2013 Dakar: Robby Gordon bounces back to Podium finish on Stage 5

2013 dakar robby gordon

The monstrous dunes from the earlier stages gave way to packed dirt and rocky trails for Stage 5 of the 2013 Dakar Rally.  Where before navigation and deep sand were the primary challenges, the sharp rocks on today’s Stage 5 could come up at any time and cause a puncture.  Robby Gordon was able to shake off the major setback from Stage 4 when he lost around 5 hours after the rollover.  He was able to complete yesterday’s stage and thus continue the race.

With his Hummer fixed, Robby put the pedal to the metal and showed what he is made of by finishing third on today’s stage.  He was just 18 seconds behind, the overall leader, Stephan Peterhansel – who finished second.  And just 1 minute 41 seconds behind the MINI of Nani Roma who won today’s stage.  This is a great result after such a disappointing start to the Rally, and it must be a big confidence boost for Robby and his team.

2013 dakar robby gordon

Overall, Robby Gordon is sitting in 36th place and 5 hours and 51 minutes behind the leader.   He needs to slice about four hours off the deficit to break into the top 10, and I think this is still possible.  Winning this year’s rally is likely out of the question now, but if Robby can produce consistent top 5 finishes for the rest of the Rally – I think he can make a large jump in the overall standings.  I hope to see at least one stage win from Robby this year.

Good luck to all the racers, and thanks for the entertainment!

Andre Smirnov
Andre Smirnov

Andre Smirnov is a life-long automotive enthusiast, software engineer, writer, and reporter. He has been writing and reporting at TFLcar since 2011. When not working or spending time with the family – you can find him tinkering in the garage or scouring the internet and other media for various automotive, mechanical, and computer related information.