Photos: Kitted-out VW preps for Baja race

The Baja 1000 route, as depicted on a Google Earth map. The off-road race began on 10 November in Ensenada, Mexico, and traverses about 2,100 kilometres. Teams have 53 hours to complete the course. They cannot go more than 60mph on the highway, and GPS tracks the teams to ensure compliance.

This year, a team from San Jose, California, known as Desert Dingo is entering the race's Class 11 (stock Volkswagens) with a 1969 VW Beetle tricked out with satellite phones and multiple GPS receivers. The team also plans to send Twitter updates from the road.

Credit: Jim Graham