During the Baja 500 last week, Lexus LX 570 racer Joe Bacal drove off the side of a mountain — here he is talking with Lexus Magazine about the experience:
Bacal: Then, up on a narrow section in the high mountains, we came up behind a broken-down vehicle. The road was narrow, but they told us several vehicles had already passed around them, and everything looked OK from our perspective. But as I got to the front, my right tire dropped, I couldn’t recover, and we went off the mountain, slamming into several big rocks on the way down, and finally ended up wedged against a rock with the vehicle on its side.
Lexus Magazine: Was everybody OK?
Yeah, we’re fine. The vehicle’s modifications include roll cages. We’re a little sore, but I think my ego is bruised more than anything else. I’m not one to make mistakes, and I’m kind of beating myself up about it. But that’s racing.
What’s the condition of your race vehicle?
Pretty bad. But do you want to know the amazing thing? After we winched it back up to the road, it actually drove all the way back to base camp under its own power, 50 miles away. It didn’t leak any oil, and the alignment was pretty good. I mean, you’d think the alignment would be way off after all that!
Glad to hear both Bacal and his co-driver Chris Cocores are ok. From the sounds of things, it doesn’t look like this crash will slow the team down at all — Joe and the JTGrey Racing are already working on their next LX.
Read the full interview with Joe Bacal (plus a video of wrecked LX)
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