Dakar: Toyo Tires team with Robby Gordon

Baja 1000 Winners, Robby Gordon and Toyo Tires® to Compete in Dakar

CYPRESS, CALIFORNIA -- Winners of the 2006 Baja 1000 off-road race, Robby Gordon and Toyo Tires®, will compete once again in the upcoming Dakar in January. During the recent Baja 1000, Gordon teamed with navigator Andy Grider for their victorious drive. The duo will also be paired for the upcoming Dakar marathon with the same goal of winning the event.

Gordon and Grider drove into the lead during the first 725-miles of the legendary Baja race in their Chevrolet Silverado Trophy Truck running on 37X13.50R17 Toyo Open Country M/T tires. During the remaining distance, co-driver Andy McMillin and his navigator, Gregg Till, brought the truck across the finish line in First Place in La Paz, Mexico. This year, the event was packed with competitors, creating more dust and traffic making passing hazardous.

Gordon returns to the Dakar with his revised Hummer H3 race truck along with five support vehicles. Learning from the experience of competing in the 2006 Dakar, the team made several changes to the vehicle, including a change from a five-speed Albins/Weddel transaxle to a sequential six-speed unit; a more aerodynamic body, wind-tunnel tested with the assistance of General Motors, a reworked radiator coolant system and a new engine package with increased horsepower and torque. The Hummer will share the same size 37X13.50R17 Toyo Open Country M/T tires as those used on Gordon's Baja Winning Trophy Truck.

According to Gordon, "During both the Baja 1000 and at Dakar earlier in the year, my Toyo Open Country M/T tires were trouble free and delivered outstanding performance. I look forward to a great run on these tires at Dakar." This year, the team has also logged considerably more test miles on the revised Hummer H3, including using it to pre-run a majority of the Baja 1000 course.

-credit: toyo