Stage 15: Dakar - Dakar
For sixteen days, from Lisbon to Dakar, Team Dakar USA embarked on the
toughest race known to man and machine. By the end they accomplished what no
other American team had ever done in the previous 28 editions of the Dakar
Rally. Robby Gordon Motorsports and General Motors with its Hummer brand
respectively became the first American team and manufacture to win a
converted stage in the Dakar Rally. While Robby Gordon claimed his third
stage win in his third Dakar attempt - the Monster Hummer also captured the
open category honors with its eighth place finish overall.
The short 16km final
stage in the 2007 Dakar Rally was races on the banks of Lac Rose and saw
Robby Gordon attack the course like he had for the previous 4313 km. Gordon
and navigator Andy Grider began the stage in fifth place - the position they
had finished the previous day's stage. When the dust settled they had
advanced the Monster Hummer to a third place finish and secured the eight
overall finishing positions for the 2007 Dakar Rally.
Robby Gordon's Quotes following the 15th and final stage
"Today was maximum attack. We finished third and it really demonstrates just
how tough the competition is. These teams that we compete against are some
of the very best in all of racing. Collectively as a group we are not
satisfied with finishing eighth. We set out to win this rally and fell short
of that goal. That does not detract from how incredibly proud I am of our
teams effort. Andy and all the guys did such a tremendous job. We had
absolutely zero mechanical failures and our Monster Hummer performed at a
very high level. The gains we made over last year were very dramatic and
there is still quite a bit left on the table for us to go get. Our team
gained some very valuable experience and I know guys are already talking
about coming back next year. I know the Hummer left it's mark on this years
event and I'm sure when we return next year they will consider us as a
threat to win."