Having won the dubious distinction of crashing more than any other driver in NASCAR's Nextel Cup during the 2004 season, pundits were betting that Gordon would not last more than four or five days in the 17-day-long running of the 2005 Dakar. Few were terribly surprised when he won the first stage in Barcelona, as it was nothing more than a really short 2.5-mile stage along the beach. Veterans knew all too well that a win there was meaningless. Nonetheless, Gordon's first-day victory did mean a lot to him, as he became the first-ever American to win a stage and the first to lead the event overall. (In all fairness, we should point out that American Jimmy Lewis has lead the event and won stages in the past on a motorcycle, but like Baja, the motorcycles are really treated as a separate event.)
The second stage saw a win from Scotsman Colin McRae, without a doubt the most famous driver in the Dakar. Although he might be a former Word Rally Champion and star of the famous computer game, like Gordon he was a rookie in 2004 when he drove for the Nissan team. He finished 20th after getting stuck in the sand dunes in a remote part of the Sahara desert for more than a day. Despite the setback, he vowed to finish the event rather than quit, which would have been easy to do for a star used to winning. McRae was amazed at the incredible will to just finish the event that overcomes top drivers, even if they can't win.
Gordon really impressed everyone when he won the 77-mile-long stage in Morocco on the fourth day and re-took the overall lead. The stage was set for an epic race between these two strong-willed drivers. McRae had said he would win the 2005 Dakar, and he wasn't about to let an American rookie beat him.
Not surprisingly, McRae then set the fastest time on the next stage and took the overall lead with Gordon, who sat nine minutes back in Seventh position after suffering from tire problems and being more cautious.
Now the race had left the relatively developed tracks of Morocco and was heading into the never-ending sand dunes of the Sahara Desert in Mauritania. Everything fell apart for these two drivers on the seventh day during a 307-mile stage. Both rolled their vehicles at high speed within two miles of each other on the first long stage. Fortunately, Gordon and his German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz were uninjured, and the Race Touareg was not too seriously damaged. McRae's accident was worse, and he was slightly injured. The Nissan pickup was past repair, and the race was over for McRae and his Swedish co-driver Tina Thorner.
Not surprisingly, Gordon was ready to quit at this point. However, his co-driver persuaded him to stick with it while they waited for the VW service truck to arrive and tow the car to that night's bivouac. The VW mechanics were able to repair the vehicle so it was race ready the next day. However, Gordon was now in 121st position, which meant he'd have to start in that position and fight his way through clouds of dust to pass slower competitors seeded ahead of him. Meanwhile, a good time by Saby had elevated him to first overall, so at least a VW was still leading. With Gordon out of the running for a high finish, he was now under team orders to run behind Kleinschmidt to act as support for her should she need assistance.
By this point, experience and patience was the name of the game. In an event like Dakar, everyone suffers from punctures, breakdowns and getting stuck. Teamwork becomes the order of the day as competitors help each other out.
It was on the 12th day when Gordon became a hero. Suddenly, without any warning, Kleinschmidt's power steering went haywire, and she could not control her Touareg. Although Gordon was behind her, he was ahead in accumulative time with a chance of winning the stage. He stopped to check the situation and quickly realized that in order to save Kleinschmidt's race, the only thing to do was dismantle the steering mechanism from his car and put in on her vehicle. In less than two hours, the task was accomplished and she was on her way.
Despite losing all that time, she managed to hold on to Third place overall-a position she kept to the finish a few days later. It was the first time a diesel-powered vehicle had finished on the podium in the Dakar race, and maybe in any major auto race in the world. "A gigantic thank you goes to Robby! He is an incredible mechanic and changed my steering in less than two hours," said Kleinschmidt later. Meanwhile, Gordon admitted on TV that he "threw a temper tantrum" when he realized he'd have to sacrifice his time on the stage for Jutta.
Gordon eventually finished in 12th position, 21 hours behind the winner, but nonetheless the best finish for an American in a car since Malcolm Smith finished 4th in 1988. More important, VW's great finish would never have occurred had it not been for Gordon's prowess as a mechanic. "Robby Gordon began as a star and ended as a team player" was the VW team's statement on TV during the race show.
"I totally underestimated what it took to finish Dakar," admitted Gordon at the finish. "By far the toughest thing I've done in my life. I'll be back. I want to win Dakar, I'd like to have it on my resume."