If you wanted a specific machine for a week off-roading in Mexico, I wouldn’t change a thing. The 2025 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster Trialmaster did the job perfectly. A 3.0-liter BMW engine hides under that boxy retro skin. Reliable. Powerful. Plenty of room for gear, too.
Slow Baja caters to old rigs. Vintage Jeeps. Land Cruisers. Land Rovers. But the Ineos looks right at home with them. Classic cred? Yeah. It fits in.
Guest of honor Sal Fish chatting with ranch owner Raul Aguiar. Betting on what they were talking about? Probably the time Fish kicked Aguiar off the Baja 1000 course. He did it often.
“I kicked my own partner out of the race. Mickey Thompson. More than once.”
The truck worked. It served as a mobile stage for organizer Michael Emery and the trip’s real boss: Frank the dachshund. He eats all that dog food? Not just him. We hit up an animal rescue along the way.
I know, we usually post the fancy overlanding setups. Expensive interiors. Sleek tents. But if you just want to be above scorpion level, a cheap tent in the bed works fine. Saves cash. Don’t use it if it’s windy though. I learned that the hard way.
Sal Fish as my co-driver. Best possible outcome. Every stop had a story. Race disasters. Arguments with landowners who didn’t want racers crossing their dirt. His favorites? The early days. No phones. No GPS. You just pointed south and drove until you hit something.
Met so many people named Mark. Pretty sure that is one of the Marks. Can’t tell.
Cargo piled up. Badly. Smaller vehicles suffered. By the time we reached Baja Animal Outreach, the Grenadier held every pound of dog food donations plus a cooler and several camp chairs. It swallowed everything.
How do I always look off-road? Usually, I’m hunched over the wheel like a nearsighted lemur taking the helm by mistake. Peering past the hood. Terrified. This? This actually looked glorious. Although I did open a window. A lot of dust came in. My bad.
Sal pointed out the coast. “New section,” he said.
“Since when?” I asked.
I asked because I’m an idiot.
He paused. Looked at the horizon. “Dead end. In the ocean.”
Watching the sunset with new friends. And their rescued puppy. Is there really anything better than that? I don’t think so. Not quite sure how we got there, but here we are.
