The 2023 edition of the SCORE Baja 1000 marked the event's 50th Anniversary and would start in La Paz for the first time, ending in Ensenada, a journey of 1,300 off-road miles in some of the roughest terrain on the planet. As the race got underway, stories began to emerge on social media of a lone motorcycle rider who was racing the event as an Ironman (solo), on a used motorcycle, with no pit crew. 

In fact, the rider, who had come to the US from Australia by way of the Netherlands, had purchased a used KTM 500 EXC off Craigslist in San Diego and ridden it to the starting line in La Paz, a 960-mile journey on Baja's infamous highways.  When he arrived at the starting line, repairs had to be made to a cracked subframe, and the worn-out tires needed to be replaced before officials would allow the bike to even start the race.  Without the opportunity to pre-run the course, the rider set off on his first-ever SCORE International race in the middle of the night, navigating by the stars.

The rider was Wouter-Jan Van Dijk. During the race, followers on social media gave him the nickname 'Wooty' although Wouter-Jan tells ORMHOF that his real nickname is 'Dutchie'.

Stopping at convenience stores for fuel, and wolfing down food offered by fellow racers and pit crews, Dutchie managed to cross the first checkpoint at RM 233 first in class.  By RM 599 he was still running second, but he had become first in the hearts and minds of off-road fans following along on the race tracker and social media.  Pit crews along the race course began to learn of Dutchie and his amazing attempt to solo the race without formal support, and they began to organize into a defacto combination cheerleading squad and pit support team along the remainder of the 1,300-mile route, offering food, fuel, water, and encouragement, with photos posting to social media at each stop.

With less than 100 miles to go in the race, Dutchie's navigation system fell off and he damaged a wheel, bending it so far it wouldn't hold air.  While his back was turned at his next pit stop, his fellow racers zip-tied the tire to the wheel so tightly that it could still hold air. “I didn’t even know they were doing it,” Dutchie said. “I went to the map to look at it, and before I knew it, they filled the tank and started zip-tying the wheel and all over the bike.”

With the clock counting up toward the race's 50-hour limit, Dutchie crossed the finish line. His time, including penalties, was 48:27.03.  He was an Ironman finisher of the Baja 1000 and well deserving of an Impact Award from the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in the Adventure category!

In his own words:

I am Wouter Jan and I am 31 years old. I was born in the Netherlands and am currently living in Queensland, Australia. I have always been interested in active sports and motorbikes have been a big part of this.

"I love new adventures and although I haven't been very successful in any kind of race. I still enter them and have a good time joining the races and whatever comes with it." -- Wouter-Jan Van Dijk

My background as a mechanic helps me to keep my old fleet of bikes going although at the moment most of them are broken down.

When asked about the future, Wouter Jan said, "I guess I'd always be riding bikes off-road, and who knows, maybe jump to 4 wheels, but for now I am quite happy with 2 wheels."

Wouter Jan would like to thank Shane Moss, the friend who suggested the idea of entering the Baja 1000.