Another rough day for the Hummer team...

The day went downhill before it had even started. There's nothing worse than watching a vehicle miss their start time, and that was the case for Robby Gordon's 303 Hummer this morning. The minutes ticked by with no news on why the Hummer did not start. At first, we were all hoping that maybe it was something wrong with their tracking device, but after watching Steve's 327 Hummer go through their first WP (in 25th position) and still no 303, Planet Robby broke out in panic.

Rumors started circulating about what was happening with 303. Someone said it was a blown engine, while others were talking about issues with suspension. Reading some of the comments at this point were starting to upset me, because they started talking about why 327 would leave 303 behind. One of the reasons why my dad is so loved in the off-road industry is because of his great sportsmanship. He has given up races to sit with someone in the desert for hours to make sure they are safe and help is coming.  Knowing this, I was sure that if there was something 327 could have done for 303, Steve would have made it happened.

A couple hours ago Steve called me. The first words out of his mouth were "Where's Robby". He knew he wasn't at the finish with them, and did not know that he had passed him. When Steve got to the finish, someone had mentioned to him that Robby was a gas station working on the Hummer. I instantly heard worry in his voice. I told him that Robby had not even made it to the start, and that he was having problems with his bearings (the new rumor at the time, which I am pretty sure was the real problem). Steve said that he never saw Robby before the start, and that if they passed 303 they had no knowledge of it. He was really disappointed because he said that if they would have known of these issues they might have been able to use the parts they had on their Hummer to fix it and get 303 back on the road. That is the Steve we all know and love!

I did not get much info out of him during that first phone call, because I could tell his mind was elsewhere. He said that they had a great day, and were passing a lot of vehicles. The had one issue where they overshot a 90 degree turn, and I think that cost him some time. (I was bummed to hear this, because I was told, by sources that will remain unnamed, that the minutes lost were because they hit a llama. I asked Steve what happened with the llama, which thanks to a satellite phone full of static, created a lot of confusion on both sides of the conversation. In the end, even though there were tons of llamas on the course, no llamas were injured by Hummer 327. I guess PETA won't be visiting the rally today.)

The 327 Hummer ran great during this stage! They had no mechanical issues, and were able to make up for lost time. Steve said the Hummer ran smooth and fast through the mountains, sand, and fast roads. Both teammates were very happy with it's performance.

Steve is supposed to be calling me later tonight with some more updates, but with everything that is happening he might not be able to. If I hear from him I will inform you all of the new updates. Here's to a better day tomorrow! Thanks for reading and your support!