Michael SatterfieldWhen you picture the start of a historic road rally in Mexico, you expect roaring engines, checkpoint flags fluttering in the wind, and a grid full of vintage machinery ready to carve through rugged terrain. What you don’t expect is a rally with more heartbreak than horsepower. But that’s precisely what I found when I followed the inaugural Rally Historico Transpeninsular in 2015.
The new mini-documentary, just released on my YouTube channel, dives headfirst into what became a cinematic exercise in grit, improvisation, and sheer stubbornness. What was meant to be a full-scale production following my adventure driving a retro-inspired rally down the Baja Peninsula instead unraveled into a chaotic handful of days that pushed everyone involved to the edge.
Originally slated to compete in my Austin Healey “El Guapo,” I abandoned the idea when the rally was canceled, only to be revived with just days to try to get a car prepped for a race. By that time, our chase truck and trailer driver had made other plans, and my co-driver had decided to take the time he had planned off and go to Japan.
So I wasn’t going to be able to race, but I was invited to tag along and capture photos and video, so with cameras packed and passport in hand, I made the call to go anyway. What followed was part road trip, documentary salvage mission, and existential crisis.
The rally’s starting grid? Just three cars: a classy MGA, a scrappy Porsche 914, and a rumbling Studebaker that didn’t make it past the first few hours of the rally. Not quite the historic grid we had all envisioned, but those three were enough to set the story in motion.
The film, built from hours of footage and half-finished plans, chronicles not just the would-be Rally Historico, but the spirit of the people behind it. It’s about what happens when the wheels fall off your best-laid plans (figuratively, in most cases) and how the love of adventure keeps you rolling anyway.
While the rally was practically canceled before it ever began, what emerged is a raw and honest account of four unpredictable days south of the border. This isn’t the film I set out to make. In some ways, it’s more fun.
I’ll definitely come back and read more of your content.
great video
Still looks like an adventure
You should come to Indonesia and do such a rally.
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This is so awesome!
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You always deliver high-quality content. Thanks again!
What I really liked this video, you need to do more of this.
I really like watching the part where the car is on fire and the codriver is freaking out. Also, thank you for allowing me to comment!
Keep writing! Your content is always so fun.
Nice write-up about the rally—it’s crazy how things can change last minute. Do you think the Baja Peninsula still holds good spots for this kind of rally despite all the setbacks you mentioned? Wondering if it’s worth a visit for a fan of historic races.
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