Gus Vildosola put on an impressive performance down the stretch to narrowly defeat B.J. Baldwin and take home his second career Baja 1000 victory.
Vildosola, competing in the Trophy Trucks class, proved to be too much for Baldwin.
Baldwin ran a good race, but still wound up 15 minutes and 56 seconds off ofVildosola’s final time of 19 hours 44 minutes and 51 seconds.
With the win, Vildosola has now won the event in two of the last three years. He won the event in 2010 with a time of 19 hours and four seconds.
The Baja 1000 is one of the most unique and grueling races in all of motor sports.
Drivers from all around the world compete in a wide variety of vehicles, including buggies, trucks and motorcycles in a four-day race that encompasses over 1,000 miles from Ensenseda, B.C. to La Paz, B.C.
With drivers going cross country in brutal conditions over the span of four days, success requires a never-ending supply of endurance and focus.
Vildosola put both characteristics on full display as he battled from behind to separate himself from the pack over the duration of the long race.
B.J. Baldwin held the lead at the 500 mile mark, but Vildolsola used the last half of the race as the launching pad for his eventual victory.
With the strong finish, Vildosola ensured the Trophy Truck victory, but he’ll have to wait and see if his time is good enough to claim the overall championship.
At the time of this article, the motorcycle class had yet to finish. A motorcycle has posted the best time in the race nine times in the last decade, but Vidosola out ran the motorcycle class in his 2010 victory. (BleacherReport.com)
