Thread: Team SPEED - 2012 Dakar Rally Stage 2 Recap

Robby Gordon finishes 3rd and becomes 2nd in the overall standings as Nasser Al-Attiyah wins the stage from a 38th starting position

The Qatari colors look amazing on that Hummer. RG always has a well-run team.

I'm amazed how well they are both still running especially considering Nasser's support truck didn't make it out of customs and to the teams until after stage 7 forcing him to run much longer on the same parts and tires than they would normally attempt. The next few stages will favor the hummers big time over the Minis. If they can keep from crashing out I can see Team USA taking a 1-2 finish.

Robby is up to P2 overall after today's stage 8. He closed to 7 minutes 38 seconds behind Peterhansel. Nasser had issues in the early part of the stage in the other Hummer and lost about 15 minutes. He clawed back 8 minutes of that after passing all of the Minis on the stage. He was driving like an absolute madman. As usual. There was also some very unsportsmanlike conduct in the bike class. Penalties for one of the French Monster Energy team riders may be forthcoming. Tomorrow's stage 9 should suit the Hummers really well silt beds at the start, flat in the middle and dunes at the end. If Robby doesn't do anything dumb or have bad mechanical luck he should easily overtake Peterhansel for P1.

Thanks for the updates. Robby is close, but I am not sure he can close that gap without a major issue from Peterhansel.

Originally Posted by David@MR

Thanks for the updates. Robby is close, but I am not sure he can close that gap without a major issue from Peterhansel.

A seven minute gap can be easily made up in one stage if conditions are right. Even Peterhansel has admitted that the Hummer is faster than the Minis and the next several stages play into the Hummer's strengths. Hell, Nasser made up almost 30 minutes one one stage a couple of days ago. I think Robby will be in P1 by at least 3 minutes at the end of tomorrow's stage if he doesn't have a mechanical. I wish Robby would put Nasser in a truck for the Baja 500 or 1k this year. That guy can drive!

Video recap of today's action. 2012 Dakar Eurosport Stage 8 - Planet Robby

They are about 1/3 of the way through today's stage and Robby has gained back 4 minutes on Peterhansel. So far so good... Nasser seems to have thrown a hissy fit after a minor mechanical with the other Hummer and may have abandoned the race. I hope Robby got payed in full before the race.

Robby wins stage 9, 1:38 ahead of Peterhansel. Peterhansel's lead is cut to just under 5 minutes. Robby had the overall lead briefly then dropped almost 8 minutes with a puncture. Plenty of stages left.

Nasser looks at the Hummer as a "poor man's" ride in the race. Just watched a great video of him after his retirement where they asked him if he'd be back next year in the Hummer. He chuckled like, "are you kidding me... no way", style... then said "NO".

Go Gordon and Campbell!!! Team Speed!