14 January 2010 | 08:00 - By Jacob Black

Literally leaping onto the Dakar scene in recent years is American Robby Gordon, the 'go big' hero of Dakar. Ignoring the convention for sedate cruises over the starting dais, Gordon gassed up his Hummer and cleared it in one jump, immediately ingratiating himself with thousands of Dakar fans.

Raised on the ovals of NASCAR and the wild airborne antics of the Baja 1000, Gordon has taken to Dakar racing with fervour. Finishing third in 2009 with his rear-wheel drive Hummer, Gordon has attracted the American market to the biggest and most dangerous race in the world.

I sat down with Gordon after Day Nine and asked him if he ever takes his foot off the throttle.

"Yes and no," the genial American said.

"I think at the end of the day we try to do the best job we can."

Despite the efforts of Volkswagen factory pilot Mark Miller, the Dakar was a largely unknown in the US until Gordon started getting results, but the 41-year-old says he knew how important the Dakar is and was drawn to it from an early stage.

"I won the Baja and the championship in America and I feel like in America we're the best team there so I felt like I had to come here and race against the best teams in the world," he explained.

"When Volkswagen came and raced us at the Baja we kicked their ass, but here they're kicking ours. So we need to understand rally racing a bit better. This is our fifth year and we felt this was the year to win.

"The guys are doing a pretty good job you know, preparing the car. Our biggest problem is the air inflation system. We've gotten stuck because of it. The other thing is we had a navigation error on day three we lost a lot of time, an hour and twenty minutes because of it. We went 20k one way then 20k back and had to backtrack again 20k to get the way point.

"Then we got back to fourth but we lost an alternator, and the Vanguard Hummer had a spare but it was two and a half hours by the time it got to us and that's how we find ourselves five and a half hours down which is a huge disappointment. We've got the same car with a better crew this year, and we're ninth where last year we finished third.

"Obviously we've had our share of bad luck but you make your luck. I feel it's about preparation and being organised so I think we can come back next year and win this thing. You have the cake mix all made before the race, you come here just to put it in the oven and bake it."

Running non-stop

Gordon's team are often the last to bed at night, with Gordon pitching in to help his many full time employees right to the early hours. Clearly unsatisfied with his 2010 performance thus far he is always searching for an edge.

"All in all the Hummer's running good and we know where our weaknesses are," he said.

"The biggest thing we're going to have to do in the future is never stop. If you look at the Volkswagens, they've got it down to a science, they run non-stop."

The Monster Energy drinks-sponsored team is a big show, but Gordon says despite the image his is very much a racing business.

"Every year our team gets better. If I could flick a switch and make it better again I would, I already know a lot of things I can do better next year but it all comes down to budget. What's it take to win this thing, what do you need for service trucks, how do you make it easier for your guys to get some rest? Because the most important thing is to have a cool head, all the mechanics and drivers have cool heads then you'll prevail," he said.

Immediately intrigued by that comment I asked how he relates a 'cool head' to the lead-footed driving style he employs.

"I gas it up," Gordon replied.

"Our car is made to run wide open so I guess it's 'do as I say, not as I do' but it works. It's working for us, it's working for Monster it's working for Toyo and for Hummer. The only thing we're not happy with is being ninth!"

A man's challenge

Along with his maverick approach to driving are the distinctive Hummers the Gordon team runs. More buggy than four-wheel drive, the Hummer is a very large two-wheel drive rear engined V8 unique in the bivouac.

"I guess that's about a bunch of different things," Gordon explained.

"It's what we race in America, they allow us a little more wheel travel and a bit bigger tyre, and I think the two-wheel drive can still prevail out here.

"Right now the diesel turbos have a bit of an advantage when we get up in altitude so I think the ASO needs to look at the package a bit and help the petrol engines out a bit.

"They choked us down [with a mandatory intake manifold restrictor] they took a gear away from us and allowed Volkswagen and BMW to have turbos so it's kind of like going to a fight with one arm tied behind your back and the restrictor is like running a marathon through a straw.

"I think there's another side of the excitement about us that everyone forgets the raspy V8 sound. The diesels are flat boring. You've got to have dust, jumping and noise and this V8 just sounds cool."

Gordon says he will keep returning until he wins the Dakar, citing the unique and unparalleled challenge of a Dakar as his motivation.

"This is the last true endurance race in the world. The 24 hours of Daytona and the 24 hours of Le Mans are kind of weak compared to this. The environment is the most difficult in the world it doesn't matter if it's Chile, Argentina or Africa the Dakar always gets very challenging for the competitors," he said.

"This race is a man's race."

http://www.sbs.com.au/sport/blog/single/115607/Gordon-gases-it-up-f...