Robby Gordon and Central Europe Rally on DIRECTV’s The 101
 

Charlotte, NC (April 10, 2008) - Team Dakar USA announced today the acquisition of the United States broadcast rights for the Central Dakar Rally.

DIRECTV will air a daily half-hour show on channel 101, the in-house channel available throughout the United States on the satellite television service. The show airs April 19-26 featuring 13 minutes of overall rally coverage plus nine minutes dedicated to the American efforts of Team Dakar USA.

The program airs at 7 pm then re-broadcast at 12:30 am EST.

When terrorist threats cancelled the 2008 Dakar Rally in January, the Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO) moved quickly to schedule the Central Europe Rally as a replacement event for all the teams, fans and sponsors of the legendary Dakar Rally.

The Central Europe Rally was already in the works as part of the Dakar Series set to debut in 2009. Beginning in Budapest, Hungary, the varied and technical route covers 2,972 kilometers, about 1,846 miles, in seven days. The route includes a stint in Romania before concluding at Balaton Lake in Hungary.

Team Dakar USA Owner and driver Robby Gordon is no stranger to logistical challenges, but the Central Europe Rally may prove to be the greatest challenge yet.

Gordon, a fulltime NASCAR Sprint Cup driver, plans to fly to Paris after Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Phoenix. In Paris he’ll join members of Team Dakar USA program then drive the race and support vehicles over 1,300 kilometers to Budapest for the rally’s start.
At the rally’s conclusion on April 26, Gordon will fly back to the United States to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega on April 27th.

“Timing is everything with this event. First, I’m very grateful to the ASO for coming up with a solution for all the fans and sponsors. The schedule that they selected has made it possible for us to compete. I also have to thank Chris Long at DIRECTV for helping televise this event. He and The 101 team have mobilized quickly, and I think motorsports fans everywhere will have something to get excited about,” said Gordon.
Team Dakar USA fields two identically prepared purpose-built race Hummers in the Central Europe Rally. In the 2007 Dakar Rally, Gordon in his same Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Hummer H3 finished first in the open class, eighth overall and scored a stage win. It was Gordon’s third stage win in three years and allowed Hummer to become the first American manufacturer to win a Dakar Rally stage.

For additional rally coverage please visit robbygordon.com and robbysuprising.com where Team Dakar USA will have daily updates, the twitter micro blog feed, and videos.