With the world’s most grueling off-road race 10 weeks away, Robby Gordon lead the 19-member Team Dakar USA team through its final test session leading up to the Dakar Rally which begins Jan. 6 in Lisbon, Portugal. The three-day test earlier this week in the desert of the Southwestern United States in Gordon’s purpose-built Toyo Tires/HUMMER-sponsored H3, included navigator Andy Grider and provided all members, including those new to the program this year, what the Dakar experience may entail. Battling similar terrain the team will encounter in the early stages of the 16-stage event through Portugal, Spain and Morocco, as well as the latter stages of Mauritania, Mali and Senegal, Gordon is confident in the team’s ability and their chances of capturing the overall title. Gordon and crew will encounter some of the most difficult terrain and environmental conditions known to man on the more than 6,000-mile 17-day journey from Lisbon to Dakar. From torrential rain to blinding sandstorms, Dakar is a test of man as well as machine. Over the last 29 years, competitors from across the globe have made survival the No. 1 priority in the punishing race. With testing complete and Team Dakar USA set to take on the challenges that the Southern European and African continents have to offer, Gordon’s participation in his third consecutive Dakar will bring the race to the forefront in the United States and Canada.(RGM PR)(11-2-2006)
