The 2019 Stadium Super Trucks season kicks off this weekend at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas with NTT IndyCar Series. Here is the weekend schedule:

Friday, March 22
12:20-12:50pm – Practice
4:50-5:20pm – Qualifying

For tickets, please visit www.circuitoftheamericas.com/indycar

The Stadium SUPER Trucks Series, located in Charlotte, NC, has 2 immediate openings for PART TIME Class A CDL drivers.

Applicants must be able to drive truck when required for events on our 2019 racing schedule, which at times, include back to back weekends of racing.

In addition to driving, duties may include assisting the truck and trailer loading and unloading; setting up and breaking down of awnings, pit equipment and helping crew with the race trucks.

Applicants must have at least 3 years driving experience, a valid Class A CDL license, a clean driving record and pass a drug screening. Having a passport is also a plus.

These positions need to be filled ASAP, send resume to info@speedenergy.com – SUBJECT: CDL Driver Employment.

Mexico City, Mexico (January 23, 2019)- SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks concluded the extended 2018 SST World Championship season this past weekend in conjunction with the Race of Champions event at Foto Sol in Mexico City, Mexico.

Race of Champions is an annual event featuring champion drivers from all over the world competing head to head on a unique technical track to test their skills in various unique race vehicles.

Operating in direct conjunction with the Race of Champions; 10 Stadium SUPER Truck drivers would have the opportunity to compete head to head for two knock out elimination races on the same exact Race of Champions track, but with the addition of two SST signature 36-inch tall aluminum ramps.

After the completion of an hour-long practice and qualifying session Friday evening, Orange, California driver; Robby Gordon would claim the number one seed for Saturday’s race as the quickest qualifier with his familiar bright orange SPEED Energy/ Toyo Tires/ KMC Wheels entry.

Round one on Saturday would feature five elimination races immediately cutting the field in half.

The number one seed of Robby Gordon would line up his Toyo Tires against the tenth seed of Baja 100 Off-Road Champion Apdaly Lopez of Tecate, Mexico for three laps with the fastest time of the two competitors advancing. Lopez would immediately hit a cone inquiring a five second penalty to his overall time easily allowing Gordon to advance to the second round.

The second race would put Yucca Valley, California driver Blade Hildebrand alongside Alpine, California racer Jerett Brooks driving the vibrant blue United Fiber and Data machine. Hildebrand would complete the three laps the fastest eliminating Brooks early from the competition.

Jeff Hoffman of Phoenix, Arizona in the LIVE/Think Loud entry would line up against United Fiber and Data driver Casey Mears of Scottsdale, Arizona in the third race. However, Mears would hit a cone applying a five second penalty to his overall time handing the victory over to Hoffman.

The fourth match up to hit the track would feature the SST Championship Points Leader of Matt Brabham from Gold Coast, Australia against Scottsdale, Arizona native Cole Potts. Brabham would race smart and consistent avoiding any cones to easily beat Potts to advance to the next round.

Gavin Harlien in the United Fiber & Data truck would match up again the VP Racing Lubricants and Oil driver of Davey Hamilton Jr. Harlien would lay down one of the fastest laps of the day beating Hamilton Jr. to move on.

Round two of head to head knock out racing would see Gordon claim victory over Hoffman, Brabham defeat Hildebrand, and Harlien easily working his way past Potts the Round 1 lucky loser. All three drivers would move on to round three.

The third round would see Gordon defeat Harlien to move on to the finals against Brabham whom would easily claim victory over the fastest loser Potts in the second semi-final.

Race of Champion Saturday Finals would see Brabham go head to head with Robby Gordon for the victory. In the closest race of the day Gordon would inch past Brabham by mere seconds to capture the win.

Saturday Results

January 19, 2019

Round 1

Robby Gordon Def Apdaly Lopez

Blade Hildebrand Def Jerett Brooks

Jeff Hoffman Def Casey Mears

Matt Brabham Def Cole Potts

Gavin Harlien Def Davey Hamilton Jr.

Fast Loser: Cole Potts

Round 2

Robby Gordon Def Jeff Hoffman

Matt Brabham Def Blade Hildebrand

Gavin Harlien Def Cole Potts

Fast Loser: Cole Potts

Round 3

Robby Gordon Def Gavin Harlien

Matt Brabham Def Cole Potts

Final

Robby Gordon Def Matt Brabham

Final Results

Robby Gordon
Matt Brabham
Cole Potts
Gavin Harlien
Jeff Hoffman
Blade Hildebrand
Jerett Brooks
Casey Mears
Davey Hamilton Jr.
Apdaly Lopez

For the Sunday afternoon SST Race of Champions Final drivers were re-seeded based on their results from Saturday’s event.

Round one would feature five elimination races replicating the exact format that was done on Saturday.

The first race Sunday would feature the Devilbiss/BulletLiner driver of Matt Brabham lining up against Davey Hamilton Jr. of Indianapolis, Indiana for three laps. In a very close race Brabham was able to defeat Hamilton to move on to the second round.

In a rematch of Saturday’s Round 1 Jeff Hoffman would line up against United Fiber & Data driver Casey Mears. Mears looking for revenge on Hoffman would keep a consistent pace and win the event, but would be penalized for hitting a cone handing the win back over to Hoffman.

Also in a rematch of Saturday’s Round 1 Blade Hildebrand in the Empire Destructive Racing truck would face fellow Southern California Off-Road racer Jerett Brooks. Hildebrand would complete the fastest laps eliminating Brooks from competition for the second day in a row.

Saturday’s Race of Champions SST winner Robby Gordon would match up against Cole Potts with a battle of the SPEED Energy back entries. Gordon would advance to the next round with the fastest time.

The fifth and final race of Round 1 would feature Gavin Harlien of Mesa, Arizona in the United Fiber & Data truck go against Tecate, Mexico Baja Champion Apdaly Lopez. Harlien would easily capture the victory over Lopez to move on to the second round.

Round two of elimination racing would see Hoffman claim victory over Hildebrand, Brabham nipping Harlien by the closest of margins to advance, and Gordon easily working his way past Potts the Round 1 lucky loser.

Round three would feature a rematch of Saturday’s Final round seeing Brabham defeat Gordon to move on to the finals to compete against Hoffman whom claimed victory over the fastest loser Potts in the second semi-final.

As Brabahm and Hoffman would go head to head inside the Foto Sol for three laps looking to drive as cautious and smooth as possible. Hoffman would go on to win the final round in dominating fashion, but a :05 penalty was issued by USAC’s Jason Smith after completion for hitting a marker cone handing the SST Race of Champions Sunday victory to Brabham.

After placing second in Saturday’s event, and claiming victory in Sunday’s finale Brabham would be crowned the overall Race of Champions winner.

Saturday’s race winner Robby Gordon, after being knocked out in the Semi Finals in a rematch of Saturday’s Final would place in second overall with Cole Potts claiming the third overall position.

With claiming victory in the overall weekend, and knocking runner-up Gavin Harlien out in Round two was enough for Brabham to secure the 2018 Stadium SUPER Trucks World Championship title.

“The weekend was a great event and I could not be happier to cap off the title by winning the final event of the season.” Explained an enthusiastic Brabham.

After dominating the season, finishing every event on the podium. It was a tremendous reward for Brabham to end the season on top after loosing the 2017 Championship by a single point to fellow Australian Paul Morris.

Brabham’s excellent season featured 13 podiums, including six wins and five fast qualifier awards.

Sunday Results

January 20, 2019

Round 1

Matt Brabham Def Davey Hamilton Jr.

Jeff Hoffman Def Casey Mears

Blade Hildebrand Def Jerett Brooks

Robby Gordon Def Cole Potts

Gavin Harlien Def Apdaly Lopez

Fast Loser: Cole Potts

Round 2

Jeff Hoffman Def Blade Hildebrand

Matt Brabham Def Gavin Harlien

Robby Gordon Def Cole Potts

Fast Loser: Cole Potts

Round 3

Matt Brabham Def Robby Gordon

Jeff Hoffman Def Cole Potts

Final

Matt Brabham Def Jeff Hoffman

Final Results

Matt Brabham
Jeff Hoffman
Cole Potts
Robby Gordon
Gavin Harlien
Blade Hildebrand
Jerett Brooks
Davey Hamilton Jr.
Casey Mears
Apdaly Lopez

2018 SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks World Championship Winners

Round No. Race Location Race Date Winner
1 Lake Elsinore, California January 27, 2018 Bill Hynes
Overall: Jeff Hoffman
2 Adelaide, SA, Australia March 2, 2018 Cole Potts
3 Adelaide, SA, Australia March 3, 2018 Robby Gordon
4 Adelaide, SA, Australia March 4, 2018 Matt Brabham
Overall: Matt Brabham
5 Long Beach, California April 14, 2018 Gavin Harlien
6 Long Beach, California April 15, 2018 Matt Brabham
Overall: Matt Brabham
7 Perth, WA, Australia May 5, 2018 Arie Luyenkdyk Jr.
8 Perth, WA, Australia May 6, 2018 Jeff Hoffman
Overall: Matt Brabham
9 Detroit, Michigan June 2, 2018 Gavin Harlien
10 Detroit, Michigan June 3, 2018 Arie Luyendyk Jr.
Overall: Arie Luyendyk Jr.
11 No Limits, Texas June 10, 2018 Gavin Harlien
12 No Limits, Texas June 10, 2018 Matt Brabham
Overall:Gavin Harlien
13 Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin August 23, 2018 Robby Gordon
14 Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin August 24, 2018 Matt Brabham
Overall: Matt Brabham
15 Sydney, NSW, Australia October 27, 2018 Matt Brabham
16 Sydney, NSW, Australia October 28, 2018 Gavin Harlien
Overall: Gavin Harlien
17 San Bernardino, California December 1, 2018 Jeff Hoffman
18 San Bernardino, California December 2, 2018 Gavin Harlien
Overall: Matt Brabham
19 Mexico City, Mexico January 19, 2019 Robby Gordon
20 Mexico City, Mexico January 20, 2019 Matt Brabham
Overall: Matt Brabham
2018 Stadium SUPER Trucks World Championship Schedule

Round 1: January 27, 2018; Lake Elsinore, California
Round 2: March 2, 2018; Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Round 3: March 3, 2018; Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Round 4: March 4, 2018; Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Round 5: April 14, 2018; Long Beach, California
Round 6: April 15, 2018; Long Beach, California
Round 7: May 5, 2018; Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Round 8: May 6, 2018; Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Round 9: June 2, 2018; Detroit, Michigan
Round 10: June 3, 2018; Detroit, Michigan
Round 11: June 9, 2018; Fort Worth, Texas
Round 12: June 9, 2018; Fort Worth, Texas
Round 13: August 24, 2018; Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Round 14: August 25, 2018; Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Round 15: October 27, 2018; Sydney, NSW, Australia
Round 16: October 28, 2018; Sydney, NSW, Australia
Round 17: December 1, 2018; San Bernardino, California
Round 18: December 2, 2018; San Bernardino, California
Round 19: January 19, 2019; Mexico City, Mexico
Round 20: January 20, 2019; Mexico City, Mexico

2019 Race Of Champions Sunday, January 20

Round 1

Matt Brabham defeated Davey Hamilton Jr

Blade Hildebrand defeated Jerett Brooks

Jeff Hoffman defeated Casey Mears

Robby Gordon defeated Cole Potts

Gavin Harlien defeated Apdaly Lopez

Cole Potts was fastest loser

Round 2

Jeff Hoffman defeated Blade Hildebrand

Matt Brabham defeated Gavin Harlien

Robby Gordon defeated Cole Potts

Cole Potts was fastest loser

Round 3

Matt Brabham defeated Robby Gordon

Jeff Hoffman defeated Cole Potts

Final

Matt Brabham defeated Jeff Hoffman

2019 Race Of Champions Saturday, January 19

Round 1

Robby Gordon defeated Apdaly Lopez

Blade Hildebrand defeated Jerett Brooks

Jeff Hoffman defeated Casey Mears

Matt Brabham defeated Cole Potts

Gavin Harlien defeated Davey Hamilton Jr

Cole Potts was fastest loser.

Round 2

Robby Gordon defeated Jeff Hoffman

Matt Brabham defeated Blade Hildebrand

Gavin Harlien defeated Cole Potts

Cole Potts was fastest loser

Round 3

Robby Gordon defeated Gavin Harlien

Matt Brabham defeated Cole Potts

Final

Robby Gordon defeated Matt Brabham

Saturday, January 19

Race #1 – 5:45pm/et

Sunday, January 20

Race #2 – 5:30pm/et

Watch LIVE at the Stadium SUPER Trucks Facebook page.

The following drivers will compete in the 2019 Race Of Champions, January 18-20, 2019

• Casey Mears
• Robby Gordon
• Davey Hamilton Jr
• Apdaly Lopez
• Jeff Hoffman
• Gavin Harlien
• Jerett Brooks
• Cole Potts
• Blade Hildebrand
• Matt Brabham

Stay tuned for more details!

Team SPEED 2019 Dakar Race Report

January 8, 2019

Stage 2 Pisco to San Juan de Marcona

Liaison: 553 km / 344 miles

Special: 324 km/ 201 miles

No. 316 SPEED Energy/ Toyo Tires SPEED Edition Textron XXR- Robby Gordon

Start Time: 06:18:00 AM/ET

WP1: +00:04:28

WP2: +00:05:46

WP3: +00:08:06

WP4: +00:12:21

WP5: +00:15:08

WP6: +00:18:07

WP7: +00:19:47

WP8: +00:26:57

Total Time: 04:09:30

Variation: +00:42:37

Stage Result: 25

Overall Position: 24

Overall Time: 05:19:39

Overall Variation: +00:46:54

Notes:

– Dakar Veteran Robby Gordon of Orange, California would start out Stage 2 at a

constant pace keeping the SPEED Energy/ Toyo Tires SPEED Edition Textron

XXR within reach of the lead cars, but as the special would move onto the gravel

roads and along the coast with long stretches of beach. Gordon and navigator Kellon

Walch would be restricted to a 130 km/h (80 mph) speed limitation based on the

rules their race vehicle falls under. With yesterday’s short special strictly taking

place in the dunes this rule was not much of an issue.

– Besides watching car after car drive by them, today’s stage went smoothly for

Gordon and Walch whom only ran into trouble when the race vehicle become

stuck, and would need to loop around to clear the waypoint.

– Gordon would finish Stage 2 with a time of 4 hours 9 minutes and 30 seconds. Just

42 minutes and 37 seconds behind stage winner Sebastien Loeb.

– After Stage 2, Gordon now sits in 24th position overall 46 minutes and 54 seconds

behind leader Giniel De Villiers of South Africa.

Quote:

“What the ASO told us in the drivers briefing last night was that today’s stage would be a dune race and today would be majority dunes. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case we just cut across dunes and got back into valleys, along the beach for miles and miles for what could have been wide-open throttle for us. With the rules limitation they have on our car we had to remain at half throttle and play the speed control game. It’s very disappointing they have this rule on us. It wasn’t so bad yesterday as it only hurt us a little bit, but I wasn’t prepared for this today. We got passed by some pretty slow cars doing 50 mph faster than we were, and there’s nothing we could do about it. Other than the speed limit, today’s stage was a pretty uneventful besides getting stuck once, and having to loop back around. The car ran really good the whole time. We were running at 130 km/h what is 80 mph and just sitting there the whole time obeying the speed limit and the other competitors were just cruising by us like we were sitting still.”

No. 346 ICP/ Security State Bank/ Toyo Tires SPEED Edition Textron XXR- Cole Potts

Start Time: 06:42:00 AM/ET

WP1: +00:07:03

WP2: +00:11:32

WP3: +00:22:49

WP4: +00:30:51

WP5: +00:42:00

WP6: +00:49:18

WP7: +00:52:45

WP8: +01:02:20

Total Time: 09:15:38

Variation: +05:48:45

Stage Result: 87

Overall Position: 81

Overall Time: 10:37:41

Overall Variation: +06:04:56

Notes:

– After getting off to a good start in Stage 2 of the 2019 Dakar Rally, things became a difficult one for Scottsdale, Arizona driver Cole Potts and navigator Max Eddy as they encountered a broken axle midway thru the stage limiting the power and speed of the vehicle. With no one else from Team SPEED or other support behind them Potts and Eddy limped the car thru the dunes and gravel roads for over 5 hours to the finish in San Juan de Marcona.

-Potts would finish Stage 2 with a total time of 9 hours 15 minutes and 38 seconds.

– After the completion of Stage 2, Potts now sits in 81st position overall 6 hours 4 minutes and 56 seconds behind leader Giniel De Villiers of South Africa.

– Team SPEED will be able to repair the broken part over night, and the ICP/Security State Bank/ Lakes Region Casino SPEED Edition Textron XXR will continue on in Stage 3.

Quote:

“Lots of effort from Max (Eddy) and myself to get here to the finish today, unfortunately had some issues that were pretty terminal. Damn lucky to make it back in one piece. Congrats to Blade and Robby they had a pretty good pace going there. Our strategy was just to back off quite a bit. That was our insurance policy to have a legitimate shot at a top ten. The cars are really good, I think we just had a fluke issue out there that cost us a lot of time in today’s stage. Such a bummer for everyone who has worked so hard on this car to get it here.”

No. 367 King Shocks/ Toyo Tires SPEED Edition Textron XXR- Blade Hildebrand

Start Time: 06:33:30 AM/ET

WP1: +00:04:02

WP2: +00:06:57

WP3: +00:10:09

WP4: +00:16:18

WP5: +00:30:36

WP6: +00:34:37

WP7: +00:36:35

WP8: +00:42:04

Total Time: 04:31:41

Variation: +01:04:48

Stage Result: 33

Overall: 34

Overall Time: 05:47:52

Overall Variation: +01:15:07

Notes:

– Blade Hildebrand of Yucca Valley, California driving the King Shocks/ Toyo Tires

Speed Edition Textron XXR jumped out to a great start in Stage 2 of the Dakar

Rally setting a consistent pace for each waypoint.

– Similar to Team SPEED teammate Robby Gordon, Hildebrand would fall victim of

the 130 kmh (80 mph) rule for UTV’s. In sections where the car could run full

throttle Blade had to hold back. Ultimately, allowing cars he once passed to get back

by.

– The SPEED Edition Textron XXR would run the entire stage flawless until the very

end when the belt would overheat, and need to be replaced.

– Hildebrand would finish Stage 2 in a time of 4 hours 31 minutes and 41 seconds.

– At the completion of Stage 2, Hildebrand now sits in 34th position overall 1 hour 15 minutes and 7 seconds behind leader Giniel De Villiers of South Africa.

Quote:

“At the finish of Stage 2 the cars ran excellent. I have never been in a race before where we had to follow a speed limit, but that is what is killing us from not loosing time. I think we would be really have a good shot at the other cars in the class if we were not restricted with the speed limit these cars are absolutely insane in the dunes so light and so nimble. Other than that we had a clean run for the stage, only went thru one belt today. Was cautious thru the rocks took it nice and slow, didn’t want to get any flats. Was a consistent clean run similar to yesterday. Can’t be too upset.”

Continue to follow the quest for an American podium finish in the 2019 Dakar Rally for Team SPEED through live timing and scoring on Dakar.com, updates at SpeedEnergy.com, stadiumsupertrucks.com, and planetrobby.com.

Updates will also be available throughout the entire rally on Facebook.com/StadiumSuperTrucks, and Facebook.com/SPEEDSXS, Facebook.com/PlanetRobby.

Instagram pages of RobbyGordon, ColePotts60, BladeHildebrand, SSuperTrucks, and SpeedSXS will also be updated daily with content.

NBC Sports Network will produce daily television highlights, and interviews throughout the rally, shown at 7:00 PM ET each evening featuring Team SPEED drivers and navigators.

The 2019 Dakar Rally would not be possible without the support of the following great partners; Textron Off-Road, Toyo Tires, KING Off-Road Racing Shocks, SPEED Energy, KMC Wheels, SPEEDSXS.com, ARB, Cometic Gasket, Kobalt, Razorback, ARP, VP Racing Fuels, DeVilbiss, Hawk Performance, IMPACT, Mastercraft Safety, Ron Davis Racing Products, Lincoln Electric, Torchmate by Lincoln Electric, Techni Waterjet, Eibach Springs, Rugged Radios, Loctite, Race Case Design, and all the hard work from the staff at Team SPEED.

Team SPEED 2019 Dakar Race Report

January 7, 2019

Stage 1 Lima to Pisco

Liaison: 331 km / 206 miles

Special: 84 km/ 52 miles

No. 316 SPEED Energy/ Toyo Tires SPEED Edition XXR- Robby Gordon

Start Position: 16

WP1: -00:02:08

WP2: -00:04:10

Total Time: 01:10:09

Finish behind leader: -00:08:28

Stage Result: 21

Overall Position: 21

Notes:

– The 2019 Dakar Rally will mark Robby Gordon of Orange, California’s 13th start in the prestigious Off-Road Rally race.
– Gordon and veteran navigator Kellon Walch started 16th off the line for Stage 1 of the 2019 Dakar Rally.
– Thru way point 1 Gordon in the Toyo Tires SPEED Edition Textron XX was on pace with the lead cars. However, would miss the waypoint and need to turn around to clear it loosing a few valuable minutes in the process.
– Running a lower air pressure than normal to gain traction in the sand, Gordon would need to pace himself through the fast and rocky portions of the three wash sections to be careful to not puncture one of his 33” Toyo Tires Open Country M/T Tires.
– Similar to the first way point, remaining focused on passing the cars in front of him Gordon would miss the way point, and veteran navigator Walch would instruct him to turn around to clear. Resulting in finishing 8 minutes and 28 second behind leader Nasser Al-Attiyah with a total time of 1 hour 10 minutes and 9 seconds.

Quote:

“All three cars finish today, and really did not have any problems, a few small things that were self induced. I tried cutting the course a couple times, and Kellon made me loop back around to get the waypoints. I most likely lost around 3 minutes by missing way points, and having to turn around and go back to clear it. When you start so back in the field like sixteenth where we did, as a driver your not focused on the way points, your focused on the cars, and try to get to the car in front of you.”

“We are running a OEM production tire on the SPEED Edition Textron XXR this year, a 33” Toyo Tires Open Country M/T. With the Sand I felt the way the M/T is with the sidewall, I had to drop my tire pressures down to ten pounds, but I didn’t realize we were going to have three wash sections about 15 miles of rocky washes but I had to be very careful and slow down the pace to not get a rock thru the tire with low pressure. My strategy was great in the sand, but was defiantly a disadvantage with the high speed in the rocks.”

“Myself and Team SPEED made a lot of changes to these cars after the Baja 1000. Back in that race we lost a head gasket, so really focused on the cooling and oil cooling leading up to the Dakar. The water temp I never saw over 200 degrees, the oil temp the highest I saw was 220 degrees. It looks like we have our cooling temperatures stabilized. The most important thing was to survive this special. We did a 160 miles transfer liaison on the way here that was perfect for breaking the engines in, and getting everything bedded in properly. Having all three cars finish on day one is a good sign. We did enter a UTV against the Cars, we would of won the UTV class pretty easy but that wasn’t the name of the game here. We came to race the cars and to be honest when I saw the eight minutes down I saw a bit of sticker shock, but when I went back and evaluated all of the things we did wrong or we could of done better. I found that we could most likely find five of the eight minutes back. That would put us pretty much on pace with everyone. Biggest thing in Stage 2 I cannot over drive the car and be smart consistently having good runs. Stage 2 will give us dune, gravel roads and rocks at the end of the day we will see where we stack up against the competition.

No. 346 ICP/ Security State Bank/ Toyo Tires SPEED Edition XXR- Cole Potts

WP1: -5:26

WP2: -00:11:09

Total Time: 01:22:03

Finish behind leader: -00:20:22

Stage Result: 43

Overall Position: 43

Notes:

-Cole Potts of Scottsdale, Arizona made his first Dakar Rally start today in Stage 1 from Lima, Peru to Pisco, Peru.
-The short 84 km special offered Potts and navigator Max Eddy an opportunity to become familiar with the SPEED Edition Textron XXR racecar.
-Not pushing the Innovative Computer Professional/ Security State Bank/ Lakes Region Casino car too hard Potts cleared checkpoint one 5 minutes and 26 seconds behind the leader Nasser Al-Attiyah. The second half of the Stage was a little more difficult, and Potts lost time on the leader trying to navigate the dunes.
-Finishing the stage with a total time of 1 hour and 22 minutes and 3 seconds, Potts received a good learning experience of what to expect the rest of the rally.

Quote:

“Good Stage today for my first experience at a Rally. My main objective was to get a feel for the car, and its limitations with out pushing it too hard and breaking anything. The Dunes are similar to what I have been training on in the US. On behalf of Blade and Robby. I think we are all very comfortable out here in the sand, and the other terrain that’s going to get thrown at us so that’s a real bonus. Today was just a day to really figure out the car, and get it up to our liking for the remaining stages. We will make a few adjustments, and be back to give it a go tomorrow for Stage 2.”

No. 367 King Shocks/Toyo Tires SPEED Edition XXR- Blade Hildebrand

WP1: -00:03:32

WP2: -00:06:56

Stage Total Time: 01:16:11

Finish behind leader: -00:14:30

Stage Result: 34

Overall: 34

Notes:

-Blade Hildebrand of Yucca Valley, California made his first Dakar Rally start today in Stage 1 from Lima, Peru to Pisco, Peru.

-The short distance of the special would give Hildebrand and navigator Bill Conger an opportunity to become acquainted with the King Shocks/Toyo Tires SPEED Edition Textron XXR during race conditions.

-Hildebrand made it thru check point one with a time 3:32 behind the leader Nasser. The second half of the stage was consistent for the King Shocks/Toyo Tires SPEED Edition Textron XXR but was more challenging.

-Hildebrand and Conger would finish 6 minutes and 56 seconds behind the leader with a total time of 1 hour 16 minutes and 11 seconds.

Quote:

“Today was Stage 1 of the Dakar Rally, and I was able to move the King Shocks/ Toyo Tires SPEED Edition Textron XXR pass some cars through the stage, but I really tried to take it easy feeling out the car and working with Bill (Conger) to make each waypoint consistently without getting lost. The car had no problems as it ran flawlessly the entire stage. We are going to do a little bit of shock tuning over night to prepare for Stage 2. As they were a little soft today for the dunes, other than that the car ran great, and I am looking forward to Stage 2.