Robby Gordon Statement On The 2011 Dakar Rally

From www.speedenergy.com

 

“We are very disappointed that both of our cars failed to finish the 2011 Dakar Rally. Our team was better prepared than ever, so two DNF's makes this hurt a lot. We will start preparing for the 2012 Dakar as soon as we return from the rally and try our best to compete with VW next year. I definitely felt that I could have matched their speed in Chile, but we do have our work cut out for us improving the race cars for the Argentina stages,” commented Robby Gordon.

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Permalink Reply by MerlotMax on January 13, 2011 at 5:09pm
Would be great to see them run the Silk Road Rally.
Permalink Reply by Bigzoom on January 13, 2011 at 10:33am

I think by summer, RGM will have an idea on how SPEED is selling. If numbers are above expectations...LOOK OUT! If they are on par, Robby will be happy and move with his agenda, if they're a disappointment, Robby will need to be making sales calls again looking for sponsors.

We all love SPEED, because we all follow Robby. I think SPEED can do very well considering most comments have been positive in the taste area (probably the most important). If the push into the markets are HUGE like we're hearing, it could have big payoffs for RGM. The logo dispute actually ends up working in Robby's favor. The new logo is a suttle change, and looks cooler.

When Vitamin Water launched it did ok until they got rapper 50 Cent involved, then they added more celebrities and grew to huge success. Having Robby is great advantage, with Nascar / Indy / Score / Dakar and other venues reaching many racing fans. I loved how RGM had 2 SPEED Hummers and added Cody to the SPEED TEAM. Be great to see 2 cars at Daytona. The #7 and #07 SPEED ENERGY cars. There's not alot of places I see a need for having 2 cars, but plate tracks can be a benefit. With drivers like Scott Speed and Elliott Sadler without rides, they could easily race their way into the 500. RGM builds fast race cars. They always suck up in the draft very well. Robby did a masterful job at Talladega with his media splash, hopefully he can repeat at Daytona. Sadler qualified 12th at Daytona and does pretty good on plate tracks. Be pretty cool to see 2 SPEED ENERGY cars pushing each other at Daytona.

 

OH by the way, read an article recently where companies are looking for the next big "HOT" seller like energy drinks. One company is working on Energy Coffee, another is working on Energy cereal and one is working on Energy pastries (like a Pop Tart).

 

Looks like 2011 will be a pretty cool year to follow RGM!

 

Permalink Reply by TOG on January 13, 2011 at 10:55am
IF you are fast in the draft at a plate track, ANYBODY will draft with you.
Permalink Reply by Kathy Kubara on January 13, 2011 at 5:22pm

Except maybe Dinger, unless he's been practicing

 

Permalink Reply by Brian Moore on January 17, 2011 at 1:46pm
The energy drink market is saturated.  It's all about the hype now.  The logo is cool.  I never drink them but I would think about buying this stuff if it means Robbie can still do his thing.
Permalink Reply by Christopher Lutz on January 13, 2011 at 10:39am

Some good comments here, thanks for posting.

 

I'm (expert that I am....) not convinced RG is giving up THAT much to the 4wd's.  It's give and take.  The wet conditions this year exacerbated the situation and created a bigger gap during the initial stages than there would have been if conditions had been dry.

 

I'm sure he would still have given up time.  It's hard to analyze the situation as fans because we don't know all the changes that are made to the truck, etc.

 

 - I'd be curious to hear how the newly designed tire inflation system worked this year?

 - what happened with the transmission pumps?  Why so many failures....were they different than previous years?

 

The wheel bearing is just bad luck, compounded by the 327 missing RG's Rig.

 

I like the 2wds and think it provides an angle that gives the media something to talk about and probably gives RG more air time than he'd get if he were in a 4wd rig.

 

The general look and feel of the larger Hummer is also a plus, attracts attentions, air time, etc.

 

Like many of you - this is my favorite race of the year.  I'm REALLY happy RG Isn't running a full Nascar schedule and is focusing more on offroad.  It should give him a chance to test parts.

 

Ah spoken like a true arm chair expert!

 

 

 

Permalink Reply by geothermaljones on January 13, 2011 at 11:58am

Dirt is for Racin, Asphalt is for getting there!

RG racing more off road & less in the France/Hendricks circuit is a GOOD Thing!

Permalink Reply by David Wetten on January 13, 2011 at 1:00pm
I was thinking the wet conditions might have caused the wheel bearing failure due to water/ dirt ingress.
Permalink Reply by Riverside Racer on January 13, 2011 at 1:25pm

I've noticed that the Dakar has the WRC stages up front in the rally.  This puts the 2WD cars in catch up mode. You can say from your PC that they need to remain calm and the race will come back to you, but I bet it plays hard on your brain being 10+ minutes back after a day or two.  It would make me push harder every stage.

 

I'd like to see the VW's run from behind next year.  Why not start in the dunes and give RG the advantage off the start.

Permalink Reply by Mike Kenyon on January 13, 2011 at 12:03pm

2012 Dakar wish list.Alot of folks think 4x4 is the only answer.And the idea of a Freightliner T4.To me these things raise more questions than answers.Who is doing the development? And where is the 10's of millions of dollars for development coming from?

Is Robby having a yard sale on the equipment/parts he already has?

Permalink Reply by MerlotMax on January 13, 2011 at 5:17pm
I though I heard he had plans for a Frightliner T4, since the Mann was in such poor shape, but ran out of time.
Permalink Reply by Brian on January 13, 2011 at 12:19pm
I say next year have the 2nd Hummer loaded up with spare parts and be an on track support car just like Miller is doing for the VW team. Have the driver in contact with Robby on where he is at all times just in case he needs help.

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