Desert racing began in the early 20th century. An early racing sanctioning body in North America was the National Off-Road Racing Association (NORRA), co-founded in 1967 by Ed Pearlman. The first event was a race across the Mexican desert, south-eastwards through most of the length of Baja California, originally from Ensenada to La Paz. The event was first called the Mexican 1000 and later became known as the Baja 1000. The event is now sanctioned by SCORE International.
Most desert races are set up on government recreational land and have tracks running from 25 to 1000 miles. One of the most popular series is the Best in the Desert series, which includes the Vegas to Reno race, the longest off-road race in the United States; the 2009 Vegas to Reno race measured 1000 miles.
The Mojave Off-Road Racing Enthusiast (MORE) series started in 1997 as a small, family-oriented series using tracks on desert land in the Barstow and Lucerne Valley regions of the Mojave Desert in California.
On 14 August 2010, a modified Ford Ranger pickup truck racing in the MDR-sanctioned California 200 careened off the track into a group of spectators, killing eight, and raising questions about the future of off-road racing on public lands.
King of the Hammers is one of the most popular desert races; it was started in 2007 by Dave Cole and Jeff Knoll.
Short course off-road racing is held on a circuit of less than five miles, such as Crandon International Off-Road Raceway. Races involve left and right turns of various radii, jumps, and occasional washboard runs and gravel pits. Another format, made popular by the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group, was called stadium racing, where off-road vehicles raced on a temporary track constructed inside a stadium.
The U.S. Off Road Championship Series was held by Pace Motorsports in the late 1990s and shown on TNN Motor Madness. In 2012, Robby Gordon created the Stadium Super Trucks, an offshoot of the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group.
During the 2010s, two major organisations promoted short course off-road racing in the United States. TORC: The Off Road Championship promoted races in Eastern, Midwestern, and some Western venues before cancelling all events in 2018. The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) focused on the West Coast until its closure in 2020. Both series featured professional off-road drivers and race teams.
The Mid America Off Road Association is one of the longest-tenured grassroots organisations, promoting short course off-road racing in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.
Off-road racing extends to hillclimbing and any form of racing that does not occur on a specified paved track. The Frozen Rush features off-road trophy trucks racing on snowy ski slopes. The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is one of the oldest and most popular hillclimbs in the United States.
In New Zealand, off-road racing has its own class structure and a multiple-round national championship. The flagship event is the two-day, 1000 km Taupo 1000, held every other year. It started in 1992 as the Bridgestone 1000, held over two days in a large man-made forest outside the resort town of Taupo, with six laps of 160 km each. The event was open to motorcycles, quad bikes, off-road race cars, SUVs, and rally cars. The Bridgestone 1000 was the first off-road endurance race in New Zealand to include teams from Australia, New Zealand, and the USA.
In Europe, off-road racing refers to events on unsealed circuits such as autocross or rallycross. European "bajas" are types of cross-country rallies. In Scandinavian countries, off-road racing can refer to Formula Off Road, involving extensively modified vehicles driven up difficult uphill terrain.
Australian off-road racing has a similar format to North America, involving various classes of highly-modified vehicles racing anywhere from 20 to 600 kilometres usually over a weekend. Two organisations cover the majority of events: Motorsport Australia and the Australian Auto Sport Alliance.
Australian off-road vehicles are organised into classes. The first is the Pro or Unlimited Class: buggies and truggies limited to an engine capacity of 6000cc including correction factors for turbocharging. Class 1 (Pro-Lites) are buggies and truggies with an engine restriction of 3500cc naturally aspirated. Class 2 (Super 1650s) are buggies and truggies with two crew members and an engine restriction of 1650cc naturally aspirated. Class 3 are buggies and truggies with two crew members and an engine restriction of 1330cc. Class 4 involves automobiles complying with Wild 2WD technical regulations limited to 6000cc. Class 5 involves two-crew automobiles complying with Power 2WD regulations limited to the same capacity as Class 4. Class 6 involves two-crew automobiles complying with Super PRV regulations with engine capacity between 1201cc and 2050cc. Class 66 is similar to Class 6 but limited to 1200cc naturally aspirated. Class 7 involves two-crew automobiles complying with Stock 4WD regulations limited to 6000cc. Class 8 includes automobiles complying with Super 4WD regulations with an engine capacity of 6000cc. Class 10 involves buggies and truggies complying with Wild 2WD regulations limited to 2500cc naturally aspirated.
The most popular off-road race in Australia is the Finke Desert Race near Alice Springs, Northern Territory. It involves a 460 km race to the small community of Aptula (Finke) and back, racing alongside what was the Old Ghan railway for a large portion. First held in 1976, it now attracts media coverage and a large field contending for the title of King of the Desert.
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