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Robby Gordon preparing for grueling Dakar Rally
By Associated PressNovember 2, 2006

NASCAR driver Robby Gordon led the 19-member Team Dakar USA through one of its final test sessions last week in preparation for the grueling Dakar Rally, which begins Jan. 6 in Lisbon, Portugal.
The three-day test in the desert of the southwestern United States was run between the Nextel Cup races at Martinsville and Atlanta. Gordon drove his purpose-built H3 in the test that included navigator Andy Grider and provided all team members, including those new to the program this year, with a sample of what the Dakar experience could entail.
Running on terrain similar to what the team will encounter in the early stages of the 16-stage event through Portugal, Spain and Morocco, as well as the latter stages in Mauritania, Mali and Senegal, Gordon said he is confident in the team's ability and its chances of capturing the overall title.

"The mission of this test was to work out the kinks and make our preparations for the rally," said Gordon, a two-time Dakar Rally stage winner, the only American to do so. "We definitely could have been better prepared last year and we definitely didn't want to put ourselves in the same situation this time around.
"The test was structured as a mini-rally. We tried to cover as much terrain possible that would simulate the conditions that we may face in January and really put the H3 and the crew in some compromising situations, not unlike those that you can face in Africa on a daily basis. We intentionally put ourselves in some spots that we may face in the race so the guys could become familiar with each other as well as what they will have available to them during the race."
The rally covers more than 6,000 miles in a 17-day journey from Lisbon to Dakar.