Monster Energy To Blast South America With The Full Force Of Robby ...


With an ever-growing global foothold on the energy drink market, Monster focuses its efforts in Chile & Argentina with Gordon and Dakar to open ‘09




CORONA, Calif., (Dec. 29, 2008) – It was less than a year ago when Monster Energy’s Robby Gordon was blasting through the countrysides of Hungary and Romania in his glowing green M-claw GM Hummer, turning heads of the local townspeople – many of whom had never seen either of the two unique American brands.



And when they weren’t racing the ’08 Dakar Rally, which had been hastily rescheduled to the central European countries due to terrorist activity in northern Africa, Gordon was stoking out Hungarian and Romanian race fans on Monster Energy product – the first time ever America’s No. 1 by volume energy drink was available in that area of the world.



This week Monster Energy’s ambassador to the global off road racing community and his team of 23 Monster Energy/Robby Gordon Off Road Racing team members (including several guys from his NASCAR team) – and flanked by a handful of Monster Energy/Robby Gordon Experience contest winners – jet down to Buenos Aires for the 2009 Dakar Rally held this year in and around the geologically diverse countries of Argentina and Chile.

Though somewhat of a rookie to the international off road wars apart from Baja, Mexico, of course, Gordon is liking his and the Monster Energy/Hummer team’s chances at Dakar ’09. Rewind quickly to last year’s Dakar and Gordon almost won – in just his second attempt at the race. A mere 30 seconds out of the lead and running in 2nd place on Day Six of the abbreviated seven-day (from 16 days) event, Gordon blew a rear hub/spindle fixture, which ended his run at the title. In his previous Dakar effort Gordon placed 8th in 2007.

The nearly 6,000 mile long 2009 Dakar Rally does its best to re-create the sheer thrill and technical difficulties that the previous Dakar events have presented to competitors since the great race’s inception in 1979. The Argentina/Chile route will consist of everything from sand dunes to mountainous conditions in order to challenge the drivers - running the plains of Patagonia, across the Atacama Desert and through the Andes Mountains (all in the heat of summer south of the equator) to the race’s culmination in Buenos Aires on Jan. 17th .



Busy as heck getting everything organized, Robby Gordon was still pumped to reach out to the Monster Army members and share some pre-race thoughts on the 2009 Dakar Rally from his Monster Energy/Hummer HQ in southern California.



Monster Energy: So the great Dakar adventure race is now in South America. Is this a good thing for the Monster Energy/Hummer team?


Robby Gordon: “I think it’s going to be cool. It’s going to a place where nobody has a home court advantage – at least none of the factory teams. Racing Dakar for us, where it’s traditionally been run, would be like their teams coming over to the Baja and racing us. I know Baja like my backyard. But in Africa, Morocco, that’s where Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, BMW do all their testing. It’s their backyard, their home court advantage. So in that sense moving the Dakar to South America is great. Nobody really knows that ground in Argentina and Chile.


Monster Energy: Do you think we will ever see the Dakar run again in its place of origin?


Robby Gordon: “ I do, personally. Last year the problems they had down there just showed we live in a world where terrorism is a reality. But I think it’s a high possibility that we’ll go back there next year or the year after and I look forward to the challenge. Safety is obviously the main concern and the organizers have shown they can bring the Dakar together in other countries and I think it could be run as well in Mexico and Australia. But on the other side of it it’s still called the ‘Dakar.’ So, yes, I think it will be run there again.”


Monster Energy: Have you been down to Argentina and Chile to check out some of the circuit?


Robby Gordon: “No, you’re not allowed to pre-run. That’s one of the things about the Dakar that makes it so challenging is that there’s no pre-running allowed. But that makes for a level playing field, which will make for great racing and a lot of fun for the Monster/Hummer Dakar race team.”


Monster Energy: Tell us about the vehicle you’ll be running down there as it differs from you SCORE/Baja ride Monster Army members last saw you run at the 1,000.


Robby Gordon: “We’re running the Hummer H3. It’s got a V8 engine, same motor that they ran in the Corvette C6-R in the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. Built specifically for GM’s motorsports program in Detroit.”


Monster Energy: Are you packing a spare hub this time?


Robby Gordon: “We broke a left rear hub on my car last year, actually broke the spindle, which cost us a shot at the win. Since that we’ve done 15-20,000 miles worth of testing and I feel we’ve got the right fix for our problem. I think we’ll be good and I don’t foresee any real problems with regards to hub problems – think we’ve got that fixed. A few years ago we got bad fuel, and we have a solution to that as well. Throughout the years we’ve continued to make improvements on our race cars and the reliability of them and this year with our Monster Hummer I feel we’re as well prepared as we’ve ever been.”


Monster Energy: You just signed with Toyota for your ’09 NASCAR program. Are they interested in working with you on your off road interests as well?


Robby Gordon: “I started my off road career with Toyota, but right now it’s strictly a NASCAR program. Obviously in 2009 we’re running Hummers. I’ve got a good relationship with Hummer and we’re starting to build some chemistry together and for myself I’d like to see that continue for years to come. We’ve got a lot of equipment built up, a lot of parts built up specifically for Hummer and we’re as well prepared with our two Hummers and we’re ready to hit the Dakar and rock & roll.”


Monster Energy: Who’s going to be your main competition at Dakar?


Robby Gordon: “Your competition is yourself when you have a vehicle like we have that’s capable of winning. Let’s not beat ourselves is the first main concern. Then you’ve got to look at the guys that win these things. Stefan Peterhansel (France), who knows that desert (Dakar) like I know the Baja. And I think we’re all on a level playing field now. Carlos Sainz (Spain), Giniel De Villiers (South Africa), our team. Three Mitsubishi, four Volkswagens, three BMWs and two Hummers – as well as a bunch of other strong privateers in the premier division. It’s an extremely tough race and real competitive. VERY difficult on the machinery. Beat the other competitors, yeah, but don’t beat ourselves.”


Monster Energy: Any race strategy heading into Buenos Aires?


Robby Gordon: “Start at a little bit of a conservative pace and see how that sets the stage for us. But I feel confident we’ll be competitive throughout the whole rally.”


Monster Energy: At first glance the geography and geology of Argentina and Chile looks to be considerably different than northern Africa. However, race organizers have the option to keep you guys in a lot of sand – similar conditions to that of northern Africa. How will this affect your plan of attack?


Robby Gordon: “The amount of racing on a daily basis that you have to do for 16 days straight will be the most challenging aspect. A new challenge every day. Our Monster/Hummer is good in the sand. It’s good on the rocks. It’s good in the mountains. It was good in the snow in Hungary and Romania and we see no reason why it’s won’t be strong in South America as well. We’ve worked hard on the reliability and the team aspect of this and I feel we’ve got all the tools we need to do this job.”


Monster Energy: Who’s your co-driver?


Robby Gordon: “Andy Grider has been navigator on the program since its inception in 2006.”


Monster Energy: How many people will you have down there supporting you? Any guys from your NASCAR team?


Robby Gordon: “All totaled, 23 guys going on the team. Four of the guys have come from my NASCAR team, my truck driver is one of them – Randy Rodriguez, Glen Wheeler, my tire specialist, along with two other guys from my NASCAR shop. But obviously I can’t say enough about my off road team and the craftsmanship and quality of vehicles they build. And my NASCAR guys were there from the final build as well so they know these Monster/Hummer cars real well also. The cars are already shipped and we’ve got a good index and a good manifest of all the parts, which should make our jobs easy when we get down to Buenos Aires for New Year’s and the start of the race.”


Monster Energy: What goals have you set for the Monster Energy/Hummer Dakar team?


Robby Gordon: “We’re there first to finish. As they say, ‘You must first finish to finish 1st .’ First goal of finishing and the second goal of winning. Got a LOT of people that have worked very hard on this. Not only the guys at my shop but a lot of our suppliers from ProAm and Kartek and everyone that builds parts for us, to the shop that builds our shocks absorbers. All down the line we’ve got a quality group of people that have built quality parts for the Monster/Hummer. The motors from GM, the transmissions from Albins and Ron Lettle – to everything we’ve done – we’ve got a good group of guys ready to rock & roll.”