom of a road and race against the clock to a finishing line on a higher portion of the road. The competitor with the fastest time from the start to the finish line is the winner. Similar to Rally Racing each competitor is ideally able to make a clean run up the road without having to pass or get passed by other competitors so there should be no direct wheel to wheel racing. In our event competitors are released from the start line anywhere from 20 seconds to several minutes apart.
The Baja International Tourist Cup is a multi lap circuit race created by connecting closed paved public roads. Competitors are scored by their time to complete the laps and released at intervals from the start line to try to minimize the need for passing.
In 2025 all events will have precise electronic race timing backed up by manual timing. Your registered entry includes a free timing transponder for your helmet or vehicle.
Usually competitors are broken into several different classes based on vehicle type, motor size and other factors. You can see our rules by clicking the button below.
If you have a current racing license with a major race sanctioning body and two years of experience you should automatically be approved. If you have no racing license do not let this deter you from racing with us. The nature of our events easily allow a big difference in competition speeds without interference between competitors. If you can show that you have adequate vehicle control skills/experience and can safely navigate the race course you can still be approved to complete. Don’t let lack of a race license stop you from submitting your event registration. When you register the form will ask for a resume of your experience and we may contact you directly for further evaluation.
You will need to wear full body protective gear appropriate for your vehicle type.
For the most part all kinds! We have three broad classes of vehicles we allow – Autos, Motorcycles and “Unlimited”. In the Unlimited class we’ve seen full hill climb special built vehicles, quads, side by sides, electric vehicles, sidecars and more.
Vehicles must be in safe working order. Autos must have a six point roll cage unless they are a 2000 model year or newer production car with all factory safety features intact.
There are typically EIGHT competion classes based mostly on motor size. Four for Motorcycles, three for Autos and the “unlimited” class.
Ultra Lightweight Motorcycle – up to 350cc motor (single or twin cylinder only)
Lightweight Motorcycle – up to 500cc motor (single or twin cylinder only)
Middleweight Motorcycle – up to 850cc motor
Heavyweight Motorcycle – 851cc and up
Class “A” Auto – up to 2500cc motor
Class “B” Auto – up to 4000cc motor
Class “C” Auto – 4001cc and up
Unlimlited Class – Anything reasonable goes.
Currently the registration fees for the San Pedro Martir Hill Climb is $600 for Cars and $600 for Motorcycles/Quads/Sidecars. The Baja Tourist Cup is $500 for cars and $500 for bikes but you can bundle it at a discount with the San Pedro Martir event the same week – contact us for details. Your entry for the Hill Climb Events (San Pedro Martir, San Javier) includes free camping and use of facilites at the host site. For the Baja Tourist Cup we do not have an arrangment for camping but we do have properties in Tecate that can possibly host you if you’re on a tight budget – contact us for details. Hotel rooms, food, fuel, transportation etc are the competitor’s responsibility. Look at the fees for most any other hill climb or road race event and this is a true bargain. Our goal is to make enjoying a hill climb or road race competition as accessible as possible. Discounts and sponsorships to help with the entry fee are available to residents of Baja, CA aka “locals” – please contact us for details. If the entry fee is a huge barrier to your ability to participate please contact us regardless.
We all know that Motorsports are inherently dangerous. We strongly advise hill climb and road race competitors to focus more on enjoying the event rather than “winning” at all costs. Pushing beyond 100% on a road can have severe consequences as many areas have little or no run off like you would find on most race tracks. Unexpected things can always happen so competitors should leave some reserve in order to safely react to situations. Think of this as enjoying your favorite local back road but with the added benefit of no traffic and no speeding ticket! There is no prize money – just trophies – so finishing with a smile on your face is the biggest accomplishment. We trust competitors to use their best judgment to operate their vehicles in a safe manner appropriate to the road conditions.
We do not want to discourage you from attending our events – they’re exceptionally fun. The only injuries our competitors have sustained in the past have been due to driving off the road. However it’s important that you’re aware of the possible harzards. The following are extra hazards you may encounter while road racing as opposed to a closed race track circuit:
1) Civilian Traffic – we take every precaution to fully close the road but it’s not impossible for civilian traffic to get on the road circuit. This is unlikely and should not happen. It has not happened during any of the Hill Climb Events but it has during the Baja Tourist Cup. If it does happen we immediately red flag the course. Many competitors try to stay on the right side of the road as much as possible for extra safety.
2) Animals – The countryside in Baja has rabbits, birds, dogs, coyotes, goats, horses, donkeys & cows. No elephants yet. We have never had an animal collision but they have certainly been spotted at the side of the road at some events.
3) Pot holes and Gravel. We take every effort to clean and repair the road before the event. However, in somes cases there may be debris on the road or pot holes. If we can’t repair a pot hole we will typically mark it well with paint. The edges of the road are typically quite dirty and have poor traction – do not utilize the road edges. Please utilize your pre running and practice runs to learn the road and the hazards to avoid.
We advise you to make sure that your current medical insurance provider will cover your medical expenses overseas (in Mexico) or to purchase a separate overseas (or Mexican) medical insurance policy if your current insurer will not extend coverage. We strongly recommend that all competitors purchase a Medical Evacuation Insurance Policy and provide policy info to the race director prior to the event. This type of insurance policy will have a professional air evacuation service arrange transportation to your preferred home hospital in the event of a serious injury. These are available from many reputable companies by doing a simple google search. They are not particularly expensive and can both speed up your evacuation and avoid the large associated expenses. See the button below for one such provider (no affiliation).
As required by law our event carries third party liability insurance which provides coverage if a competitor causes damages to another person or property during the race but this does not cover a competitor’s own personal medical expenses or damages to a competition vehicle.
The event organizers take the following safety precautions to prevent accidents and assist if an accident occurs:
1) Careful Road Closure & Inspection – Highway Patrol (Guarda Nacional) is stationed at the start and finish of the closed section of road to stop vehicle traffic. Race staff is also positioned at possible road access points along the course (event locations are all rural and it’s just a few small dirt access roads to ranches) to stop any vehicles. A couple weeks before the event we clean the road and perform any necessary road repairs for maximum safety and enjoyment. A follow up road inspection and final cleaning is performed in the days before competition. Please note that there may still inevitably be surface imperfections, pebbles, dirt, water, cracks, dips, jumps (weeee!), minor pot holes and more. These are real roads and not a MotoGP race track. As mentioned previously you must operate your vehicle with an appropriate level of caution and control appropriate to the current road conditions.
2) Radio Communications are in place and event staff with radios are positioned at the start and finish lines as well as several other locations along the road. A sweep vehicle with radio communication is released 5 minutes prior to every practice, qualification and competition run as well as a radio equipped chase vehicle after the last competitor departs.
3) Medical Support Staff are in place in the event an accident occurs. There are at least two ambulances – one stationed at the start and the second mid course. In addition we have a Trauma Certified Medical Doctor with medical equipment who drives up the mountain after the last competior departs. We strongly recommend that competitors carry medical evacuation insurance if at all possible. There are many reputable and reasonably priced options for this such as MedJet.
4) A Recovery Vehicle is on site in the event your vehicle is damaged or runs off the road.
Trophies or medals are awarded for the top three finishers in every class with an additional trophy for the overall winner. The best prize is safely enjoying the event and this is what we focus on.
Events typically take place over two days. On the first day competitors will typically get two practice runs up the mountain (or around the circuit) in the morning followed by two qualifying runs. The qualifying runs will be used to determine the starting order for the two competition runs on the second day. Winners will be determined by their fastest time of the two competition runs. You don’t have to participate in every run but you will need to complete at least one qualifying run and one competition run in order to be considered a valid trophy eligable competitor. All our courses are very long and trust me you will be tired by the end of each run and ready to relax with food and drink by day’s end.
For those who want even more time on the road “pre running” at legal speeds to learn the route on the days preceeding the event is supported. The road is not closed for “pre running” but traffic is typically minimal at most locations. You must not cross into oncoming traffic and you are required to operate your vehicle responsibly while pre running – any competitor who causes a complaint by locals, observatory staff, law enforcement or park staff will be subject to potential expulsion from the event with no refund. The support of those who use the roads are essential to our events’ survival – please be courteous.
We realise that many people, particularly if not familiar with Baja California, may have concerns regarding safety. The events themselves are held in a safe rural parts of Mexico. Traveling to the event is all by major highway and avoids any dangerous areas. For those who wish there is typically a group crossing organized for a couple days before the start of the event. This will allow you to cross the border with a group of other experienced competitors and travel to the event in a caravan. You can even fly into Loreto, which is a very safe town, for the San Javier event and rent a competition motorcycle from us or arrange to have your motorcycle transported by our staff from San Diego or Tijuana. For more details on this please contact us.
Don’t want to race but want to check out the event? That’s fine! You can camp at the event host site or book a hotel room and enjoy the event. If you need to get out on the course to a good spot to specate or take photos you’ll need to coordinate this with race officials to travel the road before and after race closures.
Want to volunteer to help? Please contact us and we’d love to find a way to add you to the crew! We can usually feed and lodge volunteers for free.
We’re here to help and we want you to attend and enjoy our events to the greatest possible extent.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions!