Team SPEED Rebounds in Dakar Rally Stage 3 with Robby Gordon Finishing 16th and Sheldon Creed 25th

SAN SALVADOR DE JUJUY, Argentina (January 5, 2016) – Team SPEED drivers Robby Gordon and Sheldon Creed successfully rebounded from Stage 2 struggles in the 38th Annual Dakar Rally to finish the weather shortened Stage 3 from Termas De Rio Hondo to San Salvador De Jujuy respectively in the 16th and 25th positions.

Robby Gordon, starting 24th after a troublesome second stage, which involved getting stuck in the mud and loosing 15 minutes to the leaders, would manage to drive aggressively and overtake 8 cars in Tuesday’s weather shortened 200 km (124.3 mi) special, which presented slick course conditions and difficult visibility for a second day.

Gordon’s finishing time of 2 hours, 19 minutes and 7 seconds cut valuable time off his deficit to the leaders, and would give Gordon a much better starting position in Wednesday’s loop stage.

Team SPEED teammate Sheldon Creed after being accessed a 3-minute penalty after Monday’s Stage 2, Creed would start in the 37th position on Tuesday.

Showing the world why he is the 2015 Stadium SUPER Trucks champion and X-Games Gold Medalist, Creed did not let his age and lack of rally experience get in his way advancing twelve positions to finish with a time of 2 hours 24 minutes, 20 seconds, just 14 minutes, and 41 seconds behind the leader.

France’s Sebastien Loeb would win the stage in a time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, 39 seconds. Spain’s Carlos Sainz followed at 2 hours, 11 minutes , 2 seconds while defending Dakar Champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar ran the stage in 2 hours, 11 minutes, and 4 seconds to finish third. Giniel de Villiers of South Africa finished fourth with a time of 2 hours, 11 minutes, 41 seconds, while Mikko Hirvonen of Finland finish fifth in 2 hours, 12 minutes, and 28 seconds.

After two stages Loeb holds the overall lead over de Villiers by 5 minutes, and 3 seconds. Followed by France’s Stephan Peterhansel in third 5 minutes, and 5 seconds back. Hirvonen holds the fourth position 5 minutes, 52 seconds behind, while Al-Attiyah rounds out the top five 6 minutes, and 39 seconds back. Robby Gordon sits in the seventeenth overall position 27 minutes, and 25 seconds behind, with teammate Sheldon Creed holds the twenty-ninth position 53 minutes, 40 seconds behind leader Loeb.

Wednesday’s fourth stage (629 km/391 mi, with a 429 km/ 266 mi special) will take drivers around a loop beginning in San Salvador De Jujuy, and traveling well into the Andes Mountains reaching elevations of 3,500 meters (11,483 feet). This will be a challenge not only the drivers, but the cars as well. The high altitude mixed with the summer temperatures of the southern hemisphere, and the incessant changes in pace resulting from alternating sandy and rocky terrain will have exhausted drivers and cars itching to return back to the San Salvador De Jujuy bivouac for the night.

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

NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) will provide daily highlights after each stage of the 2016 Dakar Rally at 5:30 p.m. ET. Check your local listings for exact time and channel for availability.

Robby Gordon 22nd, Sheldon Creed 33rd In Stage 2 Of The 2016 Dakar Rally

TERMAS DE RIO HONDO, Argentina (January 4, 2016) – After a cancellation of the first stage on Sunday due to inclement weather, Americans Robby Gordon and Sheldon Creed would roll their identically prepared SPEED Energy/Toyo Tires HST Gordini supercars to the starting line and take the green flag of Stage 2 on Monday morning.

However, like the previous day it was known right away that weather would play a huge factor in the outcome of the stage as Rally officials would shorten the special from 521 km (323.7 mi) to 387 km (240.5 mi) as the risk of low lying clouds and darkness would threaten to ground safety aircraft during the later moments of the year’s longest special.

Dealing with a hilly rain soaked course with over flowing streams and rivers, Team SPEED knew they would have their work cut out for them in the first challenge of the 38th Annual Dakar Rally.

Starting in the 29th position Robby Gordon broke out to a blistering pace working his way up to the 15th position by km 120 just 3 minutes and 51 seconds behind leader Sebastian Loeb. But like any form of racing qualifying in the front has drastic advantages, especially in off-road racing, and today was no different as competitors who started further back dealt with a chewed up race course.

Shortly after the km 170 mark Gordon would find an obstacle that was too just much for the SPEED Energy / Toyo Tires / TRAXXAS HST Gordini to bare as it came to rest stuck in a thick bog of deep mud. While Gordon and Navigator Kellon Welch accessed and worked themselves out of the situation, 15 minutes were lost to the leader once back on course and moving.

Gordon would go on to finish Stage 2 in 4 hours, 3 minutes and 22 seconds, 17 minutes and 17 seconds behind the time set by stage winner and overall leader Sebastian Loeb of France who finished in a time of 3 hours, 45 minutes and 46 seconds.

“Things were going really good today, and we just got stuck, it’s very unfortunate to give up all that time to the leaders,” stated Gordon after Stage 2.

With 11 stages remaining Gordon has plenty of time to make up as much of the 17 minute and 17 second deficit as possible, and try to add to his impressive ten career stage victories throughout his 11-year Dakar career.

Team SPEED teammate and 2015 SST Champion Sheldon Creed re-wrote the Dakar history books today by becoming the youngest competitor in the history of the Dakar Rally at the bright age of 18 to start a stage. Creed would race a respectable and smart race finishing his first Dakar stage in a time of 4 hours, 20 minutes, and 54 seconds, just 35 minutes and 8 seconds behind the leader Loeb.

Tuesday’s third stage (663 kilometers/412 miles) will take drivers from Termas De Rio Hondo to San Salvador De Jujuy through one of the most beautiful regions in Argentina. The stage was designed for those hunting down the leaders opportunities to make advances. Gordon has no other choice, but to drive hard and finish among the top fifteen in hopes of an improved starting position for future stages.

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

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.