The Petersen Celebrates 50th Anniversary of the Baja 500 and 1,000

11 years, 7 months ago - 27 April 2013, Autoblog

The year 1963 was a pretty good one for things on wheels – Lamborghini was born that year, as was the Porsche 911, and we'll give a shout out to the all-American Apollo GT even though it only lasted four years.

This summer, Petersen Automotive Museum is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Baja 500 and Baja 1,000 desert races with an exhibit called Braving Baja: 1,000 Miles to Glory.

Truth be told, the 50th anniversary of the peninsula race was last year – it was in 1962 that Dave Ekins and Billy Robertson, Jr. did a 950-mile timed run from Tijuana to La Paz to prove the grit of Honda's new CL72 Scrambler motorcycle. That single time trial has turned into the trophy truck, buggy, Volkswagen Beetle and motorcycle spectacle that we know today. 1962 was also the anniversary of Shelby American and the dearly departed Iso, so it still wasn't a bad year for things on wheels.

The event kicks off with a tribute dinner on May 2 featuring Elkins and Parnelli Jones – another legendary off-road racer – in attendance taking audience questions. Two days later will be a one-day off-road show in which anyone can participate who has a museum ticket and a vehicle that can handle the dirt.

The exhibit itself runs through September 2nd and will feature all manner of Baja paraphernalia including numerous bikes and buggies that have run the route, like a 1964 Myers Manx, a 1960 Bilstein VW Baja Bug driven by Doug Robinson and the 2003 Honda XR650R ridden by Mouse McCoy as seen in the Baja documentary Dust to Glory.