Jan 2nd, 2011 Dakar Rally Stage 1 Race Info & Discussion

Join in and discuss all the action from Stage 1 of the 2011 Dakar Rally.Robby Gordon will drive the #303 Speed Energy Hummer & Eliseo Salazar will drive the #327 Hummer. Raceday chat will also be available throughout the entire 2011 Dakar Rally.Robby Gordon finished 6th in stage 1 of last years rally.

STAGE 1 TRACKING

STAGE 1: Buenos Aires > Cordoba

Connection 566km | Special Stage 222km | Total 788km

COURSE OVERVIEW

Most of the journey will have been made the day before, but the road section to the starting line of the first special stage is still long.Once the competitors have got down to the nitty-gritty, their engines will start to heat up along a very quick portion.They will need to be more and more technically proficient on a route that then becomes mountainous.In order to limit the amount of overtaking on narrow tracks, a special route has been drawn up for bikes and quads in the middle of the stage.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by TOG on January 2, 2011 at 1:08pm

And RG finishes stage 1...11 minutes, 4 seconds back

Permalink Reply by redlinetech on January 2, 2011 at 1:14pm

Not bad considering this type of stage.

Permalink Reply by Carl Abrams on January 2, 2011 at 1:34pm

Any way you look at it it is hard to sugar coat 11 min unless he was getting stuck or was having a minor mech issue.

I know you are all going to say I am a naysayer and that I should quit bitching but that could not be further from the truth.

Lets hope for better days ahead.

Permalink Reply by Miffles on January 2, 2011 at 1:37pm

He lost some time keeping all four wheels on the ground in the rain. He's in with everything intact (at least haven't seen any reports to the contrary) and his better stages are still coming up.

Keep the faith - its Robby we're talking about here.

Permalink Reply by Carl Abrams on January 2, 2011 at 1:42pm

I have all the faith in the world in Robby.

The issue is "although I do love the Hummers" the smaller more nimble 4 wheel drive vehicals have a serious advantage and with a few 11 min losses, as you all should know, Robby will start pushing harder on his equipment.

Permalink Reply by John Nelson on January 2, 2011 at 5:39pm

Got to agree, the Dakar courses are 1/3 to 1/2 tight twisty stuff and the 2wd hummer just does not lend it self to this. The rain complicated things for the worse. I believe that given everything being equal, the 4x4 will be 5%+ faster overall for the entire rally.

Permalink Reply by pdxracefan on January 2, 2011 at 1:39pm

It was a wet, WRC type stage, which means high speed, lots of corners, and mud. Always an advantage for 4wd. RG knows this. There are not many of these stages in this year's event.

Permalink Reply by redlinetech on January 2, 2011 at 2:15pm

Not a naysayer, but maybe new at following robby atthe Dakar? The wp times are very consistent, so I doubt hes had any mechanicals or got stuck. He finished 8th among a large group of 4wds. This guy can drive. Kudos to Rg for keeping it on the road! Stage 2, I cant wait..

Permalink Reply by alisonlaroza on January 2, 2011 at 1:38pm