Mark Miller posts an impressive 2nd place performance in Stage 5

Peterhansel Romps to Stage 5 Victory at Dakar

• USA Dakar’s Mark Miller Runner-up in Stage 5
• NASCAR’s “Flash” Gordon Stokes Inner Fire for 19 th place Stage 5 finish
• Chris Blais, Andy Grider, Jonah Street – Top 25 Overall in Africa
• Hog Wild Side Hack Succumbs To Moroccan Desert

1-4-2006

Tan Tan, Morocco – USA Dakar’s Mark Miller, a multi-SCORE Baja 1000 champion, demonstrated his talents in stage five of the Dakar Rally. Miller, driving a Volkswagen Touareg for the German Volkswagen Motorsports team, led the contingent of Volkswagen Touaregs finishing in second position behind last year’s winner, Stephane Peterhansel. The Frenchman won stage 5 ahead of Miller by a mere 1 minutes and 12 seconds after completing the 350km/210 mile special stage of racing.

Stage 5 was Mitsubishi over Volkswagen but it is still very early in the rally. The competition between the three Mitsubishi’s and five Volkswagen’s for the top spots has never been closer in a Dakar Rally. The top nine teams are separated by a mere 9 minutes after five stages of racing. Perhaps, the best is yet to come.

The European press corps has referred to Mark Miller as the American Dakar Rookie, which in fact, he is. However, Miller is far from holding off road rookie status. A veteran of more than two decades of off road racing, Miller is also an avid motorcycle rider, as well as an international off road racing champion who has captured many off road racing wins. In recent years, Miller and his racing teammate, Ryan Arciero, have dominated the Baja racing scene with back-to-back wins at the infamous Baja 1000.

Miller arrived to Tan Tan in second place driving his Volkswagen Touareg behind the strong running Mitsubishi piloted by 2004 Dakar Rally Champion - Peterhansel. Tan Tan, Morocco has been described as a non-descript desert community with a population of 10,000. This is the last stop for the Dakar Rally participants in the country of Morocco as they rally moves into Mauritania, well-known for its completely desolate terrain. The rally competitors will be tested to the extreme in the next few stages as navigation becomes more crucial than ever before.

Mark Miller is an adventure seeker who thrives on the challenges presented by such a difficult tasks. It’s not uncommon for Miller to ride off into the remote mountains of Colorado with his close friends and cover a few hundred miles of single track backcountry trails navigating with only his GPS – for merely a day ride.

Miller's second position finish resulted in his overall position moving into fourth place. Miller trails Nani Roma in third position by a slight margin of 2 minutes and 20 seconds.

After suffering a disastrous fourth stage CV flange failure, Robby Gordon roared back to life pushing his red and white Hummer H3 across the finish line in 4 hours 9 minutes and 45 seconds taking 19 th position in stage five. Gordon and co-driver, Darren Skilton’s efforts moved them up from 69 th position to 44 th position after a single stage. Gordon passed 71 cars during stage five in his quest for an All-American comeback.

Flash Gordon is on a rampage.

After today’s difficult stage, Gordon is down 4 hours 21 minutes and 2 seconds from the leader, Spaniard Carlos Sainz who pilots a Volkswagen Touareg. The question flying around the American off road nation is whether or not Gordon can climb back in contention for the top spot. Certainly, a top five is possible, but a myriad of big problems would have to occur to the top leaders in order for Gordon to have the opportunity to capture the Dakar Rally Championship and that most likely isn’t going to happen.

Of course, those that are close to the Robby Gordon Motorsports camp know that ANYTHING is possible with “Flash,” and that means anything!

OVERALL CAR RESULTS after Stage 5

STAGE 5 CAR RESULTS:

KTM Riders Chris Blais and Andy Grider continue their assault on the Moroccan desert and faired decent performances in some of the harshest terrain in the world in stage 5. Blais led the American contingent of riders finishing 12 th in the stage, which places him in 11 th position overall 55 minutes down from leader Coma. Jonah Street delivered an 18 th place finish with a time of 4 hours 24 minutes and 21 seconds following KTM Red Bull rider – Andy Grider who finished in 16 th place posting a time of 4 hours 19 minutes and 37 seconds over the 210 miles special stage.

Blais is within an hour of the leaders, Marc Coma and Cyril Despres, who have a five minute margin over third place.

OVERALL MOTO RESULTS:

The boys from Hog Wild Racing suffer a major blow in Stage 3 and are out of the rally.

The All-American Side Hack (sidecar) team, Hog Wild Racing Team - Scott Whitney and Duane McDowell has been reported out of the race in Stage 3 due to a chain/sprocket problem. Dakar Rally officials stopped Hog Wild Racing after the team was stopped for a long period of time in the first liaison of Stage 3 as they made repairs. The repairs were successful but they arrived to the beginning of the Stage 3 special beyond the time limit allowed by race officials. The Harley-Davidson Side Hack reportedly suffered front wheel sprocket problems and Whitney/McDowell had to seek out a mechanic who could fabricate them a new part. Although, they were successful in repairing the HD Side Hack, they failed to beat the clock to the special stage.

Scott Whitney is reportedly on his way home and Hog Wild Racing team members that are working here in the United States had no additional word about the Harley Davidson side hack co-driver, Duane McDowell’s travels. Team mechanic, Ralph is continuing on to Dakar in the support truck with other mechanics from other teams.

Of the three side hack race teams, only one continues on towards the completion of the Dakar Rally. Hog Wild Racing took their first stage victory in Stage 1 of the 2006 Dakar Rally and their enthusiastic charge into the wilds of Morocco were inspiring to many potential Side Hack adventurers. Already, internet bulletin boards are abounding with plans of other teams for the 2007 Dakar Rally.

Check these American team websites for the latest updates posted by team members.

9 Chris Blais – blaisracing.com
23 Andy Grider - griderracing.com
42 Jonah Street - rallypanam.com
98 Mike Krynock - rallypanam.com
99 Charlie Rauseo - rallypanam.com
180 Kevin Heath - KevinsMidLifeCrisis.com
242 Scott Whitney / Duane McDowell - HogWildRacing.com
309 Mark Miller - Mark Miller – USADakar.com
335 Robby Gordon / Darren Skilton - robbygordon.com
354 Ronn Bailey / Herve Cotel - vanguardracing.com