The Prologue is a common feature in rally raids as a competition-speed dry run before the actual racing begins. NORRA plans to add one for the 2026 Mexican 1000, tentatively set for Friday, May 1.

Registration and inspection would take place on Thursday and early Friday before heading out to Rancho Nelson or another nearby location for the Prologue. Results of the Prologue would set the start order for the first day of racing on May 2.

The decision to create a Prologue was partly inspired by an accident that occurred at the start of a prior race. A Heavy Metal car had crashed early on, disrupting the flow of the start. From there, NORRA figured it would probably be best to have a Prologue to safely set the start order rather than throw every non-UTV and Class 1 driver into the fire without any sort of practice.

“That way, we will have a more specific and precise starting order for the actual race on Saturday to prevent any kind of accidents,” NORRA director Eliseo Garcia said regarding the Prologue in the four-wheel racers’ meeting on Thursday night.

Although the NORRA 500 is the next race on the sanctioning body’s calendar, it won’t experiment with a prologue since it’s a much smaller event than the 1000 at just two days long and with fewer entries.

Instead, the starting lineup will continue to be set with qualifying for UTVs and Class 10s. It is not a mandatory session, but those who skip qualifying will have to start last.

The defending overall winner Kyle Murray will be the first out in his Evolution Truck. Unlimited Trucks, Historic Trucks, Evolution Unlimited Buggies, Historic Buggies, and Evolution 6100 will follow Murray. After a ten-minute wait, classes with qualifying will follow suit in Pro UTV and Pro Turbo UTV followed by Class 10.

In lieu of adding a prologue, the biggest four-wheeler change for the 500 is splitting Pro UTVs into a separate category from the cars and trucks. Class 10 and UTV will still qualify together, while the Buggy vs. UTV Challenge is still in effect: if a Class 10 driver finishes higher than all the Pro UTVs in the overall, they will earn $10,000 and a Honda K24 engine from Lozano Performance.

“The structure change allows more competition between the separate vehicle types,” reads a statement from NORRA. “Both classes can now battle within their same categories for the top podium positions and coveted NORRA trophies. We had some drivers requesting this change, so NORRA listened. NORRA strives to provide the greatest Baja racing experience for our competitors. If this enhances competition, we’re all for it.”

Featured image credit: SPEED UTV