If you’re into vintage off-road racing or you just want to race off-road in Baja without the pressure of something like the Baja 1000, then you should check out the sort of event that the National Off Road Racing Association (NORRA) has been putting on for the last few years. The originator of the “Baja 1000,” NORRA, resurfaced after decades to bring off-road racers the NORRA 1000, a multi-day “run-for-fun” event that has grown by leaps and bounds.

NORRA events are especially motorcycle-friendly, keeping them many hours apart from the trucks and cars on the course.

Now, also looking to bring top level, international-style Rally Raid motorsports to North American soil, NORRA recently announced plans for a new three day “Cortez Rally” event for 2015. The Cortez Rally will run in conjunction with the 2015 General Tire NORRA Mexican 1000. Competitors can run each race separately, or for enthusiasts seeking to take on a longer trans-Baja Rally Raid experience, the two events can be combined to comprise the aptly named seven-day “Cortez Challenge.”

The Cortez Challenge will start in Mexicali, Baja Mexico and is comprised of three days of competition at the Cortez Rally followed by a rest day that precedes another four days of Mexican 1000 competition. To aid NORRA in making its new vision a reality, it has partnered with Rally Raid veteran Darren Skilton, a two-time winner and former American envoy to the Dakar Rally. In addition, Skilton will serve as NORRA’s official “Rally Master” for the Mexican 1000’s Evolution, Rally Raid, and new Historic Trophy classes for 2015, and beyond.

While NORRA’s highly popular four-day Mexican 1000 run down Baja’s scenic peninsula from Ensenada to Cabo San Lucas is the sanctioning body’s main focus, the new Cortez Rally will follow an international style of rally raid competition that includes on-road “transit stages,’ off-road “special sections,” and overnight stops.

NORRA has perfected this format over the past five years of hosting the Mexican 1000, and for 2015 has introduced changes to its Evolution, Rally Raid, and Historic Trophy categories by mandating road book and odometer-only navigation that falls in line with international Rally Raids and future Cortez Rally events. If you want to run your first Baja race, and have a really good time doing it, this just might be the place to start.