A Lexus LX 570 featuring the same engine, chassis and gearbox as the road-going model won its class in what driver Joe Bacal called the toughest Baja 500 race yet. Bacal, a legendary test driver and former Baja winner, drove the LX 570 to victory in the Stock Full class, covering the 500-mile (804.6km) route through Mexico’s Baja California peninsula in 19 hours and 56 minutes.
Bacal won the Baja 1000 in the same LX last November and completed both races as the sole driver. No other class competitors made it to the finish in a race that is notoriously tough on machinery. The LX handled the extreme conditions so well that Bacal said he ran faster than smaller class competitors and even had the capacity to pull out stuck vehicles so they could continue the race.
The LX 570, run by US-based JTGrey Racing, features the road car’s 5.7-litre V8 engine, six-speed sequential automatic gearbox, chassis and electronics. The only modifications are the inclusion of safety equipment, including roll cage, racing suspension and 37-inch tyres to cope with the desert terrain.
