For all intents and purposes, the 2015 Dakar Rally campaign for American-favorite Robby Gordon was a success. While Gordon did not win the Dakar thanks to some bad luck along the way, 2015 was definitely a learning year for both he and his team to be able to come back even stronger in 2016.

Endurance racing is tough – then when you combine some of mother earth’s most harsh environments and grueling terrain, you have the Dakar Rally in a nutshell. While the final stage has come and gone, Gordon was able to prove his talent once again by winning the thirteenth and final stage of the Dakar in an impressive performance.

The final stage win for Gordon, consisting of 140-kilometers (cut short due to weather), proved to be an exciting one as he made his presence known by dominating. What’s more, the win in the last stage gave Gordon an overall finishing position of nineteenth – an impressive finish considering there were 138 cars entered into the rally.

Gordon is no stranger to competition, competing in and winning countless North American desert races, but the Dakar Rally has proved to be a challenge, as it should be. It’s a much longer race than any North American desert race, and the conditions are much more diverse and extreme. While Gordon had over $100-million in financial backing for the 2015 Dakar Rally, he was facing teams with more entrants and seemly endless budgets, aka factory teams, which isn’t always the easiest to compete against.

All in all, nineteenth out of 138 entrants is pretty amazing, and we commend Gordon and his team on their efforts!