2014 edition of the famous Dakar rally kicked off today. Â It marks the beginning on 13 grueling days of off-road racing. Â Today’s Stage 1 was a 112 mile (180 km) trek that included the picturesque water crossing you see here.
Things did not turn out the way Robby Gordon hoped to start the 2014 Dakar. Â He was late to the start of the special and proceeded to have several mishaps. Â Most noteworthy was when Robby lost the rear engine cover of his Hummer HST racer. Â One of the event organizers had to retrieve the piece of bodywork in a service vehicle. Â In the end, Robby crossed the finish line 2 hr 08 min 06 sec behind the leader and in provisional 133th place. Â The lost time will be extremely difficult to make up, but we have seen Robby bounce back from similar problems and bring in stage victories. Â We hope the Hummer HST team (Robby Gordon / Kellon Walch and crew) can quickly recover.
The pace was set by Carlos Sousa of Portugal behind the wheel of this Haval H8 racer. Â The time to beat was 2:20:36. Â Haval H8 racecar represents a production model of the same name by Chinese manufacturer – Great Wall. Â Race favorites – the squad from MINI rounded out the top four.
The custom Chevrolet racer of BJ Baldwin had a better day. Â He finished the stage in 92nd place – 52 minutes behind the Haval of Sousa.
Here is video from ToyoTires of BJ Baldwin and Robby Gordon preparing for the 2014 Dakar:
