Hummer driver Robby Gordon has refused to give up on his dream of winning Dakar 2012 despite a clash with rival Stéphane Peterhansel that cost him more than 14 minutes on the event's final day in Chile before the border crossing into Peru on Thursday.
Gordon started Wednesday's 10th stage from Iquique to Arica, which featured a 234-mile competitive section, less than six minutes behind X-raid Mini pilot Peterhansel, albeit running first on the road. The rivals swapped position on several occasions before disaster struck for the American Gordon nearing the end of the special stage.
“I hit a rock with both right-side tires, and we've got some broken parts,” Gordon told Dakar.com. “Do I think I can win again? Of course. I was passing him [Peterhansel], he didn't move over and I clobbered a rock and got two flat tires at the same time. So, we've got our work cut out for us. We've got a damaged race car that we're going to have work on and there's a lot of damage from what I can see. Now we'll push, push, push even harder.”
Gordon's delay means he slips to third in the overall standings, 19 minutes, 51 seconds behind Peterhansel. But his efforts to reverse that deficit could be in vain if his appeal against exclusion from the event is unsuccessful.
Event organizers issued a statement early on Wednesday confirming that Gordon's Hummer had failed to comply with the technical regulations, which resulted in his disqualification from the rally. However, Gordon appealed the decision, and until the appeal is heard, the Californian will continue in the event
Source:
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20120111/MOTORSPORTS/120119958
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