Twelfth Place Finish for Gordon in Stage 12, as Team SPEED heads to Final Stage of Dakar Rally

VILLA CARLOS PAZ, Argentina (January 15, 2016) – Robby Gordon and navigator Kellon Walch moved another step closer to completing the 38th Dakar Rally on Friday by finishing twelfth in Stage 12 with a time of 5 hours, 47 minutes and 33 seconds.

    

Starting in the eleventh position, Gordon’s run on Friday saw him trade positions on course with top-Argentina competitor Orlando Terranova multiple times as the two would keep a consistent pace of the leaders throughout the stage. Continuing to drive in a conservative manor through the narrow mountainous terrain, Gordon would finish the special in 5 hours, 47 minutes, and 33 seconds just 13 minutes, and 16 seconds back of Finland’s Mikko Hirvonen who claimed his first stage win of the rally. 

    

Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah claimed the second spot with a time of 5 hours, 34 minutes, 26 seconds just 9 seconds behind Hirvonen. Leeroy Poulter of South Africa rounded out the podium with a time of 5 hours, 35 minutes, and 2 seconds. Fellow South African Giniel De Villiers was credited with fourth in a time of 5 hours, 35 minutes, 14 seconds, with Spainard Nani Roma claiming a top-five with a time of 5 hours, 37 minute, and 26 seconds.

    

After twelve stages of the 2016 Dakar Rally, the overall remains the same with Peterhansel holding the lead going into the final stage over Al-Attiyah by 40 minutes, and 59 seconds. De Villers continues to hold the third position 1 hour, 7 minutes, 16 seconds back, while Hirvonen claims the fourth position 1 hour, 11 minutes, 42 seconds behind. Poulter rounds out the top-five trailing Peterhansel 1 hour, 41 minutes, and 6 seconds.  

    

Robby Gordon’s twelfth place finish today moves him to twenty-sixth in the overall standings in twenty-fourth 10 hours, 41 minutes, and 6 seconds behind the winning pace of Peterhansel. 

    

Saturday’s final stage will offer competitors the shortest special of the 13 stages, with 180 km’s of twisty sandy and rocky roads. For Gordon and Walch the final stage will not be an easy task, as they will need to make sure they conserve their equipment to get the HST Gordini to the finish. Once arriving in Argentina’s third largest city, as a massive celebration is planned with several hundred thousands fans on hand looking to cheer on their favorite drivers as they cross the finish line. 

    

Follow Robby Gordon and Kellon Walch’s finish in the 2016 Dakar Rally for Team SPEED through live timing and scoring as well as live updates with chat at http://www.planetrobby.com and http://www.StadiumSuperTrucks.com

    

NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) will provide daily highlights after each stage of the 2016 Dakar Rally at 5:30 p.m. ET. Check your local listings for exact time and channel for availability. 

    

Photos from Stage 12 can be downloaded from the following link: 

    

https://app.box.com/s/026nz5f8oxmah8opu1rbh42h6049dpkk

    

Team SPEED is supported by the following partners; SPEED Energy, Toyo Tires, TRAXXAS, KMC Wheels, Arctic Cat, 4 Wheel Parts, Grand Design Recreational Vehicles, Magnaflow Exhaust, Eibach Springs, King Shocks, Outlaw LED, Mastercraft Safety, Holley Performance, Embee Performance, MAC Tools, DeWALT, Freightliner Trucks, Replay XD, Valvoline, Impact by Mastercraft Safety, Lincoln Electric, Torchmate by Lincoln Electric, Ron Davis Racing Products, Techni Waterjet, Mechanix Wear, Saftey-Kleen, Weddle Industries, and Loctite.

    

Stage 13: Villa Carlos Paz – Rosario 

    

Cars

Special Section: 180 km 

Total: 699 km 

    

Aspiring winners will certainly be those who find the 180 km of the day’s special section the most difficult, designed with twisty, undulating routes, faster sandy and rocky sections…leading to significant levels of stress. For most of the others, the 699 km to be covered before reaching the podium in Rosario will be a relief. To be enjoyed without moderation. 

Robby Gordon Presses On in Dakar Rally with Eleventh Place Finish in Stage Eleven

SAN JUAN, Argentina (January 14, 2016) – Robby Gordon and Kellon Walch survived another very difficult special on Thursday, during Stage 11 of the 38th Annual Dakar Rally. Navigating the specially built HST Gordini Supercar through complex portions of heavy sand, high-speed gravel roads, and dust the duo safely reached the stage finish in the eleventh position. 

    

Starting the challenging stage in the fifteenth position, Gordon raced out to a blistering pace tearing through the bumps and dust to advance comfortably into the ninth position by km 100. 

    

“The course started rough, almost like whoops, and it really favored the Gordini with the big Toyo Tires on it,” explained navigator Kellon Walch. “Then we started to get into the bottom of river beds and the route was faster and smoother.” 

    

Flirting with the top ten throughout the special Gordon kept a consistent pace of the leaders, not taking any risks of damaging the Toyo Tires/TRAXXAS Gordini. As any experienced Dakar racer knows taking the checkered flag in Rosario on Saturday to finish the 13-stage race is just as important and claiming a stage victory. 

    

Gordon finished the stage in the eleventh position, with a time of 5 hours, 11 minutes, and 54 seconds. Only 22 minutes, and 38 seconds behind defending Dakar Rally Champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar, whom claimed his second stage win of 2016, finishing Stage 11 in a time of 4 hours, 49 minutes, 16 seconds. 

    

Early overall leader Sebastien Loeb claimed the second spot with a time of 4 hours, 55 minutes, 08 seconds. While Mikko Hirvonen of Finland rounded out the podium with a time of 4 hours, 56 minutes, and 17 seconds. Frenchman Stephan Peterhansel was credited with fourth in a time of 4 hours, 57 minutes, 21 seconds, with Saudi Arabia driver Yazeed Alrajhi would claim his second top-five of the rally with a time of 5 hours, 1 minute, and 13 seconds.

    

After eleven grueling stages of the 2016 Dakar Rally, Peterhansel holds the overall lead over second place Al-Attiyah by 51 minutes, and 55 seconds. While South African Ginel De Villers claim’s the third position 1 hour, 17 minutes, 24 seconds back, followed by Hirvonen in the fourth position 1 hour, 22 minutes, 47 seconds behind. LeeRoy Poulter rounds out the top five with a time of 1 hour, 33 minutes, 58 seconds. 

    

Robby Gordon’s eleventh place finish today moves into the twenty-seventh position in the overall standings 10 hours, 38 minutes, and 55 seconds behind the winning pace of Peterhansel. 

    

Friday the cars will race from San Juan to Villa Carlos Paz in Stage 12. The longest stage of rally (900 km) will start with an exceptionally long liaison, which despite the slower speeds, will still put additional stress on the already strained race engines and drivers. The first transfer section is followed by the 481-kilometer timed race through the semi-mountainous terrain, lined with vegetation on both sides of the course making it super tight in locations. 

    

Follow the quest for an American finish in the 2016 Dakar Rally for Team SPEED through live timing and scoring as well as live updates with chat at http://www.planetrobby.com and http://www.StadiumSuperTrucks.com

    

NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) will provide daily highlights after each stage of the 2016 Dakar Rally at 5:30 p.m. ET. Check your local listings for exact time and channel for availability. 

    

Photos from Stage 11 can be downloaded from the following link: 

    

https://app.box.com/s/09ykpf3kwo977aw4r86bxu4jld17n63y

    

Team SPEED is supported by the following partners; SPEED Energy, Toyo Tires, TRAXXAS, KMC Wheels, Arctic Cat, 4 Wheel Parts, Grand Design Recreational Vehicles, Magnaflow Exhaust, Eibach Springs, King Shocks, Outlaw LED, Mastercraft Safety, Holley Performance, Embee Performance, MAC Tools, DeWALT, Freightliner Trucks, Replay XD, Valvoline, Impact by Mastercraft Safety, Lincoln Electric, Torchmate by Lincoln Electric, Ron Davis Racing Products, Techni Waterjet, Mechanix Wear, Saftey-Kleen, Weddle Industries, and Loctite.

    

Stage 12: San Juan – Villa Carlos Paz 

    

Cars

Special Section: 481 km 

Total: 931 km 

    

There is more than 900 km to cover on the day before the finish, including more than half in the special section, with the exception of the trucks, whose dimensions are not suitable for some of the tracks on the agenda. In this semi-mountainous terrain, the vegetation that lines their edges might be a bit tight for them! This means that the other vehicles will also have to show dexterity. Fans of pure driving will be at ease, but they’ll have to watch out for blunders: at this stage in the game, a mistake could cost them dearly. 

American Racer Robby Gordon Claims Fifteenth Place in Stage Ten of Dakar Rally

LA RIOJA, Argentina (January 13, 2016) – Robby Gordon continued to improve positions at the 38th Dakar Rally Wednesday, bringing his Traxxas/Toyo Tires HST Gordini Supercar home in fifteenth-place of the weather shortened 244 Km special.

    

As the heat of the day increased, so did Gordon’s intensity, as the twenty-sixth starter wasted no time working his way past competitors into the ninetieth position thru Km 140 with no troubles. When many of the other drivers were finding themselves stuck, over heating or experiencing navigational issues, Gordon and navigator Kellon Walch pressed thru in the Toyo Tires/TRAXXAS Gordini all the way up to the seventieth position by Km 180. 

    

Knowing the stage was being cut short 34 Km, Gordon would set a consistent pace the last 30 Km with no mistakes to finish the Stage in 4 hours, 51 minutes, 28 seconds. 

    

Gordon’s recorded time would be logged as the fifteenth quickest of the day only 52 minutes, 56 second behind the leaders. 

    

Despite Gordon’s trouble-free free run, the tenth stage was topped by two-Frenchman. As Stephan Peterhansel picked up his third win of 2016, winning the shortened Stage in a time of 3 hours, 58 minutes, 22 seconds, he was followed in second by fellow countryman and teammate Cyril Despres with a time of 4 hours, 4 minutes, 12 seconds. Claiming his first podium of the 2016 Rally, Vladimir Vasilyev of Russia completed the stage in 4 hours, 11 minutes, and 28 seconds to finish third, while Spaniard Nani Roma was credited with fourth with a time of 4 hours, 13 minutes, 5 seconds. Three-time Stage winner Sebastien Loeb would re-group after his Stage eight crash to round out the top five with a time of 4 hours, 16 minutes, and 12 seconds.

    

After ten stages of the 2016 Dakar Rally, Peterhansel has moved back into the overall lead opening up a gap 1 hour ahead of second place Qatar driver Nasser Al-Attiyah. South African Ginel De Villers would claim the third position 1 hour, 12 minutes, 31 seconds back, followed by Mikko Hirvonen of Finland in the fourth position 1 hour, 23 minutes, 51 seconds back. LeeRoy Poulter slides back into the top five 1 hour, 33 minutes, 58 seconds behind. 

    

Robby Gordon’s fifteenth place finish today would move him up into the twenty-eighth position in the overall standings 10 hours, 24 minutes, and 22 seconds behind the winning pace of Peterhansel. 

    

The level of difficulty for Thursday’s Stage 11 will remain the same as the last few days, as Gordon and the HST Gordini will tackle different varieties of terrain throughout the special, including the famous fesh-fesh of Argentina. Fesh-Fesh, a heavy form of sand will test the patience of Gordon and navigator Kellon Walch as they try to navigate that section without getting stuck. Other portions of the special will feature quick straight gravel sections that are more suited for cars that are set-up to excel on the WRC style course, the HST Gordni being one look for Gordon to cut more time off the overall deficit today. 

    

Follow the quest for an American finish in the 2016 Dakar Rally for Team SPEED through live timing and scoring as well as live updates with chat at http://www.planetrobby.com and http://www.StadiumSuperTrucks.com

    

NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) will provide daily highlights after each stage of the 2016 Dakar Rally at 5:30 p.m. ET. Check your local listings for exact time and channel for availability. 

    

Photos from Stage 10 can be downloaded from the following link: 

    

https://app.box.com/s/09ykpf3kwo977aw4r86bxu4jld17n63y

    

Team SPEED is supported by the following partners; SPEED Energy, Toyo Tires, TRAXXAS, KMC Wheels, Arctic Cat, 4 Wheel Parts, Grand Design Recreational Vehicles, Magnaflow Exhaust, Eibach Springs, King Shocks, Outlaw LED, Mastercraft Safety, Holley Performance, Embee Performance, MAC Tools, DeWALT, Freightliner Trucks, Replay XD, Valvoline, Impact by Mastercraft Safety, Lincoln Electric, Torchmate by Lincoln Electric, Ron Davis Racing Products, Techni Waterjet, Mechanix Wear, Saftey-Kleen, Weddle Industries, and Loctite.

    

Stage 11: La Rioja – San Juan 

    

Cars

Special Section: 431 km 

Total: 712 km 

    

The level of difficulty remains the same, but variety will favor the most flexible of drivers and teams. Sand in all its forms will feature, particularly fesh-fesh, the most volatile and heavy kind, which demands both dexterity and patience. But speed will also be an advantage in other, straighter sections, featuring gravel and pebbles. Opportunities will be few and far between, but there is still time to shake up the standings, since the terrain will be favorable to creating significant gaps.