Monday, June 30, 2008 | 5:04 p.m.
Las Vegas resident Ronn Bailey finished the first 10,000-kilometer Transorientale Rally in 29th among 37 cars.
The race started in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 12 and finished Saturday at the Great Wall of China in Beijing.
The first five stages of the rally covered the forests, mountains and plains of Russia, then four days rolled over vast plains and treacherous mountain regions of Kazakhstan. The final seven days traversed over sand dunes and into inner Mongolia.
Jose-Luis Monterde and Jean-Marie Lurquin won the rally in their Schlesser-designed buggy.
Bailey competed in a custom rig with a carbon-fiber shell and dragons painted on both sides. He had been among the top 10 most of the race, but he encountered electrical problems and endured a crash with an official organization vehicle.
An adventurer whose Las Vegas-based information security technology company Vanguard Integrity Professionals, Inc., has made him a fortune, Bailey failed to finish three Dakar rallies.
He will compete in the next Dakar in January. Because of terrorist threats, the 2008 Dakar was canceled. The 2009 version will take place in South America and will snake drivers through Patagonia, the Andes Mountains and the Atacama Desert, the driest in the world.
Two months ago, engine problems forced him to quit the FIA OPTIC 2000 Tunisia Rally 2008 in the Sahara Desert.
Bailey's car shop is in Boulder City.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy