WHAT ARE ROBBY GORDON'S ODDS FOR VICTORY

What are the odds?

A friend I made on Race-Dezert.com sent me an email today. He likes Mark Miller, Dirk, Darrin and Robby a lot. My friend brought up some valid points and questions about Robby's quest I would like to share with the Dakar Spot readers. Then respond to them with follow up from my point of view on the situation. These questions are the biggest questions we are all hearing right now. Everyone is getting so excited prior to the start of the big race. I sure am getting excited.

Statement: "2wd vs. 4wd in the soft stuff... I have driven both types in Glamis. A 4wd with stock tires hardly gets stuck vs. a 2wd with big tires and motor will move well but you have to pay attention nonstop. I predict there will be one incident where Robby will be digging while a 4wd passes him."

Response: Klaus, we will not know until Dakar starts how 2WD vs. 4WD plays out. The big difference from Robby's combination compareded to a regular 2WD Truck with big tires is weight transfer. By having the engine located in the very rear of the Hummer H-3 Robby's car has a large ratio of kilos directly over the rear wheels. Many 2WD Dakar attempts are with a mid- engine combination not a full rear engine location. A mid engine doesn't take full advantage of the 2-wheel drive FIA allowances. Also, Robby will have great flotation with the much larger diameter and14.50 width tire. The 4-wheel drive cars are restricted to a 10.50 tire. Great horsepower in some stages will take benefit of the Toyo's more aggressive tread too. In January he toyed with some tire inflation valve designs and Robby went off in that direction and made some huge filler valves in house. Robby can completely air the tires down for more traction and air back up two tires in less than a minute. In addition, if Robby was to get high centered he has the Howe Hydo Jacks to get unstuck. Another item Robby's Hummer H-3 has to offer is turning brakes. Turning brakes can lock up the inside rear tire and will allow Robby to do snap turns in the sand and on tight corners. In the sand a turning brake is another major advantage, if Robby were to begin digging down in the sand he can rotate the car around and re-take the dune with more momentum or another route altogether. Turning brakes are activated by a hand lever located next to the shifter.

Robby has chosen not to take advantage of an on board rolling inflation system that the FIA allows 2-wheel drive cars., Robby's opponents will see this as a major disadvantage for Robby. Robby will see it as one less thing to go wrong.

Finally, these key elements are what will make the whole 2WD deal an advantage over the narrow tired 4x4. With all his combined play days at Glamis and Dumont sand dunes, plus over a thousand silt wash runs in Baja, Robby Gordon knows his Sand. Maybe the most important advantage of 2WD will be the fact that Robby is arguably the most talented driver in the world operating a rear-wheel drive car on any surface.


Question: "Co-driver. Darren is a super cool guy but a driver by trade. I know he has Africa experience but how good of a navigator is he?"

Response: It's no secret Robby and Darrin are somewhat reserved as to how things will unfold with Darrin taking the navigator seat for the first time. Robby is not the only driver in this year's race in doubt of navigation skills. This is a result of the new rules regarding GPS limitations this year. All drivers are now faced with the same lack of GPS coordinates for the first time in many years. I know Darrin is up for the challenge, and has 25000 miles in Africa as a driver. Many navigators are former motorcycle pilots so I don't find Darrin's driver status to be a disadvantage but an advantage. Plus, Darrin Skilton is multi lingual, and is the US liaison to the ASO; this will play a key element in helping Team Dakar USA navigate the bivouac as well. Darrin and Robby have hundreds of miles together not thousands. However, I think the most important part of being in the navigator role is covered. Darrin is very confident in Robby's skills so the biggest hurdle between driver and navigator has already been leaped, the respect is there. This combination could work out very well for Team Dakar USA.

Statement: "Logistics, VW and Mitsubishi have more people and gear out there..."

Response: The logistics are a huge deal in Dakar. However, Robby has put together one bad to the bone team consisting of 12 "top of their game" team members. The team is comprised of mechanics, fabricators component specialists and a Team Manager. They come from Cart, IRL and decades in the desert. Many of the guys are actual crew chiefs from top professional racing teams like Rahal/Letterman. These guys are looking forward to the challenge while their motor sport is in the off season. They are hand picked by Robby, are the best of the best and will not fail. I think Robby's selection compared to what Mitsubishi and Volkswagen have brought to the table has some major advantages. When you have 80 bodies to keep track of, it can slow things down and cause confusion. Maintaining focus and equality among team members will be easier for Team Dakar USA. I like to compare Robby's team to a Delta Force team whereas; the big teams can be more like an army thus being slower to react and move, perhaps even chaotic. Team Dakar USA has plenty of spare parts to rebuild the entire Hummer 4 times over and still have extras. At the end of the day all the racers have to make it back to the same place before the teams can perform work anyway. The racers must make it back to the bivouac on their own. I don't see team size becoming a winning or losing factor.

Statement: “Well here is my take: RG will win stages early on.”

Response: I’m looking at it in the same way plus more. Robby will take the short stages for sure. Another big Item with Dakar is endurance. Fatigue can play a big factor in this raid. Robby has compared the Dakar Rally to 16 Daytona 500s in a row. I think Robby will not fall off in the later stages. From my experience racing the desert your own car can beat you to death. Robby’s car has forty degrees of steering from lock to lock. This ultra fast steering response will reduce arm pump up. Even more, with twice as much suspension travel as the top teams. Robby and Darrin’s bodies will also experience less beating and banging. Darrin may have a much better advantage as navigator not bouncing around so much. This could be the difference that really shows after stage 8. It will be interesting to hear what Robby has to say at this point in the race as compared to last year’s Dakar.

Statement: "Deep inside I wish Robby will smoke'em and I keep my fingers crossed that he will. I would like nothing more but to see someone try to beat the factory teams with a vehicle built so differently. If he does, VW and Mitsubishi will crap their pants and start thinking outside the box big time! I am German and I understand the culture. I can totally see how they design and build stuff. Lucky I never got fully Germanized. I think I am more Mexican then German..."

Response: The German design reference is spot on; I was a designer for two of the big German automakers for several years (BMW & Audi). The thing that sticks out with me in your statement is that German automakers tend to work on evolution rather than creation. The Porsche 911 is a perfect example. The 911, once basically a bug, has taken sixty years to be one of the most refined cars on the road. Another example is the BMW 2002 introduced in 1972, thirty years later, the M-3 is the best 2 door sedan on the road. I was looking at the VW site and I saw how much effort they put into styling, windtunnel testing and redoing the same formula over again. It will take Robby's combination to prove out before the Europeans rethink their formulas. Infact, this may be the death of the big factory teams due to their huge investment into the point of no return.

"more Mexican then German" Beaner Schnitzel anyone?

Robby's statment at the end of the 2005 Dakar. "It was a good rally. As we left Germany for Barcelona I said that I wanted to win. To achieve this I pushed very hard from the off and had an accident. Afterwards I got really badly bogged down twice and helped Jutta. So we fell way back. But I have learned a lot. Five days ago I was depressed and just wanted to go home. Now I want to return and win."

FLY's Final Thoughts: Robby's "Monster" weapon is like comparing an unlimited class SCORE car to a SCORE production based class 7s. This is why I call the cross country rally cars the Europeans currently build in the T-2 class "A Polished Turd". No matter how shiny the turd is, it's still just a piece of crap. But the big thing going for VW this year is "Increased user friendliness". Start the Race Already!!!

Odds? I call the odds even.