Sole U.S. Dakar 2005 Car Team, Vanguard Racing, Seeks Victory in the World's Longest Race - a 7,000 Mile/16-Day Off-Road Challenge Amateur Racer, Computer Security Industry Guru Ronn Bailey and Off-Road Veteran Steve Myers Will Co-Pilot Custom Race Car LAS VEGAS, Nov. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanguard Racing, the only U.S. car team brave enough to enter the world's longest and most challenging off-road race, is committed to winning the grueling 7,000 mile, 16-day legendary race going from Barcelona, Spain to Dakar, Senegal during January 1-17, 2005. The team will be co-piloted by amateur driver and computer security industry guru Ronn Bailey, CEO and president of Vanguard Integrity Professionals - Nevada, along with Baja Road Race veteran Steve Myers. Bailey is investing nearly $1 million of his personal fortune as an amateur heading a professional team in the world's harshest off-road venture, fulfilling a lifelong dream to compete in this "unbelievable" event. The Dakar Rally, now in its 27th year, is second only to World Cup Soccer in worldwide popularity -- nearly one million people turning out to watch the 2004 start in Barcelona. This year's road race will feature numerous navigational, course and crossing challenges as cars, trucks and motorcycle competitors wind through Spain, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali and finally Senegal. Dakar started in 1978 when a well-known racer, Thierry Sabine, got lost in the desert a year earlier during the off-road, Abidjan-Nice Rally. Once found, Sabine vowed to begin a race that captured his extreme desert experience. No race compares to the Dakar in driving conditions, danger or distance. Without driving on a single paved road, it is the equivalent distance Los Angeles to New York and back, with an additional trip to Denver in just over two weeks. Dakar means no roads for thousands of miles, through sand dunes and savannahs, broiling sun and a dryness unlike anything ever experienced. Historically, most who start the Dakar don't finish due to physical exhaustion or other factors. Participants may encounter "bandidos" or local wars, be kidnapped, shot at or stopped by the elements, so the U.S. team is prohibited from flying its colors. Also, this year, drivers need to avoid 20,000 legacy land mines buried beneath the race course. Team Vanguard The Team Vanguard Dakar configuration is actually three vehicles: The race car; the chase car; and a large truck/bus-like support vehicle. Ronn Bailey and Steve Myers will drive the race vehicle as Pilot and Co-Pilot, respectively. The other team members are all off-road racing professionals with solid credentials and years of off-road racing experience. The race car itself is being built from scratch in just 3 months. Steve Myers is a second-generation off-road racer. Along with his father, he was part of the Toyota Motors Factory Team for off-road racing for several years. Today, he's a national champion driver who is the top off-road race series SCORE points holder in 2004, and likely to be inducted into the Off- Road Hall of Fame in the very near future. Myers says, "There is no doubt in my mind that with the right equipment and an experienced crew -- both of which we have -- that we can win in Dakar." Although an off-road-racing amateur, Team Vanguard Pilot Ronn Bailey is fueled by an unshakable passion for victory. According to Bailey, "Just to enter Dakar is an experience of a lifetime. To finish Dakar is to be a champion. To win Dakar is to become an instant legend." Bailey is not new to the off-road experience, as he has ridden his motorcycle into the Artic Circle, engineered a trip into the Mayan jungle, and driven through roadless terrain to reach Mexico's Sea of Cortez. As CEO and CTO of Vanguard Integrity Professionals, Bailey is a leader in information security technology, a sterling reputation he's earned over 30 years. Bailey and Vanguard have worked with hundreds of Fortune 1,000 companies internationally to identify, clarify and resolve computer system security issues. Bailey also has advised the governments of Australia, Brazil, Japan as well as the United States on critical infrastructure security matters. He helped craft the 'National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace' document for President Bush and his Critical Information Protection Board. Also, he has advised the Foreign Intelligence Committee, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the United Nations on security matters. Now, Bailey is focusing on the world stage in the 2005 Dakar Rally with the same passion, determination and intensity that has made Vanguard successful around the globe. With the increasing U.S. media coverage of asphalt racing, and growing interest in off-road Baja races, the worldwide interest and excitement in the Dakar challenge may soon spread to the U.S., particularly as the all American Team Vanguard speeds closer to the finish line. For more information on Team Vanguard's progress, please visit http://www.vanguardracing.com/. For more information on Vanguard Integrity Professionals Inc., please visit http://www.go2vanguard.com/. DATASOURCE: Vanguard Racing CONTACT: Andrew Lavin of Lavin Communications, +1-212-290-9540, cell - +1-646-872-0921, , for Vanguard Racing Web site: http://www.vanguardracing.com/ http://www.go2vanguard.com/

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