Off to a Good Start - Stage 1 Review

Cordoba, Argentina (January 2, 2010) - For Team HUMMER today was the start of Stage #1 and the first opportunity for competitors to race against each other. The stage was suppose to feature 251 kilometers but was unfortunately shortened by 52 kilometers due to heavy rainfalls earlier this week. The end total of the special had 199 kilometers of racing. Robby Gordon and his Monster Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER would finish 6th overall behind the eventual winner Nani Roma and improving on his performance from last year. "I am very happy were we are at right now. We got off track a few times but to still be beat by 4 minutes and 48 seconds is pretty good considering at this stage last year we didn't fare so well."

As far as the rest of Team HUMMER, the Vanguard HUMMER would have a great day as its driver got more accustomed to the different driving style that comes with the H3 HUMMER. At the end of the stage, the Vanguard HUMMER would end up 13 minutes 53 seconds behind the race leader. It would be a different story for the Chile sponsored HUMMER driven by Carlo Degavardo. Carlo Degavardo would end up having a crash close to the end of the stage when his brake line broke and throttle cable stuck wide open going into a corner. Luckily Carlo and navigator Juan Pablo Rodriguez would only hurt the windshield and right side mirror as they would carry on and finish 39th overall.

For tomorrow, the stage is set from Cordoba to La Rioja. It will be more of the same from today with similar terrain and will be tougher on the HUMMERs 2-wheel drive systems.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stage 2 Review

La Rioja, Argentina (January 3, 2010) - Today marked the second stage for the 2010 Dakar Rally and was delayed at the start due to weather in the area for an half an hour. Once the weather cleared up it was time for Team HUMMER to keep up with the success they had the day before. Robby Gordon was the first HUMMER off from Cordoba and was ready to run hard in order to win. Despite the terrain favoring other 4-wheel drive cars than the 2-wheel drive HUMMER, Robby Gordon was able to keep pace and even lead the stage at one point. Only major issue of the stage was a flat left front tire which was caused by a big rock on the race course. "Only problem we had today where we lost a lot of time was a flat tire - Andy and I haven't practiced changing a tire in a while. To lose 12 minutes isn't too bad at this point and it's all desert tomorrow so it should be good for us." Commented Robby Gordon. Robby Gordon and the Monster Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER would end up 11th in the stage and 9th in overall time - 12 minutes 28 seconds back from the leader.

The Chile HUMMER driven by Carlo Degavardo had an better day on Stage 2 than Stage 1 were he would end up 36th for the stage and become 38th - 1 hour 13 minutes back from the overall leader.

The Vanguard HUMMER had a big incident on race kilometer 5 were the driver made a mistake over correcting the steering which lead to the HUMMER rolling over twice, landing on its roof down a cliff. Luckily both driver and navigator were un hurt in the big crash - not to say the same for the Vanguard HUMMER. With the Vanguard HUMMER stuck down the cliff with zero help to get pulled out, the driver and navigator felt helpless as they saw their hopes of having a competitive Dakar Rally drive pass them. Hours later after one of Team HUMMERs' support trucks got to the Vanguard HUMMER, they were able to get back on their way but with so much damage they would end up hours behind. The driver was forced to limp back to the bivouac in La Rioja were the team would be there waiting to assess the damage.

Stage 3 is set from La Rioja to Fiambala, a liaison for 259 kilometers and a special that will be 182 kilometers. A total distance of 441 kilometers in length. The first car is set to leave the bivouac at 7:07 am local time with Robby Gordon in the Monster Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER rolling off in 11th place.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stage 3 Review

Fiambala, Argentina (January 4, 2010) - Unfortunate circumstances plagued Team HUMMER this afternoon in the dune sections of Stage 3. The team had first thought that the these set of dunes would be a good stage for the HUMMERs but due to a smaller restrictor cutting the horsepower down, the HUMMERs couldn't carry the momentum needed to get through the heavy sand that was featured during Stage 3. Robby Gordon said his HUMMER won't run the dunes in 2nd gear and for that reason he got stuck and lost valuable time to the leaders. Robby Gordon talked about his performance during Stage 3, "I feel we are at a major disadvantage when it comes to restrictors. My top speed is about 165mph and the Volkswagens' are going 190mph. Plus my Monster Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER needs to carry extra weight because of the fuel mileage we get. The sand dunes in this stage needed the car to have forward momentum to get through them. I would run up and try to come down and get stuck. For tomorrow we'll move on and drive again."

Robby Gordon would end up in 12th place in his Monster Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER for the stage and now 1 hour and 4 minutes down to the overall leader in 9th place. That's not the only disappointment of the day. Around kilometer 57 the Vanguard HUMMER had a transmission failure and was forced to be towed in along with Carlo De Gavardo having clutch problems 10 kilometers before the Vanguard HUMMER had its issues. They were both able to make it to the bivouac after getting a tow from one of Team HUMMERs' support trucks.

All in all it's a day that the team would like to soon forget. They will regroup tonight in Fiambala and try to make the best of tomorrow's Stage 4. Stage 4 is set from Fiambala to Copiapo, a liaison for 394 kilometers and a special that will be 203 kilometers. Another 32 kilometer liaison back to the bivouac in total distance of 629 kilometers. The first car is set to leave the bivouac at 6:05 am with the special starting at 12:05 pm local time.

→next report

Provided by Team HUMMER