Amateur Driver Ronn Bailey Relishing 13th Place Overall Finish in Stage 8 of Dakar 2006
- Despite Incredible Performance in the Toughest Stage, Bailey Later Forced to Withdraw Due to Missed Checkpoints and Time Penalties -
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 16 -- The 2006 Dakar concluded yesterday, ending the 15 day off-road rally with Team Vanguard's Philippe Gache crossing the finish line at Lac Rose in 12th position. Despite an incredible driving performance of amateur driver Ronn Bailey, CEO of Vanguard Integrity Professionals, the team's second buggy entry was forced to withdraw after missing two checkpoints in Stage 9 due to mechanical problems. Kevin Heath, the team's only motorcycle entry, suffered a compound fracture to his arm forcing him to withdraw in Stage 7.
In Stage 8, Bailey, the owner/driver of Ronn Bailey Motorsports, passed most of the world's top off-road professionals, including NASCAR's Robby Gordon, during one point in the 315 mile (508km) stage from Atar-to-Nouakchott, Mauritania which took the drivers through spectacular scenery of winding canyons and dry riverbeds.
"The standing joke at the bivouac was that my co-pilot, 16x Dakar champion Herve Cotel, and I had switched roles and that I was not driving," Bailey explained. Prior to the start of Stage 9, the next day of racing, Dakar racing officials went so far as to inspect Bailey's car to see if there were any unauthorized GPS or other navigating systems on board because everyone, including the race officials, thought it was so unbelievable for Bailey, an amateur, to finish 13th.
Unfortunately, early into Stage 9, Bailey's car experienced steering pump problems and the car had to be towed to checkpoint 1. Due to conflicting instructions from the Dakar support team, Bailey was held at checkpoint 1 for the rest of the day and towed to the next bivouac at night missing two checkpoints in the stage. As a result Bailey's car, number 354, was withdrawn from the race. Only 67 cars finished the rally.
"There is a silver lining in these series of circumstances as I was able to spend more time in the villages with my "Pens-for-Kids-to-Learn(TM)" campaign and handout the pens directly to the children," concludes Bailey. "The idea for this campaign started from my experiences during Dakar 2005. At the end of each day, we set camp near a village and we always received a warm welcome from the residents. What impressed me most were the children. Often times, the children would say to me "BIC, BIC, BIC." I wasn't sure what they meant, particularly in light of the language barrier on my part. I discovered they were asking me for pens. It turns out pens are in very short supply in this part of Africa and children are in dire need of pens for their education."
Besides Dakar 2006, Bailey, 56, has been in only two other off-road races, the 2005 Morocco Rally where he placed near the top 20, and the 2005 Dakar. Although he finished that race, he was declared "retired" by officials after being lost in a blinding sandstorm without gas or food for three days in Mauritania.
Vanguard Integrity Professionals is the sponsor of Ronn Bailey Motorsports for Dakar 2006.
For daily updates on the Dakar rally and for more information on Vanguard Integrity Professionals Inc., please visit http://www.go2vanguard.com/.
About Vanguard
Vanguard Integrity Professionals - Nevada is a pioneer and recognized world leader in security solutions for critical infrastructure computing. Since 1986, customers have looked to Vanguard as the single-source solution for increased security through robust software products, comprehensive support, in-depth training programs, expert consulting, and security system migrations. Vanguard's Professional Services team specializes in assisting organizations with the process of ensuring and protecting the integrity of their Information Systems and the confidentiality of their data. Each year, Vanguard produces the world's pre-eminent security conference: the 20th Annual Vanguard Enterprise Security Solutions(TM) & RACF Users Conference July 8 - 12, 2006 in San Diego, CA. More information on these and other Vanguard Integrity Professionals products is available online at www.go2vanguard.com, or by calling 1-877-794-0014.
(C) 2005 Vanguard Integrity Professionals, Inc. Vanguard Integrity Professionals, Team Vanguard Integrity Professionals, Ronn Bailey Motorsports and Pens-for-Kids-to-Learn are trademarks of Vanguard Integrity Professionals - Nevada or Vanguard Integrity Professionals, Inc. All other trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.