Pilot Juan Cruz Yacopini, Baja world champion, in serious condition after suffering an accident

The Argentine rally driver Juan Cruz Yacopini (Toyota Gazoo Racing), current Baja world champion, suffers serious multiple trauma with spinal shock after jumping into the water in a shallow area in the El Carrizal dam, in the Argentine province of Mendoza, the Clarín newspaper reported this Saturday.

According to the Argentine media, Cruz, 26 years old and who was beginning to prepare to participate in the 2026 Dakar Rally with the Toyota Gazoo Racing team, was sailing with friends in a boat along the dam when he decided to jump into the water; The shallow depth of the area caused it to hit the bottom.

Those present rushed him to a meeting point where an ambulance was waiting, which took him to the hospital. During that trip to the hospital, the man from Mendoza suffered cardiorespiratory arrest, although medical professionals managed to stabilize him.

At the Alfredo Ítalo Perrupato Hospital in San Martín he was diagnosed with severe polytrauma and spinal shock, and from there he was transferred to the Cuyo Clinic in the same town. Cruz remains admitted there in serious condition.

Cruz participated in five editions of the Dakar Rally and in 2025 he achieved his best position, seventh in the car category, together with Catalan co-driver Dani Oliveras. Also this year, he was crowned champion of the Cross-Country Baja World Cup of the International Automobile Federation (FIA).