VW celebrates 50 years of the NORRA 1000 with Bruce, Baja Bugs and Buggies, the original Bruce Meyer
Nobody asked me, but . . .
I spent a couple of days in Barstow recently. Actually, to be more precise, it was the Stoddard Valley off-highway vehicle area outside the city of Barstow where Volkswagen had set up camp, literally and figuratively, to celebrate 50 years of the running of the NORRA Baja 1000 off road race. As VW described the planned activities, I suggested that it would be impossible to celebrate the event without the presence of the man who was more responsible for the creation of NORRA than any other person: Bruce Meyers, the Meyers with the S at the end of his name. The Meyers whom you would never expect to find on the straight and narrow because the terrain in Baja is often narrow, but never straight and it pays dividends if you know how to negotiate the esses. The Meyers who created the original fiberglass dune buggy, the Meyers Manx, which beat the world’s best professional motorcycle riders time from Tijuana to La Paz in 1966 by more than 5 hours . . . in a Meyers Manx, the very first ever built, with Bruce’s friend and co-pilot, Ted Mangles, riding shotgun with jerry cans full of gasoline filling the foot well and three steel cylinders filled with fuel strapped to the front and sides of the buggy.
A press release on this record-setting run went viral, courtesy of John and Elaine Bond and the editors of Road & Track magazine. NORRA was born and in 1967 Meyers Manxes came in first overall and second in their class in the first official race, the Mexican 1000. This started the off-road revolution and eventually Score’s Baja 1000 off-road race. In those early years, probably two-thirds of all the race cars were powered by VW air-cooled 4-cylinder engines.
You’ll find lots more history on the Manx website (www.meyersmanx.com) and in a book penned by Bruce named Call to Baja. Off-road history and racing buffs can purchase the book from the Meyers website.
I picked up Bruce from the world headquarters of Meyers Manx in Valley Center, California in a 2017 Passat 1.8T SEL Premium 4-door sedan loaned to me by VW after I told them I would probably drive him out to Barstow in my ’67 Manx. VW thought something newer and more comfortable might be more appropriate. Little did they realize that the evening before I picked Bruce up, he had returned from a 4-day Manx trip to Baja leading seven other Manx enthusiasts on a Baja adventure driving one of his latest creations. So much for air conditioning, lane departure warnings, blind spot monitoring, Apple Car Play and a smooth, comfortable ride. LOL. But after spending nearly four hours driving with me to Barstow, Bruce commented, “Even the back seat drivers will say this is a very nice ride.”
As we turned right off Highway 15 onto Barstow Road, we quickly left civilization behind. We were rolling through high desert with nothing but hills, cactus and desert brush for company. About 10 mile down the road I pointed out some buildings in the distance. “Must be our lunch stop,” I commented. “At least that’s what the GPS is implying.”
“And what’s that,” Bruce asked?
“It’s a place called the Slash X Cafe,” I replied.
“Slash X? Did you say the Slash X Cafe? I can’t believe it,” Bruce exclaimed. “We used to take our motorcycles out here and ride ‘em all over the hills. 1970s. Barstow was just a dot on the map back then. Slack X was about the only place you could get lunch and a beer. Can’t believe it. Nearly 40 years since I’ve been there.”
According to Bruce the Slash X is still the Slash X: high desert rustic, with great food and friendly service. After lunch, we followed the VW folks out to their Stoddard Valley campsite with an admonition from VW’s PR chief, Mark Gillies, that we drive carefully to avoid bottoming the Passat.
An interesting desert road. Washboard evolving into ever-larger ripples, like waves building up and cresting in the ocean. Make your way but don’t make waves!
At camp we were met by the folks from ProjectBaja.com, which is made up of four friends, who in 2011 on a shoe-string budget and with little off-road experience decided to take on Baja. Over the next three-and-a-half years they built their 1970 Volkswagen into a competitive Class 11 Baja Bug in which they have competed in the Score Baja 1000. They had brought their Bug, VW had brought another Baja Bug, which they owned, and there also was a Class 9 single seater for the media to drive.
Great fun.
For many in the media who had never met Bruce before and knew little of his off-roading and other exploits (subject of another book Bruce is writing), it was an opportunity to converse with an automotive legend. Bruce is the modern embodiment of a Renaissance Man. Among the many automotive greats I have known during my automotive career, I reserve that title for a very special few.
Surfer dude, adverturer, stow-away, explorer, artist, engineer, musician, designer, war hero. Each a lifetime for most people. But not Bruce Meyers.
It’s impossible not to like Bruce. But get to know him as well I do, and you will love the man.
