VW Dakar 07 Miller/Pitchford

[Mark_Miller]

few more pics, the big trucks are awesome to see what they can do!

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[RacingOne]

Hey Mark, the VW's sure look a lot shorter than the old verisons, looks like there is very little overhang at all. How much weight did they lose over the older verisons?

[Mark_Miller]

same wheelbase, just less overhang so a better angle of attack. It makes a huge difference in the dunes with the newer style front AOA.

As for the question on 5 drivers vs 4, I really do not have any insight into driver selection or numbers.

A side note to that is there is a semi-works car this year with a great team, Phoenix Racing from Germany, driver and co-driver, Carlos Sousa and Andy Schultz(Andy has won Dakar as a works Mitsubishi Nav and was Carlos Sainz right side last year), They have a different sponsor, Lagos Sport from Portugal. Carlos Sousa is a fast driver with good credentials and knows the game so he will be in the hunt also and he has all the same stuff we have as far as I know. So we still have 5 strong Race Touaregs.

As for consumption issue, It is a really big issue for the gasoline powered cars. This year there are new rules about refueling during a stage, it looks to me like you will not be able to refuel on a liason, which means you have to make it from the Bivouac to the Bivouac on fuel, this should work to our advantage as we get much better mileage that the gasoline powered cars.

[cvc motorsports]

Good Luck Mark! I always look forward to your call in reports. Your a class act! Be safe and have fun!

[ZequeArgentina]

Thanks Mark.

So definately consumption is still an issue.


Regaridng Nasser Al Attiyah, he is now World champion in Production World Rally Champ. (group N cars). He knows Dakar well, he is fast in theere (won stages in frist year of BMW X5s). one to watch.

And same can be said regarding Sousa. I do not know about his team and technical backing, but if it is good; he could be there if some of the tops Mitsus fails

[klaus]

Our friend Helge at Zitzewitz Rallye Weblog just pointed out to me that they have two audio interviews with Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford online now.

http://zitzewitz.com/dakar/podcast-m...alph-pitchford

Helge is the webmaster of Dirk Zitzewitz Weblog and will have outstanding updates during this years Dakar.

[baja619]

Outstanding Mark, You truely are an inspiration to all of us.

[FlyHiFlyLo]

The question is... Will the extra 3.7 ounces give his U.S. counterpart the edge needed?