After the 11th stage of the Dakar Rally was cancelled due to excessive fog, the competitors took the wheel on Thursday looking to pick things up on stage 12. Due to archeological findings in the Fiambala region, the stage was shortened by 30-km. Leader Carolos Sainz was forced to withdraw after being involved in a wreck that injured his co-driver. The withdrawal took him off of the lead position.

Driving the No. 324 Vanguard Hummer, Eric Vigouroux collected a 12th place finish in the drive from Fiambala to La Rioja. Vigouroux is slowly creeping his way up the overall standings, and currently rests at 15th.

"We have been steadily and quietly moving our way up the leader board," commented Vigouroux. "We finished today's stage 12th. I am proud of what Alex and I have been able to accomplish thus far in the Dakar Rally in the No. 324 Vanguard Hummer. I hadn't had much seat time in the Hummer before the race started, so I am surpassing my expectations. Team Dakar USA is an impressive operation, and I am proud to be part of it."

Robby Gordon continued placing high finishes in the Rally, ending the 12th stage in third. With Gainz's wreck, Gordon moved up to third in the overall standings. With the Dakar Rally in its closing stages, Gordon hopes that he can take the No. 309 Monster Energy Toyo Tires Hummer to the top of the charts.

"I know that I keep saying this every day, but it was another good day for Team Dakar USA despite getting stuck late in the stage," stated Gordon. "We got trapped on top of a bed of rocks, which burnt the clutch. As a result, we were only able to drive the Monster Energy Hummer in first gear to the finish, which was about 80 km away. I bet that we lost about 45 minutes easy, but the leaders only beat us by 25. All in all, we got another solid third place finish. I think that is the fourth time this year that we finished third. We are right where we want to be going into the last days of the Rally, so I would not count out Team Dakar USA just yet. Until Carlos Sainz rolled his race vehicle in a ravine today, he had run a flawless race and everyone would have thought that he had it locked up. It is the Dakar Rally and anything can happen."