Off-road racing is possibly the greatest test bed for proving the Hummers durability, reliability and overall continued quality, said AM General executive director of commercial operations Bill Thompson.
"To finish first, you must first finish,"says Rod Hall. "There may be faster vehicles, but in off-road racing, speed is secondary to reliability." Hall has raced for more than 30 years and says nothing compares with driving the Hummer. In fact, he was so impressed with the Hummer's performance that he now refuses to race anything but a Hummer. And at his racing school in Reno, Nevada, Hall teaches racing Hummers exclusively.
The extremes to which the vehicle is pushed during the races, which range in length from 200 to 750 miles, provide an accelerated look at the effects of wear on different parts of the vehicle. "We can do a month's worth of research in a day," says Hall. "We're taking these vehicles to speeds that the consumer military driver may not reach."
AM General has studied the aftereffects of the speed and conditions on the vehicle and has followed up with modifications on different areas of the Hummer, such as the ball joints, rod ends, steering and production components.
The Rod Hall International racing team is preparing for several important races in 1998, including the Tonopah 300 April 18-19, the Silver State 300 June 27 and 28, the Las Vegas to Reno October 2 and 3, the Baja 1000 November 11 and 14, and the Terrible Town 200 December 5 and 6. The RHI team is also planning to compete in the Dakar rally in January 1999.
The biggest challenges in Rod Hall's off-road racing schedule are the Las Vegas to Reno and the Baja 1000. In the Las Vegas to Reno
