WHAT'S IN STORE FOR BATTLE IN 2007?

After completing the 9th Stage the Hummer was driven directly to Dakar for shipment home. Once back at the team’s headquarters in Anaheim, Calif., Gordon’s off-road crew will completely disassemble the H3 and begin preparations for the Baja 500 in June.

The Hummer was taken out of the race by circumstances that are truly encouraging. I say encouraging because, no suspension failure, not a horrific crash with parts all over the desert, not driver injury, not a massive engine explosion any of what you may expect would take the Hummer out. The Hummer could still have won stages.

The beginning of the end was a bolt. Then a slight impact at the Achilles heel, the radiator. However, these slight mechanical failures are not what sent Team Dakar USA home at the end of stage 7. A series of circumstances is what ended the race after stage 7. One circumstance being the in race T-4 support also faced issues in the sand at a critical time, leaving the H-3 and crew marooned. In the end logistics what it takes to beat Africa. Africa will beat everyone down, every time at some point. Every car up till this point in the race has faced set backs by the halfway point. Set backs such as being stuck in the sand, wheel hubs failing, roll overs, engine management glitches, multiple tire failures, getting lost and more.

Robby never got stuck, Never had a flat, never ran out of gas. He just never had the support it takes to address small issues in the middle of nowhere in a timely fashion.

What's the fix for next year? Logistics, this can not be under estimated, mainly in the area of on track support. Maybe, another H-3 entered in the race as a T-2, several T-4 trucks, a convoy of H-1s entered in the 4x4 Open class, a convoy of H-3s entered in the T-1 class. All of the above? A phone call to Hummer compatriots Rod and Chad Hall?

Ok, so Fly (The eternal optimist) pumped the bad ass H-3 up quite a bit prior to the race. I swear it was going to be a Lay down. It was so close, it was right on the cusp of being the class of the field. The car may not have been as good as the driver too. I can say this, it ran up front. With 5 top fifteens in 7 stages the H-3 really showed this combination could prove to be the right choice. Off road cars are like fine wine, the older they get the better they get.

Hypothetically speaking, what are some of the things I would do with Robby's H-3? (Provided I had the bucks and The Monster)

My virtual Crew Chief technical changes for next year;

Two set ups. (2wd is the only class that allows for different tires at different times)

Flat tighter stages;

*Lower car 7”

*Shorter, single, 3” piggy back coil-over shock package

*Sway bars,

*35x13.50R17 Toyo Tire (60 lbs less)

*14”x1.375 rotors

*6 piston caliper

Longer Rougher Stages;

*2.5”coil-over x 3” By-pass

*No sway bars

*37x14.50R15 Toyo Tires

*12”x 1.25 Rotors

*4 piston caliper

Addition handeling enhancements;

*2 fuel tanks. One 20+Gallon located up front to be used on shorter fast stages to balance car better. 1 60 gallon beneath and behind seat tub.

Drivetrain

*New push rod engine using the 37.2mm restrictor, would need to be a 7500-7800 RPM small bore (3.90) x long stroke (4.30) (6734 CC's or 411 C.I.), 6.30 Rod length this will increase piston speed, intake velocity and static compression. Run a small valve (by NASCAR standards) Canted SB 2.2 head with 2.10 intakes and 1.7 exhausts. Solid roller cam shaft (.375 lift at the tappet) with a 1.8 Jessel shaft rocker total lift (.675). The intake would be multi-port cross runner with a throttle for each runner with a large flow shaped plenum with a ninth injector in the plenum. Optimize the 37.2 restricted intake charges by splitting the one restrictor into the allowed two restrictors of the same area. In a shared volume plenum each restrictor would feed from cylinder 1-4 and the second would feed cylinders 5-8 respectively. I would also run a 4/8/9 injector use setting for fuel mileage.

This combination would put the target wieght at 3417 lbs or 1550 KG.

New Solid CAD model of manifold, FIA restrictor and filter system. (Restrictors in red) Plenum not shown, because it is double secret.

However, if I could change one thing in the engine category; This is what I would do with the unregulated crankshaft rules;

I would run a 4.30 stroke split journal even-fire crankshaft. V-8s have a shared journal/pin. Having a common pin crankshaft two pistons fire every 90 degrees, two cylinders produce maximum demand at the same time. Having a split pin configuration, cylinders fire every 45 degrees, thus only one cylinder is at full vacume at a time. An even-fire crank shaft produces smoother power, higher RPM and increases air-velocity through the restrictors. Outlawed by NASCAR but, Jack Flannery ran these in CORR and they work!



The pics show a forged racing V-6 version and a CAD solid model I did of a 4.30 stroke V-8.

Other Drive Train changes;

*Six Speed Transmission.
*3 disc clutch
*A tick lower final gearing.

Get car closer to 3400 LBS, with a target weight of 3417.

Disassembling the claimed 4500lb car, should be a very methodical process. Since this Hummer is a one off prototype many of the components are purpose built items that have yet to be analyzed other than fit and function. When the car is disassembled EVERY part should be added to a parts list (bill of materials) with a description, quantity, weight and an engineering drawing. Then each item on the list can be evaluated individually. During evaluation items are considered to be made from lighter materials, or a lighter design. When the car is down to the bare chassis it is also weighed and evaluated. Ounces eventually become pounds. Redoing components now doesn’t say they were wrong in the first place; it’s just about optimizing what is there. In the end, a race car that is documented is a race car with spare parts that can be duplicated by multiple sources/vendors.

Having a lighter car helps accomplish many goals of a race car; Increased power to weight, Car becomes more responsive to driver input in the turns and under braking, Better fuel mileage, floats on the dunes better and most importantly is a higher reliability factor. When an Off-road car is light in the desert the car and passengers alike take less of a beating. This is because the overall G-forces incurred on the chassis and drivetrain are reduced too.

As the Hummer stands calculations equate to; removing 1000 pounds would be the same as adding 155 horsepower

Quick reference of a lighter approach (obvious path);

*Move Radiator to the rear above engine. (Saves water weight too)

*Analyze all tube structure and replace all tubing with smaller diameter or thinner wall tube where applicable.

*Carbon Fiber Co2 tank.

*Carbon Fiber Dry Sump tank.

*Remove air conditioning system.

*Incorporate Hydro jacks directly into rear hoop. (convert to air over Hydro)

*Scoot rear spare tire and mount into rear cage structure. (Spares to have spun aluminum wheels)

*Replace all aluminum with Carbon except pan and skid protections.

*All fasteners Titanium.

*Make carbon/aluminum sand ramps located below front body work

*Titanium pedals.

*Titanium steering shaft.

*Change spare rear tire mount to lightened hub snout with spare hub and bearing assembly mounted, then mount spare to hub studs.

* Change secondary spare mount to machined flat studded flange attached to engine cage and no tubing around it.

*Large aluminum front bumper that looks more like H-3 bumper. (Doesn't save wieght but looks cool)

*Precise aerodynamics of external air scoops feeding to a carbon fiber large surface flat filtered funneled ram air box and radiator.

Full interior

*One piece carbon seat tub full width and to top of doors. Between seats integrated compartments for assorted hardware, Tools, required ASO/Score passenger kit. Storage for 4 gallons fresh water, 2 gallons of oil.

*One piece carbon floor and center console full width up to door.

*One piece dash with Motec engine management screen and single 15” LCD touch screen integrated.

*Redesign a lighter shifting system

*Single dry cell battery located above transmission close to starter. 7 lb 14VDC NiCad additional located between seats.

*This next one will save well over 50 Lbs and make the car more user friendly (USA STYLE)* Change all electrical switches and gauges to Class 3 solid state circuits with One large color LCD cockpit display/touch screen for co-driver including Nav, GPS, odometer, sat phone, engine management processors built in as one P4 processor unit. All interior and Marker light converted to LED. LED lighting over engine bay, 4 in cockpit at each wheel. All wiring can be switched out to 22ga NANO cable. 4 on board cameras integrated into system with digital recorder.

Well, this pretty much sums up Robby's 2006 Dakar Rally. I’m sure Robby's gears are turning for next year. Let's see what he trumps up for 2007. I can't wait.

I'll be back the next time Robby hits the Dirt in the H-3

FALLEN WARRIOR

Andy Caldecott : 1964 - 2006

Dakar : Australian KTM motorcyclist has been killed in a crash

Andy Caldecott. the death of KTM rider n°10 Andy Caldecott. At km 250 of stage 9 between Nouakchott and Kiffa, on a fast portion, the Australian biker suffered a bad crash. and died. Aware of the accident at 11:31AM, the rally headquarters immediately sent a medical helicopter that landed at 11:55 AM on the scene of the accident. The doctors unfortunately could only note the death of the biker that according to them struck immediately. Andy Caldecott, 41 years of age, was competing in his third Dakar. He had finished 6th of the 2005 edition and was currently 10th overall of this edition after having won stage 5 between Nador and Er-Rachidia in Morocco. To his family that was immediately contacted,

The Dakar Spot wishes to express its sincere condolences,

to his, family, friends and team.

HALF TIME REPORT

Team Dakar USA;
Officially declared out by OLN television. (mechanical)

Team Hog Wild;
Out (Mechanical)

Andy Grider
Out (injury)

BLAIS
8th overall on the Bikes 1hour 28 mins back.

Ronn Baily
Still in the War,
Sits in 91st 42 hours back.

Mitsubishi;
The team is in 1st, 2nd, 4th, 14th place. Team Orders are now in effect.
Spanish Roma and Andorra-based co-driver Henri Magne have settled into a vital support role for their team mates. "I am still in touch with Stéphane and Luc and well-placed to have a big say in the overall result," said Roma. "The pressure is not on me to win at this point, but I will be able to push next week and put the pressure on Giniel de Villiers and the Buggies. This will benefit our top two drivers."

Volkswagen;
3rd, 5th, 8th, 13th, 15th, 16th
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director) "From the technical side our cars or functioning very well, but we suffered a series of setbacks on both the seventh and eighth stages. We were always one-hundred percent competitive and ran with the leading group just as long as nobody got bogged down or lost. We are no longer leading and have to claw back 26 minutes, which is possible but very difficult. In the dunes we are suffering from the fact that the engine gets hot too quickly. In deep sand you need the most cooling, but have very low speeds and consequently low dynamic air pressure in the cooling ducts because you often only drive at walking pace, and spinning wheels require a lot of power. It's the same for everybody. So that the engine does not overheat the power is reduced automatically by a few per cent when required. The system functions very well but it could still be improved. Perhaps we didn't test enough in deep sand. Now we look forward: We have an excellent team and the motivation is as high as ever. As before, we want to win this rally and will do everything possible to achieve this all the way to the flag in Lac Rose.”

# 309 – Mark Miller (USA) "I'm a little disappointed since our two rolls on the seventh stage have effectively robbed us of the chance of winning. I must now do my best to move up the overall leader board from day to day and to make no mistakes. I'm happy that I'm just as quick as the others. This should help me in the future. It's great to drive for such a professional team – the Volkswagen team works fantastically. I want to help Jutta and Giniel get on the podium – hopefully on the top step.”

Dirk (Marks Co-Driver) Sums up The Dakar Well... "It's shocking just how close good and evil sit at the ‘Dakar'. We were in a good position after the sixth stage, and thought that we had thrown everything away by rolling twice on the following day. We were lucky that in spite of our bad luck we are still in the top 10. However, it hurts to see just how close we were to a big prize. Plenty can happen on a ‘Dakar'. We have another tough day in front of us after the rest day. You can never be sure of a good position here. The rally only finishes at Lac Rose.”

What a War this race is.

This is WAY WORSE than 15 Daytona 500s

A CASUALTY OF BATTLE?

Update 5:10PM: Still waiting for an Official Notice on Robby's Status.
Robby and Darren Flying on Stage 7 prior to the mechanical Failure.

8:50AM PST. The fat lady sings... The war is over for Team Dakar USA? The start time had been extended until 1pm and they missed that by 1 hour.

Inside the Hummer H3, Darren and Robby slept out in the desert all night as the chase truck couldn't find them until daylight. The support crew arrived and fixed the radiator. Robby and team headed to the start choosing not to repair the clutch. Robby limped the H3 to the starting line in first gear and are at the start line in Atar right now waiting for two additional support cars to get back from the repair location. The Team Dakar USA H3 is sitting at the start of stage 8 and the officials would not let them begin stage 8. The clutch would not have made it through stage 8. They planned to take the green then skip the stage, fix the clutch and continue after the rest day. They plan to drive to tonight's bivuac and try to convince the ASO to let them back in the rally. They will spend the night there and then head to Nouakchott tomorrow. They are still fighting to stay in the race, but the chances are incredibly slim. If Robby and Darren are not allowed to continue, Team Dakar USA plans to head straight to Dakar where the ship for the car and support trucks waits for the trip home.

6:45AM PST. It ain't over till the Fat Lady sings. Robby and Car 335 have appeared at KM 0 on the Rally Track stage 8 display. Will they proceed? Will they be scored?. we will know soon... hopefully.

5:30AM PST. No news, and fearing they are still out there alone. Team Dakar USA had until noon to present themselves at the start. It is now about 2:30PM GMT. Inputing the numbers of those 70 that did not make the finish yesterday and at least half have started this morning. Unfortunatly, no 335 has displayed. I've been in the dunes many times. It's got to be really bad for the crew. I bet the poor guys are doing miserable in the sand. This sucks. I hope it's not windy too. They would be half buried by now if it is windy. Looks like it's time for Daytona and some of that Killer DEI power.

8:45 PM PST The ASO has given the competitors till 12:00PM to make it to the starting line. This stage is one of the worse ever. Of 140+ starters only 70 made it. There are 70 cars and chase crews out in the dunes looking for their drivers right now.

Robby and Chase team are in contact via sat phone but can't make visual contact. It is pitch black out there and you can't see anything. Also impacting the situation they are in a rolling sea of sand. Robby needs to find a high point and signal some how. On foot with a flash light you could lose your marbles and get your ass lost real quick. They are at 2127.981N, 1213.577W. The close up image shows their position at the cross hair. The high alt. sat image show the entire Dakar trek. (click image A Special Thanks to NASA) When they do make contact and repairs the racers will not have to take the stage route back. They can get back via roads.

5:15PM PST. Lets hope Robby and Darren arn't freezing. Sat phone Batteries are the premium right now. Let's hope to see The Monster move on the IR Track in the next 3 hours.

4:30 PM PST. Team Dakar USA has every intention to to fix "The Monster". As anyone knows, Robby is not a quiter. He will take the next leg with no sleep if the team makes it avaliable to him. It is really important for Robby and Darren to see this through. So they are better seeded for next year's start.

4:00PM PST Update: Stage closed,70 racers and Robby are shown with a finish time of an even 17 hours. Results show Robby is in 71st overall 28 hour and 17 minutes back and 10 hours out of the top 20. If Robby does make it to the starting line for tomorrow it will be a 108th starting position.

Team Dakar USA has four cars qualified as assistance. 2=H-1 Hummers, 1 4x4 and 1 6x6. All of these are entered as T-5 assistance trucks. Team Dakar USA knows exactly what Robby needs to move forward. If they can get to Robby in time.

The rules for assisting Robby at this point in the stage.

B- In Africa Assistance is authorised:
1- On the route of a Selective Section: By an assistance category vehicle, after the closure of the control at the end of the selective section.
2- On the route of a leg: By the crew of a car, a motorcycle or a truck officially entered in and still in the race. By vehicles in the assistance category (except in the Selective Sections) when the assistance vehicles have the same itinerary to that of the race, with the exception of refuelling (petrol and diesel).
3- Between the end of a leg and the start of the following leg: By the crew of a car, a motorcycle or a truck officially entered in and still in the race and by vehicles in the assistance category.

(Full Assistance Regulations Added (scroll down))

3:00 PM PST

At the halfway point Robby was doing really well. If the pace had held Team Dakar USA would be sitting 14th overall right now. So much for that.

Mark Miller in the Red Bull Volkswagen suffered two rollovers today. The second roll over incident was at KM 310. Robby stopped to assist. Robby in his Hummer H-3 put Mark back on his wheels. BUT NOW... Robby's car has a toasted clutch. Apparently, they may have damaged the clutch up-righting Mark.

At KM 360 Robby came over the crest of a dune and center punched a huge lump of Camel Grass on the downside of the dune with his front bumper. Camel Grass is like a lump of tall grass connected to the root of a palm tree. Camel Grass doesn't move. Early Damage assessment is ; Front bodywork torn off car, radiator damaged some bent tubing. Mark and others stopped to help Robby. None of them seemed to have an extra Ron Davis Radiator with them. Robby could limp forward with the radiator the way it is with extra water. However, not with a toasted clutch,

Robby and Darren forwarded the GPS cords to the Jim Beam T-5s, it is dark out so the T-5s will have a tough time finding them anytime soon. .

Team Dakar USA has only had 5 hours sleep in the last 3 days. They will need to be at the starting line for the next stage before the last car leaves the starting line tomorrow. They could give Robby a Clutch and a radiator then start the stage and fix it on the stage. But.... Not looking good right now. Nobody had offered to tow the Hummer past check point 2, until now I suppose. Robby sits at about KM360 just on or before CP2. They are in a really bad spot locked in with dunes till the finish line. It's not looking good right now.

ASSISTANCE AND REFUELING RULES
14.1
A) Except for Bajas, repairs and refuelling are authorised at all times throughout the whole Event except in those cases expressly forbidden, especially in Selective Sections, by provisions in the sup­plementary regulations.
B) in the case of assistance in an Selective Section, the authorised zone must:
• be considered as a speed control zone (see Art. 13.1) and may be preceded by a PC;
• be clearly defined, both on the ground by means of zone flags (see Art. 23) and in the racing and servicing road books, so that all the participants are duly informed. At least one judge of fact must be present to monitor the conformity of the actions undertaken.
C) All air assistance whatsoever is forbidden between the start and finish of a Leg, on pain of immediate exclusion on the decision of the panel of stewards, except in special cases specified in the sup­plementary regulations of the Event.
14.3 A vehicle must move by its own means, with the engine run­ning; moving under the power of the starter alone is not allowed.
If the vehicle is unable to move, towing and/or pushing by a competitor in the race are allowed.
However, in control zones, they will entail the following penalties:
A) Start area of a leg and/or start area of a Selective Section: the start will be refused.
B) Passage Control Zone: 5 minutes.
C) Time Control Zone : 30 minutes.
In control zones, once the infringement has been noted, thevehicle may be removed from the zone using outside help.
14P1 – PENALTIES
All vehicles ‘towed’ by a vehicle other than a race vehicle or an assis­tance vehicle will be immediately excluded from the race.
14P2 - AUTHORISED ASSISTANCE
Only vehicles officially entered in the race or as assistance vehicles are authorised to transport assistance materials that must weigh no more than the weight limit imposed by the International Highway Code, except in Europe where assistance is free.
All infractions of the assistance regulations will incur penal­ties up to and including exclusion from the race. All assisted competitors are responsible for their assistance. Competitors are liable to incur penalties, up to and including exclusion from the race, in the case where their assistance vehicle fails to respect the regulations that apply to its category.
A – In Europe
Outside the Selective Sections, assistance is ‘free’, up until the port of embarkation (possibility to use non-accredited persons and vehi­cles). Assistance Parcs put in place by the organisers are reserved for accredited vehicles.
B- In Africa
Assistance is authorised:
1- On the route of a Selective Section:
By an assistance category vehicle, after the closure of the control at the end of the selective section.
2- On the route of a leg:
By the crew of a car, a motorcycle or a truck officially entered in and still in the race. By vehicles in the assistance category (except in the Selective Sections) when the assistance vehicles have the same itinerary to that of the race, with the exception of refuelling (petrol and diesel).
3- Between the end of a leg and the start of the following leg:
By the crew of a car, a motorcycle or a truck officially entered in and still in the race and by vehicles in the assistance category.
On the rest day, by mechanics entered in the ASO assistance plane.
4- At the bivouac, after the start of the Selective Section:
Once the competitor has taken the start of the Selective Section, assistance at the bivouac (under conditions described in point 3) is authorised providing the competitor does not return to the bivouac in the opposite direction to the rally itinerary.
Where there is only one piste, all returning to the bivouac is forbidden, on pain of exclusion from the race.
In the case of off-piste, so as not to meet vehicles coming in the other direction, competitors must go a minimum of 0,5 km off the official itinerary, without incurring penalties.
For the first 20 overall in the car class and the first 10 overall in the truck class, all turning back is forbidden, whatever the type of terrain, on the pain of a 4 hour time penalty.
5- At the meeting point of itineraries:
If the itinerary of the road book and the assistance itinerary meet, an assistance point and / or the use of signs is authorised.
6- In authorised zones:
Assistance zones and signing zones may be allowed and will be shown in the road book.
7 – At the bivouac:
After having checked in at the time control at the end of the leg, com­petitors (or persons entered as assistance in the same team) may take their race vehicle out of the bivouac for refuelling, to go to a hotel or carry out technical tests, within a radius of 15 km from the bivouac.
14P3 AUTHORISED AIRBORNE ASSISTANCE
For mechanics authorised to go to the rest day, places will be available in aircraft chartered by the organisation and may be reserved up until 30 September 2005. For the rest day, these pas­sengers must not carry spare parts or tools, on pain of exclusion of the vehicle or vehicles of the competitor concerned. They may only be entered by a competitor already entered in the race.
14P4 FORBIDDEN ASSISTANCE
Given the assistance regulations, teams of stewards, ‘judges of fact’, will be in place from Morocco onwards to check for the presence of assistance not accredited by the organisa­tion, both at the bivouac and over the route as a whole.
The following are forbidden on the pain of penalties up to and including exclusion from the race:
1- The transport of parts or assistance by a vehicle other than a car entered in the race or as assistance or by a truck entered in the race or as assistance.
2- The stocking, dropping or parachuting of spare parts, tools, personnel, fuel (outside of bivouacs where this is authorised) throughout all the countries crossed by the Rally.
3- On each leg, assistance outside the bivouac, except for refuel­ling at the different service stations of the different Leg towns, using commercially available fuel and with the exception of all stocking of specific fuel.
4- All assistance in an enclosed place, closed or guarded, even if this place is situated within the area of the bivouac. A tent is not considered as an enclosed place.
5- All airborne assistance not controlled by the organisers. Air­borne assistance is considered as any presence on a Leg of an aircraft having aboard any person with any link whatsoever with a competitor.
6- The presence of any means of transport (car, motorcycle, air­craft, helicopter, etc.) following the rally route the same day or a number of days prior, as well as the prolonged flying over of any means of transport, with official means or not, carry aboard a person having any link whatsoever with competitors still in the race, will result in the immediate exclusion from the race of all participants having a link with these means of transport.
7- The transport of assistance materials (tools, generators, lights, compressors etc.) in private planes or planes chartered by the organisers.
8- The presence of an assistance vehicle on the Selective Section when they benefit from a parallel itinerary.
9- During the rest day, the presence of any assistance not entered as such with the organisation. The delivery of spare parts by any means other than that organised by A.S.O.
10- The presence of any vehicle or any person entered as assis­tance on the route of the selective section (except in the case of article 14P2B2)

SNEAK ATTACK! WHEN?

When the number of stages is discussed;This War is half over after Tomorrow’s stage.

When you discuss Miles to victory; We are still only at one third over. So far 1051 miles have been completed over 6 special stages. The next three special stages contain 998 miles. The next three Battles are huge when it comes for time to be gained or lost. Each of the next three stages average out to 330 miles each. Combined the next three battles are actually one third of the War. The final six battles contain the remaining 942 miles. Two Battles to go until a cease fire will commence and a rest day will be in the works for the teams. (1/8/06)

It appears all top warriors are saving their speed rations for a later date.

What are some of the Strategies? Ryan Arciero, who is Mark's teammate in the desert, stated this today; "The team orders will start to kick in when one or more of the Volkswagens get behind. I don't mean to be vague on it, but there is no set time when they will kick it in. It will eventually happen, unless the Volkswagens perform flawless for the rest of the rally. As long as they are all within striking distance of each other, Kris Nissen (Team Leader) will just let them run their race. I know he would love nothing more than to see a Volkswagen 1,2,3 or even 1,2,3,4,5. At this point with all of them running as good as they are he cannot pull team orders because it might jeopardize a podium finish and it is still a little bit too early to in the race."

How healthy is The Jim Beam, Toyo Tires, Monster Hummer?

Jim Beam? I seen some ask about this, Team Dakar USA shows to be sponsored by Jim Beam's Beef Jerky. It's killer, you should try some. Spendy but worth every penny. The EU doesn't allow spirits or tobacco advertising in motor sports. If they made any good smokes or booze I bet they would.
Toyo Tires? Not one F'n Flat! Even with Robby behind the wheel!!! In the Baja 1000 and this far in Dakar. These tires are strait off the shelf!!! WOW!!!
Monster Hummer? Transmission; Trans held up for stage 6. The oil Leak; Cracked oil pan replaced last night.

With a solid car, Team Dakar USA, really needs to go for it? They have been. Today Robby was pedal to the floor without lifting for 35 mins in one section. Team Dakar USA could not hang with the Euros who had 25 to 30 mph faster top end! I may knock all the wind tunnel testing that the Mega-Bucks teams do but the large air ducts on the top of the cars are really there for an important reason. The teams are using them for a ram effect to gain an advantage over the 32MM air restrictor.

The Euro's combination of aerodynamics and their own restrictor technology has shined over Team Dakar USA's technology today on the high speed sections. After all Robby's air box that feeds his larger 37MM restrictor is located internal of the body and doesn't take advantage of forced air.

One thing noticed on the Hummer's engine is that it has a stock Corvette intake manifold. The FIA has restrictions on intake manifold volume. I bet next year this intake volume will be maximized to 1335 cu inches (FIA MAX). What this will do is allow for increased air reserves to each cylinder post air restrictor. The new manifold would basically have a huge plenum between the intake runner and the throttle body. Expect the current manifold to be tossed, a new filter system and forced air intake developed for next year. (And maybe even a little wind tunnel testing at Textron)

Additionally, I was told Robby and Darren are looking forward to the rough stuff again. The Hummer completely dominates in the rough stuff. One third of the rally is in Robby's world. The next three stages could not come at a better time for Robby and Darren! These next three stages are what Robby built this beast for and it will show. Tons of sand, Camel Grass and Rocks, this is just what the doctor ordered! Check the stages out.

1/6/2006/Zouerat-Atar: A tricky pass Navigational finesse will be rewarded during the major difficulty of this first week which will be contested off-track. Absolutely off-track. Indications will be sparse on the road-book, and those who miss the HWPs will have all their work cut out to find the right passes. After the dunes, competitors will be driving along stony plateaux and slaloming in camel grass.

1/7/2006/Atar-Nouakchott: “Hole shot” On the first part of the special, the windy route crosses canyons and wadis. Competitors will feel themselves shot like a pinball against the massifs. After the series of zigzags, a very fast stretch will temp the most itchy to push the speedo. But over-confidence could lead to bad surprises.

1/8/2006/A DAY OF REST:

1/9/2006/Nouakchott-Kiffa: The well track for the rally’s long it appears all top warriors are saving their speed rations for a later date. When the number of stages is discussed this War is half over after the stage tomorrow.

Stage 6 was a good day for all the top car competitors. Thierry Magnaldi captured stage victory today in Zouerat. The Frenchman driving a Schlesser-Ford buggy beat his team mate Jean-Louis Schlesser (who had clocked the fastest times at both CPs) by 2'55". Third is Giniel De Viliers (VW) at 3'46" ahead of Jutta Kleinschmidt at 5'13" and Luc Alpnahd at 6'02". Robby and Darren finished 11th for the day and moved up to 27th overall.

Fly’s Final thought;The next three stages are the time to make time. Enough of this pussy ass, team, follow the leader, crap! Let's get crazy and trash some cars already!

THIS BATTLE WAS HARD FOUGHT.

The Dakar Rally is only thirty three and one third complete. What are we in for with the remaining sixty six percent? More Action, that's what! Robby in typical Robby fashion took what was dealt to him yesterday and became Flash Gordon again. The Old Robby is back! He passed over 70 cars, trucks, and whatever else was in his way on to a 19th place for the day. Expect more tomorrow.

The Boyz from the USA; Mark Miller is totally kicking Ass! Second for the stage today and Fourth overall! Mark, like I told you a month or so back. "If it's Robby against you; I root for Robby. If it’s us (The USA) against them; I root for us!" Chris Blais sits in 11th overall.

Is the problem from stage 4 fixed? Robby had 5 Albins transmissions waiting in the wings for him back at camp. Robby and team were to change these every 1000 miles. I was told today by somebody who is very close to the team but is not a part of Robby's organization that the bolt "officially" backed out. I'm guessing that at $20,000.00 for each transmission we don't need piss anyone off. Let's make sure Robby continues to get more of those bad ass transmissions. On that note, Cam Theroit's new car was socked out of the Baja 1000 in November with the same transmission and the bolt in question was hammered by the axle plunge. More than one person has mentioned how important it is to have the bolt torque absolutely correct and inspected after every run. Team Dakar USA welded the head of the bolt to the flange. I can officially say... It won't back out now! However, if it does snap off again, there will be zero field fix unless Robby has a spare stub axle flange and bolt. Because it would take a drill, a hand grinder and a generator to put a bolt back in. So I still will not retract my educated guess from yesterday until January 15th.

Darren Skilton Speaks; "There was incredible dust on this leg, as we were far enough into the race where the cars are now combined with the trucks in overall finishing order, so that determines the start order for the next day,"said Skiltonn. "If we’d started in front we could have made excellent time but we had to drive smart, taking no chances. We know this race has just begun. There are thousands of miles yet to cover across the roughest part of Africa. Robby passed some 70 cars before we began smelling oil. Not knowing the cause we had to stop and try to solve the problem but we could only determine the reservoir was low, so we topped up and cruised in to Tan Tan. The Hummer seems to be running fine, but we won’t know the source of the leak for sure until the crew gets on it."

New problems?

Robby and Darren used up 25 minutes of today's special parked on the side of the road to locate an oil leak. They did not discover the source of the leak other than it was coming from the engine…Duh. They topped off the dry sump and hauled ass. Yes 25 minutes! This little oil leak relegated yesterday's prediction of a win today in the crapper. Oil leak fixed and back to 100%. Robby's car has a dry sump oil system and when they said we added oil to the reservoir that means he added oil to the large oil tank that feeds the engine. A normal car has the oil pump down in the oil pan where all the oil is held. RG's 427 has an external oil pump and holds several gallons of oil in a separate tank.

Robby's "Pre-Dakar" testing at Glamis and Parker... Is being extended to Dakar 2006. Dakar 2007 will be much better; the Car will have all its growing pains worked out. Off road cars are like fine wine, they get better with age. Hope the FIA and the ASO don't decide to change the rules again.

Stage 6 preview: Tan Tan-Zourat: Southbound - The hours of sleep stored up from previous stages will be an asset when tackling this long road. The long liaison to the start of the special will take place at night, in conditions which require maximum vigilance. The first part of the sector counting towards classification will be fought out over a wide, fast track, before taking on a much sandier stretch halfway through the special.

ASO officials have determined day six will be a "marathon leg” so the morning’s start time will come before dawn. The crew, having had to drive straight through from Quarzazate; leaving just as the car was finished, has had little sleep and is now working on the car to get it ready for the early morning start.

This will play into Robby's hand. He is no stranger to no sleep.

With almost 7,000 unique viewers The Dakar Spot is getting quite the following from all over the world and is enjoying all the nice feedback. Thanks So much, it's my pleasure.

A $2 PART DASHES ALL HOPE?

Today sucked major. However, today's update will identify the source of the problem and try to put a positive light on the outcome.

Let’s start with the “Positive Light”. Last year Robby flipped his car early on and lost over 6 hours, almost ran out of gas. Then ripped his car apart for Jutta, fixed hers, and had to follow her as a mule buddy/mechanic and still finished 12th overall over 20 hours down. So with 75% of the Dakar remaining a top 5 is not totally unreasonable. Expect the DeZert Fox to turn into the Rabbit for the rest of the Rally. It will be no holds barred from here on out. A win would have to be just flat out taken from these guys now with some wishing bad luck on everyone else. Lets not lie to ourselves, We need some good luck and they all need some bad luck to win this thing!

Let's read a blurb of the official Robby Gordon release;

Once this morning’s race had begun, on the timed “Special” middle stage of the Er Rachidia-Quarzaate trail, Gordon’s Hummer quickly began to demolish Schlesser’s time advantage for the race. “He had a solid 12 minutes on us at the start and we were seven cars back with two minutes spacing between us, so he had disappeared by the time we took to the course. Our Hummer was doing really well and we’d gained almost everything we’d lost when we began to realize that we had a serious transmission problem. A drive flange finally failed, which killed any chance of us taking the overall win.” Fortunately Gordon was able to signal another competitor, who relayed the information of the problem to Gordon’s crew, which was awaiting his arrival in Quarzazate. Gordon and Skilton managed to keep the transmission working sufficiently to limp along at a frustratingly slow pace, but their tenacity paid off in that the two were able to cross the finish line, even though it took them 7 hours and 44 minutes to get there. The official finish for the stage will keep Gordon in the race, provided he and his crew can get the Hummer back to Quarzazate and cross the finish line of the Liasion stage in time to make the cut-off time to be an official finisher, and be qualified to start tomorrow’s Fifth Stage from Quarzazate to Tan Tan on the Atlantic Coast of Morocco. “There’s little chance now for an overall win,” said Gordon when questioned about his chances, “but if we can repair the transmission in time to start tomorrow, we can, and certainly will continue. This race has just begun and there will be several more chances to win one of the remaining Special Stages." (RG.COM)

Alright, let’s talk Brass Tacks here.

The source of the issue; The transmission, a 5-Speed sequential Albins/Weddel manual shift transaxle. The specific part of the transaxle that failed is a bolt that holds the stub axle into the side of the differential case. This bolt is located just behind the inner(Trans Side) constant velocity (CV) joint attached to the axle shaft that connects directly to the wheel hub. When the bolt fails the stub axle slips out of the transmission. Two things happen with this result; first, fluid can dump out of the case. Secondly, and more severe is one side of the differential dislocates causing the opposite wheel not to engage and drive the car forward. Some might wonder why if the transaxle has a solid spool how does this can happen. Well... transaxles don't have a spool. They have to run a loose limited slip differential. This is because a transaxle has independent rear suspension. As the suspension cycles up and down from side to side the actual rear track width changes. If you had a spooled (solid locked) rear diff every time the cars rear suspension cycled it would pull the car from side to side making for a very squirrelly ride.

What's the fix? Remove the sheered bolt, replace the stub axle and insert and tighten a new High Grade bolt, Replace the axle shaft it is pretty easy. That is, unless you are in the middle of the desert without the bolt or proper tools.

Now for the big question; How did this F#%&’n, piss-ant bolt head snap the hell off?

Simple, my educated guess is the axle shafts are too short and when the travel extends to full droop the axle shaft unplunges to its fullest length and tries to yank the stub axle out of the transmission. This is like a bad ass slide hammer yanking on the head of the bolt over and over. This must have been even more pronounced on this really rough stage. The other cause could be right length axle wrong geometry on the rear trailing arm thus articulating too much and yanking the axle.

What is the fix for this Rally? A few things could be done as a band aid till next year. 1. Limit the amount of droop by relocating the limit strap mounting point. This will just pull a few inches of travel out and not effect how the car feels too much. 2. Tighten the Rebound setting on the By-Pass Shock to limit the amount of "snap" when the rear wheels come of the ground. If I was crew chief I would do the strap first.

Good Luck Robby, we are Robby fans and this doesn't phase us! We have thick skin! 48 more days till Daytona

By the way, Robby and Darren will win tomorrow’s stage putting them in 24th overall with 10 stages to go.

Stage 5 Preview; Ouarzazate-Tan Tan: The wadi road Communication between driver and co-driver will have to be fine-tuned to a maximum on account alternate fast stretches and navigational traps. In comparison to the 2005 edition, competitors will have almost tripled their mileage in specials before leaving Morocco. The timing of the 1,250 kms already covered should produce a coherent classification.

THE BATTLE FOR AFRICA

This “Battle for Africa” is different than the one 60 years ago. This one doesn’t contain the General Erwin Romel (AKA The Desert Fox). With 20% of the Dakar in the record books, the cream is beginning to rise. By the day after tomorrow the Rally will be one third over and several issues with the individual teams will start to unveil “general team orders”. I could see the later stages of this race becoming a cat and mouse race. A race where we see the Mega-Bucks teams sacrificing half their team trying and drag Robby behind them and off into the sunset. Robby will have to trust Darrin and keep his eye on one guy; Jean-Louis Schlesser. Jean is a Dakar veteran that is into this for his own Victory. He will not sacrifice his position for anything. Jeans dust trail is truly headed for the finish line. Two things will remain the same as 60 years ago. This Battle is still going to be fought with a DeZert Fox; Robby Gordon. The second thing that will be the same as 60 years ago. The Panzers will not win in the end.

How did Robby fare on Stage 3?
“We made a great run off the line, passing both Jean Louis Schlesser (the eventual winner) and Stephane Peter Hansel’s Mitsubishi, but then I looked off to the left and saw one of the BMW X3s fast disappearing in the dust. Knowing how well this team had been doing I instinctively elected to follow and soon realized he was lost. Darren (Skilton), my navigator, had been tracking our line in the heavy dust and soon pointed out that we were seriously off-course; we had to double back and I suspect we lost at least two minutes.” Gordon eventually re-passed both Schlesser and Peterhansel, but his elapsed time for the stage still put the Hummer team in 5th overall 1 minute and 30 seconds behind the leaders. “This is an incredibly large and confusing area of the earth; it’s very easy to trust your racing instinct instead of the route book and your navigator…I won’t make that mistake again,” said Gordon.

Mark Miller is doing an awesome job. He could very easily bring home the Gold for USA if Robby doesn’t. The Hog Wild Boyz are still nuts! And Andy Grider is the Man!

With Mark, Robby, Andy and those nutcases on the Harley Side Car, USA seems to be invading Europe. There would be nothing nicer seeing Lance’s 7th Tour Victory followed up with a Car and Bike house cleaning in Dakar by the Red White and Blue!

Mitsubishi is officially on NOTICE:

"We opted for a safe strategy over the first few days in Morocco, but it is very pleasing to be, not only in touch with our rivals, but actually leading the rally with the first two places," said Mitsubishi Team Director Dominique Serieys. "'Nani' has really benefited from his recent experience and again proved that we have four drivers who can win the Dakar this year." "I told our drivers that Volkswagen are the main rivals, but we should also watch out for Jean-Louis Schlesser and Robby Gordon and 'Schless' proved the point and was the fastest today. We will maintain our strategy and see what develops. But it was a good day for us."

Thoughts for the day: Robby is surrounded like in The Battle of the Bulge. Sitting in eighth place right now. Robby is in a quagmire of People Cars and Mitsubishi (Manufacturer of the famed Japanese Zero). I guess the French ASO’s seeding system is a bit favored towards the Europeans with a 35th ranking at the start of the Dakar Rally for Robby? It will be great to see Robby’s car with that 300 on it next year! I expected Robby to maintain composure this early in the Dakar. He is doing really well at that. The very bright Robby of today seems to be letting the so called “favorites” trip over their own dick. His "Monster" Weapon is in top form, his team is in top form, and Robby is in top form.

Tomorrow’s Stage 4: Rachidia-Ouarzazate: Gateway to the desert This could be considered as a Dakar classic, but there is something unknown here too. It is perhaps the rally’s most varied special. With the first dunes, it will doubtless be the time to get out the shovels and sand mats (Not RG), before taking on the shotts, stretches of sandy or stony wadis... It’s a time for co-drivers to bury their head in the road-book, not in the sand.

THE SECOND BATTLE HAS CONCLUDED

The second stage of the Dakar proved to be perfect for the former WRC drivers with fast, sweeping tracks favoring a “Typical” Rally type car. Volkswagen had another strong day with El Matador Carlos Sainz didn't disappoint as he claimed his second straight stage win. Also, Bruno Saby, Mark Miller and Jutta Kleinschmidt finished in the top ten.

All the while American Robby Gordon was once again turning many heads in his Hummer as he finished 13th. "Most Dakar competitors and race fans have never seen anything like this Hummer," said Gordon. "They tend to concentrate on smaller, high-revving engines, which I don't believe have as good of a chance of success in North Africa's huge sand dunes as my V-8 engine Hummer."

Tomorrow, stage three will be the first African stage on the Dakar Rally. After arriving at Nador via ferry from Europe, teams will embark upon a 237 kms liaison section to the start of a 314 kms special stage, east of Guercif. This section runs south towards the first overnight bivouac at Er Rachidia. This stage crosses several wadis and requires navigational skills. Then a 121 kms road section will take teams to the overnight stop next to the local airport at Er Rachidia.

Robby is doing really well by sticking to his strategy. While watching the IR Tracking last night at 4AM, Robby had his spurts of quickness by running faster than Carlos, Miller and the others. At times he was much quicker than all of the top guys in several of the sections. Right now he sits eight and a half minute behind the leader and could very easily make this up tomorrow. He has a great advantage starting approximately 25 minutes behind Carlos. He will just follow his trail right up to his bumper for the victory. I expect Robby to be firmly being in the top five overall by the end of the day tomorrow. Robby is not going to fall for "The Rabbit" this year!