January 16, 2012: A note from Mark McMillin from Lima, Peru

It's been a wonderful trip to the 2012 Dakar Rally and my teammate, Darren Skilton, driving the #375 race car did a great job finishing the Rally. Our McMillin Race crew supported Darren for the entire adventure. This is real racing here in South America and quite a challenge just to finish this race. We are on our way home to the United States and we'll see you all very soon.

Darren Skilton Earns a Well Deserved Break at Mid-Point of 2012 Dakar Rally

Day 7: Copiapo > Copiapo
January 7, 2012 | After days of battling fuel deliver issues that would send most competitors packing, Darren Skilton is finally finding his stride at the 2012 Dakar Rally. The Stage 7 loop starting and ending in Copiapo covered 417 kilometers with the most sand dunes to date. Competitors have been dropping out at a rapid rate and Dakar veteran Skilton new that he must merely survive Special Stage 7 in order to ensure the chance of a strong finish at the rally. This is a scenario that is not foreign to the 17-year racing resident, who is taking part in his ninth Dakar Rally. Last year the Long Beach resident won the Open Production 2 class in a General Tire-shod Ford Raptor.

Skilton finished Special Stage 7 in 44th place, reaching the finish line as the sun was setting and avoiding the dangers of navigating through the dunes at night. “We lost a tire today and I had to replace it with a new General Grabber on a non-beadlocked Method Race Wheel,” navigator Skyler Gambrell explained. “I was concerned about losing the bead since we were running only six pounds of air in the dunes, but it wasn’t a problem.” Darren and Skyler now sit in third in the Open Production 1 class after their second best stage finish of the rally.

Skilton’s Baja Automotive team now enjoys a much-needed rest day as they prep the Revolution VI for the second half of the 2012 Dakar Rally. After burning up two fuel pumps on Saturday the team plans to redesign the fuel system with a high-volume, low-pressure pump feeding a sump tank for the new high-pressure fuel pumps. On Monday the team heads north through the hostile Atacama Desert on the way towards their final goal in Lima, Peru.

Dakar Rally 2012- After Five Stages in Argentina
Darren Skilton Crosses the Andes into Chile

January 6, 2012 | On the road to Chilecito on Wednesday, Darren Skilton had to battle for every kilometer on Stage 4 of the Dakar Rally. “The frustrating part is that I know my car is very competitive,” Skilton explained. “I am so anxious to get this fuel issue resolved so I can really show what the Revolution VI is capable of.” What started as a bid for a top ten finish has turned into a fight just to survive each stage. When running properly, Skilton has demonstrated that both he and his General Tire-shod buggy are very fast. The team finished the special in 8 hours and 33 minutes, and then had to navigate to the bivouac in the dark on a narrow shelf road clinging to the side of a cliff through the Andes. “The Baja Designs HID lights on the front of the car are incredibly bright and tough as nails,” Skilton reported. “Visibility is one thing that I never have to concern myself with.”

On Thursday in Stage 5 the course was altered due to heavy rains that washed out the first 29 kilometers of the course. This shortened the already small Special Stage, and the rains provided the added benefit of traction in the notorious sand dunes of Fiambala. Unfortunately nagging fuel issues continue to hamper the team; and with late arrivals each night and no opportunity to test remedies before each stage the problem continues to elude resolution. Fortunately concerns about getting stuck or getting lost- problems that plagued the majority of the competitors last year- never surface in Stage 5. Skilton finished in 5:02, which is slower than the team’s expectations but impressive when you consider that over 100 of the 443 competitors that started the Dakar Rally on January 1st were merely spectators by the end of the fifth stage.

Special Stage 6 was cancelled due to heavy snow in the Andes, requiring the event organizers to re-route the entire convoy further south for passage to Copiapo. The race resumes on Saturday with a loop starting and ending in Copiapo before a much needed rest break on Sunday for Skilton’s Baja Automotive team. From there the rally marches north through the harsh Atacama Desert towards Lima, Peru.

We apologize for the lack of updates the past few days. Please understand that internet connectivity in rural South America is very limited.

Fuel Deliver Issues Hamper Darren Skilton But He Will Not Be Stopped

January 4, 2012 | After a strong finish on the first short special, Darren Skilton made the long liaison to Santa Rosa de la Pampa. The second day of the Dakar Rally started with another long drive, including deep silt beds and square ledges… and that was just on the liaison! When the 290 kilometer special stage started, initially Skilton was able to run his car wide open on the loose gravel roads. “The V8 engine and X-Trac transmission allows me to reach speeds over 120 miles per hour in the right conditions,” Skilton shared. Unfortunately the conditions deteriorated as the stage went on, culminating in the dreaded Nihuil dunes. Fuel delivery issues in the scorching heat of the black sand brought the Revolution VI buggy to a halt on multiple occasions, giving up valuable time to the lead cars. “We had to pour our water onto the fuel pump whenever the problem surfaced,” explained navigator Skyler Gambrell.

The team also lost a wheel off the vehicle late in the special stage, costing even more time. Sounds bad? The black volcanic sand dunes ended the aspirations of Carlos Sainz and Stéphane Peterhansel in 2009, when both rolled in this same area. “I have driven the Dakar Rally enough to know not to get rattled this early in the race,” Skilton stated. “Skyler and I were able to complete the stage without harming the car and I am confident my crew will have the fuel delivery problems sorted by morning.” The third stage of the rally travels on fast gravel roads through the Argentine wine region of Mendoza on its way to San Juan, providing Skilton with another opportunity to uncork his Redline Performance engine.

Dakar Rally Stage 3- Darren Skilton Soldiers On To San Juan

January 3, 2012 | At Stage 2 of the Dakar Rally on Monday, Darren Skilton experienced fuel delivery issues in his Revolution VI buggy that pushed him to the back of the pack, yet Skilton and navigator Skyler Gambrell were still able to complete the stage under their own power. That evening Skilton’s crew made aerodynamic modifications to provide additional airflow to the fuel pumps in an effort to remedy the issues. In short, this was not successful. Just 40 kilometers before the beginning of the special stage, the General Grabbers on Skilton’s car stopped turning due to the same fuel problems. The team was able to coax the car to the start line without any time penalties, but that was just the start of the special stage!

While pushing hard to close the gap on the competition, Skilton slid into a sharp rock and damaged a tire, then later on the fuel issues surfaced yet again. “The pumps were actually not that hot,” Gambrell explained. “The fuel in the tank is cool, but with three separate fuel cells there is a collection point with a filter ahead of the pumps. We bypassed this system and did not experience any more fuel delivery problems after that.” Already starting in the back of the pack, once they stopped the team was caught in traffic with the huge T4 trucks, which quickly degraded the track conditions and visibility.

Skilton finished 118th for the day, completing the 208 km special stage in 4 hours and 52 minutes. “I am heartbroken that my teammate Mark McMillin was not able to continue the rally,” Skilton noted. “He has graciously offered his support to my race effort and that has been extremely helpful already.” The team now heads to Chilecito in the shadow of the Andes mountains, with elevations on Stage 5 topping 10,000 feet.

Darren Skilton Finishes One Second Behind Nasser Al-Attiyah
On First Stage of Dakar Rally

January 2, 2012 | Dakar Rally has typically started with WRC-style gravel roads since moving to South America, but this year the ASO course designers headed straight for the coastal dunes at Necochea for a 57 kilometer special stage to start the 2012 rally. Darren Skilton finished just one second behind 2010 champion Nasser Al-Attiyah and 9:51 behind the lead car when the times were tallied. “To be honest the size of the dunes took me by surprise,” Skilton admitted. “Skyler (Gambrell- Skilton’s navigator) and I just aired down the General Grabbers and had no problems staying on top of the sand.” Then with the long liaison Skilton aired the Grabbers back up and made his way to Santa Rosa de la Pampa in comfort.

Now that the first stage is under the tires, Skilton is pleased. “I am very happy with my team composition and how my car performed. A strong start builds confidence and allows us to save our energy for the challenges that await.” Stage 2 brings another long liaison to Nihuil, where Skilton and Gambrell will race through even larger sand dunes in Nihuil. These black dunes were the demise of Nasser Al-Attiyah in 2009 and pose an even bigger challenge than those on the first stage. “While my Revolution VI is only two-wheel drive, the floatation offered by the General Grabbers when aired down on the Method beadlocks gives us an advantage over the restricted four-wheel drive cars.”

Darren Skilton Looks For Back To Back Victories For General Tire
In His Return To The Legendary Dakar Rally

December 30, 2011 | Darren Skilton has an addiction with Dakar that began over a decade ago. Since that time he has become the United States representative for the race’s sanctioning body (ASO) and returned to the rally in a myriad of capacities including navigator, support driver, mechanic, and racer. Last year Skilton and journalist Sue Mead won the Open Production class in a Ford Raptor shod with production General Grabber tires, but this year Skilton is looking to up the ante by jumping into the deep end of the pool, taking on heavy hitters such as Robby Gordon. “Volkswagen’s departure from the rally really opens up the field to privateers like myself,” Skilton commented. “I have a competitive car that has just been sitting and waiting for the right opportunity. That opportunity has arrived.”

Skilton will be piloting his SPD-built car in the Open Production class for SCORE-legal vehicles- SPD is responsible for championship-winning Trophy Trucks and hopes to add the Dakar Rally to their list of accomplishments. The unique vehicle uses full independent suspension and the latest King Racing Shocks. Each corner rides on Method Race Wheels shod in 35-inch General Grabber rubber. “Most American cars are too wide and heavy for the Dakar tracks, leading to flat tires and burned clutches in the dunes. My vision was to combine the best of American desert racing with the latest European rally technology. I am grateful that General Tire shares my vision and is giving my team the opportunity to earn them another Dakar victory,” Skilton explained.

Navigating for Skilton will be talented fabricator and fellow Baja 1000 class winner Skyler Gambrell. It is also worth noting that Gambrell is a championship mountain bike racer with the physical prowess necessary to endure the non-stop punishment that the Dakar Rally is famous for. “I am new to the navigation aspect of endurance rallying but bring a strong mechanical background and a never give up attitude to the cockpit. I look forward to the adventure of a lifetime in the Dakar Rally." The duo is joined by a veteran rally raid crew that possesses all of the resources and experience necessary to ensure success at the 2012 Dakar Rally.