Baja XL Rally - A look back at the 2019 Race

Photos & Story by Ted Donovan

“Anyone. By Anything. By Any Means.”

The 2019 Baja XL Rally stages

With the Baja XL Rally Race returning in January/February 2025, I thought I'd post some of my photos, in stages, of the Baja XL Race in January/February 2019 that Michael Emery and I tackled.

For those of you that don't know, the Baja XL is a rally race from Los Angeles to Los Cabos and back in 10 days. In 2019, we had overnights at Rancho El Coyote, Catavina, Puerto Lopez Mateos, Todos Santos, Cabo Pulmo, Ciudad Constitucion, Bahia Concepcion/Mulege, Mission San Borja and San Felipe and then back to the US.

From the organizers:

"The BAJA XL is a minimal assistance road rally. There are no rescue trucks, medical helicopters or travel guides. You have to rely on your own wits and resources to get out of trouble. The BAJA XL is open to “anyone by anything”. If it’s street legal you can drive it. The rally is open to cars, motorcycles, trucks and whatever else you can think of."

Personally it was amazing and am happy to have run it again in 2021. We met people from around the world and every vehicle you can think of was in the rally (including the scooters in the photos below).

If you get a chance, take a listen to the two Slow Baja podcasts with Baja XL founder Andrew Szabo:

2023 - https://www.slowbaja.com/episodes/3tkyw0q0quq6ecv39dm92gb7ieh48f

2020 - https://www.slowbaja.com/episodes/andrewszabo

Enjoy the photos I took. There's a bunch ;)








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