Become Part of the Legend

We have few opportunities in our lives to become part of a legend.  But the Chihuahua Express and La Carrera Panamericana give us rare opportunities to experience racing at top speed on closed, public highways mostly though the mountains, thus becoming part of a legend.  These are the last open-road races of their kind in the world.  No one can predict how long they will survive in this modern age. As noted early, the Chihuahua Express may be permanently canceled.

Every April, depending on when Easter is celebrated, a colorful collection of vintage and modern cars line up in Chihuahua, Mexico for the “ChiX,” the Chihuahua Express, a three-day stage or speed rally on closed public highways. There is also a T/S/D rally ChiX Tour that covers the same 1,000 miles as the full-competition cars, including the over 250 miles at unlimited speed for the stage rally cars.  Now in its 16th year, the ChiX uses basically the same rules and format as the Pan-Am, except it is only 145 miles from the Texas border and modern cars and pickups are invited to compete, including an Unlimited Class.

In the Pan-Am up to 60 vintage race cars, plus some modern cars, usually start in southern Mexico in early October to race nearly 1900 miles back to northern Mexico.  It’s seven or eight days of racing, around 625 miles of speed stages, over closed public highways, through some of the most beautiful country north of the Equator. More than a week of automotive adventure. The event stops for the night in colonial cities along the route, including Mexico City.  In the Express, the cars would return to the same luxury Sheraton hotel each night high on a hill overlooking the city of Chihuahua.  

The original Pan-Am race was sponsored in 1950 by the Mexican government to notify the world that Mexico had a new system of roads, the Pan-American Highways, stretching down across the country--from north to south--for commerce and tourism.  When the five-day race was canceled in 1955, its purpose had been accomplished.   In 1988 a group of Mexican and North American auto enthusiasts revived the Pan Am as a “pro-rally” or special “stage rally” for vintage cars from the 1940s and 1950s. As years passed, later vintage cars were added, up to 1975 in 2025 and beyond. There are now sixteen classes of cars in the Pan-Am including modern Porsches.

In the ChiX and the Pan-Am, each car must have a “crew” of driver (piloto) and a navigator (co-piloto).  The navigator is given a thick route book with maps and detailed instructions to follow for the entire race.  Every turn along the race route is listed and rated by degree of difficulty.  Warnings are given about dangerous conditions.  Speed bumps and gas stations are even noted, but there can always be a surprise lurking around each blind corner. Excessive speed can always lead to serious accidents.

Each day’s stage-rally route is divided into “transit” and “speed” stages. The transit stages are run from town to town or speed stage to speed stage on regular highways, in regular traffic at normal speeds.  Then several times a day, normally on mountain roads, the cars line up at their calculated “target arrival time” for the speed stages. Time penalty points are imposed if the car checks in too early or too late for a speed stage or commits another infraction of the rules, such as blocking the road.  The line of waiting cars are launched one-by-one in thirty second intervals into the speed stage with the fastest cars going first. In a speed stage, each car run against the clock on a stretch of highway closed by the Mexican Highway Patrol or state police.  At the end of a speed stage, which can be three to twenty miles long, they are timed electronically. Each day the cars start in a different order based on their performance the preceding day. On the first day, they start in the order established by a short pre-qualifiying run.

There is a speed limit of 144 MPH for the Pan-Am, but there was no limit for the Chi-X where cars could travel as fast as the driver’s skill and road conditions warrant.   Passing a slower car occurs from time to time in the longer speed stages, usually when a car develops mechanical problems but keeps moving.

Speed stages are conducted on mostly good, paved secondary highways.  At the end of each day, medals or plaques are awarded to the crews in each class with the lowest ET, and at the end of the event, trophies or plaques are given to the top three crews in each class and overall. There are no cash prices.

Because of its length, high number of speed stages per day, and closeness to the U.S., some drivers liked to come to the ChiX first, before entering the Pan-Am, to learn Mexican rally rules and to test themselves and their car.

Few drivers, even professionals, have ever won an event during their first year.  It’s best to come to these events willing to learn about endurance racing for a week at high altitude.  Take the time to appreciate the magnitude of the overall experience.  Your learning curve will be as steep as the road up Mil Cumbres, the mountains outside of Morelia or the climb to the rim of the famous Copper Canyon in Chihuahua.

Regardless of your commitment and goals, all levels of competitors are welcome. The race cars are subject to strict safety requirements, such as full roll six-eight point roll cages, racing seats, fire suppression systems, fuel cells, and other safety gear. Cars must also be “street legal.” All cars are subject to the approval of the organizers and technical inspectors before the event. Before you start building a car for these events, read the rules carefully.  And please remember, there is no substitute for good, reliable racing brakes. A tested, reliable car is the key to finishing these events and the most important goal is to finish the race.

The expenses involved in the Pan-Am will vary greatly from entrant to entrant.  Preparing a car, traveling to Mexico and back, hiring a service, and the entry fee are the basic categories of expense. A few can make to the Pan-Am and back on $40,000, not counting the car, while others spend over $75,000.  The overall cost of the Chi-X was considerably less, given its location—closer to the U.S., three-day length, and much lower entry fee.

The entry fee for the Pan-Am, said to be over $10K now, covers the race and one double hotel room for eight nights.  In the Chi-X the early entry fee iwas much less, plus $850 for five nights at the Sheraton Hotel.

For an additional fee, all participants, regardless of rally experience, will be issued the mandatory Mexican rally license for the event.   The license provides limited medical, life, and dismemberment insurance.  Teams of doctors and rescue personnel travel with the events.  All crew members (diver and navigator) must have a valid racing license from their home country. Limited event insurance covers damaged to private property during competition. However, the race cars are not covered at night but only when racing. All competitors sign waivers accepting full responsibility for any accidents or injuries. All service vehicles must have proof of insurance in Mexico. Insurance is available from a company called Bajabound.com in San Diego.

These two events are a combination of serious racing and international adventure.  Both are a true test of driving and mechanical skills, stamina, and patience.  Most importantly, perhaps, they are an opportunity to see a beautiful country and meet its gracious people.  You will be their hero!   These memories and the friends you will make will endure forever.  Work on your autograph skills, too.

Like all forms of auto racing, stage rallies, called “velocity” rallies in Mexican, are dangerous. Make sure that your car is prepared adequately and is safe.   Drive it prudently. Remember that the first priority is to make it to the finish line, so make the car reliable.

You should review the rules of each race carefully before buying and preparing a car, especially before installing the roll cage. All cars, vintage or modern, must be pre-approved before the event.  The roll cage and other safety requirements in Mexico are FIA, which are generally higher than SCCA regional, vintage, or NASA requirements in the U.S. A check list for preparing a rally car for these events is available upon request.

If you have questions, email Mr. Gerie Bledsoe, the former North American Coordinator (Canada and the U.S.) for the Pan-Am and ChiX at geriebledsoe@gmail.com or call him at one of the phone numbers listed on the Contact page.   For info about the Pan-Am, email info@lacarrerapanamericana.com.mx. Gerie, know as Yeri in Mexico, has lived in Mexico and has raced down there for twenty-two years..

Join in the fun.  There is nothing in the world like it like it! Every corner in the mountains of Mexico is an adventure because you may find a surprise past the apex.

Bledsoe lives in Chicagoland, Illinois in the summer-fall, and becomes a “snowbird” in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida in December, winter, and spring. He also taught Mexican history in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico for thirteen years and before that was a professor of Modern European history..