Team HUMMER Dakar Rally Preview
Charlotte, NC (December 21, 2010) - 2011 marks the 33rd running of the international test of endurance and determination known as the Dakar Rally, which for the third consecutive year will take place in the South American countries of Argentina and Chile after security threats in Mauritania in 2008 caused the ASO, the race organizers, to move the race from Africa. With more than 9,500 km (5,903 miles) to be completed from January 1st to 16th, 2011, the Dakar Rally is easily the "world's most grueling race."

Based on thirteen stages, known as "specials", the winner of the rally is the team with the shortest elapsed time over the fifteen day event. The terrain that competitors traverse is extremely difficult. Most of the competitive specials are off-road, crossing dunes, mud, camel grass, rocks among other elements. To be successful at the Dakar Rally, a team must possess three things: state of the art equipment, first rate driving and navigational skills, and true determination and perseverance. The slightest mistake by man or equipment can cost a team valuable seconds in their effort to achieve the ultimate objective: winning the Dakar Rally.

Team HUMMER will be fielding two entries in the rally-raid. Known as one of the best off-road racers in the world, Robby Gordon will be participating in his seventh Dakar Rally and piloting the No. 303 Speed Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER. Gordon will depend on his navigator, Kellon Walsh, to maneuver through the ever changing terrain of the cross country race. Gordon knows how to win in the rally, becoming the first American to ever win a stage. "To win a stage of the event was great, but to be the first American to win the Dakar Rally would mean so much more," says Gordon. "With experience also comes the understanding that you have to beat the rally before you can beat your competitors."

A formal announcement regarding the second HUMMER entry will follow early next week.

The Official Start of the Dakar Rally
Stage 1: Victoria - Cordoba
Cordoba, Argentina (January 2, 2011) - Today marked the official start of the 2011 Dakar Rally. From this point forward, it is serious business for the competitors vying for the coveted Dakar title. Stage 1, the first of 13 timed stages in this year's rally race, included a 566-km road section and a 222-km special that began in Victoria and ended in Cordoba.

Heavy rain created an unforeseen obstacle for Team HUMMER. According to the TV choppers flying over the route, the participants in the car category suffered from skidding and sliding. Robby Gordon, driver of the No. 303 SPEED Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER, started today's special in fourth place. He was scored 9th as he crossed the CP1 marker located at km 137 together while last year's winner, Carlos Sainz, led the field.

Disadvantaged by the slippery race conditions, Gordon finished 11 minutes, 4 seconds behind Carlos Sainz in the first stage of the Rally with a total time of 2 hours, 29 minutes and 36 seconds. This time puts Gordon eighth overall heading into tomorrow's stage from Cordoba to San Miguel de Tucuman, which will be a 324-km race through the mountains.

"We started today's special in fourth place, and unfortunately we finished eighth. We knew that the HUMMER team would not be as strong as we would like in the Argentina portion of this race, but we struggled a little bit more today than I would have liked due to the weather conditions and technical rally-style section. Sainz and Peterhansel led today's stage, but they also started the race before the weather began and were virtually unaffected by it. That's why you see the gap in time from the rest of the competitors," commented Robby Gordon, driver of the No. 303 SPEED Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER.

"We started out the special good, but we had a couple of challenges along the way. Kellon [Walch] and I had to change helmets during the middle of the stage because his microphone quit working. I ran off the road at one point. We also ran out of windshield wiper fluid due to the mud. These mistakes probably cost us about 1 minute of total speed. I expected to give up 5 minutes in today's stage not 11 minutes, which disappoints me. It is still early in the race, but we have some ground to make up tomorrow. Some of the guys are already starting to have issues this early. Hopefully, we will recover quickly from today's issues before we enter Chile because it is our best opportunity to make up time. By this point, I want to be less than 10 minutes behind," furthered Gordon.

"Tomorrow's stage is supposed to go through the mountains, which are not good for us for two reasons. First, the HUMMERs are not turbo-charged then the course is a little narrow. They did say that we should encounter some bumps, which could be good for us."

Eliseo Salazar, driver of the No. 327 SPEED Energy / Cristal CERO HUMMER finished today's stage 28th, behind.

Stage 2: Cordoba to San Miguel de Tucuman
San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina (January 3, 2011) - Last year's edition of the Dakar Rally sent the teams to La Rioja from Cordoba, but today's stage was new territory for the competitors of the Dakar Rally as the course headed to San Miguel de Tucuman instead.
Robby Gordon knew that the team would not have a strong showing in today's stage due to the altitude changes and the varying terrain, but he didn't think that today would end like it did. The No. 303 SPEED Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER had a mechanical issue during today's stage that required it to be stopped for repairs. As a result, Gordon finished 46th and is now 21st overall, 1 hour, 6 minutes and 55 seconds minutes behind the leaders in the overall standings.

"We were actually pretty good through the first few check points. One corner snuck up on me; I didn't see it and just drove the SPEED Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER off the road, hitting a large rock. This is very unfortunate for our team. Now that we are an hour behind heading into Chile versus only a few minutes, we definitely got our work cut out for us. I think we will be ok though; there is still plenty of racing left," commented a very disappointed Robby Gordon. "The HUMMER sustained some damage on today's stage as when we smashed the front of the race vehicle into the rock, and the transmission doesn't have reverse because it broke when I tried to reverse out of my mistake. I would say that we were broke down for maybe an hour today...a very costly hour."

Tomorrow, the third stage of the Dakar Rally, will traverse San Miguel de Tucuman to San Salvador de Jujuy. The special stage has been split into two parts for a total of 500km.

Stage 3: San Miguel de Tucuman to San Salvador de Jujuy
San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina (January 4, 2011) - Persevering to overcome a poor finish in Stage 2 due to mechanical issues, the No. 303 SPEED Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER was back on unfamiliar terrain. In the 2010 edition of the Dakar Rally, Stage 3 took the competitors from La Rioja to Fiambala, however, this year the route has moved further east as they make their way to Chile. Beginning the day in San Miguel de Tucuman, this special stage has been split into two parts, totaling 500km or 165 miles.

Robby Gordon and navigator, Kellon Walsh, made up valuable time in Stage 3 of the Dakar Rally. Starting the day in 21st position overall, Gordon finished the stage in 15th, putting the No. 303 SPEED Energy / Toyo Tires team 17th overall, 1 hour 32 minutes and:42 seconds behind leader, Carlos Sainz. Even as Gordon improved his position in the rally, he was not pleased with the performance of the HUMMER.
"We keep putting ourselves behind the eight ball. We passed a bunch of cars early in the special, but then realized we had lost a transmission pump", Gordon commented. The HUMMER ran hot all day which prevented Gordon from racing the special at the vehicle's full potential. Frustrated with the performance, Gordon says, "Today's special would have been good for the HUMMER had we not had a mechanical issue. The route had some very technical, rough stuff in the beginning, and it would have been good for us."

Day 5 - Stage 4 commences from San Salvador de Jujuy ending in Calama. The Dakar leaves Argentina temporarily to cross the Andes mountain range via the Paso de Jama pass. The Stage 4 special is 207km or 128 miles.

A Disappointing End to Robby Gordon's Dakar Rally Effort
Charlotte, NC (January 7, 2011) - When Team HUMMER departed on their journey to Argentina on December 27th, returning home early defeated was not part of the plan. On Wednesday during Stage 4 of the event, the No. 303 SPEED Energy/Toyo Tires HUMMER was disqualified from the 2011 Dakar Rally. After breaking a wheel bearing in the liaison stage that leads to the special, the No. 303 team was on the clock to repair the damage. With little time to deploy the support vehicles to his aid, the new wheel bearing could not be replaced on the HUMMER in the time allotted to the team, resulting in automatic disqualification.
"Disappointed doesn't even begin to describe the way I'm feeling right now, not only for me but for everyone involved," says Gordon. As a driver, Robby knows that he can't have a successful team without a first-rate support system, sponsors and fans included. "Knowing all the hard work and dedication that was put into this program is what makes our untimely exit from the Dakar Rally a hard pill to swallow,"
he continues to say. "While it may not appear like it due to our performance thus far, countless hours went into this effort. To have a wheel bearing fail is just sickening...a huge, huge disappointment," Gordon comments. "We run this same wheel bearing on the trophy truck and have put thousands of kilometers on HUMMERs, and we have never had this part fail." Once the equipment returns from Argentina every part of the HUMMER will be scrutinized to determine what caused the mechanical failure, and preparation for next year's Rally will commence.

In the meantime, Gordon would like to thank all his fans for the supportive emails, Facebook and Twitter posts. Gordon says, "I've got the best sponsors and fans in the world, and I don't like disappointing them." Before returning to the US next week, Gordon has decided to continue along the route to support Eliseo Salazar's effort. He will host a media tomorrow, giving journalists a ride of their life in the HUMMER.