Central Europe Rally:
Top 10 finish for Jonah Street and Team Top 1 Oil / Rally PanAm
Balatonfured, Hungary - After 7 days competing against the best cross-country rally racers in the world, Jonah Street has emerged in 9th position overall. In this tight and technical rally, the team is very happy with this result. Jonah finished special test sections three times on the podium, and often in the top 5. Still relatively new to this type of competition, the team gauges its progress against more established teams. Rally PanAm knows that Jonah can compete alongside, and often ahead of, the best in the world.
Team Dakar USA Holds Strong, Gordon 8th Overall, Baldwin Moves up to 15th After Finishing 5th in Today's Stage
Veszprem, Hungary April 23 ,2008 – It was a seesaw day for Team Dakar USA. Over the past three stages when things have gone well for Robby Gordon and his Monster Hummer, BJ Baldwin and the Vanguard Hummer has had its set of challenges. Today the roles were reversed.
April 21,2008 - The second stage of the Central Europe Rally has come to an end. Robby Gordon raged the Toyo Tires/ Monster Energy Hummer to 11th place, putting him in 7th overall. BJ Baldwin finished 15th in 1 hour 7 minutes and 26 seconds. 8:14 minutes behind the winner, which will put him in 18th place overall.
Jonah Street and Team Top Rally PanAm are 5th overall after 2 days of the Central Europe Rally
 Baia Mare, Romania - After the first two days of the Central Europe Rally, the team is in Transylvania, preparing for five more days of intense rally competition. This event is the first of the Dakar Series, attracting most of the world's best cross-country rally talent.
Jonah Street finished the first three stages in 8th, 3rd, and 9th positions, and now stands in 5th position overall, about 2 minutes out of 2nd place. The wet, muddy and rocky conditions can be very dangerous for large and powerful rally bikes, so Jonah is riding fast but conservatively.
Robby Gordon and the Monster Energy/Toyo Tires/Hummer H3 Charge The Central Europe Rally
April 18,2008 - Monster Energy's Robby Gordon is, undoubtedly, one of the most versatile and resourceful automobile racers in the world. During his illustrious career, Gordon has won races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the CART Champ Car Series, the SCORE International Off-Road Series, the Trans-Am Series and the IMSA Series. The list goes on. However, way deep down, Robby Gordon is an off-road racer. So much so that he's about to take a hiatus from massive crowds and asphalt high banks of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to travel halfway around the world to compete in, arguably, the most prestigious off-road race on the planet.
April 20,2008 - Budapest, Hungary – American driver Robby Gordon and his Monster Energy Toyo Tire blazed to a second place finish in the first stage of the inaugural Central European Rally. The stage began before a large crowd at Hero's Square in Budapest where the teams were introduced to the spectators. The competitors then drove to beginning of the special 58km away in Dabas. More like a WRC style rally course rather than the marathon wide open stages of the Dakar, Gordon and navigator Andy Grider laid siege to the tight twisty tree lined narrow track.
HUMMER RACING SET TO COMPETE ON TWO CONTINENTS THIS WEEKEND
April 16, 2008 - HUMMER off-road racing teams are making final preparations to demonstrate their off-road prowess on opposite sides of the globe this weekend. The competition begins with Team HUMMER’s entry in the BITD Terrible’s 250 at Primm and concludes with Robby Gordon Motorsport’s Team Dakar USA’s HUMMER H3 in the Central Europe Rally.
Central Europe Rally - Snow in Romania: change of the route
April 9, 2008 - The organizers had to change the route of the Romanian part of the Central Europe Rally (April 20 -- 26) because of the snow in the region of Sovata.
Petersen Motorsports Announces 2008 Dakar Rally Series Program Central Europe Rally Marks Debut of American Team and Driver Mike Petersen
Las Vegas, Nev., USA (April 17, 2008) - Michael Petersen (Las Vegas, Nev., USA) announced his participation in the 2008 Dakar Rally Series today from his home in Las Vegas, Nev., USA. The one-time Dakar Rally starter (2007) is anxious to return to the sport after the disappointing cancelation of the Euromilhões Dakar 2008 in January.
Ramses’ Rally Journal to Provide Ongoing Coverage of Central Europe Rally
CYPRESS, CALIFORNIA (April 9, 2008) – Toyo Tires™, Robby Gordon and Team Dakar USA return to Europe April 19 – 26 to compete in the Central Europe Rally, the first event to be run under the “Dakar Series” certification by the Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.). Beginning in Budapest, Hungary, the Central Europe Rally will cover 2,972 kilometers, approximately 1,846 miles, with seven stages over an extremely varied and technical route. The competition vehicle for this event is a specially prepared Hummer H3 racer equipped with 35x12.50R17 Toyo Open Country M/T®-R race tires, the tires that won the 2006 Baja 1000.
Central Europe Rally on Eurosport
April 3, 2008 - Hungary and Romania host the Central Europe Rally between 20 and 26 April, and Eurosport will broadcast daily highlights of this first "Dakar Series" event. Following the cancellation of the Dakar Rally earlier this year, the Central Europe Rally promises to be a special occasion both for motorsport fans and the rally's considerable number of competitors in the car, motorbike and truck competitions.
April 3, 2008-- A man accused of killing four French tourists escaped from a courthouse after an interrogation session Wednesday, tricking guards who believed he was inside a restroom, a courthouse official and a witness said.
One guard was later arrested, along with an employee of the courthouse and two of the fugitive's sisters who were thought to have helped with the escape, the official said.
Dakar-Organiser A.S.O. eventually to start new Rallyraid-Race Series
January 21, 2008 -- The leaders of Amaury Sport Organization (A.S.O) were meeting on Monday and Tuesday in Budapest (Hungary) discussing the possibilities of starting a new race series. During the meeting, the topic of Hungary being the first stage of the new race series planned by the A.S.O has come up. The negotiations in this matter will presumably continue soon.
Dr. Istvan Ujhelyi, the state secretary of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, also responsible for sports, believes that our country will have a great chance to home the first stage of the race if negotiations offer favorable conditions for Hungary.
Heroes Legend: Dakar-Cancellation no bar to Hubert Auriol
January 21, 2008 -- The cancellation of the 2008 Dakar Rally raised fears among the organisers of other rally raids in Africa, but rally icon Hubert Auriol has decided to press ahead with the 'Heroes Legend' event scheduled to follow a similar route.
Auriol's event runs from Paris to Dakar, via France, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal and, after contact with those involved and monitoring the area, will take place between 8-22 March as originally planned, despite the terrorist activity that saw its big brother canned at the last minute.
Hungarians hope for Dakar Start in Budapest 2009
 January 10, 2008 -- Balázs Szalay, the team leader of the Szalay Dakar team and the representative of the Eastern - European A.S.O. reported on the events of the permanently cancelled 2008 Dakar rally on an extraordinary press conference held today at 13 o` clock in Champs Sport Pub, Budapest.
He started his report with a declaration: "I declare in the name of every Hungarian competitor, László Palik, Sándor Kis, László Liszi, Ákos Varga, Péter Szilvási and I, that we do not intend to participate in the Budapest - Bamako tour, because we do not think of this event as a rally, as it is only a tour. We also expect that the Dakar rally will not be confused with the Bamako tour, because the two events cannot be compared."
Same race, different continent? Chile offers to host Dakar Rally
SANTIAGO, Chile -- The Chilean government will back a proposal to bring the Dakar Rally to South America after terrorist threats forced the cancellation of the off-road endurance race traditionally staged across the Sahara desert.
The head of the Chilean Tourism Service, Oscar Santelices, said a formal letter will be sent next week to the France-based rally organizer Amaury Sports Organization expressing Chile's interest to host it.
Santelices told local media, however, that no financial support would be committed.
Destroyed dreams and open questions
 Dakar -- Opinions about the cancellation of the Dakar 2008 cover a wide range from understandable to desaster. While a few usually bigger teams issue polite and politically correct statements of understanding and respect for the A.S.O.'s decision most of the Dakar participants are thrown into very personal fiascos by the current events.
Very roughly estimated the budget for a Dakar participantion that needs to be taken into consideration for a motorbike starts from 50.000 Euros and for a car including support at 200.000 Euros. A lot of the sponsorships for smaller and medium size teams have the passage included that the money will only be fully paid "when the participant successfully takes part in the start of the event". As the A.S.O. cancelled the Dakar before the start this condition is obviously not fulfilled. However, even in a legally safer situation for the participants it is questionable if the full support can be claimed from a hesitant sponsor without a value in return.
al-Qaeda Terror Threats Shut Down Dakar Rally/ Team DAKAR USA Stunned at Announcement
Orange, California –(January 4, 2007) Stunning news shot across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States early this morning when DAKAR Race Officials (ASO) announced they officially cancelled the 30th Edition of the DAKAR Rally.
ASO Officials cited prominent threats from one of the world’s most violent terrorist groups, al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, who has been chased unsuccessfully by the United States military for the past three years.
Ginaf Rally Powerwill Play Two Important Trump Cards
 Dakar – Marcel van Vliet and Wuf van Ginkel will have a serious stab at making it into the Dakar’s top five this year. Last year, Van Ginkel finished fourth, so he has already had a sniff of the podium. Van Vliet has set his mind to finishing among the top three, and hence realizing Ginaf Rally Power's ambitions. Experienced racer Anne Kies will be supporting the fast GRP duo in the quick-response assistance truck.
Rugged Opel Antara Takes on Sahara Desert Once Again
 December 21, 2007 –The Opel Antara’s adaptability and functionality will be put to the test once again in January 2008. For the second year in a row, an Antara with Balázs Szalay and his ‘Szalay Dakar Team’ at the wheel will take on the Lisbon-Dakar rally - the longest and most difficult cross-country rally competition in the world. With expert assistance from GM Racing and sponsorship from General Motors/Opel Hungary, the private team’s brand new car - an Opel Antara RR - has been specially adapted to the harsh conditions and includes the latest GM race engine. In its first desert test at the UAE Desert Challenge in November 2007, the new Antara RR performed sensationally, helping the team to 8th place overall.
Two Renault Kerax Assistance Vehicles on the Trail
 December 21, 2007 – Two assistance Renault Keraxes will be on call for the task, as last year. For 20 days, they will be at the beck and call of the thirty other Keraxes involved in the Rally, either in the race, in race assistance or straightforward assistance. A further 6 will be used by the race organisers, ASO.
No time for shut-eye, even for the assistance vehicles, as they will be covering approximately the same distance as the competitors, some 9,000 km all told. Once they arrive at the overnight camps, they will be spending their nights licking the wounds of the other 30 Keraxes. There’s never a dull moment on the Dakar Rally.
|
