It has long been a vision of Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing owner Michael Petersen (Las Vegas) and team manager Dale White (Bozeman, Mt.) to win in every major endurance event in the world. The two are well on their way with victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (’03 and ’04), the 24 At Daytona (’01), the 12 Hours of Sebring (’05), the Petit Le Mans (’05), the 6 Hours At The Glen (’98) and the Monterey Sports Car Championships (’05) already crossed-off the list in sports car racing. Prior to becoming one of the most decorated, privately-owned Porsche teams in road racing, the pair joined to dominate off-road competition for Chevrolet. In total they earned four victories (three overall) in both the Baja 1000 and Baja 500 as well as over 50 other major victories. Now, Petersen and White will begin a serious effort at conquering what is considered the most daunting of all motorsports events: Dakar. For Dakar 2006, the two will follow only the early stages of the event to get more acquainted with the overall procedures and processes in participating in such a major event. With the knowledge learned during these early “sprints”, as well as over a decade of international motorsports experience, they will begin serious preparations on an assault planned for 2007 or ’08. This is the second time the two longtime partners have visited Dakar, the first coming in 2001. Crew chief Stefan Pfeiffer (Croatia) is a multi-time participant in the world-renowned rally. Petersen and White will travel to Lisboa, Portugal for the December 31^st competitor briefing and first stage. From there they will travel with the Dakar race through to the south of Spain. They will then return to the United States to prepare for the 2006 ALMS season. Overall, the event will travel from Lisboa to Dakar, Africa completing the 15 stages on January 15 after covering 9,043 kilometers.
The big question is what vehicle will  Petersen and White pick to take on the Daker !. We will keep you posted.