THE DUST
Ensenada's Ramón Castro Turned a Local Club Into RECORD Off-Road
A Class 11 champion from Ensenada runs the series that grew out of the San Vicente Ferrer club, and its 2026 season ends with a 500 that starts and finishes at home.
Updated October 21, 2026
Ramón "Tomatón" Castro grew up in Ensenada. He went racing in Class 11, the stock VW Bug class, where the cars look like they drove in from the grocery store and then have to survive Baja.
He won the Class 11 title in 1983, then again in 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989. In 1989 he drove from Ensenada to La Paz alone, with no co-driver, in 27 hours and 46 minutes. No one in the class went faster.
Back home, a local club called San Vicente Ferrer was putting on races. That club grew into the RECORD Off-Road Series. Castro still runs it. Its San Vicente and Rancho La Vuelta races have each passed their 29th running, and a single Ensenada to San Felipe 250 has drawn 242 teams.
The 2026 season closes with the 500 RECORD Ensenada Special Edition, December 4-6, on a loop that starts and finishes in Ensenada.
Registration opens November 1 at recordoffroad.com.mx. Teams pay registration by category, plus insurance: $200 USD covers four people in a truck, or three on motos and ATVs, and each extra person is $20. The GPS tracker rents for 1,500 pesos, with a 1,500 peso deposit.
Then come safety and mechanical inspection. At the start, every vehicle carries its GPS and every driver wears an ID wristband. At the end, every GPS comes back with its base, whether you finished or not. Keep it and you drop to last in your class.
What was the first local off-road race you ever went out to watch, and what do you remember about it?
True races. Still kicking.