Mechanical Issues Sideline Robby Gordon In The 2014 Dakar Rally

El Salvador, Chile (January 17, 2014) – Robby Gordon’s 10th attempt at Dakar Rally glory has come to an end in the sand dunes of Chile.

Despite earlier issues in the Rally with fuel vapor locking on the SPEED Energy/Toyo Tires HST Gordini, the issue that put Gordon and his team out of the 35th Dakar Rally was a compromised air filtration system.

At the start of Thursday’s 11th stage, Gordon and navigator Kellon Walch raced only 18 kilometers into the stage when they realized the issue at the engine’s air intake and returned to Antofagasta, Chile to make repairs. Reports Thursday afternoon of issues with fuel contamination were denied by Gordon and he indicated the only problem was the air intake issue.

At that time more than 80 cars had withdrawn from the race and only 65 remained. Being more than 10 hours down to the leaders and facing more than 10 hours of repairs would make Gordon’s withdrawal from the Rally justifiable.

But in typical Gordon style, he and his team’s never-give-up attitude kicked in and they worked until 12 a.m. Friday with hopes of driving the HST Gordini and support trucks through total darkness in the desert in an attempt to make it to the start of the next stage within one hour after the last car left for Friday’s 12th stage. Despite their best efforts, and although repairs were made, time did not allow the team to make the 749-kilometer trek through the dunes to El Salvador in a timely fashion.

“We gave it our best and didn’t quit until the clock wouldn’t allow us to continue,” Gordon said.

“Without the vapor lock issues at the beginning of the Rally and a few other minor issues, the new HST Gordini ran really well and I was pleased with its performance. We will work on it for the next year and have a much better understanding of the car for next year’s Rally. I am very proud of the way everyone worked on Team Speed, and I appreciate the dedication and effort that everyone puts into everything we do.”

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Permalink Reply by BAD on January 17, 2014 at 5:50pm

Bummer - but give the whole team credit for where they ended up. Next year will be a whole new deal.

Thanks for team at PlanetRobby too for giving the best coverage!

Permalink Reply by edgard vargas on January 17, 2014 at 6:05pm

gracias TOG :( U_U TE ESPERAMOS al año hasta pronto gracia s por haber compartido estas dos semanas de emocion

Permalink Reply by Chupakabras on January 17, 2014 at 6:16pm

no matter the outcom, will always cheer for him! no one else gives the thrill and emotion like he does. God bless RG and Crew.

Permalink Reply by Baja Girl 77 on January 17, 2014 at 6:49pm

i agree with you Robby has always been a winner in my book!!

Permalink Reply by scott henderson on January 17, 2014 at 6:45pm

can't wait to see the Gordini in action again! hopefully in a BITD or SCORE race or two. robby and the crew will have all the bugs worked out for next years Dakar. i hope there will be Gordini t-shirts available soon!

Permalink Reply by Robert Suttle on January 17, 2014 at 7:26pm

Thank you TOG, The Planet, Robby and crew for an exciting and informative two weeks of participation and coverage of the toughest offroad race in the world. Looking forward to next year.

Permalink Reply by ktm pilot on January 17, 2014 at 7:45pm

Thanks to TOG, Planet Robby contributors, Team Speed and the pit crew for taking us on this awesome 2 week adventure! Hope you are all back next year.

Permalink Reply by GLL on January 17, 2014 at 8:25pm

TOG and his team here (if he has one) have done a great job. Hats off to you..

RG and his team has put a tremendous amount of effort and $$$ into project and I applaud the efforts. In hindsight I am sure it will prove to be a great learning experience. I do hope that these efforts pay off for Team Gordon, Speed Energy, and his SST business.

What is rare are people that both develop teams (Gordon, several) concepts and events (SST) and also are active in that actual events (such as driving Dakar). One reason I support Robby and his efforts. Reminds me of the late Andy Granatelli. (If you like Indy and have not read his book "They call me Mr. 500", then DO IT). I love the entrepreneur spirit, both on the business / marketing side and tech side (not to mention driving).

It would really be interesting to see how Robby would have fared in driving a Mini. I'll bet pretty well. And judging from the Mini's performance, they pretty well targeted what it takes to win.

But I really appreciate Robby's efforts. sounds like he is in Dakar for the long haul. I do not get my kicks out of Indy (my first auto love) or Na$car anymore. Thus this event is now on the top of my list..

Gary

Permalink Reply by ivanspeed on January 17, 2014 at 9:26pm
Of course hst will be better
Permalink Reply by ken orr on January 17, 2014 at 9:47pm

+1 to GLL's post. Well said!

Permalink Reply by Murfdogg73 on January 17, 2014 at 9:26pm
Tog parker and mint?
Permalink Reply by KTM go BRAWWWPPP!!! on January 17, 2014 at 10:51pm
Been on 7 deployments in the 14 years off service in the Navy Seabees and my buddies and I love off-road racing! Seeing Robby from Glamis, king of the hammers, and the 4 west coast Nascar races every year I can't say enough about his showmanship, it has gotten me and my buddies to take our minds off the riggers of our day job, and smile knowing its things like off-road that make us the greatest country in the world to live in. I hope as I am sure most of you do every year that he takes the top step at Dakar. It will come one day and I am sure sooner then most of his competitors would care too see, but we the fans will be their to cheer him on, wave his colors, and more importantly support in any way we can as we watch our American Rebel prove to the world that he is the greatest off-road racer of all time.

Robby & all your staff thank you for all your effort and dedication.
TOG, and the others who support you thank you for keeping us pesky fans up to date with our favorite racer.

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