Jan 7th, 2014 Dakar Rally Stage 3 Race Info & Discussion

Join in and discuss all the action from Stage 3 of the 2014 Dakar Rally. Robby Gordon had more vapor lock issues during stage 2, and now finds himself over 3h45m behind. The cars are scheduled to begin the 433km special section at 9:00am/et, Robby Gordon will be the 30th car off the line, beginning his stage at 9:52am/et.

2014 Stage 2 Photos

STAGE 3 TRACKING

STAGE 3: SAN RAFAEL > SAN JUAN

Connection 295km | Special Stage 301km | Total 596km

COURSE OVERVIEW

The competitors of the 2014 Dakar will experience their first taste of the mountains by passing through the Pre-Andes. The Aconcagua Volcano stands 6,962m high and will observe the progress of the vehicles, of which a part will rehearse their high mountain driving techniques. The motorcyclists will climb up 4,300 metres during their special stage, on a ridgeline where they will have the impression of towering over the whole of America! The descent will bring them back to the tough reality of the drivers of the Dakar, as they will only have finished the first part of this marathon stage. They will have to ensure the mechanics for their own vehicles at the isolated bivouac which has been set up for them.

The GREEN section of the route is the connection , the RED is the Special Section of the stage.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by alan4s on January 7, 2014 at 8:01am

I'm sure Robby and the team are trying all the options, and I doubt my idea is the best fix, but I'll throw it out there anyway, just for the sake of discussion.

The HST has A/C this year. There's cold refrigerant pumped to the cabin cooler. Re-route those coolant lines and fabricate a simple heat exchanger to the fuel line before the fuel pump. Cool the fuel before the pump to prevent cavitation. The refrigerant would be heated somewhat, sacrificing some of the A/C, but probably not enough to make it non-functional. Besides, who needs to be cool when there's a race to run?

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Permalink Reply by FD REBEL on January 7, 2014 at 8:20am

Just talked with an engine builder friend of mine last night. If the problem is heat sensitive and only happens under power and at altutude, over wrap the lines with a larger hose, like a 3/4 coolent line, slice it lengthwise and ty wrap in place, if possable raise the line pressure at the in cell lift pump. All ideas I have used with great success in the past. Side note check ALL fittings for minute, tiny, small defects that might leak air in the system at pre high pressure locations. I have spent most of my professional life troubleshooting diagnosing and solving problems. Its VERY hard to get a FEEL for the situation with out being there. We need Rocket Rob back lets figuer this out!