Countdown to the 2025 Baja 1000 with Christopher Polvoorde

In this week’s edition of the RACER Debrief, RACER editor-in-chief Laurence Foster speaks with Christopher Polvoorde, one of the rising stars of the headlining Trophy Truck class at the 58th SCORE Baja 1000.  And like a Trophy Truck, they cover a lot of ground.

The Californian will be suiting up alongside seven-time off-road champion Bryce Menzies, and his plan for the event is clear-cut.

“Ultimately, the perfect day is, I go out, qualify first, and I go cruise my section,” says Polvoorde. “Don't have flat tires, don't have any issues, and give the truck to Bryce with, you know, five minutes, 10 minutes, 15-minute lead – which is very unrealistic.

“But I think if I could give him a couple-minute lead, then I let him handle the business – which I'm confident he can do – and then bring it home. That's one of the advantages of his truck, him finishing, is if he needs to make up the time, he can do it because it's his truck. And that's where Bryce is awesome. Bryce is one of the greatest of all time. So he can put on time if it needs it.

“But yeah, ultimately qualify first and lead all day without any issues. I mean, there's just so many variables that you can't plan for.”

In a wide-ranging chat, Polvoorde discusses how the top teams prepare for an event like Baja, how he and Menzies plan to tackle the race and why he eats tacos less often than you’d think when he’s in Mexico.

They also cover his rise through the short-course ranks, differences between various off-road racing vehicles, and why competing at Baja is like being a driver and an entire pitwall all rolled into one:“In F1, they got strategists and all this stuff. Deep down in Baja, I'm calling the strategy and I'm also trying to hang onto this 1200 horsepower, fire-breathing Trophy Truck. But it's kind of fun. It tests you mentally, processing all that information while at insane speed.”

Check out the entire conversation below.