A Yucca Valley man had a great Dakar Experience. Blade Hildebrand, 21, was one of three teammates representing Team USA in the Dakar Rally 2020, which was held January 5-17 for the first time in Saudi Arabia. Racing for 12 days in a side-by-side vehicle across 4,700 miles, of which 75 percent was in sand, Hildebrand got stuck in Stage 2 and was forced to withdraw from the race; however, under new rules, he was able to continue the rest of the race in a new classification, the “Dakar Experience,” in which the racer is included in stage rankings, but is not included in the overall rankings or classification. Hildebrand led or was just a few seconds behind the leader from stage 7 on. He was a top 3 finisher in the Dakar Rally, was just 30 seconds behind the overall leader of the side-by-side class, and came in a minute faster than the driver who officially placed second.
