LA PAZ, Mexico — KMC-backed driver Carlos “Apdaly” Lopez scored an historic win at the Baja 1,000 on Friday. As the sun broke above the horizon just after 6 a.m., Lopez brought the orange RPM Off-Road Team truck across the line in first place overall.
Racing for the RPM Off-Road Team on forged beadlock KMC XD Machete wheels, the 22-year-old racer put in a measured drive, steadily climbing the rankings with the passing of each successive checkpoint. He achieved an unofficial time of 20 hours and three minutes in the gruelling point-to-point drive some 1,134 miles along the length of the Baja Peninsula.
Lopez was an early favorite for a strong result. The winner of the SCORE International Trophy Truck championship in 2015 and 2016, the young driver made his debut in the championship at the 2011 Baja 250 and won the gold medal in the Stadium Super Trucks class at the X Games Austin 2014. His father, Juan Carlos Lopez, is also a professional off-road racer.