Fiambala, Argentina (January 4, 2010) – Unfortunate circumstances plagued Team
HUMMER this afternoon in the dune sections of Stage 3. The team had first
thought that the these set of dunes would be a good stage for the HUMMERs but
due to a smaller restrictor cutting the horsepower down, the HUMMERs couldn’t
carry the momentum needed to get through the heavy sand that was featured during
Stage 3. Robby Gordon said his HUMMER won’t run the dunes in 2nd gear and for
that reason he got stuck and lost valuable time to the leaders.

Robby Gordon talked about his performance during Stage 3, “I feel we are at a major
disadvantage when it comes to restrictors. My top speed is about 165mph and the
Volkswagens’ are going 190mph. Plus my Monster Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER needs
to carry extra weight because of the fuel mileage we get. The sand dunes in
this stage needed the car to have forward momentum to get through them. I would
run up and try to come down and get stuck. For tomorrow we’ll move on and drive
again.”

Robby Gordon would end up in 12th place in his Monster Energy / Toyo Tires
HUMMER for the stage and now 1 hour and 4 minutes down to the overall leader in
9th place. That’s not the only disappointment of the day. Around kilometer 57
the Vanguard HUMMER had a transmission failure and was forced to be towed in
along with Carlo De Gavardo having clutch problems 10 kilometers before the
Vanguard HUMMER had its issues. They were both able to make it to the bivouac
after getting a tow from one of Team HUMMERs’ support trucks.

All in all it’s a day that the team would like to soon forget. They will
regroup tonight in Fiambala and try to make the best of tomorrow’s Stage 4.
Stage 4 is set from Fiambala to Copiapo, a liaison for 394 kilometers and a
special that will be 203 kilometers. Another 32 kilometer liaison back to the
bivouac in total distance of 629 kilometers. The first car is set to leave the
bivouac at 6:05 am with the special starting at 12:05 pm local time.