Jeff Terzo Tops Unofficial Results at the 2026 NORRA 500 Baja Coast Challenge
Day 2 Recap
From the rugged mountains above Ensenada to the open Pacific coastline, the 2026 NORRA 500 Baja Coast Challenge brought racers through the country that helped give desert racing its identity. Two days of competition carried the field south to San Quintín and back north toward Ensenada, with Jeff Terzo emerging atop the unofficial final standings.
Baja has been testing racers and their machinery since NORRA’s first Mexican 1000 in 1967. The vehicles have changed, but the challenge remains familiar: find the right pace, keep the equipment together, and earn every mile to the finish. Along this stretch of the peninsula, mountain trails, coastal roads and sweeping ocean views provide a setting that is unmistakably Baja.
Terzo met that challenge in his #3737 Can-Am Maverick R, recording a winning time of 8 hours, 20 minutes and 17 seconds. His Unlimited Buggy entry finished 4 minutes, 33 seconds ahead of Cesar Cuevas, with Andrew Whitehead completing the overall podium.
Cuevas paired second overall with the Evolution Pro SxS class victory in the #1811 Polaris RZR. His 8:24:50 finish put him in position to collect the class’s $10,000 winner’s prize. Whitehead followed in his #3003 Can-Am Maverick R at 8:28:32, finishing 8 minutes, 15 seconds behind Terzo.
Max Gordon took fourth overall and led Evolution Pro SxS FI in the #77 SPEED UTV Bandit. After 23 minutes, 54 seconds in penalties, his corrected time of 8:41:43 kept him ahead of Robby Gordon for the class victory and its $10,000 prize. Robby completed the overall top five in the #7 SPEED UTV El Diablo with a corrected 8:46:16.
Among the modern machines, Hap Kellogg delivered one of the event’s standout results. His #521 1957 Volkswagen Class 5 Unlimited finished sixth overall in a corrected 8:55:47. A Volkswagen battling near the front of a Baja race is a fitting connection to the sport’s beginnings: Vic Wilson and Ted Mangels won NORRA’s inaugural Mexican 1000 in a Meyers Manx buggy, establishing a legacy that still runs through the field today.
Stephen Beal claimed the Class 6100 victory and its $10,000 winner’s prize, placing seventh overall in the #241 Geiser G6 with a corrected time of 8:59:23. Alfredo Horacio Olmedo, Jorge Macias and John Kerr rounded out the unofficial overall top ten.
The weekend also offered a glimpse of what comes next. Announced Thursday night, the NORRA LEGACY World Championship Series will bring together three Baja races, two Nevada races and one Arizona race in a unified six-race championship beginning in 2027. Its inaugural season will coincide with the 60th anniversary of NORRA’s original Baja race, carrying that pioneering spirit into a new chapter of competition across two countries.
For now, the Baja Coast Challenge belongs to the racers and crews who put in the miles, reached the finish and added their own stories to a racing tradition nearly six decades in the making.
All results remain unofficial pending final confirmation.