RG News??

[randy1123]

Humbuggy again?
Someone has more than just a video of 24 shocks on the ground?
Sounds like 2WD again, but this forum has been dry of something new so I assume he is doing the same for 2011......

 

[RGFan]

Heard the rear engine H3's are now mid engine H3's. Not quite the 4 wheel drive he talked about and most of us hoped for.........But, should show improvement on the gravel roads. Should have a top 5 run as long as the tire inflation system does not fail every single day like last year. Should not have to worry about him sailing the H3 end over end like he did up at Parker during testing last year either.

 

[Bricoop]

Heard the rear engine H3's are now mid engine H3's. Not quite the 4 wheel drive he talked about and most of us hoped for.........But, should show improvement on the gravel roads. Should have a top 5 run as long as the tire inflation system does not fail every single day like last year. Should not have to worry about him sailing the H3 end over end like he did up at Parker during testing last year either.

New system this year. Tested at the 1000.

 

[ZequeArgentina]

RG is the inly Hubuggy in the entry list so far.
No team mate this year??

 

[randy1123]

RG is the inly Hubuggy in the entry list so far.
No team mate this year??

Interesting.....
Is it true that the bikes that gave him fuel two years ago were part of his support?
It is a long wait for the 6x6 if something happens.
I assume it will be an Orange Speed Hummer this year?

 

[spalind]

No Andy in the passenger seat either...how will that effect the effort?

 

[Chris Tobin]

He has another ex bike competitor turned navigator (I can't remember his name, but he nav'd for BJ last year) so I don't expect too much of a difference in navigation... although they could have some communication/growing pains, but if they get in enough prectice before the rally they should be good to go!

 

[Hog Wild]

Kellon Walch is RG's co-dawg for Dakar, as he was in the 1000 this year. My guess is those 1000 miles have already worked out any communication issues!

No comment on the possible 2nd Hummer.

 

[NIKAL]

I had heard that there would be 2 race Hummers, but no 4x4 race support truck this year. On PR they have pictures of 2 hummers being preped for Dakar. I'm wondering if the Chile drivers might be the second team? I thought I read on PR awhile back that they might be with RGM again for 2011.

 

[randy s]

so where's fly at? i sure do miss that dakar rg report thing he used to do. too busy with his house bidness maybe. he generally knows a few things about what's up. so what's up scott?

 

[randy s]

for that matter, where's craig at? he's vanished from RDC for the past year or so. who'll rag on rubby and be the VW pimp and pain in the ass kiljoy? maybe we can draw them in with bacon traps.

 

[randy s]

so will rg have a better plan this year? he needs not to screw up the early stages and keep the bad guys within sight. he can't fall behind expecting all the vw's to tank. if he can keep it relatively close and not have issues early on, he could sneak in the top 5 with a top 10 being more realistic.. those vw's are just better rally raid cars with world class drivers in them. too many world class drivers in them in my opinion with waaay better support in place. i think he'll steal the show regardless. he can't help it. he'll likely be the most photographed racer there and be the central figure at at least one controversy. he won't have tire and wheel or hub issues because he likely made the changes he needed to make to not have it happen again right? right. for alot of us, he's the only reason to really follow the rally as close as we do. watching our favorite maniac taunt the other drivers with his bad boy persona and crazy looking 2 wheel drive desert racing rocket ship and the competition politely nod their heads in awe and pretend to be impressed with it all and are privately thinking that they're gonna blow his doors off or he'll drive himself out of the rally in a blaze of glory somehow and somewhere along the way. something's gonna happen though because it's rg and something always happens to that guy. the boat won't show up or they'll miss scrutineering or get lost in town or something. he can't help it. and we all know it too. good luck to rubby and company. time to bring it on and good luck to everyone and race smart and safe.

 

[TRSonly1]

Well said randy S. Its that combination of RG persona, Supersize Hummer, roaring (but restricted)Corvette V8, Long Travel Suspension that does it. No number of VWs can compete with that. "just better Rally raid cars"; I dont know about that. Ive seen to many occasions where that Hummer just flies by those supposedly better cars. Like you said, its Robby, its not the car. "world class drivers": If you ask Sainz who the best ever desert racer is, he'll tell you its Robby Gordon, no doubt. Cause sianz knows when nothing gets wrong Robby will win, with the 2WD hummer, No turbo. I think Robby has a real chance here winning this edition of dakar. His driving skills and guts are unsurpassed, you cant argue with that.

 

[randy s]

Well said randy S. Its that combination of RG persona, Supersize Hummer, roaring (but restricted)Corvette V8, Long Travel Suspension that does it. No number of VWs can compete with that. "just better Rally raid cars"; I dont know about that. Ive seen to many occasions where that Hummer just flies by those supposedly better cars. Like you said, its Robby, its not the car. "world class drivers": If you ask Sainz who the best ever desert racer is, he'll tell you its Robby Gordon, no doubt. Cause sianz knows when nothing gets wrong Robby will win, with the 2WD hummer, No turbo. I think Robby has a real chance here winning this edition of dakar. His driving skills and guts are unsurpassed, you cant argue with that.

i don't think carlos sainz would admit to anything regarding rg's talents other than just acknowledging that he's there. even if he did comment on on rg's desert racing prowess, this ain't no desert race straight up. there's farm roads [where rg had problems in the early stages last year] mountain roads, some snow, etc. and i'll disagree that rg's hummer is as competitive as the touregs on the majority of the stages with the restrictions on the car that the ASO has placed on it. sure, he'll be fast on some wide open stages and may even win a stage or two. but let's not forget about who we're talking about here. robby gordon seems to stay awake all night long trying to figure out how to screw things up and generally speaking, he comes up with lots of options. he tries to get too cute with ideas, doesn't take the advice of his navigator and gets lost and has to backtrack, will have support issues that the vw team won't have. look, there's no one that hopes that rg does well as much as i do, but with this car and program where there's limited support, he'll have to be perfect to podium this rally and i just don't see that happening because we're talking about robby gordon here aren't we? giant stones. plenty of "want to". lots of talkin'. lots of bling, flashes of brilliance. but zero consistency. great one day. loses two hours the next stage for a new reason almost every time. he just can't and won't put together what it will take to win this thing. his best chance to win this thing was in what now is mark millers ride for the vw team and he may have already done that if he weren't so head strong and stubborn, bound and determined to fail on his own in typical rg fashion. he brings many great new ideas to endurance rally racing but just can't capitalize on them against the huge factory efforts. and i respectfully disagree that over the long run that his two wheel drive h3 is as good as the 4x4 touregs in this venue. but i'd agree that he's the only one on the planet that could compete with the factory teams if he races smart. there in lies the problem now doesn't it? gas on.

 

[RGFan]

Lots of opinions here.....That is what I like about this place. First off, IMO, Robby Gordon's driving talent is not the problem, he is one of the best drivers in the world period, I do not care what venue it is. As is usual, Robby the owner is what kills Robby most of the time. Whether that be Champ Car, IRL, Nascrap, Dakar Series. Whenever Robby has had to be JUST THE DRIVER, the guy kicks butt PERIOD! When he does not have an owner reigning him in is when he usually gets himself into trouble. As far as last year, his tire inflation system and a fricken alternator killed his effort. Behind the scenes, perhaps rushing to get a 3rd Hummer done for Team Chile and having to support the team at the last minute might have hurt what should have been arguably his best effort there. The fact that they only run one race per year in the H3's and perhaps lose consistancy because of this may play a role, while the likes of Volkswagon, BMW, etc run year round. The lack of world class talent running in his vehicles on a regular basis probably hurts as well. Do not get me wrong, BJ rocks as a driver, but when doing so only once a year with little to no practice in the H3 along with getting a call on Christmas Eve to drive in a week probably does not help. Robby needs the funds to bring in a Peterhansel, a Sainz, or perhaps a Miller or a Baldwin and needs a solid effort to run them year round, both the drivers, cars and team. Without it, I think RG will continue to finish top 5 to top 10. As far as the H3's, they are no longer desert vehicles, perhaps they are hybrids. Tight, winding gravel roads are what kill the H3 vs. the all wheel drive cars in the race. The switch to a mid engine from rear engine should get some better weight distribution and improve the push in corners from the light front end on the H3, but it will still suffer when compared to the 4wd. If the ASO had any balls, they would unrestrict the H3's, due to the blatant disadvantage it has against the 4wd's along with the fact that half of this seems to be on winding gravel roads. You want to see a show, I would love to see the H3 with 800 hp......I do not think the ASO wants to see a brash American win this thing in American equipment. WIth that being said, RG is RG, he is going to do things his way, come hell or high water. The biggest waste of pure driver talent in the history of motorsports, him driving for himself that is. But it should be entertaining. And if he drove for team owners in his various endeavors, he would probably not be doing Dakar at all, and that would be a travesty.

But who am I..........I'm just a dumby fan with an opinion....... I hope he kicks butt.

 

[randy s]

this is sort of like his nascar program in a lot of ways isn't it. great car control and natural ability. his best chance to win are in road courses twice a year sort of like a few wide open stages at dakar. brings his own team. makes poor decisions and has lousy strategies alot of times. has his share and more of bad luck. lacks input the big teams have and his support at dakar will mirror the support he has in nascar on pit stops or even his off road desert racing team when somehow someone forgot to load his lights on the right chase truck. everyone in the garage in nascar will marvel at the craftsmanship of rg's builds and even take advantage of some of his ideas. just like dakar. he'll have his best chance at special venues like dakar. the main difference is that he'll run closer to the front than in the majority of nascar races in this rally. when he's good, he's very good. but that never happens over the course of the whole season or for every stage of the rally like the large factory teams seem to be able to have in place. the vw team will be favored in every single stage of the rally and will run up front every day. rg won't i guarantee you. it'll be just like hendrick motorsports and the vw factory team versus our hero......the whole world loves an underdog though so give it all you got and maybe good things will happen for you rob.. we all admire your tenacity and the hard work for sure. gas on.

 

[CDN11]

Hello everyone
I see we are digging in for another year of Dakar. I see comments about RG being restricted with his V8, what about the Diesels they are restricted as well; where they let loose they too would easily push the 800+ hp mark and then let them have the unrestricted wheel travel of the buggies then see what would happen. RG choose to be in this class and is fully aware of the limitations in that class. In the end it all comes down to choices. There was another comment about no one being able to beat the factory teams, JLS has done it twice in an American Buggy with his spin on it and he did it in the "Real Dakar".

 

[RGFan]

You make good points, but while the turbo diesels are also restricted, they do have an obvious advantage to a NA V8, specifically in the higher elevations and in regards to torque/acceleration. Add in the 4wd and you have a superior vehicle for this course. As far as JLS doing it, he did it in the real Dakar where the track conditions better suited the H3's and buggy style vehicles. All that was implied in regards to this race was that the "Factory Teams" have an obvious advantage to the H3's and buggies with the WRC style course conditions for what is roughly half of the race. JLS would not win on this course in my opinion.

 

[JPBart]

Prior to last years event, TSO made the restrictor for RG's class smaller. It seemed to have a real impact and made it nearly impossible for Robby to compete with the VW's. There are trade offs for all decisions in car design and class choice. Robby gave them a real run for the money a couple years ago with the higher horsepower. He was trading 4x4 and diesel for HP and speed. I am confident the thinking was that he would lose time in sections that were well suited to the 4x4 and make it up in the faster sections. The restrictor pretty much made it a lose/lose. He was slower in the tight stuff and just about the same speed in the fast stuff as the VW's.

Not that I disagree much with Randy but the TSO rule change last year put Robby at a solid disadvantage. Hopefully they realize a competetive race will bring more viewers and they have given back the HP they took away and the mid engine car will make up for some of the disadvantages. Now all we need is for Robby the driver to just drive and let someone else deal with everything else. It's hard to type that without laughing. lol

 

[Hog Wild]

So, if there is a second Hummer, what's your best guess for who the driver and co-dawg will be?