Jan 5th, 2014 Dakar Rally Stage 1 Race Info & Discussion

Join in and discuss all the action from Stage 1 of the 2014 Dakar Rally. Robby Gordon will drive the #305 Speed Energy/Traxxas/Toyo Tires HST. The special section of Stage 1 is 180km long. The parade leading up to the start of stage 1 will be televised and we will have coverage here. Raceday chat will be available throughout the entire 2014 Dakar Rally. Raceday chat now works on the Ipad & Iphone.

2014 Prep Photos

STAGE 1 TRACKING

STAGE 1: ROSARIO > SAN LUIS

Connection 629km | Special Stage 180km | Total 809km

COURSE OVERVIEW

The competitors will wake up early to set off along the road in the region of Cordoba and start the race on some narrow tracks which will require the utmost vigilance. Each one will still be very fresh allowing them to tackle the stony sections or the blind jumps serenely. The competitors’ driving skills will be rewarded at the finish, where they will have already clocked up 800 kilometres. Although the gaps will not be significant at this stage of the race, it is nevertheless important to maintain their position in the part of the standings that they are aiming for!

The GREEN section of the route is the connection , the RED is the Special Section of the stage.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by rick mancha on January 5, 2014 at 10:28pm

What happened in stage 1 to put robby behind

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Permalink Reply by pdxracefan on January 5, 2014 at 10:32pm

Fuel vapor locks. No explanation yet.

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Permalink Reply by Chupakabras on January 5, 2014 at 10:52pm

so, it was fuel vapor lock only, or overheating engine or both,.

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Permalink Reply by Ray Therat on January 6, 2014 at 2:09pm

A vapor lock can cause overheating, since fuel boiling in the lines/pumps will cause a lean burn condition which in turn will cause the engine to run hot...and if the engine coolant and the other coolant systems are combined in one package (like a trans cooler in a radiator) or even mounted closely, that could cause trans, diff and any other cooling loops to absorb the heat.

I've watched guys run on the salt flats and decide to run as lean as possible to get the most power and blow the motor before they get to the 5 mile mark, since they didn't take density altitude into consideration. Then, what was an optimal mixture for the dyno turns the motor into a hand grenade at 4500 ft elevation.

There are tons of reasons for boiling fuel in the lines and other instances of overheating. At least RG had the sense to stop and cool down (well, HE may not have cooled down, but the motor did) rather than keep pushing and watched a sick motor become a dead one.

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Permalink Reply by timothy price on January 5, 2014 at 10:59pm

if differance cannot be made up ship car then home
and kick the shit outta them at Parker

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Permalink Reply by Chupakabras on January 5, 2014 at 11:18pm

He will do parker btw.

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Permalink Reply by Schuk on January 5, 2014 at 11:12pm

Hey all, I thought I saw on one of the videos the first day it arrived that it looked like there was water shooting out and onto the open drivers side door. Click on this better qaulity video and watch the last 10-15 seconds. You can even see Robby look down at the water.
I am sure Robby and team will get to the bottom of it...
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wDEvACRFe5g
You can see the water splashing near the shadow on the ground as well