anyone else going to be following along?? Starts in 1/6 in Lisbon, Portugal this year...27 listed Nissan entrants this year...

i'm a certified addict, ill be in front of the tele watching as well

Do you get good coverage of it on TV in Canada?? We get very little beyond a daily compelation of highlights here in the US....

Been following it for years. I just wish the US coverage was better.

Does anyone know what US stations will be airing it?

I believe "OLN" which is now called "VS." will be broadcasting daily updates....but I would reccomend following along on IRITrack as well....

Besides Robby Gordon and the Nissan drivers I will also be rooting for these guys....I love underdogs....
Fiat Panda team

I will be highly impressed if the Panda makes it the distance go FIAT!

After Robby Gordons outburst concerning working for Klienshmidt 2 years ago I lost ALL respect. Poor sportsmanship, bad attitude. I wish him Cobra bites and flat tires and sand in his unmentionables.

Hoist a beer for Carlos Sainz.

I would like to see a Bowler Wildcat finish a little higher in the general class.

Looking Forward to it.

And for those of you (like me) who did not know what a Bowler Wildcat is...here is a pic...real nice looking vehicles--don't think they are street legal though...specific "turn-key" race vehicles out of England...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=g6tHsFdY3xA

We will just have to agree to disagree...

Its a Rover from Hell that can out accelerate a DB7. With only 300hp.

What are we disagreeing on?? Those Bowlers are incredible...

The US Speed Channel used to show a daily 1 hour update too.

ETA: I might have to point my single LNB DishNetwork dish to satelitte 110 instead of 119 to get Speed.

They ARE street legal, I see one in my Home Town. Sounds like the God Of Thunder. The Defenders are not avilable in the US due to impact Regs Smog ect, These are. There is also a version based on the new Range Rover Sport.

TopGear is a great thing to YOUTUBE, CLarkson is great.

http://www.bowler-offroad.com/Nemesis/Choiceindex.htm

HEY, HEY, HEY, My Xterra will do all that!!!!!

Just a hell of a lot slower.

No, I was kinda thinking maybe for a mile or two.

Your truck certainly makes the blood pump faster...

Not to hijack my own thread but did you register over at Team Xterra Racing yet?? We can sure use someone who as interested in rallies and offroad racing as you are joining in with everyone.

Done,
I would be glad to help at races in Nor Cali with pretty much everything from Beer Swilling to Whiskey Tasting(Single Malt Please)

Greatly appreciated...helps show the sponsors and potential sponsors the interest in the team specificly and in racing in general...Get a chance to observe any international rally racing while in the service?

Nope.
Cool boat races though...

and to get the thread back on track...Those of you who went to help out Xterraracer at the recent Henderson's Terrible 400 race you actually saw one of the vehicles that is racing in the Dakar Rally--Chris Blais's big KTM motorcycle that was parked next to us before and after contingency...
[url= http://homepage.mac.com/dwspalinger/.Pictures/Henderson's%20Terrible%20400/IMG_2801.jpg]Chris Blais's KTM[/url]

Nevermind, I am going to help these guys out at the races. I am pretty sure this is the most ridiculous thing I have seen.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=N1RutzxAeAk

Newest RG quote and info posted on the official Dakar site:

Back in Black
A year after causing a sensation by arriving in the scrutineering zone behind the wheel of his Hummer, Robbie Gordon is back in Lisbon with a new machine that is just as impressive… All in black, the latest version of the American vehicle needs to wipe away memories of the previous model whose African adventure was halted after seven stages. "Last year we thought, in vain, that we could play one of the leading roles. As soon as the Dakar finished, we started working toward the next one by clearly identifying our weaknesses", admits the American driver. "We have done thirty days of wind tunnel work and almost 10,000 miles of tests. The engine is better. We have gained more speed, around 20 mph. Our Hummer is ready to eat camel dust". Certainly more cautious than last time, Gordon refrains from speaking of victory or the podium. "Our team only has one shot, unlike the big official teams who have four or five of them. We are aiming to keep pace with our rivals".

First stage is over...RG is in 13th place, 8 minutes, 44 seconds out of first....Highest placing Nissan is in 12th place and the top 5 finishers are all VW Touregs...

Damn...maybe I should sell my pickup and get a Toureg

Daily highlight package on VS. (used to be OLN) in 10 minutes at 3 pm eastern!!

Great in car footage from the first stage driven by RG...really shows you the speed and terrain they are covering....
RG video 1

RG video 2

Sweet vids.

Badass!

RG finished well down the standings in stage two as he dumped the Hummer in a ditch and lost tons of time till he was pulled out by a fellow competitor...now sits in 18th position, 18 minutes and 8 seconds out of first---good news is that the European stages are like the "time trials" in the Tour de France...the winners of those stages are rarely seen at the end of the race...the Dakar is won or lost in the long African stages...and those begin tomorrow as they are ferrying all the trucks across the Meditteranean tonight...

Nissan is doing quite well with 4 trucks in the top 15 with the highest being #10 in a Nissan pickup...

Have you heard the Anouncers talking about his truck? They think its too big to win. Stuck twice in 2 stages, They might be right.

The thing looks so ridiculous compared to the VWs and Mitsus. Only Time will tell.

The first stuck I would agree...because of the width and weight of the truck he was not carrying anywhere near the speed of the other trucks into that muddy section where he got high centered...Stage 2's wreck I would disagree...from the in car camera he just overshot the corner and ended up in the ditch...He has used up about all the luck he can expect though in being able to get out of those two stucks and not suffering any major damage...

Stage 2 in car video...

That monster is, uh, ugly But Dakar isn't a beauty contest so I guess it doesn't matter as long as he can finish...that part remains to be seen.

I love Dakar. Its the only race I enjoy watching.

RG recieved a 13 minute penalty for speeding where he shouldn't have been (likely in a city or on public streets coming to or going from the special) and finished 21 in stage 3 today...now sits in 22nd and is about 1 hour out of first...tomorrows stage four is the first long one--425 KM and should give him time to make up some spots...

one of the Nissan's in the race...

Sad news from Dakar.....

Rallying-South African rider Symons killed in Dakar Rally

No. 107, ELMER SYMONS
The organisers of the Dakar were this morning informed of the death of South African Elmer Symons, rider number 107, during the 4th stage.
At the age of 29, Elmer Symons was taking part in his first Dakar as a competitor having participated in two others as part of an assistance team.
The rally organisers waited for the arrival at the bivouac of his brother Kingsley Symons, who was providing assistance for him, in order to express their support and sadness.

Well, at least no one (and especially the Hummer team) will have the embarrasment of coming in behind the Fiat Panda teams....

"It’s all over for the Fiat 4x4s!

Timed-out at the start of the day’s special stage and suffering from technical problems, Bruno Saby and Miki Biasion have both dropped out of the rally today. However, the two drivers and their team have decided to stay in Foum-Zguid for several days in order to carry out tests with a view to taking part next year."

another of the Nissan's in the race...

and another...

Sweet! Thanks for the pics!

So RG had an AWESOME day today...started 79th and finished 15th!!! His poor showing yesterday was due to bad gas that gummed up the fuel injectors...moved from 49th overall to 36th overall....a top 20 and more is still possible...

Top Nissan is now 11th over all...it is a Nissan Navarra and has improved EVERY stage so far, finishing 9th in this last stage and has never been outside the top 20...will try to find a pic of it...

Ahh...that didn't take long...here is a pic of the Nissan passing a bunch of donkeys during the 3rd stage...don't see that very often here in the US...

Wooohooo!!! Robby Gordon WINS the 6th stage of the Dakar Rally. By only 17 seconds but a win is a win!! An amazing comeback for RG who two days ago started 79th off the line and has made his way rapidly to the front...Congrats to all!! Including Andy Grider his navigator/co-driver who some of us (me and ChefTyler) bumped into at the Vegas 2 Reno race last summer at the bar/hotel we were staying at!! This is a HUGE event for Americans in Dakar as he is running a solo, non factory supported team....He did it his way and is to be congratulated.

Sweet! Way to go RG and Andy!

Today was a "rest" day marking the 1/2 way point of the race..."only" another 7 days of racing to go....to catch up and see some awesome video...go here: RG You Tube videos...

RG and other Americans continue to do well in this years Dakar...RG now sits 8th overall and continues to string together top 15 or so finishes in each stage, moving up in the standings through attrition (the two VW Touregs that were leading the race a few days ago are now WAY down the leaderboard as one suffered an engine fire and the other a massive electrical system failure). Chris Blais another American, now sits 4th overall in motorcycles and has a shot at a podium finish (truly amazing) and Mark Miller (an American driver for team VW) is in the top 6 overall for cars...It is truly a year where American drivers have made their presence felt...

Robby Gordon is still 8th.
Chris Blais is currently 3rd.

I'm glad I saw this post. I have begun to really enjoy watching this on VS as often as I can.

Yup...finished up this moring....RG finished 8th overall...best finish ever for an American designed, American built, American driven vehicle in the "car" class...Awesome job considering this is only his second year on his own in the Dakar...The issue with getting bad gas and having sediment clog his injectors cost him more than 3 hours early on and really hurt...but it is what it is and everyone has bad luck/issues in a race that is 5000+ miles long...
Chris Blais finishing 3rd in motorcycles is incredible as well...Believe it to be the first time an American has finished on the podium in motorcycles in the Dakar...
Bad news on the Nissans though...I believe the top Nissan finisher was about 35th...sucks big time...they need more factory support given that Nissan didn't even bother to update the Dakar section on the corporate website this year....Bad...Bad Nissan....

Went through this on the Mitsubishi side. Despite a quarter billion dollars a year invesment, they think us Americans are not interested in Dakar Should bring this up at Gone with the Nissan Folks.