The Baja 500 traditionally ushers in the summer, but at least the heat won’t be too painful for fans and competitors.

Although the 2025 race is another loop, once again starting and ending in Ensenada, it completely eschews Baja California’s desert floor and comes nowhere close to the Gulf of California. Federal Highway 3 is the furthest east that the course goes, unlike in 2024 where it was the site of the first checkpoint.

With no racing in the east, the west coast along the Pacific will see most of the action. The section from Mike’s Sky Rancho to San Quintín will be especially challenging and potentially beaten in from pre-runners. Otherwise, it should figure to be faster than usual with plenty of new sections.

“They are existing paths, but new for SCORE,” SCORE co-race director Rodolfo Fernandez noted. “It will be a very fast coastal section, but very technical in the first part of the race course.”

“The preliminary track layout work began before the SCORE San Felipe 250. After the race, we went out to inspect the trails to confirm that they were in suitable condition to be part of the route.”

The course will be 461.03 miles for Pro classes and 416.43 miles for Sportsman. It is shorter than in 2024, which had a 483.06-mile layout. With the reduced distance and quicker terrain, teams will have 18 hours to complete the race rather than 20 like last year.

The timed section begins at Rancho Nelson just before RM 20.

Truck qualifying for the race will be on Thursday, June 5. Race day is on Saturday, June 7.

Featured image credit: Art Eugenio / Red Bull Content Pool