Not only has the route been changed but so has the name. Now it will be called the Dakar Series which will take place in three stages. The first stage will start on April 11th in Budapest and finish in Hungary and Romania. The second stage will begin in Portugal in September and then they race through Spain and Portugal from Buenos Aries Argentina to Chile and then return to Buenos Aries for the finish.

Popularity: 5%

ASO, the organizers of the event, have signed a deal with a promotion company in Argentina! And although the South American rally likely won’t happen this year, when it does it will likely revert to Dakar’s traditional January 1 starting date and take the place of the Pampas Rally in the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup. The Pampas Rally will go to Chile and back again.

There has been other routes discussed such as Paris to Beijing Dubai and even Australia but the reports show those possibilities as being too expensive. Morocco was also discussed but intelligence ruled out because of terrorist problems in that area.

ASO had discussed running the event in 2008 just in Morocco, but intelligence ruled that out with terrorists close to the Mauritanian border.

Popularity: 4%

Is this really what the world has come to? It seems even a legendary rally in the twisted minds of Al-Qaeda is contrary to their beliefs.

The Dakar Rally, the legendary race across the Sahara which is one of motorsport’s toughest and most dangerous competitions, has been cancelled for the first time in its 30-year history because of security fears. There have been security warnings in the past, but never potent enough to scrap the entire race.
Continue reading →

Popularity: 5%

The Porsche Cayenne has had more than a few detractors since it’s inception, with many feeling that there is no reason for an SUV with 911 lineage. Porsche is determined to show the world that the Cayenne is a winner in it’s own arena. But what exactly is that arena?

This is no shopping mall autocross, this is the Transsyberia Rally. Beginning this morning, 25 rally prepped Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberias will begin the 7000 km trek from Moscow’s Red Square to the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbataar. There are no over privileged soccer moms on board these Cayenne’s, with names like Rod Millen and Armin Schwarz at the wheel. There will be some serious stage action.

To cope with that action, the Cayenne’s have received more than a bit of beefing up from the big guys at Weissach. Mods include full roll cage, upgraded air intake and body sealing (for water crossings), additional lights and rally tires. As would be expected, each truck carries a full complement of navigational electronics to make sure the crews find their way.

The event runs until August 17 and will be covered live through the Porsche web site. You can also check back to The Garage, as we’ll keep readers up to date as we receive details.

Porsche press release and more photos after the break
Continue reading →

Popularity: 5%

Car enthusiasts love concept cars. Journalists love concept cars. Chrysler loves to build concept cars! In fact they are dedicated to building the Coolest of Cool concept cars. In reality, every designer and every manufacturer thinks that their concepts are the coolest. Not every concept is a driver though and the Chrysler boys and girls try to make most of them runners. the even get them out on the road for journalists to have a go at. Not long ago, one lucky guy got to take the new Challenger down a drag strip!

It has been 20 years since Chrysler began taking this approach and they are pretty proud of some of those cars. Rightfully so, as a number of the cars on the list went on to production and a full model life. Viper, Prowler, Ram, Neon. These and more have been important to Chrysler fans all over, not to mention the company.

More images and press release after the break
Continue reading →

Popularity: 15%

Dakar is done for another year. The Mitsubishi team won in the car division, capitalizing on their reliability, rather than outright speed. That is not to say they were slow by any means, but reliability is king in any endurance event. The HUMMER of Robby Gordon and Team Dakar USA finished a well deserved 8th. Reliability and bad luck prevented a better finish, but they cranked off a stage win and a number of top 5 stage finishes. The team did a great job overall.

So why is it that the Monster Energy HUMMER crew received such poor coverage in the televised coverage?
Continue reading →

Popularity: 12%

With Dakar now over, we all know the final results, thanks to the speed of the internet, but editing still takes time. Here we have the Team Dakar USA video from the second last day. Robby Gordon has the look of someone who feels a bit disappointed. Don’t be. In only your second season, you’ve won a stage and finished in the top ten in a 2 wheel drive truck as compared to the killer 4 wheel drives from VW and Mitsubishi. Job well done, and don’t you forget it!

Days press release after the break

Continue reading →

Popularity: 8%

Between the layover day in Africa, and the weekend we’ve missed a day’s Dakar news, so today we get a double dose of Dakar from Team Dakar USA.

Press releases for stage 12 & 13 and stage 13 video after the break
Continue reading →

Popularity: 8%

What can we say about today? Well, today proves that no matter how much money you have, how well prepared you are or how professional your team is, there is always a learning curve leading up to a win. The Monster HUMMER was the fastest beast on the road today, but fell victim to a kinked fuel hose. Once again, the giant is felled by a mouse of a problem. They managed to keep their 8th place position overall though, and the confidence level is high that they will win the remaining stages.

Be sure to visit the Team Dakar USA site, and visit their corporate partners. Without their support, the team likely wouldn’t be publishing these great videos.

Team Dakar USA press release after the break

Continue reading →

Popularity: 8%

As the 2007 Dakar gets closer to the end, Team Dakar USA continues to move up the scoreboard. A strong performance on Stage 9, along with failures from 2 of the VW powerhouse have moved the HUMMER up to 8th place overall in the cars. If all keeps going their way, a top 5 finish could be a real possibility. Today’s video includes more killer in car.

Today’s Team Dakar USA press release after the break
Continue reading →

Popularity: 7%