Good Robby/Ryan Dakar Article

[JrSyko]

Good article out of the LA Times about Ryan/Robby's Dakar experience.

Here's the link and the story following:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...7474562.column


January 21, 2005 E-mail story Print Most E-Mailed

Shav Glick:
Motor Sports

They're Ready to Again Wear the Rally Caps

Ryan Arciero has won the Baja 1000 three times, including the last two, so the Orange County off-road racer figured he was ready to tackle the Dakar Rally, a 5,566-mile torture test from Barcelona across western Africa south of the Sahara to Senegal's seaside capital, Dakar.

He arrived home Wednesday and couldn't wait to talk about it Thursday.

"It was like driving the 1000, then again, then again and again for five times without a letup," said Arciero, who lost 17 pounds in 17 days from Dec. 31 to Jan. 16, driving a diesel-powered Toyota Land Cruiser in the stock class.

"It was even tougher than I anticipated. The longest runs were about 400 miles, about half of a day in Baja, but as soon as we logged a thousand, you were right back after the next one."

Arciero drove the entire distance, with Niki von der Decken, a German motorcycle racer, riding along as navigator.

NASCAR driver Robby Gordon also drove in the Dakar and finished 12th in a highly modified Volkswagen Race-Touareg in the premier class. After finishing, Gordon left immediately for Daytona Beach, Fla. Gordon recently quit Richard Childress' team to go it alone as an owner-driver in the Nextel Cup series.

"Robby and I talked nearly every night at our bivouac and both of us want to come back next year with an all-American team," said Arciero, whose grandfather Frank was one of Southern California's pioneers in sports car racing. "It won't be in a stock vehicle, like the one I drove, but in a state-of-the-art one we build here in Southern California just for Dakar. Mark Miller, who drove with me in the last two Baja wins, will be part of the team too.

"One of our trophy trucks would blow away anything that ran in the Dakar, but it would never last. It's amazing what a beating these cars — and the drivers — take racing over 5,000 miles. None of it is anything more difficult than what we see in Baja, there's just so much more of it."

Animals crossing the road are sometimes bigger hazards than sand, boulders, ravines or the lack of roads. In Baja, cows and dogs seem to be everywhere.

"Goats were the biggest concern in Africa, everywhere we went," Arciero said. "We also saw herds of monkeys, a bunch of wild boar and a few wild camels.

"And of course, people. It seemed like even in the middle of the desert when we ran through tiny villages, they would line the course. There were thousands of kids, maybe 3 to 10, who stood and cheered about everywhere but Mauritania.

"That was the only place I felt somewhat apprehensive being an American. They would put up roadblocks by piling big rocks in the road and if we stopped, they would swarm over the car and ask for food or gifts. When we slowed down and tried to drive through the roadblocks, they would throw stones at us. One time, we were going real slow and they jumped on the back and yanked a tent off the car. We never stopped."

The worst thing that happened to Arciero was running out of fuel and having to wait 12 hours until the team's service truck reached them.

"It was miserably cold and in the middle of a sandstorm. Every five minutes or so, another vehicle would come by and Niki and I would beg for either a tow or some gas, but they were all low on fuel too, and wouldn't take a chance helping us. It felt terrible, but I knew how they felt.

"I've nursed my truck home in Baja when it was low on fuel, but in the Land Cruiser there was no gauge. The only way you could get a reading was to stop and put a stick in the tank and see how much you had left. The next day, after half the field ran dry, the race organizers acknowledged they had made a miscalculation and gave us a day off to recuperate.

"The rally was an all-French operation and I was amazed at how efficient and organized they were in having meals ready, no matter how far we were out in the boonies."

A series of five one-hour shows from the Dakar Rally will debut Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on the Outdoor Life Network.

"The producers hope that showing the action … will do for Dakar what OLN did for Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France," Arciero said. "Desert racing may be out of the NASCAR box, but for human interest and a different look at racing, it's a hidden treasure."

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[SILAHUA]

great article

[chud]

No fuel guage? Is that a rule or did the guage in the landcruiser break?

Also, are there only 3 classes - cars, bikes, trucks as it appears on OLN? The stock Landcruiser races against Gordon's Touareg?

[JrSyko]

Also, are there only 3 classes - cars, bikes, trucks as it appears on OLN? The stock Landcruiser races against Gordon's Touareg?

There are different classes among the car class, OLN doesn't break it down for you.