Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Big Day For The Americans--El Dakaro Day 5

Sorry...have to diverge from my Nissans here for a bit as the performance put on by the Americans in today's stage put the rest of the world on notice that we are here to stay and to win.  First you have Mark Miller, a factory driver for VW who continued his consistent finishes coming in 5th on the day and very quietly stands 4th overall 19m55s out of first.  Then you have Robby Gordon and his privately funded effort in the Hummer.  Having a so-so rally thus far, he broke out with some outstanding driving after rolling the Hummer TWICE the day before and finished 3rd on the day and now stands 7th overall 41m48s out of first with perhaps the terrain best suited for Gordon and the Hummer (large sand dunes) yet to come.  And lastly, and most impressively you have Jonah Street.  Running a non-factory effort with his KTM motorcycle on a shoestring budget in the marathon class (no repairs/replacements allowed outside of tires and a couple other items), Jonah almost didn't even enter the Dakar this year due to lack of support/funds--and he WINS the 5th stage of the Dakar today.  Seriously...if you don't realize just how big a deal this is then you just don't get it...Jonah now sits in second place behind Coma 27m12s out of first with a legit shot at winning the whole thing.  He is now being looked at as one of the best motorcyclists in the world and getting the respect and coverage he has long deserved.  Well done Jonah, well done.
If you get a chance, give a visit to his website http://www.rallypanam.com and even better, buy a tshirt in support--http://www.rallypanam.com/tshirt.html

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