thebajarunner - 11-2-2005 at 05:22 PM
Robby gets Dakar sponsor: Hummer Division and Robby Gordon Motorsports have joined together to take on the Dakar Rally, widely considered to be the
most grueling off-road race in the world due to its brutal terrain and extreme environmental conditions. Gordon will lead his Team Dakar USA from
behind the wheel of a HUMMER H3 race truck. His relationship with Hummer will also include driving an H3 in the 2006 Baja 1000 and Baja 500 desert
races. ?Team Dakar USA?s main objective will be to prove to the world that American innovation and determination can compete on the world stage,? said
Gordon. ?We started planning for this just after my first Dakar Rally, where we won two stages, and I know we are prepared and ready to take on the
world.? Gordon?s H3 will consist of an H3 body paired with a specially developed chassis featuring a suspension designed by him and his Off-Road team.
The H3 will be a tube-chassis vehicle similar to Trophy Trucks races in the famed Baja 1000, except that it will have a fully enclosed air-conditioned
c-ckpit, including windshield and side windows. It will be powered by a production-based General Motors V8 engine.
The 16-stage Dakar race covers more than 6,000 miles (nearly 10,000 km) in just over two weeks. The 2006 Dakar begins on December 31 in Lisbon,
Portugal and runs through Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, and Guinea before finishing in the capital city of Dakar, in Senegal. More information on the
Dakar race is available at teamdakarusa.com. Information on HUMMER products is available at www.hummer.com. Robby Gordon was named by Off-Road retailer magazine in 2004 as one of the five most influential people in the off-road industry.
He has successfully owned and operated teams in the NASCAR Nextel Cup and Busch Series, CART, IRL and SCORE.(Robby Gordon PR)(11-2-2005)
TMW - 11-3-2005 at 07:41 AM
The H3 for the 2006 Dakar race will be an existing class one car with the H3 body panels. The car Robby is building will be ready for the 500 next
year.
comitan - 11-3-2005 at 07:54 AM
I'm just wondering the car he is using will look like a Hummer but thats far from the truth. Do the other cars in the like Toyota do the same thing?
For the Mfg to really advertise they won the Dakar I would think the car should have the same chassis,drivetrain and body. It doesn't make sense to
me!!!!!!!!!!
TMW - 11-3-2005 at 08:09 AM
I'm not sure as to the other cars that run in the Dakar race. They may be more of the stock type setup, just reinforced. The organizers are now
allowing Score type vehicles to race. Robby will have a GM V8 engine (probably pretty tame for Dakar) and H3 body panels and maybe a GM tranny but
everything else is custom built around a tube frame like a buggy. The engine will be moved back or mid location for better balance. That's what the
Trophy Trucks are. Robby's H3 will be similar to the Trailblazer that Ragland raced a couple of years ago. A class 8 truck has to have the stock frame
rails and the engine must set in or very near it's stock location up front and the rear springs must be like stock, although 1/4 ellipticals may still
be allowed, I'd have to check the rule book. I know the H3 is not what's on the show room floor but perception is everything and GM won't tell. It's
like Nascar.
bajalou - 11-3-2005 at 08:14 AM
VW came to Calif for the frame to be built by a race buggy manufacturer when the decided to get in the off road race scene in the Dakar 2-3 years ago.
They used their engine but the chassis was strictly Class 1.
