Ignacio Chivite showed up to the Mexican 1000 with a bike as old as the race itself: a 1967 Bultaco 360 El Bandido.

It is basically a rally version after Chivite and his friends made fairly extensive modifications. His buddy Chilly White compared it to a replica of the motorcycles that 2013 Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee and 1968 Mexican 1000 overall winner Larry Bergquist rode in the 1950s and ’60s.

“There’s almost no Bandido parts left on the thing, but it’s really cool,” White remarked. He had considered entering the Mexican 1000 with a 1978 Bultaco 370, with which he did the FIM Enduro Vintage Trophy in 2024, but decided against it due to high costs for a race that’s basically “in my own backyard.” White instead entered the one-day Moto Uno class, competing on Saturday on a 1984 Honda XR500 alongside Ruben Hale; they finished fifth overall among all bikes.

He also recalled that Chivite originally thought about doing the Baja 1000 with the 360. While it wouldn’t be the only vintage bike taking part (Greg Gilson plans to race on a 1980 Honda XLS 125), White urged him otherwise.

“I’m like, ‘Oh, that just sounds miserable, even on modern bikes.’ Got him talked into doing NORRA,” White said.

Chivite, a Barcelona resident, has long competed in classic rallies with the Spanish motorcycle company. He won the 2007 Pyramids Rally in the Historic class on one, followed by a fourth at the 2008 Heroes Legend Rallye that ran from Paris to Dakar like the Dakar Rally used to.

In 2011, Chivite entered the Dakar Rally for the first time on a two-stroke 1978 Bultaco Frontera 370. Competing as a Malle Moto rider, he retired after six stages due to mechanical issues. He returned to Dakar in 2013 with a crew and an upgraded Bultaco but did not finish that either. The 2014 Dakar saw him place 89th overall on a Yamaha WR450F.

White described the 360 as a “torque monster” after doing a test run. Many modifications were made so that it would be fit for rally raid, such as a navigation system and an auxiliary fuel tank underneath the rear boat tail assembly.

The Bultaco is one of two bikes competing in the Mexican 1000’s Vintage Moto category, joined by the 1984 Honda XR500R of Steve Montana. Chivite finished 14th overall and 11 minutes behind Montana during the first Selective Section on Saturday, but mechanical failures dropped him to 26th and last for SS2. He was able to get the problems resolved in time for Sunday.

“BULTACO, a motorcycle factory from my city, Barcelona, ​​created this model ‘El Bandido’ in 1967, for American desert races. Like the MEXICAN 1000, which also began in 1967,” Chivite wrote for his NORRA entry bio. “It will be fun to return ‘the beast’ to its natural habitat.”

Featured image credit: Chilly White