Stage Three Update!

Hello again!

I just got off the phone with Steve! They have made it through another stage and made up some lost time from yesterday! If my calculations serve me correctly (which this tracking thing can be confusing at times, so there is a chance they don't), Hummer 327 started in 79th place today and finished in 63rd overall. This is great progress!

Steve seemed a little surprised to hear this news. He said that they had a few delays which he thought would have cost them more time than it did. Before going through WP1, the Hummer got stuck in a sand trap, but was able to get out rather quickly. The beginning of the stage continued to be a little difficult, but they were able to make up good time during the second half. 327 ran smoothly until they reached the paved section before going through WP10, where they experienced some issues with the wheel inflation system again. Steve thought it was a flat, so he jumped out and changed the right rear tire. A few kilometers later they experienced the same thing. He realized that it was a flat, but caused because they were loosing air through the inflation system. He put on another good tire in hopes that he was able to fix the problem. Throughout the rest of the stage they had to be a little more cautious, because they were unsure of how much air they were going to be able to maintain in that rear tire. The team is working on fixing that tonight.

Other than that, Steve was once again happy with the Hummer's performance. He said that he really felt like it ran well in the second half of the stage, especially in the mountains. They were able to really fly through that section. He expects that tomorrow is going to be the day the conditions start really changing in favor of the Hummer. They are going to be entering Chile experiencing a lot of fast roads, with a little bit of sand and mountains in the middle.

Steve continued to be at ease with his navigation skills today, encountering no problems. He said it is always somewhat of a challenge, but nothing that he is unable to do. The Hummer's fast times are consistently showing us this throughout the day. While we were speaking he was working on his road book for tomorrow's course. After he finishes that, he will grab some dinner, set up his tent, and call it a night! We hung up to the sound of the Hummer roaring in the background! The crew is already hard at work for the night!

Looking forward to sharing 327's progress with you all tomorrow!
Alison

Also, I might have mentioned this earlier, but if you are having issues tracking on the dakar website, check out the live chat on planetrobby.com. Somehow the guys on there are always up to date with both Hummers, and are always willing to catch you up! Thanks for all the help planet robby friends! :)