Stage 1 Of The 2016 Dakar Rally Cancelled Due To Bad Weather

VILLAS CARLOS PAZ, Argentina (January 3, 2016) – American teammates Robby Gordon and Sheldon Creed will need to wait until Monday morning to begin their attempt at the 38th Annual Dakar Rally, as rally organizers cancelled the first special Sunday morning from Rosario to Villa Carlos Paz due to treacherous heavy rains and low lying clouds throughout the area.

Due to the extreme weather conditions all aircraft would remain grounded along the racecourse, making it impossible for ASO officials to guarantee the proper safety of competitors.

Once the stage was officially cancelled for the day Gordon and Creed were sent on there way down the rained soaked racecourse and highway under transit section rules to safely insure their No. 312 and No. 337 SPEED Energy/ Toyo Tires/ TRAXXAS HST Gordini Supercar’s would make it to the evenings bivouac in Villa Carlos Paz.

Gordon, who was scheduled to start 25th in Sunday’s cancelled first stage, will roll off the line in the same position for Monday’s marathon stage to Termas De Rio Hondo, while first time Dakar competitor Sheldon Creed will start in the 38th position.

Deemed to be the longest and trickiest special of the 2016 Rally, an initial link section of 70 km (43.5 mi) long will take the competitors to the start of the second special. With nearly 510 km’s (317 mi) of racing on an ultra fast course both HST Gordini’s will unleash showing the 109 competitors in the car class their first initial threat, making up extensive ground to the frontrunners.

Follow the quest for an American podium finish in the 2016 Dakar Rally for Team SPEED through live timing and scoring as well as live updates with chat at http://www.planetrobby.com and https://stadiumsupertrucks.com

Team SPEED is supported by the following partners; SPEED Energy, Toyo Tires, TRAXXAS, KMC Wheels, Arctic Cat, 4 Wheel Parts, Grand Design Recreational Vehicles, Magnaflow Exhaust, Eibach Springs, King Shocks, Outlaw LED, Mastercraft Safety, Holley Performance, Embee Performance, MAC Tools, DeWALT, Freightliner Trucks, Replay XD, Valvoline, Impact by Mastercraft Safety, Lincoln Electric, Torchmate by Lincoln Electric, Ron Davis Racing Products, Techni Waterjet, Mechanix Wear, Saftey-Kleen, Weddle Industries, and Loctite.

Stage 2: Villa Carlos Paz – Termas De Rio Hondo

Cars-Trucks
Special Sections: 521 km (323.7 mi)
Total: 858 km (533.1 mi)

The statistics speak for themselves: with around 800 kilometers to cover depending on the category, the day will be very long. There is a significant distance to cover in both the special and the liaison sections: although the terrain presents no real difficulties, the relatively fast tracks may already benefit those who love hills and crossing rivers and who can keep up high speeds over the whole distance. Cars and trucks entitled to an extension on this day.