Friday's journey from Mendoza to Valparaiso seemed effortless for Team Dakar USA. Through a variety of terrains and landscapes, the team's Hummers performed at optimal levels. Once again the A.S.O. shortened the route due to the difficulties the drivers encountered in the last section of dunes in the sixth stage.

Eric Vigouroux and rider Alex Winocq were the lower finishers on Team Dakar USA. The two made it through stage seven with a seventh place finish.

"We had a great run today," stated Vigouroux. "I can't begin to tell you how excited Alex and I are that we were able to finish today's special in the top-10. Even though we got stuck in the mud, we were able recover very fast and not lose too much time. We finished seventh, 11:30 minutes behind Sainz and about 7 minutes behind the Monster team."

With their seventh place finish, Vigouroux and Winocq jumped up to 26th in the overall standings.

Robby Gordon and Andy Grider highlighted the Team Dakar USA results with their third place finish in stage seven of the event. The duo now sit at fifth in the overall standings, 1 hour, 18 minutes behind the leader Carlos Sainz.

"Today was a very good day for Team Dakar USA," commented Robby Gordon. "I believe that we could have won today's stage if we had not had to slow down for mud in a dry lake bed. It rained here a couple days ago, so the lake bed was very slippery, forcing us to be conservative during this section so that we did not get stuck. We still finished third, 4:13 minutes behind Carlos Sainz. We were also able to jump to fifth in the overall standings. All in all, I am happy with where we ended up."

On Saturday, the participants will get a rest from the competition. The 2009 Dakar Rally will resume on Sunday January 11.