Curtain Falls on Euromilhões Dakar 2007, Petersen/White Lightning Earns 23rd Overall
Michael Petersen Takes Top-Eight Finish in Final Stage, Highest Result of Team’s Debut
News from Darkhorse Autosport
Photos courtesy Petersen Motorsport/White Lightning Racing
DAKAR, Africa (January 21, 2007) — The curtain has fallen on the Euromilhões Dakar 2007 and Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing was there to celebrate. And they did so in strong fashion! An eighth-place finish by Michael Petersen (Las Vegas, Nev., USA) and co-driver Matthew Stevenson (Ipswich, England) in today’s final stage ensured Petersen/White Lightning the 23rd overall position in this year’s event, an impressive result for a team in its debut at “The Dakar”. Today’s top-ten was the highest for the No. 351 MMPIE/PAWS/?.com/BF Goodrich Chevrolet T1.3 class buggy of the 15 stages that made up the 6,906 km/4,291 mile rally-raid this year.

Petersen used only eight minutes, 49 seconds to cover the 16 km/9.95 mile special timed section of the three-legged loop that encircled Lac Rose here in Dakar. In the process, he took honors as the second- highest ranking American driver of the stage— Petersen is the third highest-finishing American in the car class for the overall rally. The Nevada-based team trailed the stage-winning No. 301 Volkswagen by only one minute and seven seconds at the conclusion of the timed portion of the 93 km/57.8 mile stage. After breaking the timing beam it was a pressure-relieving 41 km/25.5 mile celebration to the finish line of the second liaison.

In the overall standings, Petersen/White Lightning finished the 14 timed sections (Stage 11 on January 15 had no timed section) in 60 hours, seven minutes and 59 seconds. The time was 14 hours, 14 minutes and 22 seconds behind Euromilhões Dakar 2007 Champion Stéphane Peterhansel who earned his ninth Dakar victory today. The No. 351 MMPIE/PAWS/?.com/BF Goodrich Chevrolet, built by Team SMG, was fifth overall in the two-wheel drive category. Of the 177 cars that entered the rally in Lisbon, Portugal only 109 saw the checkered flag here in Dakar, Senegal.

Today’s successful conclusion is a time of celebration and joy for the Petersen/White Lightning team. From the onset, the mission for 2007 was to accumulate information first hand of how to successfully navigate the treacheries of the event. To do so, it was important to reach the Atlantic Ocean, not necessarily reach the top-30 of competitors. Four vehicles associated with the two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class-winning team set out from Lisbon towards Dakar in pursuit of information and experience. The No. 351 buggy of Petersen and Stevenson and the No. 572 of Darren Skilton (Long Beach, Calif., USA) were the only two directly on the race’s course. The No. 671 Toyota Land Cruiser of program manager/entrant Dale White (Bozeman, MT., USA) and the No. 891 six wheel, three-person, T5 class support truck of team technicians Nico Castellaccio (Tracy, Calif.) and Dennis Chizma (Las Vegas) ran parallel to the actual race route. Skilton’s No. 572 was the only one of the four not to reach Dakar, having fallen out on Stage Two with an engine failure. Each team member has compiled a long list of notes that will help streamline and focus the 2008 effort on an all-out assault for victory in the desert.

While the immediate future holds celebration of its success at the Euromilhões Dakar 2007, the team will quickly return its attention to the impending 2007 American Le Mans Series GT2 class championship. Petersen/White Lightning will return for the fifth full- season of American Le Mans Series racing where they have won the Driver and IMSA Cup titles the last two seasons. The March 17th 12 Hours of Sebring will bring the debut of the team’s Ferrari F430 GT and drivers Tim Bergmeister (Langenfeld, Germany) and Tomas Enge (Monaco).

Petersen/White Lightning Suffers at the Hands of Stage 12 of Euromilhões Dakar 2007
Despite Navigation Problem in Special Stage Petersen Remains in Top-22
News from Darkhorse Autosport
Photos courtesy Petersen Motorsport/White Lightning Racing
KAYES, Africa (January 18, 2007) — Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing had a difficult day today in the Euromilhões Dakar 2007. The No. 351 MMPIE/PAWS/?.com/BF Goodrich Chevrolet T1.3 class buggy suffered for the first time from the confusion of the terrain during the timed special section of Stage 12, from Ayoun-El-Atrous to Kayes. A navigational issue forced an extended delay as Michael Petersen (Las Vegas, Nev., USA) and co- driver Matthew Stevenson (Ipswich, England) took a total of three hours, 59 minutes and two seconds to cover the 257 km/159.7 miles resulting in a stage finish of 57th, the worst of the 15-stage rally by far. Over an hour of that time was spent negotiating their way back on track, a trial made more difficult and slow by the rough terrain. The No. 351 was one hour and six seconds behind the stage-winning No. 303 of Carlos Sainz. Despite the poor stage finish, Petersen holds on to the 22nd position overall, 12 hours, 20 minutes and 54 seconds arrears of the Dakar leading No. 302 of Stéphane Peterhansel.

Stage 12 moved the competitors out of the sands and dunes of the Sahara Desert into the savannahs of western Africa. The stage covered a total of 484 km/300.74 mile distance and, in many portions, resembled a professional rally stage more than what the two-time American Le Mans Series GT2 class champions have seen in recent days. The sand and the dunes of the Sahara gave way to grass, small trees and shrubs. The stage even brought the first sight of forest since the teams left Europe 11 days ago. Petersen and Stevenson got off to a strong start, shadowing the starters near them. The stage was again three sections with the timed leg splitting two connection routes of 110 km/68.35 and 117 km/72.7 miles respectively. 109 cars finished the stage while four more withdrew from competition.

To this point in the rally, Petersen has spent 53 hours, three minutes and eight seconds in the 11 special sections of the 12 stages (yesterday’s Stage 11 had no special timed section). The No. 351 has accumulated six minutes of penalties over the course of the 6,788 km/4,218 miles of liaisons and special sections driven thus far. Petersen/White Lightning currently sits fifth in the two-wheel drive car class over two hours ahead of Philippe Gache (Cannes, France) who owns Team SMG, the buggy supplier to Petersen and White this year. They will cover 1,127 km/700.3 miles (501 km/311.3 miles of which are special timed sections) more before concluding their first Euromilhões Dakar 2007 in Dakar, Senegal on January 21.

The 14th day of the trek from Lisbon, Portugal to Dakar, Senegal guides the competitors from here in Kayes to Tambacounda, the first stage to enter Senegal. A 180 km/112 mile paved connection brings Petersen and Stevenson to the 260 km/161.6 mile special timed section of Stage 13. Gravel the first 92 km/57 miles gives-way to the slick, rock surface known as laterite. The laterite will keep Petersen on his toes for 154 km/95.7 miles. Once clear of the laterite, another 14 km/8.7 miles of gravel awaits the pair before they come to the conclusion of the special stage. The third leg, 18 km/11.2 miles, will conclude the 13th stage of the race.
 

Michael Petersen Races to 18th in Tenth Stage of Euromilhões Dakar 2007
Petersen/White Lightning Continues in 21st Overall in Dakar Debut
News from Darkhorse Autosport
Photos courtesy Petersen Motorsport/White Lightning Racing
NÉMA, Africa January 16, 2007 – Two-time American Le Mans Series GT2 Champions Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing continued their strong debut in the Euromilhões Dakar 2007 in today’s Stage 10. Michael Petersen (Las Vegas, Nev., USA) drove the No. 351 MMPIE/PAWS/?.com/BF Goodrich Chevrolet T1.3 class buggy to his third-straight top-20 stage performances finishing 18th in the special timed section. Petersen and co-driver Matthew Stevenson (Ipswich, England) finished the 366 km/227.42 mile special timed section in four hours, 21 minutes and eight seconds. The time was just 31 minutes, 20 seconds behind the stage-winning No. 309 BMW entry. Petersen/White Lightning is currently 21st overall in the rally after 10 stages. They are 11 hours, 25 minutes and 47 seconds behind the Dakar leader Stephane Peterhansel and less than one minute from the top-15 with five stages remaining. They are fifth overall for two-wheel drive vehicles in the car class.

Today’s stage formed a large loop into the desert from the bivouac in the town of Néma. Due to concerns for participant safety, the Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.), the sanctioning body for Dakar, altered the initial route considerably. Stage Ten was created just days before the rally began on January 6. While a different location than the two proceeding stages, the terrain remained similar with gravel, sand and camel grass. The camel grass created a unique slalom for the cars early in the stage forcing constant adjustments never giving Petersen or Stevenson a physical or mental rest. The first 10 km/6.2 mile of the stage was a connection leading to the special timed section. The timed section brought them full-circle back to a 24 km/14.91 mile connection that leads them back to the bivouac. They covered a total of 400 km/248.55 miles in the stage. The result might have very well been better for the No. 351 had it not been for a broken air line 175 km/108.7 miles into the stage. It took Petersen and Stevenson approximately 15 minutes to make the repair. Had the 15 minute delay not occurred, the No. 351 would have found itself comfortably within the top-10 of the stage and the top-15 overall. “It has been fun,” said driver Mike Petersen enthusiastically. “Dale, Dennis, Nico; all the guys, are putting in longer days than I am. My hat is off to all the support guys. Driving the car is the easy part, what they are doing is tough. The guys are sleeping maybe two or three hours a night. The other night Dale came in at 3 AM and we had been there since about 9 PM. It’s been the same for Dennis and Nico and they still have to work on the car once they get here. This makes the 24 hour races look like a walk in the park.”

Because today’s Stage 10 started and ended in Néma it gave Entrant/Program Manager Dale White (Bozeman, MT., USA) and team technicians Nico Castellaccio (Tracy, Calif.) and Dennis Chizma (Las Vegas) a longer respite than usual. That all changes tomorrow as the rally packs and moves to Ayoun. From Ayoun, the stages seem to come more quickly as the finish line in Dakar, Senegal near the Atlantic Ocean, looms. “We’ve had a few little problems with the car but nothing major,” reported White. “Mike is doing a great job. The whole team is really performing well. We have learned a lot of what to do and what not to do. It has been a good experience but we’re looking forward to doing this on our own next year.”

For the first time of the rally, except for the January 13 rest day in Atar, Stage 11 will offer no special timed section. Wednesday’s 11th stage will be a 280 km/174 mile, paved connection from Néma to Ayoun. The 484 km/300.74 mile Stage 12 will return the competitors to the desert with a 257 km/159.7 mile special stage over sand and gravel. Stage 12 will bring them into Kayes where they will prepare for the final three stages of the 15 stage event. “We only have a couple more days,” said Petersen, “and then it is back to reality. We are going to stay doing what we are doing. We’re just cruising to the finish. To push too hard and make a mistake this late in the going would be a huge blunder on my part. The best thing I can do for all the hard work these guys have put in is to bring it to the finish. We are looking forward to hopefully getting to the finish and getting a shower.”

NOTE: A revision from yesterday’s ninth stage. We reported that the team had broken into the top-20 for the first time overall as a result of Petersen’s 16th-place stage finish. Near the end of the stage timing the No. 303 Volkswagen of Carlos Sainz completed the stage 94th to retain his tenth-place overall position therefore bumping the No. 351 to 21st overall.

Michael Petersen Races to Best Finish of Euromilhões Dakar 2007 in First Marathon Stage
Petersen/White Lightning Takes 17th in Stage Eight, Moves Back into Top-24 Overall
News from Darkhorse Autosport
Photos courtesy Petersen Motorsport/White Lightning Racing
TICHIT, Africa (January 14, 2007) — Michael Petersen (Las Vegas, Nev., USA) charged to his best stage finish, 17th, of the Euromilhões Dakar 2007 in today’s Stage Eight from Atar to Tichit, Africa. Petersen and co-driver Matthew Stevenson (Ipswich, England) covered the 589 km/366 mile special, timed stage with the No. 351 MMPIE/PAWS/?.com/BF Goodrich Chevrolet T1.3 class buggy in nine hours, 49 minutes and 38 seconds. Petersen had dropped to 34th out of the 177 cars that entered this year’s 29th running of the Dakar rally on Friday’s seventh stage after getting stuck in the sand dunes and then having a serpentine belt break. However, today’s impressive top-20 time pushed the Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing buggy up ten spots to 24th overall with seven stages remaining. The two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class winning team was as high as 21st following the sixth stage. This is the team’s first-ever attempt at the Euromilhões Dakar 2007.

Today’s 626 k/389 mile total course was the first “marathon” stage of the event. The “marathon” stage, as declared by the Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.) sanctioning body for Dakar, mandates that no one other than the driver and co-driver is allowed to perform repairs or maintenance on the car for two consecutive stages. Therefore, only Petersen and Stevenson are allowed to work on the No. 351 Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing buggy until the end of the ninth stage tomorrow night in Néma. Once in the nightly bivouac at Néma, technicians Nico Castellaccio (Tracy, Calif.) and Dennis Chizma (Las Vegas) will again be permitted to make repairs.
Bringing the magnitude of today’s achievement into perspective is that the stage saw another eight cars fall from the category. That brings the total count to 54 entries withdrawn since the first stage. 177 cars started in Lisbon, Portugal on January 6. The marathon status of today and tomorrow’s stages, coupled with the overwhelming terrain, promise to push even more competitors from the running before reaching Néma on Monday evening.

Despite the repair restrictions, the A.S.O. did not make today’s stage a simple one. The initial liaison of 35 km/21.75 miles on pavement gave way to the 589 km/366 mile timed stage. The clock was on Petersen as he negotiated through rocks, gravel, sand, dunes and camel grass on his way to the 2 km/1.24 mile sprint to the bivouac.

As of today, Petersen and Stevenson have spent a total of 37 hours, 41 minutes and 46 seconds in the timed, special stages. That places them 10 hours, 5 minutes and 53 seconds behind the overall rally leader in the car class, the No. 301. It is an impressive debut at Dakar for the American team who dominated off-road competition in the United States in the 1990s prior to a full switch to professional sports car racing later in the decade. Petersen and Entrant/Program Manager Dale White (Bozeman, MT., USA) are using the Euromilhões Dakar 2007 as a test run to learn the event to return with a full Petersen/White Lightning effort in 2008. To reach the top-25 overall at the rally’s midpoint was not planned and will have little impact on the team’s strategy. Petersen will continue to focus on reaching Dakar, Senegal on January 21st rather than attempt to break into the top-20 or higher. If opportunities present themselves, the team will pursue them but is currently not planning to press the Team SMG built buggy any harder than is necessary. The goal for the remaining stages continues to be the collection of as much information as possible on the world’s most challenging racing event for the ’08 assault.

The ninth day of competition takes Petersen and Stevenson from Tichit to Néma and is possibly the most daunting of all the stages thus far. It is a true desert race for the teams that are still running. Stevenson has already shown his skill in navigation- as well as repair and guidance- but at no time will those skills be more needed than here in Stage Nine. Almost no landmarks guide the way across the sand and gravel that leads to the nightly bivouac for the racers- the support crews will have made their way to Néma earlier in the day. It is also the first time the first connection stage will be eliminated taking the racers directly into the timed special of 494 km/306.96 miles. The only liaison/connection on the journey east is a short 3 km/1.86 mile run on gravel into the nightly bivouac. In total, they will cover 497 km/308.82 miles in the ninth stage. Petersen will endeavor to make it the nearly 500 km before night sets in, a task made harder by the relatively late 8:47 AM (GMT) starting time for the cars. Every second will count not only in helping negotiate the desert- difficult in daylight, nearly impossible at night- but also in allowing more time for repairs to be made and rest to be had before Stage Ten.

Michael Petersen Moves to 21st Overall after Stage Six of Euromilhoes Dakar 2007
Petersen/White Lightning 26th Quick in Special Tan Tan to Zouérat Stage
News from Darkhorse Autosport
Photos courtesy Petersen Motorsport/White Lightning Racing
ZOUÉRAT, Africa (January 11, 2007) — With the first six stages of the 15 stage, 7,708 km/4,790 mile Euromilhoes Dakar 2007 complete, American Michael Petersen (Las Vegas, Nev., USA) sits 21st overall. The No. 351 MMPIE/PAWS/?.com/BF Goodrich Chevrolet T1.3 class buggy moved-up five spots in the overall rankings after finishing 33rd in today’s special stage, the longest of the rally. The jump in the standings came despite a three minute penalty sustained for a rules infraction in today’s 817 km/507.7 mile race from Tan Tan to Zouérat, Mauritania. Petersen and co-driver Matthew Stevenson (Ipswich, England) traversed the 394 km/244.82 mile special stage in three hours, 48 minutes and 44 seconds. That was just 49 minutes and 47 seconds behind the stage winner and multi- time Dakar participant Robby Gordon.

It has been a tough trial for the full contingent of Petersen/White Lightning teammates. While Petersen and Stevenson have fought the rough conditions and difficult navigation of the stages, program manager/entrant Dale White (Bozeman, MT., USA) has traveled a more direct but no less strenuous route in his No. 671 Toyota Land Cruiser overseeing the effort. White’s main task for the ’07 Dakar is to look-ahead and prepare for the 2008 and ’09 programs that will fall under full Petersen/White Lightning preparation and organization.

The un-sung heroes of the program continue to be longtime team technicians Nico Castellaccio (Tracy, Calif.) and Dennis Chizma (Las Vegas). Along with their French driver from buggy-supplier Team SMG, the two Dakar rookies have faced long days traveling in support of the race buggy in their No. 891, three person, six-wheel T5 class truck. Like White, the No. 891 cannot leave the night’s bivouac until all the official competitors; motorcycles, cars and trucks, have left. They must then chase the rally down a parallel path to today’s bivouac, all the while being on call in case Petersen and Stevenson need assistance somewhere on the journey.

As there is no rest for the weary, once at the final stop for the day, Castellaccio and Chizma must prepare for the No. 351, then, once the buggy arrives in camp, begin the nightly repairs and preparation for the next day’s stage. Even the routine itself stops being routine as desert sand storms can brew-up at any second forcing a quick action to protect equipment while continuing the work. The sand not only wreaks havoc on the preparation and replacement of parts as the duo hectically but precisely tends to that night’s job list, but on the amount of time they can commit to the each task. On Wednesday night, the long list of repairs to overcome the day’s daunting fifth stage was hampered by the driving sand forcing the use of goggles and masks. Even then, the two award- winning technicians were forced to seek shelter every ten to fifteens minutes to relieve the unending needle-like attacks of the sand and their skin, eyes and lungs. Once the night’s actions were complete, the difficult working conditions left only one hour of rest prior to the morning wake-up call to head to Stage Six. This routine has played-out night-after- night putting a clear focus on the professional approach of Castellaccio and Chizma and the overall commitment to success by the whole Petersen/White Lightning organization.

Stage Six was the longest stage of the rally at just short of 820 km/508 miles. The terrain was the same sand, pebbles and undulating dunes that Petersen and Stevenson will face in tomorrow’s seventh stage as well. Navigation was key, as was keeping the buggy in one piece, as they covered nearly 1,000km in total across the country of Mauritania. The 394 km/244.82 mile special stage was broken up by two liaisons; the first a long 414 km/257.25 mile trip to the start of the timed portion, the second a short, 9 km/5.59 mile sprint to the bivouac in Zouérat.

Still short of the mid-point of the event, Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing has spent 19 hours, 53 minutes and 57 seconds in the timed specials of the first six stages. That leaves them three hours, 33 minutes and 53 seconds behind the overall leader after six straight days of competition. The day brought six more entries to their knees. To date, a total of 37 cars have been officially withdrawn from the 177 that began the competition on January 6.

Tomorrow’s seventh stage, the last day’s activities before an Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.) scheduled “rest” day on Saturday, January 13, is a 580 km/360.4 mile test of the team and the buggy. The Zouérat to Atar stage is dangerous for more than its course. The Petersen/White Lightning team will have to keep focused on the day’s activities rather than allow themselves visions of the oasis of the rest day that lies ahead. Two checkpoints dot the 542 km/336.78 mile special stage, both offering fuel. A myriad of surfaces again dot the course with the liaison/connections on pavement but the special stage strewn with a “track” ranging from pebbles to sand, to dunes to camel grass. At approximately the 305 km/189.5 mile marker Petersen will come across some of the largest dunes he has faced thus far. This will demand special attention to navigate through. Once clear, the battle is not done as he will have to pilot through mixed soil and sand to the end of the timed section. Upon conclusion of the special stage it is back on the pavement for the final 34 km/21.13 miles into Atar and the rest day.

Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing has won nearly all the world’s major motorsports endurance classics including the 24 Hours of Le Mans (’03 & ’04), the Baja 500 and Baja 1000 overall (’95-‘97), the 24 Hours At Daytona (‘01), the 12 Hours of Sebring (‘05) and the Petit Le Mans (’05 & ‘06). They have won over 50 off-road events and the American Le Mans Series GT2 Class Driver and IMSA Cup Championships (’05 and ’06) and Team Championship (’05). 2007 marks the first of a three year Dakar program to complement their ongoing American Le Mans Series effort which recently switched to Ferrari’s F430 GT for the ’07 race season.

Michael Petersen 26th Overall After First Four Stages of Euromilhoes Dakar 2007
Petersen/White Lightning 33rd Quickest into Ouarzazate
News from Darkhorse Autosport
Photos courtesy Petersen Motorsport/White Lightning Racing
OUARZAZATE, Africa (January 9, 2007) — Driver/owner Michael Petersen (Las Vegas, Nev., USA) had another strong day in his premiere in the Euromilhoes Dakar 2007. The owner of two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class-winning Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing finished 33rd in class today slipping one spot to 26th overall. The 678 km/421.3 mile fourth stage from Er Rachidia to Ouarzazate included the longest special timed stage of the rally thus far for the No. 351 MMPIE/PAWS/?.com/BF Goodrich Chevrolet T1.3 class buggy. Petersen and co-driver Matthew Stevenson (Ipswich, England) completed the 405 km/251.65 mile special timed stage in five hours, 31 minutes and 14 seconds. They were one hour, 31 minutes and 20 seconds behind legendary Dakar figure Jean-Louis Schlesser. Today’s performance kept the sports car racing and off-road racing championship team within two hours, 26 minutes and 32 seconds of the overall event leader. There are 177 car class entries in this year’s 15 stage, 7,708 km/4,790 mile rally and Petersen is currently the second highest-ranked American in the field.

The fourth stage began with a relatively short 96 km/59.65 mile liaison across the Moroccan desert. However, that quickly changed into the longest special timed stage of to-date, nearly double yesterday’s special. The special stage featured the first taste of the hypnotizing sand dunes of northern Africa. It also introduced the driving duo to the powdery sand of Morocco. The sand, as fine as dust, slowed the car to a crawl, further slowing the car were the large boulders and rocks that the No. 351 will be leaving behind in the next few stages. But, today’s route also provided Petersen, accustom to the long straightaways of the great race courses of North America, a chance to stretch his legs with a five minute, full throttle tear down the open gravel roads. Once they cleared the timed portion, Petersen and Stevenson made their way 198 km/123 miles north to Ouarzazate.

Waiting for the No. 351 in the bivouac at Ouarzazate was program manager and entrant Dale White (Bozeman, MT., USA), who made his way via a more direct path in his No. 671 Toyota Land Cruiser. Following a night of repairs to the buggy to prepare it for today’s stage, Petersen/White Lightning technicians Nico Castellaccio (Tracy, Calif.) and Dennis Chizma (Las Vegas)- who have been following the rally in the No. 891, three person, six-wheel T5 class truck- also met Petersen in Ouarzazate.

“It was pretty much business as usual today,” reported Petersen. “No drama, nothing broken. The guys did a good prep job on the car last night. Today wasn’t an indication of what we could do. We just cruised through the special today. We gave up a couple of spots to people we knew would charge. We got passed by five cars right at the start of the dunes and then they all got stuck and we re-took those positions. We saw it all today. It was rocky, super rough in parts. Then, we had a section where I was wide- open for probably five minutes or more. We reached 192 [kph/119 mph] on that gravel road. We had our first taste of what we call soap beds in the US. It was so dusty that I was going five miles per hour because the dust was so bad I couldn’t see. Tomorrow will be pretty much as today. Matthew is doing a fantastic job. He has so much experience. It would be a scary deal without him. He has been just awesome.”

Tomorrow’s fifth stage begins at 6:20 AM (GMT) for the cars. Petersen and Stevenson will have to face the dust of the African desert again as 25 other competitors in the car class take the green flag before them. In their last full stage in the country of Morocco, where the Dakar has been since landing on the African coast on Monday, Petersen/White Lightning will travel 769 km/477.83 miles to the Atlantic coast and the city of Tan Tan. Again, the connection stages will both be on pavement with the first liaison/connection covering 164 km/101.9 miles. This liaison will be familiar as it is the same road which Petersen/White Lightning used to travel north to Ouarzazate today. The last connection into Tan Tan takes them 280 km/174 miles. The special again draws some of the worst geographic features that Africa has to offer: mountains, sand, stone and dunes. There are three checkpoints along the route, the last of which will provide enough fuel for the No. 351 to pull into the nightly bivouac. The team will need its rest as it looks to face the 817 km/507.6 mile journey into Zouerat, Mauritania on Wednesday. The first rest day for the team comes on Saturday, January 13.

Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing has won nearly all the world’s major motorsports endurance classics including the 24 Hours of Le Mans (’03 & ’04), the Baja 500 and Baja 1000 overall (’95-‘97), the 24 Hours At Daytona (‘01), the 12 Hours of Sebring (‘05) and the Petit Le Mans (’05 & ‘06). They have won over 50 off-road events and the American Le Mans Series GT2 Class Driver and IMSA Cup Championships (’05 and ’06) and Team Championship (’05). 2007 marks the first of a three year Dakar program to complement their ongoing American Le Mans Series effort which recently switched to Ferrari’s F430 GT for the ’07 race season.

Michael Petersen Moves-Up in Dakar Rankings on Second Stage; Skilton Out
Petersen/White Lightning Euromilhoes Dakar Debut Off to Impressive Start
News from Darkhorse Autosport
Photos courtesy Petersen Motorsport/White Lightning Racing
MÁLAGA, Spain (January 7, 2007) – Michael Petersen (Las Vegas, Nev., USA), owner/driver of the No. 351 MMPIE / PAWS /?.com/BF Goodrich Chevrolet T1.3 class buggy had another impressive showing in today’s Second Stage of the Euromilhoes Dakar 2007. The owner of the two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class-winning team moved up to 24th overall out of 177 car class entries in the world’s most daunting of all motorsport events. However, the No. 572 of Darren Skilton (Long Beach, Calif., USA) wasn’t able to complete the run to Málaga and has been officially withdrawn from further competition making it a bittersweet day for the American team.

While still early in the going, Petersen, who won dozens of off-road competitions before moving to sports car racing fulltime, has reacquainted himself well with the off-road world in short order. Petersen and co-driver Matthew Stevenson (Ipswich, England) finished 20th in today’s 67 km/41.6 mile special stage that linked Portimão, Portugal to Málaga, Spain. In total, the buggy covered 545 km/338.6 miles (15 km/9.3 mile first liaison and a 463 km/287.7 mile second liaison as well as the special stage). The Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing buggy, which started the day 28th overall in the car class after finishing the first stage from Lisbon to Portimão, Portugal, covered the special stage distance in two hours, 43 minutes and 39 seconds. The No. 351 was just 21 minutes, 42 seconds behind overall leader Carlos Sousa, who himself finished ninth on the day.

Skilton, racing in the T4 category as the on-course support to the No. 351, started the day in 68th position in the truck class. However, the engine in his Mercedes truck failed while on the connection run to Málaga. The No. 572 was officially withdrawn when the flatbed came to pick it up, the engine failure terminal. Without Skilton’s on-course support, the No. 351 is at a disadvantage. However, Skilton and White quickly created an alternative plan to alleviate some of the difficulty. They have spread the repair parts, which Skilton was carrying, for Petersen’s buggy to several support vehicles of the Tibau Team, which owns the SUV White is driving. Tibau will provide on-course support for the remainder of the rally.

Petersen also had a pair of problems following the timed portion. The No. 351 blew a clutch slave cylinder which demanded immediate repairs by Petersen/White Lightning technicians Nico Castellaccio (Tracy, Calif.) and Dennis Chizma (Las Vegas) while on the liaison to Málaga. While repairing the slave cylinder they discovered that one of the two constant velocity (CV) boots (which covers the CV joint from debris) was torn. It did not need to be addressed immediately but will be attended to at the conclusion of Stage Three with other regular maintenance in the first scheduled service tomorrow.

“Having Darren’s truck go-out on us wasn’t good,” admitted Entrant/Team Manager Dale White. “We have adapted and spread the parts to support Mike’s car with the Tibau Team. We’re thankful for their help. Darren will fly down to Africa and meet us on the rest day. We’re learning a lot. I already have a list of things that we’ll do a little differently next year. We’ll cross over to Africa tonight, find a hotel and be ready to race tomorrow in the first African stage. We’ll make the repairs to Mike’s car tomorrow night. There is still an awful lot of racing left to do.”

Today’s second stage was the most unique of the 15 stages that form the Euromilhoes Dakar 2007. The course took the teams over the mountains and down to the sea offering high altitudes, multiple switchbacks, narrow roads and deadly drop-offs. Now successfully on the coast, Petersen/White Lightning will travel to Morocco where they will begin the more traditional Dakar course through the deserts of north and western Africa for the remaining 6,906 km/4,291 miles. The first African stage takes them from the port city of Nador to Er Rachidia on January 8th where 252 of the total 648 km are in the special stage.

Making a more direct connection between Portimão and the port city of Málaga, program manager and entrant Dale White (Bozeman, MT., USA), driving the No. 671 Toyota Land Cruiser, awaited longtime friend and racing partner Petersen. The No. 673 T5-class, six-wheel support vehicle of Castellaccio and Chizma met Petersen along the route for repairs and then proceeded to Málaga. They will then load the No. 351 onto a ship for transport across the Mediterranean Sea. Fine-tuning of the Team SMG-built buggy, as well as the CV boot repair and close inspection of the electrical system is at the top of the job list as the buggy must be ready for the dusty, sands of Africa. White, an accomplished off-road driving champion himself, will focus on shock/damper tuning to fit Petersen’s driving style and to gain the most grip in the sand while Castellaccio and Chizma do the repairs.

Live Timing and Scoring and other Dakar-related information will be found at www.PetersenMotorsports.com. Versus Network will carry highlights of each day’s activities at 3 PM and 5:30 PM (EST). Petersen and White will also being doing periodic Podcast interviews with the American Le Mans Series which will be available via www.AmericanLeMans.com and on iTunes, Podcast key word: American Le Mans Series.
 

Euromilhões Dakar 2007 Penultimate Stage Brings Petersen/White Lightning Into Dakar
Michael Petersen Holds Top-23 Overall Position with One Day Remaining in 4,300 Mile Trek
News from Darkhorse Autosport
Photos courtesy Petersen Motorsport/White Lightning Racing
DAKAR, Africa, January 20, 2007 – Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing entered the city of Dakar, Senegal today signaling the end of the penultimate stage of the Euromilhões Dakar 2007. Michael Petersen (Las Vegas, Nev., USA) and co-driver Matthew Stevenson (Ipswich, England) arrived in the ocean-side city 23rd in the overall standings after the final, long stage of the world’s most daunting auto racing event. Stage 14 stretched across 576 km/358 miles of savannahs from Tambacounda to Dakar, in the last open-road section of the 29th running of the Dakar rally. The No. 351 MMPIE/PAWS/?.com/BF Goodrich Chevrolet T1.3 class buggy covered the 225 km/139.8 mile special timed section in three hours, 30 minutes and 16 seconds, 91st overall. As planned, Petersen cruised through today’s stage in the beaten and bruised No. 351 with the overall goal to reach the finish line tomorrow afternoon.

While tomorrow’s Stage 15 remains, today’s special timed section is widely considered the last ‘serious’ leg of “The Dakar”. At the end of Stage 14, which crossed gravel, sand and laterite, Petersen was one hour, nine minutes and 14 seconds behind stage-winner Carlos Sainz. With little to gain and much to lose in today’s stage, the experienced off-road and sports car racer chose to take it easy on his equipment. It was a task made even more trying by the late start and oppressive dust that coated the Petersen/White Lightning entry as it entered Dakar. Because the dust made visibility almost zero, Petersen slowed his pace to ensure that it would be ready for the final stage on Sunday. Stéphane Peterhansel is the current overall leader after 15 days of the event. Peterhansel is 14 hours, 16 minutes and 25 seconds ahead of Petersen. Currently, Petersen/White Lightning is one of only 107 car entries that remain from a starting field of 177. Petersen is the third highest-ranking American and the fifth-highest ranked two-wheel drive vehicle in the car class.

The battle for a top-25 finishing position is among the most heated in the rally. After 6,813 km and 14 stages, Petersen/White Lightning is 45 minutes behind the 22nd position leaving little chance for advancement. However, the gap back to 24th is only four minutes while the drop to 25th is only 12 minutes away. A 27th place finish would result in a loss of only 20 minutes in the final timed stage. Regardless of the final overall result, any finish in the Euromilhões Dakar 2007 is a remarkable accomplishment. The feat becomes even more spectacular as a first time team and driver.

For Petersen/White Lightning, today’s stage culminated at the home of the United States Ambassador to Senegal. The team relaxed and enjoyed the hospitality of Ambassador Janice Jacobs, a native of Virginia. Tonight, Petersen, Stevenson, program manager/entrant Dale White (Bozeman, MT) and team technicians Nico Castellaccio (Tracy, Calif.) and Dennis Chizma (Las Vegas) will also enjoy their first real shower and clean sheets since leaving Europe on January 7. It was a welcome addition to their daily routine after over two weeks of almost non-stop driving, repair and maintenance to the race buggy in the most deplorable and wearing conditions.

The culmination of the 6,906 km/4,291 mile Dakar rally comes tomorrow, January 21, here in the city of Dakar. Stage 15, the Lac Rose stage, is both ceremonial and serious. The 16 km/9.95 mile special timed stage allows little opportunity to make up time on those closest to you in the overall standings but it can harm the effort if something substantial goes wrong. Overall, the three-leg stage circles the Rose Lake totaling only 93 km/57.8 miles- shorter than most of the previous stage’s liaisons. The first leg covers 36 km/22.4 miles while the final sprint to the finish line is a 41 km/25.5 mile celebration of perseverance.
 

African Unrest Provides Petersen/White Lightning Restful Day in Euromilhões Dakar 2007
Stage 11 Connects Ayoun-El-Atrous to Néma but no times; Petersen remains 21st Overall

News from Darkhorse Autosport
Photos courtesy Petersen Motorsport/White Lightning Racing
AYOUN-EL-ATROUS, Africa (January 17, 2007) – Political unrest in Africa led Foreign Ministers to recommend to the Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.), the sanctioning body for Dakar, that they change a number of routes that took them into northern Mali in this year’s Euromilhões Dakar 2007. While yesterday’s Stage 10 was redesigned to allow a timed special through the desert, today’s Stage 11 forced the A.S.O. to declare a connection stage with no timed section to ready itself for tomorrow’s Stage 12. Therefore, Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing, like all the remaining 112 entries in the car category, covered the 280 km/174 mile distance from Néma to Ayoun-El-Atrous at a controlled speed. Because no times were taken, there are no stage results and, therefore, no change in the overall standings. Michael Petersen (Las Vegas, Nev., USA) and co-driver Matthew Stevenson (Ipswich, England) remain 21st overall in the No. 351 MMPIE/PAWS/?.com/BF Goodrich Chevrolet T1.3 class buggy, 11 hours, 25 minutes and 47 seconds behind the overall event leader, Stephane Peterhansel.

The short connection gave all the team’s what constituted a half rest day. It will also allow team technicians Nico Castellaccio (Tracy, Calif.) and Dennis Chizma (Las Vegas) additional opportunity this evening to make repairs and preparation to the Team SMG-built buggy prior to Thursday’s Stage 12. Once the Ayoun-El-Atrous to Kayes Stage 12 begins, rest will be hard to find. The 484 km/300.74 mile distance takes the teams back into the desert where the gravel, sand and dune terrain of the 257 km/159.7 mile special stage will again remind the competitors why the Euromilhões Dakar 2007 is the world’s most difficult motorsports race.

Now aimed back to the east, the team can feel the city of Dakar and the event’s finish are close at hand. However, with 1161 km/1001.2 miles to go (758 km/470.94 of which is special timed stages from Stage 12 to Stage 15) the event is far from over. To this point, Petersen and Stevenson have accumulated 49 hours, one minute and six seconds in the special timed stages. It is Petersen/White Lightning’s goal to make it to the finish line in Dakar, Senegal as high in the standings as possible. However, more importantly, the team wants to learn as much as it can from this year’s endeavor to prepare for the second of a three year commitment the team has given to the Dakar.

Preparations for the Euromilhões Dakar 2008 have already begun. Entrant/Program Manager Dale White (Bozeman, MT., USA) followed the rest of the Dakar participants to Ayoun-El-Atrous today. White, who is driving the No. 671 Toyota Land Cruiser in support of the No. 351, has been assembling notes across the Dakar in order to return in 2008 fully prepared for the two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class winning team’s first Euromilhões Dakar in-house program. White, as well as Castellaccio and Chizma, have put together information ranging from items that they want to bring in ’08 to ideas of how to build the White Lightning Racing car which will carry Petersen next year.

Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing has won nearly all the world’s major motorsports endurance classics including the 24 Hours of Le Mans (’03 & ’04), the Baja 500 and Baja 1000 overall (’95- ‘97), the 24 Hours At Daytona (‘01), the 12 Hours of Sebring (‘05) and the Petit Le Mans (’05 & ‘06). They have won over 50 off-road events and the American Le Mans Series GT2 Class Driver and IMSA Cup Championships (’05 and ’06) and Team Championship (’05). 2007 marks the first of a three year Dakar program to complement their ongoing American Le Mans Series effort which will compete with drivers Tim Bergmeister (Langenfeld, Germany) and Tomas Enge (Monaco) in a Ferrari F430 GT in 2007.
 

Petersen/White Lightning breaks Top-20 Overall after Marathon Stages
News from Darkhorse Autosport
Photos courtesy Petersen Motorsport/White Lightning Racing
NÉMA, Africa (January 15, 2007) — Euromilhões Dakar 2007 by anyone’s definition is a marathon. A grueling battle of mental and physical willpower and horsepower matched against the will of Mother Nature. However, Stages Eight and Nine push beyond even the un-routine routine of the world’s most difficult motorsports event. The two stages, which cover a total of 1123 km/697.8 miles from Atar to Néma, make up the marathon stages for the car class in the 29th running of the rally. Michael Petersen (Las Vegas, Nev., USA) and co-driver Matthew Stevenson (Ipswich, England) not only faced the challenge but overcame it with their two best results of the rally (17th in Stage Eight, 16th in today’s Stage Nine). The No. 351 MMPIE/PAWS/?.com/BF Goodrich Chevrolet T1.3 class buggy of Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing completed today’s 494 km/307 mile special stage in six hours, 58 minutes and 12 seconds, good for 16th out of the 79 cars classified. Petersen, a Dakar rookie, trailed the overall stage winning No. 310 by one hour, 26 minutes and nine seconds.

Petersen’s notable performance in Stages Eight and Nine brought the Nevada, USA-based team into the top-20 overall for the first time of the rally. Their previous best had been 21st after Stage Six. However, a lengthy repair and being stuck on course forced them as low as 34th after Stage Seven. Petersen/White Lightning is currently 13 minutes and five seconds behind the No. 331 Mitsubishi which runs in 19th-place entering Stage 10. Since they began on January 6, the No. 351 has spent 44 hours, 38 minutes and 58 seconds in the special stages. Petersen, who has won over a dozen off-road events prior to moving to professional sports car racing, sits 10 hours, 56 minutes and 35 seconds behind the overall car class leader, the No. 302 of Dakar and rally expert Stephane Peterhansel. Petersen is currently the third highest ranking American in the rally behind the experienced Dakar pilots of Mark Miller (in sixth) and Robby Gordon (in eighth).

During a marathon stage, no one other than the driver and co-driver is allowed to perform repairs or maintenance on the car. Therefore, only Petersen and Stevenson prepared the Team SMG-built buggy last night in Tichit prior to today’s 497 km/308.8 mile total two stage day. The ninth of 15 stages was among the hardest faced by the pair, driving together for the first time. Not only was its special stage long, but it was under the most barren of desert conditions. Few landmarks existed to help guide Stevenson’s navigation as Petersen controlled the car through the sand and gravel. Once clear of the special stage, it was a quick 3 km/1.86-mile gravel road ride into the nightly bivouac in Néma.

Waiting for the weary driving duo in Néma were Entrant/Program Manager Dale White (Bozeman, MT., USA) and team technicians Nico Castellaccio (Tracy, Calif.) and Dennis Chizma (Las Vegas). Because they could not bivouac with the No. 351 last night, the crew proceeded directly to the end of Stage Nine in Néma and waited doing minor maintenance on their chase vehicles and getting some long overdue rest. However, they will make up for that work tonight as they make any repairs necessary from the two stages and prepare the buggy for tomorrow morning’s Stage 10.

Petersen's success in the last two stages bodes well for Stage 10. Due to concerns for participant safety, several stages, including Stage Ten, have been altered from the originally announced route. The stage, as it has been planned since just days prior to the rally start on January 6, is a large loop sending the teams into sand dunes with little but the fine sands of the Sahara Desert and gravel before them. The same conditions have been good venues for Petersen/White Lightning in the rally thus far, so hopes are high that Stage 10 will allow Petersen to gain even more on the competition. A 10 km/6.2 mile connection will guide Petersen and Stevenson out to the 366 km/227.42 mile special timed section. They will then return to the bivouac with a 24 km/14.91 connection. In total, they will cover 400 km/248.55 miles in tomorrow’s stage. Two control points will monitor their progress during the stage.

Stage 11, on January 17, will be a high speed, 280 km/174 mile connection, all on pavement, from Néma to Ayoun.

Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing has won nearly all the world’s major motorsports endurance classics including the 24 Hours of Le Mans (’03 & ’04), the Baja 500 and Baja 1000 overall (’95- ‘97), the 24 Hours At Daytona (‘01), the 12 Hours of Sebring (‘05) and the Petit Le Mans (’05 & ‘06). They have won over 50 off-road events and the American Le Mans Series GT2 Class Driver and IMSA Cup Championships (’05 and ’06) and Team Championship (’05). 2007 marks the first of a three year Dakar program to complement their ongoing American Le Mans Series effort which will compete with drivers Tim Bergmeister (Langenfeld, Germany) and Tomas Enge (Monaco) in a Ferrari F430 GT in 2007.
 

Euromilhões Dakar 2007 Strikes First Serious Blow to Petersen/White Lightning
Good Samaritan Petersen Gets Stuck Helping Fellow Competitor, Falls to 34th Overall

News from Darkhorse Autosport
Photos courtesy Petersen Motorsport/White Lightning Racing
ATAR, Africa (January 12, 2007) — The question is not IF the Euromilhões Dakar 2007 will bite you, it is only a question of when. That question was answered today for the No. 351 MMPIE/PAWS/?.com/BF Goodrich Chevrolet T1.3 class buggy of American Michael Petersen (Las Vegas, Nev., USA). Petersen, who entered today’s Stage Seven from Zouérat to Atar 21st overall, was performing well in the early part of what was scheduled to be a 542 km/336.78 special timed stage that was cut to 407.6 km/253.27 miles, when he came across Team SMG owner Philippe Gache (Cannes, France) stuck in a sand dune. Petersen stopped to assist Gache and became trapped in the soft, shifting sand himself. Once free, the Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing entry suffered another blow, a broken serpentine belt that demanded repair. Once Petersen and co-driver Matthew Stevenson (Ipswich, England) had begun to move again, they had lost nearly four hours on the stage winning No. 301 Volkswagen. Petersen/White Lightning finished the stage 80th in class with a time of seven hours, 58 minutes and 31 seconds across the timed portion. Petersen dropped to 34th overall, a 13 position fall from yesterday, and is seven hours, 48 minutes and seven seconds behind in the rally leader in total.

Making an even more challenging day was a viscous sand storm that forced Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.), the sanctioning body for Dakar, to cancel 134 km of the special stage. Instead, they allowed competitors to cut off the southern loop of the special and precede directly to the checkered flag 34 km/21.126 miles east of Atar. That decreased the overall distance of the special stage to 407.6 km/253.27 miles. Nonetheless, the storm wreaked havoc on the whole rally and the adjustment to the distance was a welcome reprieve in an event that seldom offers such pardons.
In a rally as grueling and dangerous as Dakar, competitors help competitors for the safety of everyone. But, as a teammate to Gache, SMG is supplying the buggy and support to Petersen/White Lightning, Petersen felt even more compelled to stop and offer assistance. In the process of helping dig out Gache’s buggy, Petersen became ensnarled in the sand as well. Together, Petersen, Stevenson and Gache worked to free the pair of buggies. They eventually cleared a path for both to continue after three hours of strenuous labor in the hot sun of Africa. Not moments down the road, Petersen was again forced to stop and the two residents of the No. 351 again rolled up their sleeves and set to work. The belt consumed nearly an hour to replace before they could set out to finish the stage. Initial review by team technicians Nico Castellaccio (Tracy, Calif.) and Dennis Chizma (Las Vegas) suggests that no serious damage resulted from being stuck or the belt failure.

The day was not without issue for program manager/entrant Dale White (Bozeman, MT., USA) either. Not only was White caught in the sandstorm as all the competitors were, he also faced mechanical issues of his own. While traveling from Zouérat to Atar, the thermostat on the No. 671 Toyota Land Cruiser White has been driving failed. White, a skilled technician who designed and built most of the famous Petersen/White Lightning off- road vehicles over the years, quickly got to work making repairs. Once complete he continued on to the bivouac in Atar where he met up with the remainder of the group. But, should one despair too greatly, the realization that the events mid-point is nearly here and the buggy is still running strong is reassuring. Nine more cars retired today, including some early front runners. That brings the total number of cars out after seven stages to 46, leaving only 131 of the original 177.

After six-straight days and 27 hours, 52 minutes and eight seconds on special stages the Petersen/White Lightning crew has reached its first rest day. The rest day could not come too soon for the team. Thursday night’s repairs drug deep into the morning hours. In fact, as Petersen strapped into the No. 351 this morning to pull out for the seventh stage, Chizma was still under the buggy repairing a damaged skid plate that had been destroyed in the sixth stage. That came on the heels of replacing the tire inflation system earlier in the night which had also been severely damaged on Thursday.

The rest day allows the whole rally to spend Saturday here in Atar to re-charge their batteries, both literarily and figuratively, before heading out for Stage Eight on Sunday, January 14. The day will be spent making repairs and preparing the No. 351 for the remainder of the event. Routine maintenance will consume most of the time as will strengthening repairs made on the fly today and in Thursday night’s bivouac. No major repairs are believed to be required as of this time. Many of those came following yesterday’s stage.

There is no gradual breaking-in period for the day following the rest day. Sunday’s eighth stage will again challenge the two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans- winning team. The initial liaison of 35 Km/21.75 miles is on pavement before a 589 km/366 mile war across rocks, gravel, sand, dunes and camel grass to complete the special stage. Even the second liaison of 2 km/1.24 miles is on gravel. There is little doubt that, due to the rough terrain, the Petersen/White Lightning team will again be working into the darkest of hours. With the second half of the 15 stage, 7,708 km/4,790 mile Dakar close at hand, the final picture of the results begins to sharpen into focus.

Michael Petersen, Owner/Driver summed up his day like this: “First, I just have to say it is good to be to the rest day. The terrain here is brutal, everything we expected and more. This is a learning process and I learned a lot today. When you come up on another competitor who is stuck, you have to do the right thing. It’s what you’d want someone to do for you. And, because it was Philippe, there was no way we could pass by. Getting stuck obviously hurt us, as did the time to repair the belt, but in the end, this year is all about learning and we learned some hard lessons of how to get out of the dunes and how to replace a belt pretty quickly. Those could help us when we are running for a win. The buggy is in pretty good shape. The guys are doing just an awesome job. Now we can use tomorrow to relax a little and plan our course for the rest of the rally.”
 

Michael Petersen Holds 26th Overall through Five Stages of Euromilhoes Dakar 2007
Petersen/White Lightning 32nd from Ouarzazate to Tan Tan

News from Darkhorse Autosport
Photos courtesy Petersen Motorsport/White Lightning Racing
TAN TAN, Africa (January 10, 2007) – After 16 hours, one minute and 53 seconds of special stages, Michael Petersen (Las Vegas, Nev., USA) holds the 26th position overall in the Euromilhoes Dakar 2007. It took Petersen and co-driver Matthew Stevenson (Ipswich, England) just four hours, 18 minutes and ten seconds to cover the 325 km/201.95 miles of the special timed section of today’s fifth stage from Ouarzazate to Tan Tan. That brought the No. 351 MMPIE/PAWS/?.com/BF Goodrich Chevrolet T1.3 class buggy through the stopwatches 32nd in the car class, 41 minutes and 31 seconds behind the stage and overall leading No. 303.

Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing entered this year’s Dakar with a strategy to be conservative and finish in order to learn the ins-and-outs of the world’s most challenging motorized event. That philosophy is paying off in the standings as well as in how the Dale White (Bozeman, MT., USA) entered and managed team will approach their sophomore event in 2008. Of the 177 competitors in the car class that departed for Dakar from the start city of Lisbon, Portugal on January 6, only 146 remain after five stages. Today’s stage took an overwhelming toll on the competitors in the car class claiming 21 of the 31 cars withdrawn thus far. Eight found their way onto the flat bed tow truck during yesterday’s fourth stage. Despite being a multi-time Baja 500 and Baja 1000 overall winner, Petersen and White continue to hold to the plan they charted out months ago in the team’s Nevada shop. They will not charge the No. 351 to gain time and positions until the race’s final stages; if then.
With ten stages remaining in the 7,708 km/4,790 mile rally, Petersen remains the second highest-ranked American in the field. Fellow off-road expert Mark Miller sits 10th overall while NASCAR and experienced Dakar driver Robby Gordon sits ten spots behind Petersen, 36th overall, nearly four hours behind the leader.

Today’s fifth stage was the final full stage in the country of Morocco and took Petersen/White Lightning a total of 769 km/477.83 miles to the city of Tan Tan. The first liaison/connection on the stage south out of Ouarzazate covered 164 km/101.9 miles of paved roads. The last connection, also paved, into Tan Tan covered 280 km/174 miles. The special itself was a hodgepodge of the surfaces: mountains, sand, stone and dunes challenging Petersen’s driving and Stevenson’s navigation.

Program manager and entrant White continues to parallel Petersen in his No. 671 Toyota Land Cruiser. Longtime team technicians Nico Castellaccio (Tracy, Calif.) and Dennis Chizma (Las Vegas) are shadowing White, and often setting out on their own course, in their No. 891, three person, six-wheel T5 class truck. They offer the sole, full support of Petersen and Stevenson once the No. 572 of Darren Skilton (Long Beach, Calif., USA) fell out during the events second stage with an engine failure.

The sixth stage will bring new and unique challenges. It is the longest stage of the rally and, based on the number of entries that fell out in today’s longest stage to-date, will help decide who actually makes it to Dakar on January 21. They will leave the country of Morocco and enter into Mauritania before they enter the timed stage as they face an 817 km/507.7 mile expedition into Zouérat, Mauritania. Once in Mauritania, the No. 351 will face sand, pebbles and the undulating dunes of western Africa. Stevenson’s skill as a navigator will be key as few, if any, landmarks exist to point the way to Zouérat nearly 1,000km away. The special is a long 394 km/244.82 mile battle through the dunes. The soft sand dunes, while a specialty of Petersen’s, will require intense concentration to thread through before reaching the second liaison of the day, a short 9 km/5.59 mile dash into the bivouac. And, while physically, mental and emotionally draining as the day might be, the 580 km/360.4 mile Stage Six awaits the team before reaching their first rest day on Saturday, January 13.

Live Timing and Scoring and other Dakar-related information will be found at www.PetersenMotorsports.com Versus Network will carry highlights of the proceeding day’s activities at 3 PM and 5:30 PM (EST) [7:00 p.m. on OLN in Canada]. Petersen and White will also being doing periodic Podcast interviews with the American Le Mans Series which will be available via www.AmericanLeMans.com  and on iTunes, Podcast key word: American Le Mans Series.
 

Into Africa – Petersen/White Lightning Runs First Dakar Stage in Africa
Michael Petersen 25th Overall After Stage 3 from Nador to Er Rachidia
News from Darkhorse Autosport
Photos courtesy Petersen Motorsport/White Lightning Racing
ER RACHIDIA, Africa (January 8, 2007) — Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing made their first start of the Euromilhoes Dakar 2007 on the African continent today. Running from the port city of Nador to Er Rachidia, owner driver Michael Petersen (Las Vegas, Nev., USA) got his first taste of the African desert in true competition. The No. 351 MMPIE/PAWS/?.Com/BF Goodrich Chevrolet T1.3 class buggy slipped one spot overall to 25th today after turning-in the 36th overall quickest special stage time. It required them only three hours, 28 minutes and 50 seconds to cover the 252 km/156.5 mile special stage. Today’s third stage of the 29th running of the Dakar was the longest timed section that Petersen and co-driver Matthew Stevenson (Ipswich, England) have encountered thus far. Their time was 42 minutes and 38 seconds behind the stage-winning No. 301 Volkswagen. The No. 351 currently sits one hour, three minutes and 10 seconds out of the overall lead, an impressive first three stages for the two-time class winning team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in its debut in the world’s most challenging racing event. There are 177 entries in the “car” category competing for overall honors with Petersen/White Lightning.

Navigation was at a premium today as Stevenson called out the directions for Petersen. The special stage, and even the two liaisons that bookended it, required fulltime commitment to the map. The ever changing track surface coupled with the quick change in direction of the course kept both Petersen and Stevenson on their toes throughout the stage. The first liaison, a 205 km/127.4 miles blast on pavement, brought the SMG-built buggy to the timed section which was to be contested on gravel and included two streams to cross. Like most of the stages will be, the first African stage was unlike anything that the two Petersen/White Lightning drivers had faced to this point in 2007. Petersen and Stevenson then proceeded on pavement again to Er Rachidia, 192 km/119.3 miles southwest of the conclusion of the timed stage.

Now in Er Rachidia, the No. 351 comes under the attention of the team lead by program manager and entrant Dale White (Bozeman, MT., USA), who is driving the No. 671 Toyota Land Cruiser during the trek. Following the failure of a slave clutch cylinder in Sunday’s second liaison, the team also discovered a torn constant velocity (CV) joint boot on the two- wheel drive buggy. Along with the regular maintenance and repairs called for in this evening’s first planned service, Petersen/White Lightning technicians Nico Castellaccio (Tracy, Calif.) and Dennis Chizma (Las Vegas), who have been following the rally in a three person, six-wheel T5 class truck, will complete the CV boot repair and a front shock mount repair.

“It was rough. There are cars coming in torn to pieces,” said Petersen. “At least ours is still in one piece. The dust is a nightmare out there. I just cruised today. We’ll probably back off a little more tomorrow to make sure we keep trucking. Our goal is to make it to the finish. So breaking the car because we are pushing to move- up in the standings doesn’t make any sense. I’m still learning the buggy too. It has no brakes. You get on the pedal and it goes straight to the floor. I’ll just have to deal with this the rest of the time because it is in the design. We also have a broken front shock mount that they guys will try and fix tonight. We’ll cruise again tomorrow and just keep everything going. We’re not here to set any records we’re here to finish and learn.”

Tomorrow’s fourth stage from Er Rachidia to Ouarzazate continues the trio of vehicles— down from four after Darren Skilton (Long Beach, Calif.) had an engine failure in his T4 support truck on Sunday— march through Morocco. The 678 km/421.3 mile stage has a special timed section that more than doubles today’s special. A relatively short 96 km/59.65 mile run brings the No. 351 to its fourth time trial of the rally, a 405 km/251.65 mile battle through the dunes of northern Africa. Once Petersen and Stevenson have picked their way on, over and through the endless sand dunes of the stage, they will make the sprint through the second liaison of 198 km/123 miles to Ouarzazate and the first true, African desert bivouac of the rally.

Live Timing and Scoring and other Dakar-related information will be found at www.PetersenMotorsports.com  Versus Network will carry highlights of the proceeding day’s activities at 3 PM and 5:30 PM (EST). Petersen and White will also being doing periodic Podcast interviews with the American Le Mans Series which will be available via www.AmericanLeMans.com  and on iTunes, Podcast key word: American Le Mans Series.
 

Petersen/White Lightning Completes First Stage of Euromilhoes Dakar with Strong Run
28th-Place Finish in Stage 1 for Petersen, Stage 2 Set for Sunday Morning