[Racer Duck]

This year, the 15-stage epic off-road race starts in Lisbon, Portugal on January 5th and concludes on January 20th in Dakar, Senegal. The preparation for the 2008 Dakar Rally is in its final stages as the support vehicles, loaded with all the spare parts and equipment, begin their trip across the USA today to Savannah, GA where they will then travel by cargo vessel to Lisbon.

It is much more of a challenge for the Anaheim, California based team than that of their European based counterparts. The majority of the top teams participating in the Dakar Rally are based in Europe, which allows them more time to prepare unlike Team Dakar USA. Logistic preparation for Team Dakar USA is a very important dynamic to the success of the overall program. Fortunately, the Hummer H3s are airlifted only days before the start, giving the team added time to test and perfect the race vehicles.

As Team Dakar USA enters its third Dakar Rally with the Monster Energy / Toyo Tire Hummer H3, Robby Gordon has also added a second Hummer to his elite off-road team. He has enlisted the help of fellow American Dakar veteran, Ronn Bailey to pilot an identically prepared Hummer H3. Bailey, who is CEO of Vanguard Integrity Professionals, an enterprise security software company, will participate in the next three Dakar Rally events as an integral part of Team Dakar USA. more...