2007 Dakar Rally Coverage
Turbo Tom, Higman and Mischel #556 T4 - Charge to Tame Africa’s Sahara Desert
Nema, Africa (January 16, 2007) The Sahara Desert has little to offer humans and oftentimes rages on in its own manner, destroying the most prepared adventurers in the world. Creating a climate of its own within the thousands of miles covering the barren Earth’s crust, only the Nomadic tribes survive in the largest desert on the planet year round.
Nema is the small village that has become the temporary headquarters for the 29th DAKAR Rally. Due to potential violence against participants in this year’s organized adventure, ASO Officials changed the race course in Stage 10 to begin and end in Nema
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SAINZ Catches FIRE / SCHLESSER Charges to Stage 9 Victory for his second Stage WIN in the 2007 DAKAR
Story - DIRTnewz Staff / Photos Courtesy of Motorsport.com
Santee, California (January 15, 2007) DAKAR Rally race teams followed up the rest day with a long stage that tested their endurance, navigational ability and then capped it off with an overnight of no support from their crews who marched on down the African plains.
Leading to Monday's long race stage of 497km / 298.2miles, less than 200 competitors are left in the DAKAR as they push towards the end of the adventure. Stage nine featured few landmarks and some huge sand dunes that would test the skills of the co-driver/navigator and little assistance from support crews due to the extreme distance and landscape.
Driving the # 310 FOX Racing Shox / BFGoodrich Tires Super Buggy to victory today was Jean-Louis Schlesser capturing his second stage win of this 29th DAKAR.
De Villiers RUNS to Victory in Stage 8
Courtesy of Motorsport.com
Los Angeles , California (January 14, 2007)
In the car category, at rest day, the gap between leader De Villiers and the 4th in the rankings, i.e. Alphand was just above the half-hour limit. This 8th stage slightly clarified the situation but some potential winners experienced serious difficulties. If the leader in the overall rankings led the race end to end, his teammate Carlos Sainz, apart from getting stuck in the sand several times, had his first mechanical problem of the Dakar. Penalized by a faulty power steering, the Spaniard lost 1h04 on today's special stage. He is now 4th in the overall rankings behind Peter and Alphand. In terms of the final victory, VW might have lost one of its precious assets between Atar and Tichit.
De Villiers is the one getting the day's rewards as he is increasing his lead over the best of the Mitsubishi, Stéphane Peterhansel, second in Tichit at 6'35. With this second stage victory this year, he pushed Peterhansel more than 30' further in the overall rankings. A good point as well for Qatari Nasser Al Attiyah, who keeps rising in the rankings. 12th at the end of stage 6, the BMW pilot is now 5th thanks to his fourth place of the day, but also to the problems of Jean-Louis Schlesser and the recurring clutch trouble of the Mitsubishi of Hiroshi Masuoka.
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Mauritania lives up to the Dakar reputation / VILLIERS VW Toureg Takes Overall Lead with Stage 7 WIN
Courtesy of Nancy Knapp Schilke - Motorsport.com
Giniel de Villiers took his first Dakar Stage victory of 2007 on SS7, and in the process also claimed the overall lead from his Volkswagen Race Touareg teammate, Carlos Sainz, as Mauritanian sandstorms and high winds forced the organizers to change the first of two scheduled marathons in the African country from 542km to 407.6 for safety reasons.
"I'm happy that we've taken the lead by claiming stage victory on such a difficult day," de Villiers sighed. "After ten kilometres we took the wrong way, after that, we formed a group of vehicles with Stephane Peterhansel, Robby Gordon and Carlos Sainz. The car was running very well, even on an 80-kilometer leg across camel grass it felt like a charm."
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Robby Gordon VICTORIOUS at 29th DAKAR Rally's Longest Stage - Stage 6 / HUMMER FLYS AT DAKAR!
Watch Video of Robby Gordon in Stage 6 here
Robby Gordon's MONSTER/HUMMER - #556 MAN L90 Truck Piloted by Tom Geviss Still Racing Today and on torrid pace towards the Special Stage finish line!
Story - DIRTnewz Staff / Photos Courtesy of Motorsport.com
Orange, California (January 11, 2007) Massive sand dunes, deep holes, wide-open unfamiliar stretches of African desert and an intense rivalery among the international contingent of off road racers were no match for the man they call "Flash Gordon."
NASCAR team owner-driver, SCORE Baja 1000 multi-time winner and all-around "Off Road Bad Boy" put an exclamation point on the arrival of a non-factory race teams in the wilds of Africa with a HUGE VICTORY in Stage 6.
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Sainz, Peterhansel Battle Door-to-Door at Dakar's Stage 5
By
Nancy Knapp Schilke - Motorsport.com
The fifth stage of the 29th Edition of the Dakar cross-country rally turned into a show of wits between two legends: Dakar and World Rally Championship. Racing for two of the top manufacturers' factory teams, the two racers put on a display as they tackled the 325km special with the first visit by the competitors to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.
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Schlesser DRIVES FOX Racing Shox/BFG Car to Victory
Watch Video of Robby Gordon in Stage 4 here
Courtesy of Nancy Knapp Schilke - Motorsport.com
Full Story - DIRTnewz Staff / Photos - Motorsport.com
Jean-Louis Schlesser knows how to get his Schlesser-Ford buggy over the sand dunes and rocky trails in Morocco, and the Frenchman sailed to the fourth special stage win today. His closest competitors were nearly eight minutes off of his time of three hours, 59 minutes and 54 seconds.
"First and foremost, I'm devastated by the death of this young rider," stated Schlesser when he learned about Elmer Symons' fatality. "It's really terrible news."
"As far as today is concerned, I hadn't especially aimed to win here, but I knew that it was possible," the French racer continued. "I'm rather proud to have finished in front of big teams like Mitsubishi and Volkswagen. It shows that I can be competitive, even on my own and even with the resources I have. At any rate, it's a good motivation to keep on taking the race to them."
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Coma, De Villiers, Tchaguine Win first African stage
2007 Dakar Stage 3 Nador to Er Rachidia
Watch Video of Robby Gordon in Stage 3 here
Courtesy of Nancy Knapp Schilke - Motorsport.com
The first special stage on the African continent was filled with surprises on the route mixture of stones, rivers and gravel roads as the 29th Edition of Dakar competitors ran the first Morocco leg today.
The route from Nador to Er Rachidia started with a 205km liaison before the riders and drivers contested the 252km special. Navigation skills were required for the first part and some did get lost, having to make a u-turn to get back on the route while others simply met with the usual mechanical errors that seem to creep up on them when they land in Africa.
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Carlos SAINZ Victorious in Short Second Stage.
2007 Dakar Stage 2 Portiamo - Malaga
Watch Video of Robby Gordon in Stage 2 here
Nancy Knapp Schilke - Motorsport.com
World Rally Championship legend Carlos Sainz tackled the second stage today in this year's Dakar cross-country rally. The final European stage had been described as a WRC-style special covering 67km -- a short special by Dakar standards but meeting their goal of offering the competitors a challenge.
There were many types of tracks today and so many levels of grip. At places, the wheels were spinning a lot and the road was narrow," commented Sainz. "It was a nice stage but not an easy one!"
After a 15km liaison route out of Portimao, the car and bike racers headed to the mountains crossing ravines and taking it slow to not make an error so they would make it to the Malaga, Spain and the docks for the overnight ride to the African continent where the challenges will increase on the route to their final destination in Senegal: Dakar.
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Flash Gordon Mires in Mud at Stage One / Tractor tows him from Muck!
New Clutch Due After Stage 2
Watch Video of MONSTER HUMMER in Mud Here
Courtesy of the Associated Press:
PORTIMAO, Portugal (AP) January 6, 2007 - Robby Gordon is the only NASCAR driver competing in the Dakar Rally, an off-road road race from Portugal to Dakar that covers 4,918 miles. In 2005, he became the first American to win a stage of the grueling event.
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Dakar Rally Kicks Off In Lisbon - VW Carlos Sousa Rallies Toureg 2 to lead
Robby Gordon settles for 13th position after Stage 1 - Lisbon to Portimao
Portimao, Portugal - (January 6, 2007) The coast of Portugal tested an international contingency of off road racers in the initial stage of the 2007 Dakar Rally. Beginning along the scenic coast of the Lisbon, Portugal, the capital, the heavy fog caused racers to use extreme caution as they raced through thousands of fans lining the course. Battling not just the fog and deep sand and mud, race teams were merely pleased to get through the first stage after months of anticipation for the beginning of this world-class event.
Leading the field was Carlos Sousa driving his VW Toureg 2 featuring a turbo diesel powerplant and four-wheel drive. The 40-year-old Portugal native finished the special stage in 1 hour 20 minutes and 38 seconds to Robby Gordon's time of 1 hour 29 minutes and 22 seconds.
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Racer Robby Gordon and Micron Technology to Digitally Capture Video of Legendary Dakar Rally
Visit Robby Gordon's You Tube Channel for the latest video updates!
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C., and BOISE, Idaho, Jan. 4, 2007 – Robby Gordon, one of the racing world’s most versatile drivers, is teaming with Micron Technology to digitally capture video of Gordon in action at the 29th Dakar Rally that begins Jan. 6 in Lisbon, Portugal, and ends 15 stages and 7,915 kilometers later in Dakar, Senegal.
Video of the legendary competition will be captured using innovative Micron image sensors and NAND flash memory technology specially outfitted on Gordon’s Monster Energy, Toyo Tires-HUMMER H3 Dakar racer. Video from the in-car cameras, which are programmed to record at set intervals or can be activated by Gordon at the push of a button while driving, will be available at http://www.micron.com/dakar with regular race updates on the Robby Gordon Motorsports website at http://www.robbygordon.com.
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Monster Energy's TEAM Dakar USA Arrives to Portugal for Dakar Rally
Flash Gordon Set To Rock Africa and Kill The Rabbit!
Visit Robby Gordon's You Tube Channel for the latest video updates!
Lisbon, Portugal . (January 3, 2007)
Monster Energy and Robby Gordon Off-Road arrived to the capital of Portugal in Lisbon in search of victory at the famed Dakar Rally.
The attitude among this hot shot team is all about putting the Monster Energy HUMMER H3 on the podium at the finish line in Dakar some 18 days from today.
The Dakar Rally, arguably the world’s most demanding and grueling motorsports event, will start Jan. 6 in Lisbon, Portugal and end Jan. 21 in Dakar, Senegal – 6,500 miles and seven countries later.
The 19-person TEAM Dakar USA managed to arrive to this capital city intact after two grueling long flights. Robby and his dad, Baja Bob Gordon, along with two other crew members flew ahead to Belgium where they took possession of the team support trucks and caravanned from Belgium through France into Spain before crossing the border into Portugal and arriving to port city of Lisbon.
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Monster Energy Joins Forces with Robby Gordon Off-Road
In World-Wide Motorsports Marketing Program
CORONA, Calif. (Dec. 27, 2006)
Monster Energy and Robby Gordon Off-Road have entered into an agreement that will team Monster Energy with Gordon’s world-wide off-road racing efforts including the famed Dakar Rally and the team’s SCORE International Trophy Truck program.
The Dakar Rally, arguably the world’s most demanding and grueling motorsports event, will start Jan. 6 in Lisbon, Portugal and end Jan. 21 in Dakar, Senegal – 6,500 miles and seven countries later. The SCORE International Off-Road series consists of six races, including the Baja 500 and the granddaddy of all off-road races the Baja 1000.
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The Route Modified
12-23-2006
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised against the organisation of the 10th and 11th stages of the 29th edition of the Dakar. The rally organisers, who resolved to follow the recommendations of the Ministry, have thus decided to cancel the two Nema-Timbuktu and Timbuktu-Nema stages, programmed for the 16th and 17th of January 2007. In spite of the extensive surveillance and the guarantees provided by the Mali authorities, this precautionary measure is vital in safeguarding the security of the competitors.
Initially planed in Timbuktu, the appointment with Mali where the welcome of the spectators confirms the interest of the nation’s leaders for the Dakar, will be pushed two days later.
The sporting teams of the rally having considered an alternative solution, a loop stage Nema-Nema, including a timed sector of 376 kilometres, will be organised on the 16th of January. The following day, the competitors will enjoy half a rest day, and will then take to the road for a liaison stage of approximately 280 km towards Ayoun-el-Atrous (Mauritania), where the start of the stage will be given on the 18th January, towards Kayes (Mali).
GEVISS Tapped for AFRICA DUTY!
TEAM DAKAR USA Names Turbo Tom as "Driver of Record" in new Robby Gordon MAN Race Support Truck
FOX Racing SHOX Athlete & Off Road Racing Champ Joins Robby Gordon's TEAM DAKAR USA at DAKAR Rally
DirtNewz Staff
Orange, California (December 15, 2006) – In the late 1970's at Riverside Raceway, a tall lanky 12-year boy sloughed around in the pits of some of the nation's fledging off road racing teams. Many thought the 6-0 foot stringbean was 17 or 18 years old, that until he opened his mouth and made a 12-year type of remark.
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Seeking out dedicated team members who can commit to months of weekends and late nights is not an easy task in itself, let alone those same team members will be racing in Africa for nearly thirty days. It's not your average desert racer who can take off to Africa for nearly a month.
