After a long race that took just under 20 hours to complete, Carlos Apdaly Lopez has managed to finish first in the Trophy Truck class at the 2017 Baja 1000 presented by BFGoodrich tires.
The 22-year old Mexican-born racer won the Baja 500 back in 2015, but this year he managed to battle to the front of the pack at the Baja 1000. Apdaly finished with a fairly commanding lead, with the closest Trophy Truck behind roughly 60 miles back when he finished.
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Cameron Steele finished the race second in with a time of 20 hours and 52 minutes, while Dan McMillin came third with a time of 21:22.
Lopez’s average speed for the race was 56.5 mile per hour, while his total moving time was 19 hours and 56 minutes. His Trophy Truck was stopped for a total of 10 minutes during the race. One of Apdaly’s co-drivers was his father, making the win that much more special. Apdaly started the race and drove to race mile 454, when his father Juan C. Lopez took over and drove to race mile 991. Then they switched back and Apdaly Lopez drove to the finish.
“It was a very rough race and the course was very dusty but we are here. Just before the sun set, the fog on the beach was very bad,” said Lopez at the finish line. “We have been looking forward to this for a year and everything went as we planned it. Next year we are going to try and win another championship. This win is significant to me because I’ve always dreamed about winning the SCORE Baja 1000 and to win with my dad is amazing. Baja is family and my little brother is driving a Class 1 so my whole family is racing in the 1000. My mom was even on the highway chasing for all of us.”
The win also means that Apdaly Lopez will be taking home the $50,000 cash prize from BFGoodrich that was announced just before the race.
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There were plenty of lead changes to this race, with Bryce Menzies, Dan McMillin, Robby Gordon and Rob MacCachren leading for a period of time during the race, but they couldn’t hold on. MacCachren had to bow out of the race due to mechanical failure, while Robby Gordon also had mechanical issues that cause him to fall way behind. Gordon is still on course at the time of publishing.
Apdaly is the two-time defending season point champion, and this win should solidify his third season in a row as the overall points leader for Trophy Trucks in the four-race World Desert Championship. Apdaly is chasing points leader Justin Matney, who is currently on course but not moving.
We will update results from all the classes as they come in officially.