It’s probably not a good sign of things to come when your car breaks down on the first day of racing. Even moreso if it happens on the first jump.

Stage 1 of the Mexican 1000 commenced Saturday from Ensenada to San Felipe. However, the first jump of the race in the wash ended up being a lot higher than anticipated. Modern cars and bikes could handle it just fine.

The Vintage and Safari classes? Yeah…

Becca Weiss and Steve Walden, participating in the non-competition Safari category, fell off the jump nose-first and caused the airbags to deploy. Their Ford Bronco coasted a few more feet after that before coming to a stop.

Jon Steinhilber’s 1965 Meyers Manx also didn’t make it too far before having to stop with a mechanical issue.

If it was any consolation for them, even modern machines had their challenges. The much-awaited Glickenhaus SCG 008’s run was running well until the serpentine belt broke because it was routed incorrectly, causing the car to lose power steering and fluid to leak. Although Darren Skilton and Willem Avenant had a replacement, they then discovered the CV boot had also come loose.

“We’re kind of just going through all of that stuff and then we’re going to see if we can get back on the road,” Avenant explained.

The snag caused them to finish second-to-last among all cars for SS1, after which they were 92nd in SS2. Still, the goal of the SCG 008 is to complete the race and test its capabilities rather than win so as long as they’re back home in San José del Cabo by Thursday, it’s a success.

Jake Johnson, the fastest in qualifying, was seventh overall for SS1 before falling back.

James “Chip” Griffith III and Rhys Millen were fastest in their “El Bandito” C10 truck, leading Ryan Arciero by a minute and 47 seconds. The duo had run the past few years in a Spec truck before moving up to Unlimited Truck for 2026. Another iconic desert racer, the Riviera Racing Black Diamond piloted by Mark Post, Larry Ragland, and Ricky Johnson with Kellon Walch as navigator won SS3.

Kristen Matlock was the highest running UTV after Day 1 in 12th. P.J. Jones and Augie Renezeder, both carrying family legacies, respectively rounded out the overall top 20 in 19th and 20th in their own side-by-sides.

Bikes only had one long special rather than three like the cars. NORRA newcomer Colton Udall led the way on his 2005 Honda CRF450X.

Stage winners

Selective Section	Competitor of Record	Vehicle	Total Time
SS1	James Griffith III	2006 Frankenherbst Johnny Cash C10 Special	58:41.6
SS2	James Griffith III	2006 Frankenherbst Johnny Cash C10 Special	51:21.8
SS3	Mark Post	1992 Ford F-150	51:44.9
Moto	Colton Udall	2005 Honda CRF450X	4:23:31.6

Overall leaders

Category	Number	Competitor of Record	Vehicle	Class	Total Time
Cars	7667	James Griffith III	2006 Frankenherbst Johnny Cash C10 Special	Evolution Unlimited Truck	2:42:36.2
Moto	7	Colton Udall	2005 Honda CRF450X	Pro Rally / Ironman Roadbook	4:23:31.6

Featured image credit: Dream OFF-ROAD Baja