For Team Hummer today [Saturday] was the start of Stage #1 and the first opportunity for competitors to race against each other. The stage was suppose to feature 251 kilometers but was unfortunately shortened by 52 kilometers due to heavy rainfalls earlier this week. The end total of the special had 199 kilometers of racing. Robby Gordon and his Monster Energy / Toyo Tires Hummer would finish 6th overall behind the eventual winner Nani Roma and improving on his performance from last year. ‘I am very happy were we are at right now. We got off track a few times but to still be beat by 4 minutes and 48 seconds is pretty good considering at this stage last year we didnt fare so well.’Â For tomorrow, the stage is set from Cordoba to La Rioja. It will be more of the same from today with similar terrain and will be tougher on the Hummers 2-wheel drive systems.(RGM)
AND Nani Roma won the first stage of the Dakar Rally in a BMW and David Casteu of France led home the bikes on a Saturday marred by the first death of a fan in four years. Roma finished the shortened stage from Colon to Cordoba 2 minutes, 7 seconds ahead of Spanish countryman Carlos Sainz in a Volkswagen, and 2:50 in front of BMW teammate Stephane Peterhansel. Giniel De Villiers of South Africa, the 2009 champion, was 4:31 off the lead in a Volkswagen. The fatality occurred when a woman watching the rally was struck by a 4×4 driven by Mirco Schultis and partner Ulrich Leardi, who veered off course in north central Argentina. Norberto Brusa, a spokesman for Rio Cuarto Hospital, said 28-year-old Natalia Sonia Gallardo died from injuries suffered in the crash. Brusa said four other people were injured, but the extent of the injuries was not immediately available. A witness to the accident told the television station TN that fans were standing outside a secure area reserved for spectators. “There was no place and the police did not stop people,” said the witness, identified as Gaston Harriague. “The fields around there are all private. They are not permitted places.” Sunday’s second stage takes the racers to La Rioja as the rally moves northwest toward the Chilean border.(ESPN/AP), for more info, TV and internet coverage info, see my #7 Team News and Links page.(1-3-2010)
