The course was once again centered around the ex-military base outside of Veszprem, which provided an emotional rollercoaster ride for Robby Gordon and Andy Grider’s. Stage five started out strong with the Monster Energy Hummer taking its first special win in the Central Europe Rally. With that strong performance the team moved to within three minutes of the top spot held by Carlos Sainz. Fortunes turned quickly on the second special for Gordon and Grider when they experienced mechanical problems with the rear wheel assembly of the Hummer. “After the special win we were pumped up because we had fought our way back into this thing. The only thing left to do was to go hard and keep pace with the leaders. I’m very disappointed after the second special. We flew a decent size jump and the truck just came down wrong on the rear and damaged the rear hub. We finally managed to get it fixed but at that point it was too late. Our chances on this rally are over but I’m really proud of this effort.” The bright spot for Team Dakar USA was another couple of strong specials for BJ Baldwin. Baldwin managed ninth in the first special, fifth in the second and seventh on the day. His showing has earned the Ronn Bailey Vanguard Hummer a spot in the top-ten in the overall classification. Once again tomorrows tracks can be found in Veszprem where there will be two specials. The first special in the morning will be 157km while the afternoon special will be 54km. From there the rally goes to Balaton Lake for the final stage in the 2008 Central Europe Rally. Coverage of the rally can be seen in the United States on DirecTV. The half hour show will be aired twice – first at 7p.m. EST and then again at 12:30a.m.(Robby Gordon PR), earlier updates about the rally are available on the #7 Team Page.(4-24-2008)
