The roots of the baja format lie not in Europe but on the Baja California peninsula of Mexico, where open-terrain off-road racing was pioneered in the 1960s by the National Off-Road Racing Association (NORRA) and later by SCORE International. These American organisations operated without affiliation to any international governing body, and their events took place on open, unmarked terrain that fell outside FIA regulation. It was not until 2010 that NORRA began organising events within FIA framework, adopting the standard structure of competitive sections separated by liaison stages.
A baja differs structurally from a marathon rally raid in several key respects. Where marathon events are historically point-to-point affairs spanning days and continents, a baja is more commonly a loop — competitors depart from a base and return to it, reducing logistical complexity while retaining the technical demands of rough, natural terrain. The route is divided into competitive special stages, where times count, and neutral liaison sections. Events can last anywhere from a single day to four days, and competitive distances generally stay within the 200 to 600 kilometre range.
FIA baja cups permit a wide range of vehicle categories, mirroring the structure used in rally raid championships but with one notable exclusion: Group T5 trucks, the large service and support vehicles historically used in marathon events, are not eligible to score points in baja cups.
Cars competing in bajas are classified under Groups T1 through T4. Group T1 covers Prototype Cross-Country Cars and is subdivided into four classes: T1.U for vehicles powered by renewable energy (such as the Audi RS Q e-tron), T1.1 for four-wheel-drive petrol and diesel prototypes (including the Mini John Cooper Works Buggy and Toyota Hilux), T1.2 for two-wheel-drive equivalents (such as the Peugeot 3008 DKR), and T1.3 for vehicles built to SCORE regulations. Group T2 is reserved for Series Production Cross-Country Cars, a category long dominated by the Toyota Land Cruiser and Nissan Patrol, with historic participants including the Mitsubishi Pajero and Volkswagen Race Touareg.
Groups T3 and T4 cover lighter and side-by-side vehicles respectively. T3 encompasses Lightweight Prototype Cross-Country Vehicles — including machines such as the Red Bull OT3 — as well as modified versions of production off-road vehicles from manufacturers like Polaris, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Can-Am. T4 is for Modified Production Side-by-Side (SSV) vehicles held closer to their factory specifications. Both groups must remain under 3,500 kilograms and are eligible for dedicated FIA World Cups.
The FIA organises three tiers of baja cup competition: the FIA World Baja Cup, the FIA European Baja Cup, and the FIA Middle East Baja Cup. The World Baja Cup was originally part of a combined cross-country calendar that included rally raids. Beginning with the 2002 season, the FIA merged the existing International Cup for Cross-Country Bajas with the FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup to create a unified FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.
This joint structure persisted for nearly two decades before being separated again at the start of the 2019 season, when the baja-specific competition was reinstated as a standalone title. From 2022, the World Baja Cup runs on its own calendar independently of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship, in coordination with the FIM Bajas World Cup — a parallel series sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme for motorcycle competitors. In 2024, the competition was rebranded as the FIA World Baja Cup.
The Baja Aragón in Spain is among the most prominent events on the FIA baja calendar, a round long associated with the series. The Baja Russia Northern Forest is notable for its distinctly cold-weather context, with stages taking place entirely on snow and ice — a stark contrast to the dusty, rocky terrain typical of desert-based baja events.
While bajas and rally raids share vehicle regulations, governing bodies, and many of the same competitors, they occupy distinct niches. Rally raids emphasise distance, navigation, and endurance across multiple days and territories; bajas emphasise technical terrain and speed across a more compact format. Together with marathon rally raids, they form the spectrum of cross-country rally competition recognised by the FIA, each demanding a different balance of mechanical reliability, driver skill, and navigational precision.