• Ernie Vigil will now race the Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE at the NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally.

• He was injured before the Baja 1000 Rally and the program was shelved.

• The Triumph Scrambler 1200 line-up is the most off-road capable among all scramblers.

Ernie Vigil is back and will race a Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE at the NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally.

Triumph announced their plans to return the Baja 1000 Rally following the launch of the Scrambler 1200 XE and XC as they were keen to show that the Scrambler 1200 line-up is the most off-road capable among all scramblers. This was why it is dubbed the “Real Deal”.

Additionally, the rally is a homecoming of sorts for the manufacturer as Steve McQueen and Bud Ekins won there numerous times on the TR6 Trophy.

However, an injury befell rider Ernie Vigil (who’s also Triumph’s stunt rider) and the plans were shelved.

But Vigil has now fully recovered and the program is back online. He has since trained on the Scrambler 1200 for more than 9,000 kilometres in off-road conditions.

The Scrambler 1200 XE that vigil rides will be mostly stock. The only additions are to make the bike safe for desert rallying such as a desert racing seat, lights, grips and extreme profile sand tyres. The suspension, engine, electronics are all stock.

While the NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally doesn’t sound as glamorous as the Baja 1000 Rally, it actually uses the same route as the Baja Rally in Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. As the name suggests, it covers 1,000 miles (1600 kilometres) through the desert strewn with deep sand, rocks and quicksand.