plus 4, A Pilgrimage to One Source of Italy's 2-Wheel Passion - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A Pilgrimage to One Source of Italy's 2-Wheel Passion - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Touring the Temples of German Automaking - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
JMB Stradale stage 1 report - Motorsport.com
Final Call For Nominations: Roadracing World Young Guns, Class Of 2010 - RoadracingWorld.com
PS Laser Racing Team stage 1 report - Motorsport.com

A Pilgrimage to One Source of Italy's 2-Wheel Passion - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Posted: 02 Jan 2010 09:38 PM PST

BOLOGNA, Italy

"SO what you do know about Ducati?" Livio Lodi, the curator of the Ducati Museum, asked as we began our tour of the company's headquarters here.

"It's the Ferrari of motorcycles?" I answered tentatively.

Mr. Lodi considered that for a moment, nodded, then said, "Yes, I have heard that said before. There is some truth to that. But do you know, what is the difference between a Ferrari and a Ducati?"

"Two wheels?"

"Yes, but more than that -- how many people will ever own a Ferrari?" he asked. "How many can afford one? How many will ever even ride in one?"

Mr. Lodi, a garrulous man with a shaved head and the physical presence of a wrestler, circled around to make his point: a Ducati is a much more attainable dream for the connoisseur of fine motor vehicles. No, it is not a machine for the masses; only a few have the skills to ride one at its limit.

Ducati is on a roll. It continues to bring out well-received and warmly reviewed new bikes that inspire and enthrall. And the company's fortunes, so bleak in 1996 when Texas Pacific Group (now TPG Capital) rescued the proud Italian brand from almost certain bankruptcy and possible liquidation, are now far brighter.

"Back then, TPG did a marketing review that found the brand was strong and the bike popular -- but unreliable," Mr. Lodi explained. "So they brought in Porsche to institute engineering excellence and efficiencies, started Toyota-type kaizen quality control and just-in-time inventory. They saved Ducati from a dramatic crisis."

The new owners were smart enough to preserve Ducati's seductive styling, as expressed by master designers like Pierre Terblanche and Massimo Tamburini.

It took four years for TPG's restructuring to take hold -- until about 2000, Mr. Lodi noted, "and since then we have an 85 percent reduction in defects from production."

He continued: "Now we say Ducati is a company operated on Japanese business theories, German efficiency and Italian passion -- but it all works."

Mr. Lodi started with the company 22 years ago. "We were making 20 bikes a day," he said of that era. "Now, it's almost 300 a day."

A few years ago, Mr. Lodi took on a new role here: company historian, curator of antiquities and keeper of the flame of Ducati passion. That was also his own passion, as he was already a walking encyclopedia of Ducati lore.

He oversaw construction of a new museum, which opened during fan-friendly World Ducati Week in 1998, on the factory grounds. The museum features significant bikes from Ducati's past, including most of its world title-winners.

Asked which bike might be the most significant, or his personal favorite, Mr. Lodi, who once worked on the assembly line, replied, "I cannot say what was the greatest Ducati. For me it's like asking to a father who's his favorite son or daughter."

Every year, tens of thousands of fans make their way to this industrial park on the outskirts of Bologna to ooh and aah at the museum and its displays, and to take one of the regular factory tours that are offered free.

"The new owners treated the company's history as something that ought to be preserved and celebrated," Mr. Lodi explained, "instead of something that should be crushed, consigned to the dumpster and hauled away."

Sadly, that's what happened to much of Ducati's pre-TPG history.

Ducati was founded in 1926 by three brothers making parts for radios. "It was inspired by the passion of Marconi," said Mr. Lodi, referring to the 1909 winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics credited with inventing radiotelegraphy. "He was from Bologna, too, and so it was in his honor that Ducati was founded."

As Mr. Lodi's research has documented, Ducati became a respected manufacturer of a number of electronic components and small appliances. In the mid-1930s, Ducati brought out a miniature camera, which proved to be a handy tool for wartime spies. Devices like that led to the company being converted to a producer of strategic materials for the Axis powers during World War II.

So, how did Ducati become a motorcycle manufacturer?

Bombs.

It happened on the night of Oct. 12, 1944, Mr. Lodi said. In one brutally effective aerial assault, Ducati was bombed flat. No one was sure at that time whether it was friend or foe -- in fact, Mr. Lodi said, the mystery was solved only recently, when he traced the raid to a squadron of American B-24 Liberators. But that one American bombing raid, Mr. Lodi said, is why there is now a Ducati motorcycle.

"After the war ended, Italy was desperate for transportation, cheap transportation," Mr. Lodi explained. "The country had nothing for vehicles."

So the company's surviving employees turned their expertise in small appliances to building a small motor -- a 1.5-horsepower gasoline engine -- that could be strapped to a bicycle and hooked to the rear wheel. That created a crude sort of moped, albeit one that got 200 miles per gallon. The model was called the Cucciolo, Italian for puppy, for the sound it made.

Within a few years Ducati decided to start making whole motorcycles. The company's work with engines was refined, and its reputation for high-performance products grew. It later introduced a 90-degree V-twin engine, and then Ducati's trademark desmodromic valve design (which closes the valves mechanically rather than using springs).

By the 1960s, it was producing some of the sweetest-handling road and racing bikes known. Now Ducati sells its racing-inspired motorcycles worldwide. It competes in the World Superbike and MotoGP championships, where it seems to be a perennial title contender.

It now produces street bikes for a variety of market segments. Regardless of category, each bike Ducati manufactures has to evince the company's core qualities.

"There are five things that make a Ducati," said Mr. Lodi as we walked through the surgically clean and modern assembly plant. Row after row of frames, engines, wheels, tires and various parts, like crops ready to harvest.

"No. 1 is style," he said, pointing to a nearly completed bike with blood-red body panels. He wheeled and directed his attention back to the racks of engine parts. "Two is the 90-degree V engine. Three, the desmo valve system."

Next, he pointed to a skeletal assembly of metal tubing, and continued, "Four is the trellis frame, and last?"

Mr. Lodi was shouting now, over the din of a Streetfighter model undergoing an engine test nearby. "Last is the sound!"

He looked around the 500,000-square-foot facility, clearly in his glory, and laughed, arms outstretched, "This place is like Willy Wonka's, isn't it?"

•

The Ducati museum is at via Antonio Cavalieri Ducati, 3, 40132 Bologna, Italy. The museum and factory are open for guided tours only upon reservation, from Monday to Friday, with the first tour at 11 a.m. and second tour at 4:00 p.m. On Saturday the museum is open from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

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Touring the Temples of German Automaking - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Posted: 02 Jan 2010 09:38 PM PST

STUTTGART, Germany

SOME Americans tour Europe not to enjoy the food, or to pay homage to the cathedrals, or to shop on Oxford Street or Boulevard Haussmann. They go to see the museums.

Which is what I did. Except instead of staring at the art of Rodin, Raphael and Rembrandt, I studied the works of Chris Bangle and Walter de'Silva.

In the last five years, four leading German automakers -- Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche -- have opened or reworked the museums dedicated to each brand's heritage and history. My plan was to travel across southern Germany in a triangle from Munich (BMW) to Stuttgart (Porsche and Mercedes) to Ingolstadt (Audi) and back to Munich. The total distance was a bit more than 300 miles.

This trip did not include a visit to Volkswagen's Autostadt (Car City), an ambitious auto theme park dedicated to the history of VW and its subsidiaries. But I had been there previously, and a detour to Wolfsburg -- some 250 miles north of Stuttgart -- would have added considerable time to the tour.

I admit that I ate some terrific wurst and schnitzel along the way, visited a monument or two and shopped for face creams for my wife. But much of my time -- a total of five days -- was spent ogling old cars. Also, new cars. Racing cars. Cars that won Grands Prix, cars that rolled on 6 horsepower, cars with roofs and back seats and steel wheels, and cars with none of this. There was also the occasional motorcycle or bus.

Though I traveled alone, imaginary companions sometimes joined me. Each time a BMW designed by Mr. Bangle passed me on the autobahn -- he was chief of design until February -- his "flame surface" body panels came to mind. The view from my Ingolstadt hotel one golden morning revealed not one, not two, but five flavors of the gorgeous Audi A5 shaped by Mr. de'Silva.

Devoting a day, give or take, to each museum and the accompanying attractions -- usually a gift shop, bistro or cafe, and a delivery center for people who pick up their new toys at the factory -- I came away with different impressions. "Cars are cars, all over the world," Paul Simon sang. But they're not -- and neither are car museums.

Aside from the cars within, a couple of these structures are architectural delights in their own right. The huge wedge of the Porsche Museum, created by a small Austrian architecture firm, Delugan Meissl Associated, seems to levitate above rail tracks and access roads. The "double helix" Mercedes-Benz Museum, done by a Dutch firm called UN Studio, would have delighted Frank Lloyd Wright with its nine stories of spiraling ramps and terrific views of Stuttgart from the top floors.

Here, in no particular order, are my findings:

Porsche Museum

Let's start with the newest, and perhaps the most radical, of the museum quartet. There is nothing here to diffuse the focus: it's on Porsches, everywhere, all the time. Even the escalator is fast. Since opening last Jan. 31 more than 500,000 people have visited the museum in the Zuffenhausen district of Stuttgart. Above the V-shaped concrete pillars the theme of diagonals is carried inside.

From the atrium lobby a long escalator ascends -- it has been called "a stairway to heaven for Porsche enthusiasts" -- and deposits you in front of an aluminum- body Type 64 racecar, considered the ancestor of all Porsches (if you discount the VW Beetle nearby).

For those who do museums by the numbers, you'll find the models 356, 917, 911, 550, 924, 928 and so on. One estimate puts the value of all 82 machines on display at about $200 million (and there are about 360 more cars in storage).

There's no touching, of course, though you want to run your fingers across the sheet metal of the seductive concept, racing and street-legal cars parked along clean white ramps. (Yes, there's a Cayenne S.U.V. here, too).

Visitors are invited to tour chronologically -- cars are divided into pre- and post-1948 groups -- but no one will scold you if you hop from the 911 Carrera RSR Turbo to the plastic-body 908. Engine noises from a 911, a 550 Spyder and others are piped in. If you can't resist the urge to touch a Porsche, there's a dealership across the street.

BMW Museum

To visit this museum is to immerse yourself into BMW's corporate culture. Shaped like a big bowl, the Munich museum is adjacent to the massive hall called BMW World, with the company's unmistakable headquarters -- four skyscrapers in the form of engine cylinders -- just beyond, along with a factory.

The museum has a certain clinical quality, which seems odd because many BMWs are so, well, sexy. They evoke passion. But while this place is stylish, cleverly arranged and full of those sexy cars, the experience can be rather dry unless you're a committed BMW fan. But my guide, Anne Schmidt-Possiwal, was deliciously animated as she walked me past a kinetic sculpture -- 714 steel balls forming constantly changing car shapes -- and through the seven exhibit "houses" linked by a series of ramps, bridges and squares. (Like the other guides I encountered, she spoke perfect English.)

The approach here is nonlinear, although one exhibit begins with history and BMW's aircraft engine. Other exhibits focus on design, technology, motorsports, motorcycles, BMW brands and a tower that showcases the modern model lines.

Among the fascinating machines are the Brabham that won Nelson Piquet the 1983 Formula One drivers championship and BMW the constructors' cup, and the stately 502 Baroque Angel of 1954, designed for the autobahns.

The world's iconic sports sedan, the 1968 BMW 2002, resides under a wash of orange light; across from it is a funky 1955 Isetta, a tiny bubble car powered by a 13-horsepower motorcycle engine. Funkier still is a concept car with a shell made almost entirely of fabric. Something, as they say, for everyone.

Mercedes-Benz Museum

Open since 2006, this may be the Louvre of car museums, and it should be: this pioneering automaker's history was enriched by inventors and engineers including Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach.

And while the inventor of the automobile may forever be a matter of debate -- Benz's case is a certainly strong one -- there's no question that in Germany Mercedes-Benz invented the modern car museum. It came in 1936, 10 years after the merger of Benz & Cie. and DMG created Daimler-Benz. That first museum was on the factory grounds in the Untertürkheim section of Stuttgart, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Benz's 3-wheel Patent Motorwagen.

This latest museum, chronicling 124 years of auto history in 1,500 exhibits, is an architectural tour de force. (It has been featured in Mercedes commercials in the United States.)

It is also rich in anecdotes: my guide, Volker Lückenkemper, pointed out the four ashtrays in a 1950s era limo. "After the war," he said, "Germany had three times more smokers than before it." If you take the "time capsule" elevator up eight stories, you alight in 1886 to be greeted by a horse. It's all downhill, and fast-forward, from there.

Unlike the other museums, the blocky, postmodern, Guggenheimesque house of Mercedes places its vehicles in perspective with their time. Lining the interior and the spiraling ramps that descend though the ages of the marque are photographs and picture tableaus, some of them profound (Hitler, Einstein, the Titanic) and others less so (Elvis, Mickey Mouse). But all point to humankind's turbulent history as it paralleled the development of cars from the Patent Motorwagen of 1886 up to the Mercedes SLS AMG that made its debut in September at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

The sense of Mercedes-Benz authority is especially felt among the racecars, exemplified by the indomitable "Silver Arrows" of the 1930s. Among these is the W25 Grand Prix racer of 1934 that became the stuff of legend when, reportedly, its white paint (Germany's race color) was sanded off at the Nürburgring racecourse so the car would make the race's weight qualification. Voilà! The white car became silver.

Audi's Mobile Museum

Every enthusiast has a favorite German brand, and in the interest of full disclosure, I'll admit mine is Audi. For those of similar persuasion, the Mobile Museum will not disappoint.

As at Mercedes, the visitor strolls top to bottom, down four floors, following a timeline of the company through the four brands that formed it: Horch, DKW, Wanderer and Audi -- initially called Auto Union -- in 1932. (A fifth company, NSU, was added in the 1960s.) Audi was liquidated after World War II and its factory in Zwickau, in eastern Germany, was taken by the Soviets. But buoyed by Germany's economic rise in the mid-'50s, Audi re-emerged. Daimler- Benz owned Audi for seven years before VW gained control in the mid-1960s. The Audi 100 was the first model to reach the United States, in 1970.

There is convincing evidence that VW has had a powerful influence on Audi, which celebrated its centennial in 2009. But the early models also showed a sense of grace: the elegant 12-cylinder Horch 670 limousine looks fast even planted in a museum. The striking midengine R8 sports car carries the theme to the present.

If vorsprung durch technik (advancement through technology) resonates with you, there's plenty of that on view. In the 1920s, Audi was the first German company to begin series production of left-hand-drive cars, to provide a better view of oncoming traffic. (Germans always drove on the right, even when their cars had right-hand drive.)

More examples of the company's technology advances include a pair of 1980s Audi quattro coupes and the R15 TDI that finished second in 2009 at the 24 Hours of LeMans (after a string of Audi victories with the R8 and R10). It's easy to spend a full day at the Audi complex, since it offers various factory tours, a gift shop and a cafeteria with soups, pastas, Bavarian desserts and, of course, those schnitzels.

Here is more information about the museums of German auto companies:

AUDI

Museum Mobile, Ingolstadt

Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

Admission: Adults, 4 euros; seniors, students and youths under 18, 3 euros; children under 6, free.

Web site: www.audi.com/forums.

BMW

The BMW Museum, Munich

Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. Closed Monday.

Admission: Adults, 12 Euros; reduced admission of 6 Euros for those under 18, students and seniors; family admission, 24 Euros.

Web site: www.bmw-museum.com

MERCEDES-BENZ

The Mercedes-Benz Museum, Stuttgart

Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Tuesday through Sunday. Closed Monday.

Admission: Adults, 8 euros; reduced-price tickets, 4 euros.

Web site: www.mercedes-benz.com/museum

PORSCHE

Porsche Museum, Stuttgart

Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Closed Monday.

Admission: Adults, 8 euros; reduced-price tickets 4 euros; children under 14, free.

Web site: www.porsche.com/museum

VOLKSWAGEN

Autostadt, Wolfsburg

Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through March; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. April through October.

Admission: Adults, 15 euros; seniors and students, 12 euros; children 6 to 17, 6 euros.

Web site: www.autostadt.de

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JMB Stradale stage 1 report - Motorsport.com

Posted: 02 Jan 2010 08:48 PM PST

THE 5 JMB STRADALE OFF ROAD RACING TEAM ARRIVE IN CONVOY ON THE 1st STAGE

Saturday January 2nd, The 2010 Dakar has finally begun...The motorcycles, the cars, and the trucks have gone through their first time clocked session held between Colon and Cordoba. Further to the bad weather, the special stage was reduced to 199 km and the 5 JMB Stradale Team cars have all finished? placing between 11th and 16th.

The course was divided, in order to have the maximum security between the motorcycles and the cars. The Portuguese driver, Carlos Sousa came in with the best time of the team in 11th place at only 7m22s after the stage winner, Spanish Nani Roma.

"It was a nice special stage to get into the rhythm of driving together. It has been several months that I've not driven therefore I did not wish to take any risks today. With Matthieu Baumel, my new co-driver, who by the way is very precise when reading his notes, we found good sensations with the Lancer. We did not attack as it's not worth losing the Dakar after only two days."

With the exact time as Carlos Sousa, Nicolas Misslin and Jean-Michel Polato placed in 12th position: "We had a few problems with our wipers today. It started off by the having to rapidly find a solution to fix the water reservoir which was not functioning just before the start of the stage. After a couple of kilometers, at the first puddle, the wipers blocked in the middle of the windshield which was full of mud. Nothing serious however a little bit of a handicap to not clearly see the track. Other than this little problem, we are missing a little engine power in order to compete against the diesel engines. I liked the driving between the trees and on sinuous terrain. We juggled between 3rd and 4th gears the whole time...For the moment, the 5 cars have arrived in good positions therefore let's stay concentrated."

The Argentinean, Orly Terranova, finishes 13th in the ranking despite a small scare "It was a good special and we had a lot of luck until 170 km into the special stage I came upon a curve to quickly and was unable to stop. I ran into barbed wire which destroyed the windshield. We decided to keep on driving but after a couple of kilometers I was sick. Pascal had to get out of the car and completely remove the windshield in order that we finish the stage in good conditions."

Guilherme Spinelli and his co-driver, Filipe Palmeiro placed 15th position with only 3m19s difference with Terranova. "I drove very carefully today as my objective is to finish the Dakar. We did not attack and passed 4 to 5 cars including Guerlain Chicherit of the X-Raid team. If the Dakar continues like this last stage, all will be perfect. "states the Portuguese co-driver.

The young driver, Miguel Barbosa follows the JMB Stradale Off Road team by coming in 16th. "We left in 33rd position therefore right away we found ourselves in the dust. Afterwards, we drove over 100km alone before coming up to and passing other cars. These are my first kilometers driving the Racing Lancer and I must learn the ins and outs of this car. I only hope that tomorrow's stage will not be as slow as today's for the ground was very broken up...

The second stage will leave from Cordoba to La Rioja on Sunday January 3rd. Two different tracks will be used to separate the cars from the quads and motorcycles. A small liaison of 56 km will be the warm up before the 355 km of timed special before coming into the Rioja bivouac in the center of Argentina. The total distance of the day will be 687 km.

-source: jmbs

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Final Call For Nominations: Roadracing World Young Guns, Class Of 2010 - RoadracingWorld.com

Posted: 02 Jan 2010 09:52 PM PST

(This original, copyrighted material may not be copied, cut and pasted, published or otherwise reproduced in any way in any medium, which means, don't post this on another website or BBS. If you want somebody else to see this, send them a link or post a link to this page.)
We are collecting nominations for the 13th Annual Roadracing World Young Guns feature, highlighting up-and-coming young road racers from the United States and Canada.
Race sanctioning bodies are encouraged to nominate their young riders, and riders may nominate themselves.
To be considered for the Young Guns feature, a racer must be between the ages of 11 and 18 at the start of the 2010 season, have finished in the top three in a sanctioned Expert-level road race or Championship on a 125cc or larger motorcycle with full-size wheels, and reside within the United States or Canada. Racers with extraordinary Amateur racing resumes may also be considered. Teenagers with paid professional rides may or may not be excluded to make room for up-and-coming riders, as required by space limitations.
The Roadracing World Young Guns series started as an answer to critics who said America lacked up-and-coming young riders.
Returning Young Guns should call David Swarts at 951-245-6411 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) Monday through Friday to quickly update their profile and arrange submission of photos.
To nominate a new youngster for the latest Young Guns feature, obtain, fill out and return a 2010 Young Guns questionnaire to Roadracing World by January 15, 2010. Once again, racers can nominate themselves. Questionnaires may be obtained by downloading them from the link on this page or by calling Roadracing World headquarters at 951-245-6411 and requesting that a questionnaire be e-mailed, FAXed or mailed to you (e-mail is preferred).
Questionnaires can be returned via e-mail, FAX (951-245-6417) or U.S. mail. We prefer that the questionnaires be returned via e-mail.
In addition to their completed questionnaires, candidates should also submit an action photo and a head shot suitable for magazine reproduction; each submitted photo must include written permission from the photographer for Roadracing World to publish it free of charge (an e-mail is acceptable). Scans and photocopies of photos are not usable. Digital images must be high-resolution, or 300 ppi/dpi or higher at 4 x 6 inches. All photos must have the name of the rider and the photographer included, along with when and where the photo was taken, including the racetrack and race sanctioning body. Photos will be returned.
The mailing address is: Roadracing World, Attn: Young Guns, P.O. Box 1428, Lake Elsinore, CA 92531-1428
The FedEx or other overnight delivery address is: Roadracing World, Attn: Young Guns, 581-C Birch St., Lake Elsinore, CA 92530.
Late and incomplete submissions may or may not be considered.
The 12 Young Guns features published to date appeared in the November 1997, March 1999, February 2000, March 2001, February 2002, April 2003, April 2004, May 2005, June 2006, April 2007, April 2008 and April 2009 issues.
If you have any questions, call 951-245-6411 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) and ask to speak to David Swarts or e-mail dswarts@roadracingworld.com.
Download the 2010 Questionnaire here: /files/2010YoungGunsQuestionnaire.doc

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PS Laser Racing Team stage 1 report - Motorsport.com

Posted: 02 Jan 2010 08:19 PM PST

Great first racing stage in 2010 Dakar

High speeds down narrow passages and lots of dust with a number of river crossings and no serious incidents marked the first racing section of the 2010 Dakar Rally. KTM motorcyclist, Cyril Despres (France) said: "Before the proper racing starts you must first warm-up," and that is exactly what the South African veteran Dakar racer, Alfie Cox did. After starting in 30th position this morning Cox drove at a great pace, got into his own rhythm and paced the stage very well to finish 17th overall. "I am very happy with the stage, the car was outstanding; we had absolutely no problems, maybe I was over cautious, but it is early days and I want to make sure that we are close to the top ten by the time we hit the Atacama," said an up-beat Cox at the finish this afternoon.

As a result of good rains falling in the area, over the past few days, some of the lower bridges and river crossings were flooded. As a result the organizers were forced to extend the starting times by 30 minutes and moved the start along by 52km. The 199km special stage for cars finished to the east of Rio Tercero.

"Jurgen (Schroder) (Germany) was absolutely amazing, we had lots of turn- offs and tricky bends along the stage, and he did not miss one," commented Cox after the finish of the stage in Cordoba. "I have a bad headache, but I am sure it is just the tension that mounted over the past few days, and I should get rid of it tonight. Jurgen spent a lot of money on the car and I probably felt the responsibility of ensuring a good finish today. Point remains that I have obviously put myself under tremendous pressure, but I think after today the nerves will settle and I should enjoy it even more tomorrow," commented Cox.

"The support we get from Glyn Hall and his team is remarkable. We are treated as if we race as a factory team and not a privateer squad. Glyn arranged for 20 rims from Overdrive, so we could get tyres installed in advance, which means the mechanics do not have to waste time at the tyre installers every day. They can therefore spend more time checking the car and making sure everything is in order before the start of each stage. It is actually fascinating how much planning and attention to detail the crew went into prior to the event, but that is the difference between a privateer team competing and the professional approach Hallspeed Racing has," remarked Jurgen Schroder at the bivouac.

Three Nissans appear in the top-twenty tonight, Krzysztof Holowczyc (Poland) of the Nissan Overdrive Team, the team that finished fifth overall last year, is 6 minutes behind the leader in 7th place. Team Dessoude's Christian Lavielli (France), is in 14th place overall with Cox and Schroder in 17th position.

The top twenty is made up of 4 BMW's, 5 Volkswagens, 2 Hummers, 3 Nissans, 5 Mitsubishis and the Hamburger Software's Fast-Speed. Three teams are fighting hard at the front of the field, Volkswagen, BMW and the rejuvenated Mitsubishis. Robby Gordon was exceptionally lucky when he completely overshot a bend and narrowly missed a big rock with his Hummer.

Two Spanish drivers, Nani Roma in a BMW and Carlos Sainz in a VW fought it out for the first two places on the stage ahead of the second BMW driven by 9 time Dakar winner Stephane Peterhansel (France)

In the motorcycle category new team-owner and rider, David Casteu (France) clinched the stage on a 450cc Sherco, ahead of three KTM's of Cyril Despres (France), Marc Coma (Spain), and Jordi Viladoms (Spain). Tomorrow - Sunday, 3 January 2010 Cordoba > La Rioja

Tomorrow's stage takes competitors in a North-Westerly direction to the verge of the Atacama Desert;. The stage has a number of tricky bends, blind rises and cheeky jumps in its 355km special stage between Cordoba and the Gran Chaco region's La Rioja at the foot of the Velasco Mountains. Towards the middle of the stage a very long descent will test brakes early on in the car and truck race.

Finally a 276km liaison stage through Chanar, Punta de lo Llanos and Tallamuvuna leads to the bivouac and overnight point at La Rioja.

-source: ps laser rt

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