The third stage of the Dakar Rally opened with the #300 car of Nasser Al-Attiyah first off the line and the #303 car of Robby Gordon shortly behind him in the 3rd starting position, giving Team SPEED an opportunity to keep momentum on their side. This stage of the 2012 Dakar Rally went from San Rafael to the city of San Juan, located in a valley of mountains just southeast of the Andes. The stage featured a total of 499km that included a 208 km special stage section that ended at the bivouac in San Juan. Nasser Al-Attiyah and navigator Lucas Cruz ended up gaining ground in the last section to finish in the 3rd position, also gaining in the overall standings advancing to 6th, 6 minutes and 34 seconds back from overall leader. Robby Gordon, in his Speed Energy/Toyo Tires Hummer, was once again consistent and finished in the lead pack in 5th place, 2 minutes and 8 seconds behind. Stephane Peterhansel, overall leader going into today’s stage, had issues allowing Gordon to gain in the overall standings. Gordon will start the 4th stage of the rally only 54 seconds behind new leader, Holowczyc. Team SPEED looks to keep the same game plan going into tomorrow as the 1st car leaves the line at 7:16am for Chilecito.(RGM)
To follow the team’s journey to compete in the upcoming Dakar, and for updated race team coverage, log onto speedenergy.com, toyotires.com, robbygordon.com, planetrobby.com and dakar.com.(1-4-2012)
