Carlos Sainz of Spain won the Dakar Rally in his Volkswagen, finishing second in Saturday’s final stage into Buenos Aires to maintain his overall led. Volkswagen teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah won the 14th and final 128-mile stage in 1 hour, 19 minutes, 42 seconds. Sainz finished in 47:10:00 overall, which was 2:12 ahead of Al-Attiyah and 35:21 better than Mark Miller of the United States. It was a 1-2-3 sweep for Volkswagen. Robby Gordon finished the stage in seventh, 01:58 behind Al-Attiyah and claimed the eighth spot in overall standings. Cyril Despres of France won in motorcycle division with an overall time of 51:10:37. He finished sixth on his KTM in the final stage. Pal Anders Ullevalseter of Norway was second overall, 1:02:52 behind.(NASCAR/AP)
AND: After clenching last years championship, Robby Gordon will return to SCORE International Off-Road Racing competition for the season opener, the Laughlin Desert Challenge, January 15-17. Gordon and members of his Monster Energy / Toyo Tires team will travel to Laughlin, Nev., immediately following the conclusion of the Dakar Rally on Saturday, January 16th. Gordon is expected to arrive in time to race in Sundays final day of competition. In last years edition of the Laughlin Desert Challenge, the Monster Energy / Toyo Tires Chevy CK1500 trophy truck dominated the field by securing the pole on Friday, finishing second on Saturday and winning the main feature on Sunday. After recording a near perfect weekend, Gordon claimed the overall victory in the unique two-day racing event. This year, Gordon has entered his father Bob Gordon in the #1 Monster Energy / Toyo Tires Chevy CK1500 in the event. Recognized as a legendary off-road racer, ‘Baja Bob’Â will qualify the #1 Monster Energy / Toyo Tires trophy truck on Friday afternoon by running one complete lap around the 6.25-mile loop. Bob will then compete in Saturdays 8-lap race before handing the wheel over to his son for Sundays main feature. Gordons starting position on Sunday will be based on the finishing order of Saturday feature. Follow Robby Gordons progress in the SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge and the final stages of the Dakar Rally at robbygordon.com, planetrobby.com, and Robby Gordons twitter.(RGM)(1-16-2010)
