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Mountains Challenge Team Dakar USA on Stage Two-
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Robby's upRising
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- Baia
Mare, Romania – The second stage of the Central Europe Rally proved to
be quite the challenge for Team Dakar USA. The mountainous tracks on the
outskirts of Baia Mare proved to favor the four-wheel drive vehicles
today. Recent snow storms left the tracks muddy in places and made the
rocky course very slippery.
Approaching the stage the Hummer team conceded the disadvantage and
vowed to fight back on the upcoming specials but for today and possibly
tomorrow they will take their lumps. The day was to be comprised of two
identical specials each 76km in length. After the first special Robby
Gordon found himself 4:43 back from special winner Stephan Peterhansel.
He posted the 11th fastest time. BJ Baldwin lost 8:14 and finished 15th
on the special. After the motorbikes, cars and trucks grooved up the
course the organizers decided to shorten the second special to just
34km.
"This was the first time the Hummers had seen anything like this. The
tracks were really muddy, there was snow, slippery rocks and it was very
tight. Obviously it suited the four-wheel drive cars. Really we just
wanted to finish in one piece. We did have some navigation challenges.
This is very different from what Andy is used too. R now we are behind
and we are going to fight like hell to get back into this rally. But as
it stands right now, with the stages being short like they are it's
going to be very difficult without help," said Gordon. "
The shortened special allowed Gordon to limit the damage on the second
special. He finished just 39 seconds back of winner Al Attiyah, which
secured a fourth place finish on the special. BJ Baldwin was not so
lucky. A small rock managed to work its way up into the throttle cable
housing and prevented Baldwin from getting full power. The freak
occurrence cost Baldwin 6:22 and relegated him to a 30th place finish.
At the end of the day Robby Gordon is 7th in the overall classification,
4:03 back while Baldwin's Vanguard Hummer is 18th overall, 22:17 back.
Tomorrow's stage will be a repeat of today's events and then the rally
returns to the site of the first stage, which was more suited for the
Hummers.
Coverage of the Central Europe Rally can be seen in the United States on
DirecTV. The half hour show will be aired twice – first at 7p.m. EST and
then again at 12:30a.m. Additional rally coverage can also be found on
www.robbygordon.com
and
www.robbysuprising.com
where
Team Dakar USA will have daily updates, the twitter micro blog feed, and
videos.
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