Wolfsburg (15 January 2011). Tumultuous celebration at the “Dakar” finish: Volkswagen has won the Dakar Rally for the third time in succession. Standing alongside Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) on the podium in Buenos Aires on Sunday will be Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) and Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E). In front of millions of enthusiastic spectators the new Race Touareg 3 scored a much celebrated one-two-three finish in the desert classic through Argentina and Chile. As a result, Volkswagen is the only manufacturer to have won the automobile category in the desert classic with diesel technology – and remains unbeaten on the South American continent thanks to TDI power. To complete the victory all three cars must still roll across the winner’s ramp on Sunday and midday local time in Buenos Aires.

Three Volkswagen “Dakar” winners on the Podium

With Nasser Al-Attiyah from Qatar and Timo Gottschalk from Germany a third duo clinched a “Dakar” victory for Volkswagen in the 33rd running of the motorsport marathon. Thanks to superior and exceptionally durable high-tech made in Wolfsburg, the three victorious driver/co-driver pairs from the previous three years mount the winners’ podium as first, second and third – an expression of a harmonious and strong driving squad that dominated the 2011 “Dakar” from the beginning.

Volkswagen alone is credited with 12 of a possible 13 stage victories. Carlos Sainz realised a personal best with his stage victory on the way to Buenos Aires: Now with stage win number 24 he surpasses the 23 stage victories scored in the car class by current rival Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel. One of the Volkswagen teams led the rally, with its many extremely hard stages, from the start. The challenges: winding gravel roads, soft and deep desert sand in the unrelenting Atacama Desert, navigationally demanding sections through labyrinth-like canyons and washed-out river beds as well as spectacular river crossings. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) completed the solid Volkswagen team performance in sixth position. All four Race Touareg 3 that started finished the rally in leading positions and continued the success story of enviable reliability: Volkswagen has not recorded a single technically related retirement in cross country rallying in four years.

The three pillars of a historic victory

Reliable technology, perfect teamwork and strong driver squad – Volkswagen once again set the standards during the 2011 Dakar Rally with this winning formula. The TDI technology, which represents efficiency and reliability in millions of Volkswagen road cars, revolutionised cross country rallying. Thanks to the powerful and compact design it is also pioneering in the “Dakar”. The four 310 hp Race Touareg 3 spooled-off the approximate 9,600 kilometres overall distance with clockwork precision – and in the process always perfectly prepared for the forthcoming rally day by a closely-knit team and prepared tactically astute by Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. In addition to the service crew on location, the employees in Wolfsburg and Hanover undertook careful preparatory work beforehand – indispensable for the “Dakar” win. The technological basis – unbeaten since the end of 2008 – was converted by Sainz/Cruz into seven, Al-Attiyah/Gottschalk into four and de Villiers/von Zitzewitz into one stage victory.

The three: new Race Touareg triumph on debut

The third generation Race Touareg equipped with a 2.5 litre TDI engine and permanent four-wheel drive completed its “Dakar” premiere successfully from the beginning. The power unit’s in-line 5-cylinder, bi-turbo design guaranteeing compact dimensions and low overall weight when compared to its direct competition proved to be the best overall package for the third time in succession suiting both the WRC-like tracks and the extreme dune crossings. The TDI engine in the Race Touareg 3 is one of the most powerful and, at the same time, most efficient diesel power units in motorsport.

On extremely hot stages, where ambient temperatures neared 60 degrees Celsius, the new cooling concept paid dividends for the extreme prototype from Wolfsburg. Thanks to improved air flow and an optimised radiator the Race Touareg 3 shrugged off the boiling heat in Chile’s Atacama Desert and the extreme conditions in the notorious dunes in the Sierras Pampeanas around Fiambalá in Argentina. Reliability combined with speed – on every terrain Volkswagen demonstrated its technical expertise during the 2011 “Dakar”.

The three: multiple-winners made in Wolfsburg

One-two in 2009, one-two-three in 2010, one-two-three in 2011 – Volkswagen continues an irresistible winning streak in the Dakar Rally. The Wolfsburg based brand has been pace setter since the event moved from Africa to South America. In January 2009, Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz recorded the brand’s first “Dakar” victory since the prototype project started in 2004, followed by their team mates Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA). It was the second Volkswagen win in motorsport’s toughest test after Freddy Kottulinsky/Gerd Löffelmann (S/D) had won in a production based Volkswagen Iltis in 1980. In 2010, the first one/two/three followed with Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E) claiming victory from their Volkswagen team mates Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) in the closest ever “Dakar” finish in history. Number three marks the successful revenge for Al-Attiyah/Gottschalk – also an important entry in their career histories.

Nasser Al-Attiyah becomes the first Arab in the desert classic’s history to be presented with the big “Dakar” trophy. The Qatari won in his sixth “Dakar” competition, his second for Volkswagen, for the first time. His navigator Timo Gottschalk is only the fourth co-driver, after Gerd Löffelmann, Andreas Schulz and Dirk von Zitzewitz, to bring the “Dakar” victory to Germany – a premiere for the vehicle technology engineer living in Rheinsberg, Brandenburg.

Quotes

Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)

“The third successive ‘Dakar’ victory for Volkswagen is a historic performance which was achieved thanks to perfect teamwork, exceptional driving and navigational skills and more specifically thanks to superior technology. I’m incredibly proud of the entire team, both the employees who made this win possible and also the team with its superhuman efforts here on location. It was without a shadow of doubt the toughest ‘Dakar’ that we have ever contested, and also probably the best organised. My compliments therefore also go to the organiser A.S.O. I think we proved that the Race Touareg 3 is currently the world’s most reliable and strongest cross country rally vehicle. This is the result of years of hard work. Congratulations to Nasser Al-Attiyah and Timo Gottschalk who have worked outstandingly and obviously also to the other Volkswagen pairs who made this one-two-three finish possible.”

#302 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q), 2nd place leg / 1st position overall

“My first ‘Dakar’ win. I’m absolutely delighted to have been the first Arab to win the world’s toughest desert rally. These feelings are incredibly difficult to express in words. I reached my greatest goal thanks to the world’s best cross country rally car and the best team in this sport. I’m delighted for the entire squad which slaved around the clock for three weeks for this victory. In Timo Gottschalk I have an exceptional co-driver at my side, who played an immense role in this victory. Today we’ll party like there’s no tomorrow.”

#302 – Timo Gottschalk (D), co-driver

“Victory in the ‘Dakar’ – I can still hardly believe it. Over last few days we built up a comfortable advantage and things looked really good for us in the previous stages. Nevertheless, everybody ignored any thoughts of victory, because anything can happen in this rally even within sight of the finish. I’m proud and happy about the win. It was the hardest ‘Dakar’ which I have ever contested. We’ve now spent two weeks at the absolute physical limit. The organiser kept its promise of wanting to stage the toughest Dakar Rally ever. To have won exactly this one is an incredibly good feeling.”

#308 – Giniel de Villiers (ZA), 4th place leg / 2nd position overall

“The Dakar Rally is an extremely long race during which a great deal can happen. At the beginning we tried to drive cautiously and tactically. Because you only have a chance of getting a good result if you reach the finish. This approach brought us second place and I’m delighted about the result. A podium finish in the Dakar Rally is always something special. Something we can personally be proud of. The team can be proud of making first, second and third positions possible.”

#308 – Dirk von Zitzewitz (D), co-driver

“An incredibly demanding ‘Dakar’ because the days were extremely long. In the mornings you had to get up very early, we only reached the bivouac in the late afternoon. There were loads of changes to the roadbook, which duly gave us co-drivers plenty of work during the night. The stages were also physically challenging. In the Atacama Desert the navigation could certainly have been a little more challenging, which was the case in Argentina, as is fitting for a ‘Dakar’. My highlight was the Fiambalá stage which we won because of perfect navigation. All in all a positive Dakar Rally for me – especially because second overall was the reward.”

#300 – Carlos Sainz (E), 1st place leg / 3rd position overall

“All in all I’m more than satisfied with 2011 Dakar Rally. I think that my co-driver Lucas Cruz and I did a good job and therefore were rightfully fighting for victory for a long time. Unfortunately two bad days and several mistakes cost us any chance of overall victory. But this is the Dakar Rally: You always have to be alert. I’m delighted for the entire Volkswagen team, which truly deserves this one-two-three finish, and to have contributed to it. Everybody worked hard for this win.”

#300 – Lucas Cruz (E), co-driver

“This was by far the most challenging ‘Dakar’ that I have ever completed. It was full of tricky situations for a navigator which had to be solved with caution. There were plenty of dune sections of soft sand which meant an incredible amount of work for the driver in the cockpit. On top of this were the WRC-like sections with jumps and extreme temperatures. The rally was very varied. However, the Race Touareg 3 is the perfect car for such conditions. From the sporting point of view we were beaten for the first time since Carlos Sainz and I compete together. However, I think that we nevertheless did a good job. Luck deserted us on occasion.”

#304 – Mark Miller (USA), 5th place leg / 6th position overall

“This ‘Dakar’ was a wonderful event, with many interesting stages that demanded everything from man and machine. Unfortunately we lost so much time already on the second stage that we were out of the battle for overall victory. Our role was then to support our team mates – a task we were happy to do. When you work an entire year as team for victory, it goes without saying that you support one another to reach the targets. We did exactly this with energy and vigour on the eleventh stage to help Carlos Sainz onto the podium.”

#304 – Ralph Pitchford (ZA), co-driver

“This year on the Dakar Rally there were many hard stages that ran through fascinating landscapes. Mark and I had real highlight stages which we really enjoyed. Unfortunately we lost our chance of overall victory right at the beginning. However, I’m delighted for the entire team that it turned out to be a one-two-three finish. I think this is just reward. Now, after the last stage and after all the tension has gone we’ll have a big celebration. It was fantastic to have worked together with this team. We have all earned the fun and relaxation which comes now.”

Number of the day

During the 33rd running of the desert classic, the total length of felt pen markings made while “Dakar” winner Timo Gottschalk prepared his road book was 120 metres. For better identification of the directions at rally pace the German uses five different day-glow marker pens.

Results

Final result after leg 13, Córdoba (RA)–Buenos Aires (RA); 181/826 km SS 13/total

Pos. Team Vehicle Leg 13 Total time

1 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D); Volkswagen Race Touareg 3 1h 16m 46s (2); 45h 16m 16s

2 Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D); Volkswagen Race Touareg 3; 1h 18m 06s (4) + 49m 41s

3 Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E); Volkswagen Race Touareg 3; 1h 16m 08s (1) + 1h 20m 38s

4 Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-P. Cottret (F/F); BMW X3 CC; 1h 19m 05s (6) + 1h 43m 48s

5 Krzysztof Holowczyc/Jean-Marc Fortin (PL/B); BMW X3 CC; 1h 17m 33s (3) + 4h 11m 21s

6 Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA); Volkswagen Race Touareg 3; 1h 18m 10s (5) + 4h 54m 42s

7 Ricardo Leal dos Santos/Paulo Fiuza (P/P); BMW X3 CC; 1h 27m 16s (11) + 6h 50m 07s

8 Christian Lavieille/Jean-Michel Polato (F/F); Nissan Proto; 1h 25m 07s (10) + 7h 57m 18s

9 Guilherme Spinelli/Youssef Haddad (BR/BR); Mitsubishi Racing Lancer; 1h 20m 06s (7) + 8h 23m 37s

10 Matthias Kahle/Thomas Schünemann (D/D); Buggy SMG; 1h 28m 02s (12) + 15h 11m 56s

Wolfsburg (14 January 2011). The Volkswagen factory drivers also dominated events on the twelfth and penultimate stage of the Dakar Rally: A one-two-three led by Carlos Sainz (E) from Giniel de Villiers (ZA) and Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q) proved impressively the qualities of the Volkswagen Race Touareg 3 and its driving crews on the longest stage. All three also occupy the first three positions in the overall standings: The leader Nasser Al-Attiyah has the best chance of overall victory ahead of de Villiers and Sainz.

“It looks much easier from the outside than it really is. In view of the results you could almost think that only Volkswagen was participating in the 2011 Dakar Rally,” stresses Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. “There were however, in addition to the four Volkswagens, actually seven BMWs, two Hummers, a Mini and also cars from Toyota, Mitsubishi and Nissan competing. The dominance can easily be attributed to the best car in the field – the new Volkswagen Race Touareg 3. It was entered by the best team in this sport and driven by the best drivers and co-drivers. They have worked towards achieving this goal for one year. Thanks to all the Volkswagen Motorsport employees, whether they are at home in Germany or on location in South America. Such success would not have been possible without these employees.”

Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E) secured their sixth stage win on the way from San Juan to Córdoba – the eleventh for Volkswagen in the 2011 “Dakar”. Their team mates Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) followed only 2 minutes 43 seconds behind. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) arrived at the finish another 3 minutes 28 seconds behind. The two overall leaders could take a more controlled approach: In the overall standings they have a 48 minute 21 second advantage over de Villiers. Carlos Sainz completes the Volkswagen trio at the head of the rally leader board in third place. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) continue to hold sixth place.

The twelfth of 13 stages was dominated by several lead changes and an extremely demanding route with many changes of direction and crests. Stéphane Peterhansel initially controlled the pace in the X-raid-BMW. The Giniel de Villiers assumed the lead which he lost to Carlos Sainz from the middle of the stage. At 555 kilometres in length today’s stage was the longest of the entire rally. The route was so soft in place due to the heavy rain that those responsible had to neutralise the stage for the cars between route-kilometres 294 and 341.

On Saturday an 826 kilometre long final stage is on the agenda, whereby the actual stage length is only 181 kilometre. The Volkswagen duo Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk has the best chance of taking their first overall victory in the Dakar Rally.

Quotes

#300 – Carlos Sainz (E), 1st place leg / 3rd position overall

“Today was all about finding our rhythm again after our problems over the course of the last two days. We had loads of cars to overtake. Luckily the dust wasn’t too bad and we encountered a lot of help. We only got stuck a little longer behind one of the X-raid-BMW’s. When we had overtaken it we got a puncture and had to pass it again. It’s a fantastic thing to have equalled Stéphane Peterhansel’s tally of 23 ‘Dakar’ stage victories. I have to thank my mechanics who gave me a perfect car.”

#302 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q), 3rd place leg / 1st position overall

“It was anything but easy to maintain concentration today. It was a long stage during which my thoughts wandered into the future. Nevertheless, we quickly found our rhythm and a good pace, which meant as little risk as possible. Tomorrow there is another near 180 kilometre stage on the agenda. I hope we can enjoy it with our comfortable lead and not get nervous. If we finish it without problems I hope that we’ll have plenty of reason to celebrate. Till then we still have to do our jobs.”

#304 – Mark Miller (USA), 6th place leg / 6th position overall

“At the beginning of the stage we waited for Carlos as arranged, so we could run behind him. This belongs to our role as team player and we are happy to do it. Unfortunately we got stuck at a stupid place immediately after and lost more time. The stage today was long and hard. I’m now looking forward to the finale tomorrow, which hopefully brings the result Volkswagen deserves. It looks very good for the team, now we just have to bring the baby home. We’ll do everything possible to make sure this is the case.”

#308 – Giniel de Villiers (ZA), 2nd place leg / 2nd position overall

“The first 220 kilometres just simply refused to end today. To me they seemed incredibly long and hard. There was a lot of mud and sodden tracks, which demanded everything. Today we decided to complete the stage by taking as little risk as possible. We caught up with both our team mate Nasser Al-Attiyah as well as Stéphane Peterhansel in the X-raid-BMW and the decided to follow them to the finish. This didn’t make the job any easier, but it was the best decision in order to complete the job in hand tomorrow, which is what we had in mind: the one-two-three for Volkswagen. But the ‘Dakar’ is relentless. We certainly shouldn’t underestimate the remaining 180 kilometres. We’ll all approach them with respect.”

Number of the day

The Race Touareg 3 electrical wiring system is comprised of a total of 2,543 metres of cable – if you placed every single strand lengthwise in a row. This represents a column of almost 600 Race Touareg 3 parked one after the other lengthways.

Did you know that…

… the Rally Dakar fleet had to prepare itself for significantly hotter outside temperatures on its return to Argentina? On the eleventh stage Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford and Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz completed the suspension repair on the Race Touareg in 54.9 degrees Celsius. The value measured in the shade in the air filter housing of the 310 hp “Dakar” prototype does not accurately reflect the actual prevailing heat. As there was no shadow to be found far and wide during the successful repair which kept Sainz/Cruz in the race for a podium position.

… the Volkswagen service crew completes around 7,000 kilometres during the “Dakar”, 588 of this alone today between San Juan and Córdoba? The employees rely on the energy drink supplied by main sponsor Red Bull on the journeys made by the “Blue Angels” during the day and occasionally during the night. In a study carried out by Utrecht University the drink containing taurine and caffeine was certified to increase concentration and to reduce the danger of falling asleep at the steering wheel when enjoyed on long motorway trips.

… in addition to Red Bull, 450 half-litre bottled drinks are consumed daily just by the mechanics during the service in the Volkswagen bivouac? 250 bottles of still water and 200 bottles of soft drinks keep the fluid intake balanced at temperatures verging on the 40 degree mark. Not included are the drinks consumed on the journey from bivouac to bivouac.

… Volkswagen transports its own carbon workshop from location to location during the Dakar Rally? Mike Zentner is ready every day to repair damaged bodywork components from carbon-fibre reinforced plastic – as it is correctly called. A job in demand: The tough stages on the 2011 “Dakar” with their potholes, steep downhill dune slopes and the vegetation occasionally protruding onto route frequently batters the exterior skin on the four Race Touareg 3 beyond breaking point.

Results

Standings after leg 12, San Juan (RA)–Córdoba (RA); 555/678 km SS 12/total

Pos. Team Vehicle Leg 12 Total time

1 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D); Volkswagen Race Touareg 3; 5h 43m 29s (3); 43h 59m 30s

2 Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D); Volkswagen Race Touareg 3; 5h 40m 01s (2) + 48m 21s

3 Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E); Volkswagen Race Touareg 3; 5h 37m 18s (1) + 1h 21m 16s

4 Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-P. Cottret (F/F); BMW X3 CC; 5h 44m 13s (4) + 1h 41m 29s

5 Krzysztof Holowczyc/Jean-Marc Fortin (PL/B); BMW X3 CC; 5h 51m 09s (5) + 4h 10m 34s

6 Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA); Volkswagen Race Touareg 3; 5h 54m 09s (6) + 4h 53m 18s

7 Ricardo Leal dos Santos/Paulo Fiuza (P/P); BMW X3 CC; 6h 07m 28s (8) + 6h 39m 37s

8 Christian Lavieille/Jean-Michel Polato (F/F); Nissan Proto; 6h 29m 30s (12) + 7h 48m 57s

9 Guilherme Spinelli/Youssef Haddad (BR/BR); Mitsubishi Racing Lancer; 6h 02m 54s (7) + 8h 20m 17s

10 Matthias Kahle/Thomas Schünemann (D/D); Buggy SMG; 6h 25m 55s (10) + 15h 00m 40s

Wolfsburg (13 January 2011). The Volkswagen factory drivers Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) increased their lead at the top of the Dakar Rally standings on the eleventh stage. On the section from Chilecito to San Juan they recorded their fourth stage victory this year in the Race Touareg 3 and benefited at the same time from the bad luck of their team mates Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E). Last year’s winners from Spain dropped back due to damage on their car, but are still on course for a podium finish. New second placed duo is Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) in another Race Touareg.

Carlos Sainz, up to now second in the overall standings, led the cross country rally’s eleventh stage for almost 400 kilometres. Damage to the right-hand front suspension of his car then forced the Spaniard to stop and make repairs, during which last year’s winner lost a lot of time. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) stopped in the stage to help their team mates under inhuman conditions. Sainz/Cruz dropped back to third overall due to the repair work, their team mates Miller/Pitchford fell to sixth position.

Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel in the X-raid-BMW reached the stage finish second 1 minute 13 seconds behind Nasser Al-Attiyah. The third best time went to yesterday’s stage winner Giniel de Villiers. The 2009 “Dakar” Champion now sits 51 minutes 49 seconds behind Al-Attiyah in the overall standings.

Originally the eleventh stage at 622 kilometres would have been the longest of the entire rally. However, rain in the area around San Juan most recently caused deep erosion and new gorges. For safety reasons the organiser therefore cut 93 kilometres from the final section. As a result the distance dropped to 530 kilometres. To begin the teams crossed canyon terrain with plenty of bush vegetation at the foot of the Andes; afterwards they conquered a climb to over 3,200 metres before the stage ended at about 800 metres above sea level.

Quotes

Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)

“A proverb in motorsport is – ‘To finish first, first you have to finish’. Congratulations to Nasser Al-Attiyah and Timo Gottschalk for their performance today. It was a very exciting day for everyone. Carlos Sainz suffered suspension damage. Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford helped them with spare parts and energy and encouragement. I’m proud of the four as they completed the repair in record time. As a result we still lead the field with three Race Touareg cars. All in all a good day for Volkswagen.

#300 – Carlos Sainz (E), 14th place leg / 3rd position overall

“Today we really attacked and were about 25 seconds behind in the dust cloud kicked up by our team mate Nasser Al-Attiyah. This is a risky game and we knew this. Because of the dust we didn’t see a hole which we slid into when we locked the brakes. The suspension broke. Luckily our team mates Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford were directly behind us with spare parts and we could replace the destroyed components in record time in incredibly high temperatures. Thanks to Mark and Ralph’s help we still managed to reach third place overall. I’m really thankful for this. But today I’m not only simply exhausted I also need a new body.”

#302 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q), 1st place leg / 1st position overall

“A few days ago I planned to approach the job in hand as clever as possible to the finish. Today there were two stages during which you had to be wide awake. In the first part we looked after the material as well as possible so we would be in a good position in the second part. It paid dividends. And although we were driving rather cautiously we still won the stage at the end. We now have a comfortable advantage, but this doesn’t mean anything if you don’t arrive in Buenos Aires. I’m not wasting any thoughts about winning. After all there are still two extremely tough days ahead of us.”

#304 – Mark Miller (USA), 11th place leg / 6th position overall

“The day began with us having to make difficult overtaking manoeuvres on the cars running in the dust in front of us. We did well under these conditions. Just after the start of the second part of the stage we came across Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz who had suffered suspension damage. We worked fantastically together and solved the problem as quickly as possible. Normally you need at least two hours for this, we managed it in one. But this is exactly why we are one team.”

#308 – Giniel de Villiers (ZA), 3rd place leg / 2nd position overall

“The second part of the stage was much harder than we had previously expected. The first part was also tricky. Many canyons and bushes meant plenty of work at the steering wheel. Owing to Carlos’ problem we made good a place in the overall standings. I feel sorry for him as he’d drive an outstanding race so far. However, it also shows that anything can happen every day during this extremely tough rally. You have to be alert all the way to the finish. This is also exactly what my co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz and I plan to the finish in Buenos Aires.”

Number of the day

The Race Touareg 3 is comprised of 5,535 individual parts. The parts list shows 4,911 components for the chassis and 624 individual parts for the powerful 310 hp 2.5 litre TDI engine.

Three questions to crew chief Ralf Arneke

As crew chief you are responsible for organising the Volkswagen mechanics. Is it difficult – especially towards the end of the “Dakar” – to keep the motivation high?

“Quite honestly it’s actually relatively simple. We are in the comfortable position of being in front with three cars. You certainly don’t need to motivate the relevant crews. The other two teams also do their job 100 per cent professionally every day.”

Everybody in the Volkswagen team has at least to jobs to do. What exactly are your jobs?

“The job as crew chief is exceptionally easy here in the field. Everybody in the group knows what and how they have to do it. This is the result of good preparation and years of working together. At Volkswagen we have a very low turnover of staff, and even with the freelancers. This pays dividends for the complete routine. In the field I drive and organise the start-finish truck, which guarantees the final service on the service route and the first after every stage. In this case you are the one who can still change the smallest details before the stage.”

In your opinion what makes the Volkswagen team into the best team at the 2011 “Dakar”?

“We have the best drivers, the most reliable material and the best group of mechanics. And then they don’t even make a single mistake at the service. I’m bloody proud of the guys who have worked exceptionally well up to now. The work procedures are right, there are no panics. Up to now everything has run just as we imagined.”

Results

Standings after leg 11, Chilecito (RA)–San Juan (RA); 529/693 km SS 11/total

Pos. Team Vehicle Leg 11 Total time

1 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D); Volkswagen Race Touareg 3; 4h 17m 27s (1); 38h 16m 01s

2 Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D); Volkswagen Race Touareg 3; 4h 22m 19s (3) + 51m 49s

3 Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E); Volkswagen Race Touareg 3; 5h 32m 17s (14) + 1h 27m 27s

4 Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-P. Cottret (F/F); BMW X3 CC; 4h 18m 40s (2) + 1h 40m 45s

5 Krzysztof Holowczyc/Jean-Marc Fortin (PL/B); BMW X3 CC; 4h 30m 44s (4) + 4h 02m 54s

6 Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA); Volkswagen Race Touareg 3; 5h 19m 22s (11) + 4h 42m 38s

7 Ricardo Leal dos Santos/Paulo Fiuza (P/P); BMW X3 CC; 4h 44m 40s (5) + 6h 15m 38s

8 Christian Lavieille/Jean-Michel Polato (F/F); Nissan Proto; 4h 53m 00s (7) + 7h 02m 56s

9 Guilherme Spinelli/Youssef Haddad (BR/BR); Mitsubishi Racing Lancer; 4h 52m 22s (6) + 8h 00m 52s

10 Matthias Kahle/Thomas Schünemann (D/D); Buggy SMG; 5h 16m 51s (9) + 14h 18m 14s

The 2011 Dakar Rally summary video of Stage 11.

Al-Attiyah/Gottschalk increase gap to pursuers with stage victory

Dakar Rally 2011, 11th leg, 13 January 2011
Al-Attiyah/Gottschalk increase gap to pursuers with stage victory
Wolfsburg (13 January 2011). The Volkswagen factory drivers Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) increased their lead at the top of the Dakar Rally standings on the eleventh stage. On the section from Chilecito to San Juan they recorded their fourth stage victory in the Race Touareg 3 and benefited at the same time from the bad luck of their team mates Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E). Last year’s winners from Spain dropped back due to damaged car, but still have the chance of a podium finish. New second placed duo is Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) in another Race Touareg.

Carlos Sainz, up to now second in the overall standings 12 minutes 37 seconds behind, led the cross country rally’s eleventh stage for almost 400 kilometres. Damage to the car then forced the Spaniard to make repairs, during which Sainz lost a lot of time. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) stopped in the stage to help their team mates. Both crews are still underway towards the finish of the day’s stage.

Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel in the X-raid-BMW reached the stage finish second 1 minute 13 seconds behind Nasser Al-Attiyah. The third best time went to yesterday’s stage winner Giniel de Villiers. He now lies 51 minutes 49 seconds behind Al-Attiyah in the overall standings and 48 minutes 56 seconds ahead of Peterhansel.

Originally the eleventh stage at 622 kilometres would have been the longest of the entire rally. However, rain in the area around San Juan most recently caused deep erosion and new gorges. For safety reasons the organiser therefore cut 93 kilometres from the final section thereby reducing the distance to 530 kilometres. To begin the teams crossed canyon terrain at the foot of the Andes; afterwards they conquered a climb to over 3,200 metres before the stage ended at about 800 metres above sea level.

Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
“A proverb in motorsport is – ‘To finish first, first you have to finish’. Congratulations to Nasser Al-Attiyah and Timo Gottschalk for their performance today. It was a very exciting day for everyone. Carlos Sainz suffered from suspension damage. We still don’t know what happened. We have the information that Mark Miller stopped and together with Ralph Pitchford and Lucas Cruz helped to repair the damage. Both cars are running again. Today we say that the Dakar Rally remains merciless and is always good for a surprise.”

Volkswagen Motorsport public website: www.volkswagen-motorsport.com

2011 Dakar Rally info: www.dakar.com

Volkswagen “Dakar” iPhone app: www.volkswagen-motorsport.com/dakar_iPhone

Wolfsburg (12 January 2011). While Volkswagen factory drivers Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) recorded their first stage win on the tenth of 13 legs, their team mates established themselves clearly at the top of the Dakar Rally leader board. The duo increased their advantage in the overall standings to 12 minutes 37 seconds on the difficult dune filled stage from Copiapó in Chile to Chilecito in Argentina. Last year’s winners Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E) follow in second place.

Dramatic scenes unfolded among the notorious white dunes close to Fiambalá: Nasser Al-Attiyah initially led the stage before Stéphane Peterhansel in the X-raid-BMW took control. Then Nasser Al-Attiyah transformed a 2 minute 30 second deficit into a 1 minute 18 second advantage at the highest point of the route in a dune mountain range. However, approaching the end of the stage, between the fifth and sixth way points, Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz caught the leader unawares by selecting the cleverest route – and thus took a sensational victory on the day. Dirk von Zitzewitz immediately found the right direction at a junction and did not follow the tracks left by Peterhansel. Nasser Al-Attiyah dropped back to fourth place on the day’s stage losing a total of 8 minutes 54 seconds. As Carlos Sainz even lost 18 minutes 13 seconds on the stage Al-Attiyah was able to extend his overall lead. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) lost 1 hour 4 minutes 18 seconds on the stage, but remains fifth overall.

Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) completes Volkswagen’s one-two-three in the standings behind Al-Attiyah and Sainz.

The tenth stage took competitors from Chile back to Argentina again. In the process the teams scaled the rally’s highest point – the 4,725 metre high Paso San Francisco.

Quotes

Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)

“A very short stage which was incredibly dramatic and very difficult. The navigation was anything but easy and the sand very soft. No driver pair got through today without small mistakes. The Race Touareg 3 has once again mastered the challenging conditions in great style. I’m delighted that Giniel and Dirk won this difficult stage.”

#300 – Carlos Sainz (E), 5th place leg / 2nd position overall

“That was an absolutely catastrophic day for us. We got bogged down on a dune after only five kilometres. On top of this came a puncture later. We got lost several times, especially at the end of the stage when we didn’t find the correct exit from a river bed. Furthermore we damaged the gearbox, which also slowed us down. So, all in all it could have been better. But also worse: The deficit in the overall standings is not unassailable. We’ll give our utmost up until the final metre to try and win.”

#302 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q), 4th place leg / 1st position overall

“The start of the stage went really well for us. We quickly found our rhythm and rapidly overtook our team mate Carlos Sainz, who had got bogged down on a dune. We drove at a good pace to the end. Unfortunately we didn’t find the right way immediately and looked where all the top teams had looked for the route. Only our team mates Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz were cleverer than everybody else. Congratulations on winning the stage.”

#304 – Mark Miller (USA), 8th place leg / 5th position overall

“A challenging day for man and material. To start we did everything right, my co-driver Ralph Pitchford directed us perfectly to the way points. Unfortunately we emerged over the crest of a dune with too little momentum and got bogged down. All in all it was, however, a really good but tough ‘Dakar’ stage. It could have been quite a bit different today with a little more luck.”

#308 – Giniel de Villiers (ZA), 1st place leg / 3rd position overall

“Today was our day. I think that I did just as good a job as my co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz. However, at the end his stroke of genius made all the difference. It’s fabulous also to finally win a stage in this ‘Dakar’, even though it came a little later than I’d hoped. On the way there were plenty of difficulties to overcome. You had to keep an eye on the engine temperature, every one of the top teams got lost at least once. On top of this sand, sand and more sand which was very soft. The final part was a real labyrinth of washed our river beds and canyons. A lot of teams will still be searching for the right way there today.”

Number of the day

On the section between Copiapó and Chilecito Volkswagen contested its 100th “Dakar” stage since the first prototype’s first event in 2004.

From the Volkswagen bivouac

Sailing ace Russell Coutts visits Volkswagen factory team

High-ranking visit from the high seas: The four-time America’s Cup winner, multiple sailing World Champion and Olympic winner Russell Coutts was shown the Volkswagen bivouac from Carlos Sainz, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mark Miller. In Copiapó in Chile, actual Dakar Rally rest day for the mechanics, the 48-year old New Zealander made a flying visit during the service after the ninth stage.

Local hero and favourite together: Mine worker meets Al-Attiyah

A special moment for both: Volkswagen factory driver Nasser Al-Attiyah, “Dakar” overall leader, was given a surprise visit in the bivouac after the ninth stage. Luis Urzúa, shift manager for the miners trapped in San José north of Copiapó in autumn 2010, got an impression of the Volkswagen factory team in his hometown Copiapó. Urzúa, the 33rd and last rescued, was impressed. “Just like us miners a team in the ‘Dakar’ also works hand in hand. It’s fantastic to rub shoulders with the team members and see the rally in my hometown,” said the 54-year old. “To be able to meet Nasser Al-Attiyah one of the favourites was incredible.”

Results

Standings after leg 10, Copiapó (RCH)–Chilecito (RA); 176/862 km SS 10/total

Pos. Team Vehicle Leg 10 Total time

1 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D); Volkswagen Race Touareg 3; 3h 02m 09s (4); 33h 58m 34s

2 Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E); Volkswagen Race Touareg 3; 3h 11m 28s (5) + 12m 37s

3 Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D); Volkswagen Race Touareg 3; 2h 53m 15s (1) + 46m 57s

4 Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-P. Cottret (F/F); BMW X3 CC; 2h 58m 53s (3) + 1h 39m 32s

5 Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA); Volkswagen Race Touareg 3; 3h 57m 33s (8) + 3h 40m 43s

6 Krzysztof Holowczyc/Jean-Marc Fortin (PL/B); BMW X3 CC; 2h 57m 38s (2) + 3h 49m 37s

7 Ricardo Leal dos Santos/Paulo Fiuza (P/P); BMW X3 CC; 3h 24m 06s (6) + 5h 48m 25s

8 Christian Lavieille/Jean-Michel Polato (F/F); Nissan Proto; 3h 36m 38s (7) + 6h 27m 23s

9 Guilherme Spinelli/Youssef Haddad (BR/BR); Mitsubishi Racing Lancer; 4h 26m 42s (10) + 7h 25m 57s

The 2011 Dakar Stage 8 summary video, Antofagasta – Copiapo.

ASO’s Stage 7 summary video of the 2011 Dakar Rally.

Carlos Sainz holds the overall lead and wins Stage 6 in the 2011 Dakar Rally. Check out the ASO summary video of Stage 6.

Today the DAKAR Rally really stepped it up and lived up to its namesake. There were some good highlights so let’s jump right into the action.

After a very cold and windy night on the bivouac in Calama, Chile, the morning started off with a very short liaison stage of only 36 km. The 459km special was a tough route forcing the racers to deal with a variety of terrains, each demanding a special type of skill set. The start was of rocky, dusty and technical tracks, which brought the speeds way down. This short section kept the racers busy for about 1 hour. Ending the day, the course took on a wide, off-track terrain over into the a festival of dunes and ending in an amazing descent into Iquique on a 2.3km slope with an average grade of 32%! Essentially, it was a 7000’ track descending thousands of feet down to sea level. Pictures and videos cannot do this justice.

Stephane Peterhansel has more stage wins than anyone in the VW camp

American Mark Miller put in a great day to make up for his stage 2 mishap. photo: VW Motorsports

Jonah Street after stage 5 of the 2011 Dakar Rally

Quinn Cody talks at the finish of stage 5 on day six of the DAKAR 2011

Stephane Peterhansel in the Dakar Rally during stage 5

Volkswagen´s Carlos Sainz was initially leading the 5th stage about 423 kilometers from Calama to Iquique in race and then Peterhansel took the place at the front. The Frenchman extended his advantage up to 3:45 some of the time. In the second half of the special with its extreme differences in altitude of more than 3,000 meters at the start down to sea level on the Pacific coast at the finish Al-Attiyah and Sainz made up ground again though.

The gaps between the three drivers kept changing from one check point to the other by full minutes – the stage result remained open up to the finish. In the end Al-Attiyah/Gottschalk arrived 1:24 behind stage winner Peterhansel.

Sainz/Cruz, who had to open the course after having won yesterday’s stage, were lacking 3:15 to Peterhansel. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) in another Race Touareg 3 reached the bivouac in fourth place, thus retaining fourth place overall.

The VW team during the 2011 Dakar Rally - Stage 5

Their team-mates Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) followed by finishing the special in fifth place. At the end of the stage the drivers thrilled the fans with a spectacular 2.3-kilometre descent down a steep, 700-metre high dune directly into the bivouac.

In the overall standings Carlos Sainz remain the front runners with an advantage of 2:26 after the 423-kilometre leg in the north of Chile from Calama to Iquique. Stéphane Peterhansel bumped Nasser Al-Attiyah from second to third place overall in the rally’s standings – a mere seven seconds separate the two rally pairings.

The VW team during the 2011 Dakar Rally - Stage 5

“Congratulations to Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret on their perfect day” said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen “Even though we’re not in front in terms of the stage result we’re more than pleased at Volkswagen. All four Race Touareg cars ran really well. It was difficult for our drivers and co-drivers to open the course today. After this long special stage three pairings continue to be in contention for victory.”

About the sporting aspect he said: “This is a nice, exciting and fair race. We’re concentrating on continuing to do a good job in the days ahead. The ‘Dakar’ has only started in earnest today.”

Story & photos: http://www.marathonrally.com

A stunning, if treacherous penultimate day in Argentina saw a swathe of retirements today. Robby Gordon again suffered setbacks, but managed to bring his Hummer home 20^th on the stage and peg back some positions. Sue Mead made it through, but the Predator buggies driven by Team Mexico did not. Up front, both Nassar Al-Attiyah in the cars, and Marc Coma on the bikes pegged back times to Carlos Sainz and Cyril Depres.

Coma recorded his 12^th stage win to close the gap to Depres, while Al-Attiyah also took a stage win, albeit not as convincing as he’d hoped, the Qatari unable to overtake Sainz in the dust.

Robby Gordon is now realistically out of contention for the race win, and he explained that today’s setback was a direct result of yesterday’s incident. “Yesterday’s problems came back today. We lost transmission yesterday, and the team changed the gearbox overnight, but they didn’t change the transmission pump, and it was burnt up,” he explained. “With no transmission fluid it overheated the transmission and I was stuck on half throttle all day.”

Gordon was visibly irritated by the dramas, “I just keep putting myself behind the eight ball here and it’s not good. It’s starting to make me mad. It all stems from driving off the road yesterday, it keeps coming back to bite me today,” he said.

Fellow American, Sue Mead was a late arrival at the bivouac, her Ford Raptor coping well with the terrain, though not as well with the crowds on the liaison stages, again finding it difficult to make up the distance in the small amount of allotted time.

“Wow, today was crazy. There were a lot of big drop-offs, and a lot of people stuck. I saw some guys in a buggy who went down a ravine so hopefully they’re ok,” Mead explained, adding that the terrain was beautiful.

“We were in two stunning national parks. One of them had really tight canyon walls that we drove through which were just hundreds of metres tall. And a lot that reminded me of the painted desert out west in the ‘states. That was the beauty,” she said.

“And then there was the beast. It was a really long stage, with a really long liaison, 300kms of offroad was broken up by time in the middle out on pavement and mixed track but it was dangerous. We were up over 10,000 feet today, and there were some serious drops. A lot of places where the road goes away the pavement goes away or even the dirt isn’t there!”

“The fesh fesh at the start was really tough on the vehicle, we got a mechanical in 4wd and had to drive in 4-high and not in 4-low.”

“We also sadly went by our good friends the Mexicans, Joaquin and Pedro, they were stuck and needed a tow out. We did offer a tow to Joaquin because he has a broken front suspension but he said “no go ahead, go ahead” which was kind of great, and means now Troy and Dan can spend the evening checking everything out.”

After a gruelling third day on the Dakar Mead and co-driver Darren Stilton will start tomorrow at 8.30am, with Mead once again taking on the driving duties. Mead says she’lll be grateful for a short shower, meal and then a few short hours of sleep.

“I am so grateful to be back in camp, and we have to start again early tomorrow! It was a 13 hour day and we didn’t stop for anything, not even fuel.”

Tomorrow sees the Dakar caravan cross customs at the top of the Andes and enter Chile, on another gruelling stage.

Stage 3 photos of the 2011 Dakar rally provided by www.marathonrally.com

[Show as slideshow]

Carlos Sainz takes lead with Volkswagen

02. Januar 2011

2011 Dakar Rally, 1st leg, 02 January 2011
Carlos Sainz takes lead with Volkswagen
Wolfsburg (02 January 2011). The Dakar Rally started with the first stage win for Volkswagen. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E) are leading the desert classic in the Volkswagen Race Touareg 3 after the first of 14 legs by 1m 31s ahead of X-raid BMW driver Stéphane Peterhansel.

The team colleagues of last year’s winners made a good showing on the 788-kilometre stage between Victoria and Córdoba in Argentina as well. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) finished the gravel stage in rain as the third-best contenders with a gap of 2m 16s. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) followed in fourth place with a 4m 17s gap. The Volkswagen foursome at the front of the field was completed by Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) in fifth place overall and a gap of 5m 06s.

Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
“Today we experienced a superb performance of our drivers and co-drivers. The cars are perfectly prepared. I’m happy to see all of our team members working with absolute concentration at the start of the rally and not allowing themselves to get distracted by the huge crowd nor by the pressure caused by the expectations of the journalists. The conditions on the first leg were very difficult due to the large amount of water on the track. It’s hard to judge who was most heavily affected by this. With four cars among the top five Volkswagen experienced a tremendous start. Obviously, we’re going to continue our work on Monday and on the following legs highly motivated in order to master the upcoming tasks.”

Volkswagen Motorsport public website: www.volkswagen-motorsport.com

2011 Dakar Rally info: www.dakar.com

Volkswagen “Dakar” iPhone app: www.volkswagen-motorsport.com/dakar_iPhone

Volkswagen celebrated a one-two-three win at the Silk Way Rally through Russia: on the new Race Touareg 3’s competitive debut Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz (E/E) triumphed in front of their team colleagues Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) in predecessor models. The tough and demanding rally that led from St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea to the Olympic city of Sochi on the Black Sea served as the team’s preparation for the 2011 Dakar Rally. The penultimate day saw a high-ranking visitor: Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, visited the Volkswagen team, had the squad show him the bivouac and “Dakar” winner Carlos Sainz explain the Volkswagen Race Touareg 3 to him. Putin expressed enthusiasm afterwards.

The new Race Touareg 3, which is powered by a highly efficient 310-hp TDI diesel engine, marked the next step in Volkswagen’s technical development for the Dakar Rally. Updated aerodynamics with improved air routing on the one hand and evolutions of the chassis and powertrain on the other are aimed at providing the basis for the third consecutive “Dakar” victory.

In Russia the new components were subjected to in-depth testing on the new Race Touareg 3. The eight legs of the Silk Way Rally through the Volga Delta, the Kalmykian desert and the big Caucasus were a test in competitive conditions. On the quick gravel sections with long flat-out passages and stretches with small dunes both the technology and the drivers were taken to the limits. Another important aspect was to train the interaction with the co-drivers for the cross-country classic in January: some of the legs were up to 700 kilometres long.

With their fourth victory in their fourth joint race the 2010 “Dakar” winners, Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz, continued the success story of the Race Touareg. The cross-country rally prototype has clinched a total of 14 overall victories and 42 podium places in 29 rally runs since 2004. 121 out of 225 possible stage wins and 120 leading days complement the successful track record of Volkswagen’s “Dakar” programme. At the 2010 Silk Way Rally Volkswagen celebrated eight out of eight possible stage wins and was leading the event on all eight days.

The incident involving Giniel de Villiers and co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz showed how difficult the “Dakar” dress rehearsal was. The South African-German duo opened the course on the fifth day of the rally when it hit a transverse rut at a blind spot and rolled over. Thanks to the high-level safety equipment of the Race Touareg the driver and the co-driver sustained no injuries but had to retire from the event due to a damaged cooling system.
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
“The decision to contest the Silk Way Rally as a Dakar Rally dress rehearsal paid off in every minute. For the new Race Touareg 3 it was the final endurance test for our run in January 2011 and it proved to work perfectly. For the entire squad it was important to internalise the processes and procedures again. And last but not least it was a big challenge for the drivers and co-drivers and the perfect opportunity to gel with each other. All in all, we can be more than pleased.”

#100 – Carlos Sainz (E), 1st place overall
“The Silk Way Rally was a real acid test for the Dakar Rally and a successful one at that. Our aim was to gain as much experience as possible with the new Race Touareg 3 and its new components. The route with the long special stages with difficult dune passages and hot days was virtually tailor-made for this purpose. We can take a lot of positive things home from Russia, primarily the knowledge that the Race Touareg 3 is a reliable and quick car. That’s encouraging for the ‘Dakar.’”

#100 – Lucas Cruz (E), co-driver
“The Silk Way Rally was at times tougher for the co-drivers than the Dakar Rally. There were countless branch-offs and directional changes in quick succession. Finding the right way was often a tough job. In addition, the Silk Way Rally gave us the first opportunity to test the stricter rules regarding the way points. This, too, was a good test for the ‘Dakar’.

#101 – Giniel de Villiers (ZA), retirement
“We’ve got to take the positive things home from the Silk Way Rally although the disappointment about our retirement predominates. My co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz and I were very pleased with our performance up to this unfortunate incident and we were leading the rally. But the accident also showed that in cross-country rally events the race can be over within just a few seconds.”

#101 – Dirk von Zitzewitz (D), co-driver
“I’m impressed with what the organisers of the Silk Way Rally came up with this year. The route was a lot more demanding than last year. That was both a challenge and good fun. Up to our accident things had been going well for us. The crash itself was a mishap of the kind that is always possible in this type of sport. I’m also impressed with the solid team performance of all the Race Touareg crews. Being so close in terms of performance provides a positive feeling for the ‘Dakar.’”

#102 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q), 2nd place overall
“I experienced a lot of positive things at this rally, and learned a lot as well. In the dunes I made a big mistake and lost a lot of time in the battle for victory – this won’t happen to me again like this. In many respects the Silk Way Rally was a good test for the ‘Dakar’, also with respect to the teamwork with my co-driver Timo Gottschalk.”

#102 – Timo Gottschalk (D), co-driver
“This rally was extremely demanding – for the material as well as for us drivers and co-drivers. We started early each day. The road-books were loaded with information and thus meant a lot of work. This also took us to our physical performance limits with respect to concentration. I think everyone is exhausted – this also shows us what shape we’ll need to be in for the Dakar Rally.”

#104 – Mark Miller (USA), 3rd place overall
“At our personal ‘Dakar’ dress rehearsal we were struggling with some minor problems. There were two or three ‘Dakar‘-like legs. The teamwork between the driver and co-driver is complex. After the long ‘Dakar’ break Ralph Pitchford and I had a hard time finding our rhythm and were only working in perfect harmony towards the end. After the rally we’ll continue to work together on being able to deliver top performance at the ‘Dakar’ from the very first minute.”

#104 – Ralph Pitchford (ZA), co-driver
“The terrain at the Silk Way Rally was absolutely fascinating and challenging. It was a huge step compared with last year. The terrain was very varied and demanded the full amount of driving and navigational skills. The support by the local people was good as well. All in all it was a great event and a good decision to run here.”
Number of the day
Four runs and four victories are reflected on Carlos Sainz’ and Lucas Cruz’ track record so far. The all-Spanish duo has been running together in the Race Touareg since the 2009 Rallye dos Sertões (Brazil); they won this rally, the Silk Way Rally in 2009 (Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan) and 2010 (Russia) as well as the 2010 Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile.
Tentative final results
Standings after leg 08, Maykop (RUS)–Sochi (RUS); 16/375 km SS8/total
Pos. Team, Vehicle, Leg 08, Total time
1 Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E), Volkswagen Race Touareg 3, 19m 23s (4), 19h 42m 02s
2 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D), Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, 16m 34s (1), + 8m 27s
3 Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA), Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, 17m 44s (2), + 40m 22s
4 Alexander Mironenko/Sergey Lebedev (RUS/RUS), Nissan Frontier, 1h 06m 48s (-), +5h 35m 34s
5 Matthias Kahle/Thomas Schünemann (D/D), SMG Buggy, 22m 33s (8), + 6h 50m 09s
6 Binyamin Dzhepaev/Alexey Kuzmich (RUS/RUS), UAZ Pickup, 23m 27s (11), + 7h 12m 26s
7 Frédéric Chavigny/Jean Brucy (F/F), Nissan Pathfinder, 21m 26s (7), + 7h 12m 48s
8 Benediktas Vanagas/Saulius Jurgelenas (LT/LT), OSC Oscar, 19m 55s (5), + 9h 01m 13s
9 Alexey Berkut/Konstantin Mescheryakov (RUS/RUS), Mitsubishi Pajero, 17m 53s (3), + 9h 14m 53s
10 Raz Heymann/Hillel Segal (IL/IL), Mitsubishi Pajero, 24m 46s (15), + 9h 31m 12s
The Silk Way Rally on TV
Saturday, 18 September 2010
23.00–23.15, Eurosport, Silk Way Rally, summary, leg 8

Monday, 20 September 2010
01.00–01.15, Eurosport, Silk Way Rally, summary, leg 8 (rerun)

Additional reports on the news and sports programmes of n-tv starting at 18.00 hrs.

The new Volkswagen Race Touareg 3 is on the verge of clinching victory on its rally debut: on the penultimate leg of the Silk Way Rally through Russia, which Volkswagen contests as its “Dakar” dress rehearsal, Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E) defended their overall lead in front of the stage winners, Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D), in the predecessor model. Before the last leg on Saturday, which merely features a short special stage covering 16 kilometres, the advantage of the “Dakar” winners Sainz/Cruz is 11m 16s. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) in the third Race Touareg continue to rank in third place overall behind their team colleagues.

The seventh of the Silk Way Rally’s eight legs led from Elista to Maykop and thus from the Kalmykian desert to the shores of the Black Sea. In a partially breath-taking landscape the entrants had to contend with a fast special stage that featured many branch-offs which put the navigators’ skills to the test as well.
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
“Even though the special stage leading to the finish of the Silk Way Rally in Sochi is just short: victory is only certain after reaching the finish. But we can already draw a conclusion for our ‘Dakar’ dress rehearsal at this point in time. The entire team, the drivers and co-drivers did a tremendous job during the past seven days. I have no doubt that the final service and the final stage will again be handled perfectly.”

#100 – Carlos Sainz (E), 2nd place leg / 1st place overall
“Today was about losing as little time as possible to my team colleague Nasser Al-Attiyah in order to keep a comfortable advantage. We managed to do this – Nasser just beat us by a few seconds. Still, the rally will only end on the podium in Sochi. Until then we need to stay concentrated in order to win in the end.”

#102 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q), 1st place leg / 2nd place overall
“Today’s special stage was again marked by speed but despite these many flat-out passages it was extremely demanding in terms of navigation. The teamwork with my co-driver Timo Gottschalk was simply fantastic. If the communication and quality of our work is like this at the ‘Dakar’ too we’ll have good chances of winning it in the end.”

#104 – Mark Miller (USA), 3rd place leg / 3rd place overall
“A few tricky things had to be mastered today. For one, visibility was more difficult because we were driving in the direction of the rising sun and were dazzled by the glare. It was definitely no easy feat to properly judge the many directional changes and intersections but my co-driver Ralph Pitchford did a perfect job today. Now we’ve found our rhythm and can immediately bring our performance to bear.”
Number of the day
For the Volkswagen service crew with its MAN trucks and Multivans the seventh leg featured the so far longest route with 659.86 km some of which included poor and narrow roads. In total, the support convoy will cover 3,895 kilometres between St. Petersburg and Sochi. The trip from and to Germany will add about another 3,350 kilometres.
Results
Standings after leg 07, Elista (RUS)–Maykop (RUS); 347/791 km SS 07/total
Pos. Team, Fahrzeug, leg 07, Gesamtzeit
1 Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E), Volkswagen Race Touareg 3, 2h 50m 35s (2), 19h 22.39s
2 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D), Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, 2h 49m 03s (1), + 11m 16s
3 Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA), Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, 2h 53m 14s (3), + 42m 01s
4 Alexander Mironenko/Sergey Lebedev (RUS/RUS), Nissan Frontier, 3h 23m 42s (4), + 4h 48m09s
5 Matthias Kahle/Thomas Schünemann (D/D), SMG Buggy, 4h 59m 48s (24), + 6h 47m 00s
6 Binyamin Dzhepaev/Alexey Kuzmich (RUS/RUS), UAZ Pickup, 3h 59m 18s (11), + 7h 08m 22s
7 Frédéric Chavigny/Jean Brucy (F/F), Nissan Pathfinder, 4h 00m 19s (12), + 7h 10m 45s
8 Benediktas Vanagas/Saulius Jurgelenas (LT/LT), OSC Oscar, 3h 43m 18s (7), + 9h 00m 41s
9 Alexey Berkut/Konstantin Mescheryakov (RUS/RUS), Mitsubishi Pajero, 3h 29m 10s (5), + 9h 16m 23s
10 Raz Heymann/Hillel Segal (IL/IL), Mitsubishi Pajero, 3h 44m 34s (8), + 9h 25m 49s

Coming up …
Saturday, 18 September: leg 08, Maykop (RUS)–Sochi (RUS) in brief: stony riverbeds, up to 50 cm deep; many river crossings
The Silk Way Rally on TV
Saturday, 18 September 2010
00.00–00.15, Eurosport, Silk Way Rally, summary, leg 7
08.30–08.45, Eurosport, Silk Way Rally, summary, leg 7 (rerun)
23.00–23.15, Eurosport, Silk Way Rally, summary, leg 8

Monday, 20 September 2010
01.00–01.15, Eurosport Silk Way Rally, summary, leg 8 (rerun)

Additional reports on the news and sports programmes of TV channel n-tv from 18.00 hrs.

Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz

Wolfsburg (14 January 2009). Exciting team internal duel for overall lead: Volkswagen provided an impressive example of the power and performance of its TDI technology on the twelfth and longest Dakar Rally stage: Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E) as well as Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) dominated the two-part twelfth stage, with a total of 476 kilometres run against the clock, from their team mates Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA). All three Race Touareg were more than ten minutes faster than their closest rivals in the process and continue to hold a commanding lead in the overall standings.

The order in the two classifications is identical: The Volkswagen factory drivers Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E) celebrated their second stage win, the sixth for a Race Touareg this year. Towards the middle of the stage from San Juan to San Rafael the two Spaniards were about four minutes faster along the hard and stony subsoil than their team mates Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D). However, on the second sandier section consisting of many crests and jumps, Al-Attiyah reduced the gap to 52 seconds by the finish. In the overall standings the Qatari now lies 5 minutes 20 seconds behind Sainz. Miller/Pitchford (USA/ZA) completed the extremely fast starting stage 4 minutes 22 second behind in third place. He now trails the leader in the overall standings by 28 minutes 12 second in third place.

At 476 kilometres the twelfth stage contained the longest section run against the clock in the rally. However, 130 kilometres of the route were neutralised as planned. The reason: To bypass a nature reserve via a tarmac road. An ad-hoc action by the organisers confirmed just how great the locals’ enthusiasm is for the rally: In the afternoon such a large hoard of fans from nearby Mendoza stormed to the finish that the organisers had to move the finish 6,000 metres to the 470th route kilometre in order to sufficiently enlarge the spectator zones.

Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)

“Fabulous – the fight for the lead is still exciting after about 7,500 kilometres. Carlos and Lucas made up a lot of time in the first section, then Nasser and Timo fought back again. We’ll probably have to wait to Buenos Aires on Saturday to know just how this fight will end. However, I’m quite hopeful that the Dakar Rally winner will once again sit in a Volkswagen Race Touareg.”

#300 – Giniel de Villiers (ZA), 9th place day / 7th position overall

“At 800 kilometres an extremely long and hard ‘Dakar’ day, on which I waited twelve minutes at the start for our team mate. At the moment this is our role which we are more than happy to fill. Afterwards we followed Carlos’ dust at a respectable difference. However, I misjudged a Fesh-Fesh passage and got bogged down. We should have driven through with more speed. Nevertheless: This stage was varied and fantastic to drive.”

#303 – Carlos Sainz (E), 1st place day / 1st position overall

“The first part of the stage ran without any problems whatsoever. In the second part I quickly caught up Robby Gordon who also let me past. However, after I’d overtaken him I probably wasn’t fast enough for him. Anyway he nudged me twice on the rear. I let him past again and spent the rest of the stage in his dust cloud. All in all on this two-part route a second stage victory was the reward. We were able to slightly increase the lead as a result. What more could you wish for?”

#305 – Mark Miller (USA), 3rd place day / 3rd position overall

“An incredible day. Very long, very hard for the material. In the first part it was all hard, stony tracks and I thought that we had a found a good pace here as we were able to catch our team mate Nasser Al-Attiyah. Up until I heard from Carlos who had taken a lot of time off us. The second part was very hard for the suspension because of the sandy and bumpy sections. Today we can genuinely say that the Race Touareg gives as good as it gets.”

#306 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q), 2nd place day / 2nd position overall

“In the first part I didn’t feel completely comfortable with my set-up. It was easy to make mistakes here and damage the material, which is why I played safe. In the sand the reverse was the case: Our set-up and the choice of tyre pressures were perfect. As a result, I could make up some of the time I had lost in the morning. It’s still exciting. However, to be honest a change in fortunes to my benefit is only really possible tomorrow in the dunes.”

Number of the day

In the build-up to and during the 2010 Dakar Rally Volkswagen Motorsport has sent to date 231,516 emails including this press release. This includes the daily report and also the preliminary reports.

Three question to Volkswagen race truck driver François Verbist

You are living the dream of many racing drivers: To drive the “Dakar”. With, however, a completely different goal – what’s it like to drive the race truck for a factory team like Volkswagen?

“To be perfectly honest I’m absolutely delighted to be able to do the job. Our task is to make the finish every day and if the worst comes to the worst to be there when a Race Touareg needs help. The incident involving Giniel de Villiers on the third stage when we were able to help him with an electrical problem showed just how important it can be. Now he still has a good chance of grabbing a good result for Volkswagen. However the job is varied. The ‘Dakar’ throws up a new challenge every day, you have to conquer new terrain every day. This makes the job even more interesting.”

In your homeland Belgium you were already a champion in a one-make touring car series. Doesn’t a real racer like you get itchy feet and want to attack during the “Dakar”?

“No, because in touring car sprint races I can give my best and also win, I don’t have the urge to attack during the ‘Dakar’. The job is like it is: To reach the finish as safely as possible, which is why we agreed that our 6×6 and 4×4 race trucks should always drive through the stages together. In this way we save lots of time since we can tow one another out if either of the trucks should get stuck in the sand. I think that our overall positions 13 and 14 demonstrate that ‘safe’ is also a good ‘Dakar’ tactic.”

Which was the most exciting stage up to now in the race truck?

“Definitely the seventh from Iquique to Antofagasta. There were extremely high dunes with very soft sand here. In other words a genuine desert stage, which is already difficult enough to master with full-blooded race trucks like the Kamaz. To complete the mission – to see the stage finish – was a really tough task here. Particularly when you think that each truck is carrying almost 1.5 tonnes of spare parts and equipment on board for emergency purposes.”

Standings after leg 12, San Juan (RA)–San Rafael (RA); 476/796 km SS 12/total

Pos.; Team; Vehicle; Leg 12; Total time

1 Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E) Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 3h 30m 29s (1) 42h 47m 24s

2 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 3h 31m 21s (2) + 5m 20s

3 Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 3h 34m 51s (3) + 28m 12s

4 Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-P. Cottret (F/F) BMW X3 CC 3h 41m 18s (4) + 2h 20m 42s

5 Guerlain Chicherit/Tina Thörner (F/S) BMW X3 CC 5h 09m 39s (28) + 4h 02m 50s

6 Carlos Sousa/Matthieu Baumel (P/F) Mitsubishi Racing Lancer 3h 49m 42s (7) + 4h 13m 25s

7 Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 3h 55m 50s (9) + 5h 04m 54s

8 Robby Gordon/Andy Grider (USA/USA) Hummer 3h 41m 25s (5) + 5h 52m 34s

9 Guilherme Spinelli/Filipe Palmeiro (BR/P) Mitsubishi Racing Lancer 3h 57m 26s (10) + 5h 55m 22s

10 Orlando Terranova/Pascal Maimon (RA/F) Mitsubishi Racing Lancer 3h 52m 19s (8) + 5h 55m 32s

Coming up …

Friday, 15 January: 13th leg, San Rafael (RA)–Santa Rosa (RA). Day 13 also presents the “Dakar” heroes with plenty of kilometres to be completed. A total of 725, which includes 368 against the clock, are on the agenda between San Rafael and Santa Rosa. The flatter route profile and the expanse of the legendary Pampa dominate the day’s picture. As a result, the pace increases and with it the risk of failing with the finish practically in sight – more can be lost that won here.

BJ Baldwin jumping his Hummer H3 in the dunes of Chile

With 11 of 14 Dakar Stages completed the race is almost finished, but it’s never over until it is over. All of the American eyes have been on the four US entrants Robby Gordon, Mark Miller, BJ Baldwin and Jonah Street.

Robby Gordon and team-mate BJ Baldwin may have brought knives to a gun fight. The Hummer H3 that started out as a typical SCORE Class 1 race car may not be the right vehicle for this years Dakar. Lots of the stages favor the lighter more nimble 4wd cars on the stages that are more or less WRC roads. Robby and BJ had good days and even one stage win, but overall struggle to stay within the Top Ten overall ranking. Within their own class of 2wd Buggies they hands down dominate, but it’s that overall podium that everyone will be talking about for years to come.

The word in the bivouac today is that Robby Gordon is contemplating a new vehicle platform. Will it be 4wd, turbo diesel-powered or a near stock approach? Time will tell and as we know Robby he is not afraid to make things happen and swim against the grain.

Bj Baldwin is 21st overall and it this point purely follows Robby for support. BJ and Robby are scheduled to race the SCORE Laughlin race on its 2nd day this Sunday.

Mark Miller is the black horse. He has Al-Attyah and King Carlos in front of him battling for the lead while all he has to do is keep a smooth paste and a Top 3 podium is guaranteed. If any of the two lead Teammates fall out he may have to help them, but it would catapult him to 2nd place as 4th is Peterhansel with a 1 Hour and 50 Minute gap between the two.

Jonah Street had one fantastic stage today. He was only 3 Seconds short of a Stage win. A local police officer closed off the wrong road at a Y-Intersection and everyone in front of Jonah took the wrong route while he trusted his navigation skill over the local law and made the correct turn. That gave him a good lead, plus he is one amazing rider. He is ranked 7th overall and too far away for a Dakar win in the bike class. He might gain 1-3 positions but can also very easily fall back.

After Stage 11 Cars ranking:

1. Carlos Sainz (E)/Lucas Cruz (E) Volkswagen Race Touareg 36h 34m 45s
2. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QA)/Timo Gottschalk (D) Volkswagen Race Touareg 36h 44m 51s
3. Mark Miller (USA)/Ralph Pitchford (ZA) Volkswagen Race Touareg 37h 03m 04s
4. Stéphane Peterhansel (F)/Jean-Paul Cottret (F) BMW X3 CC 38h 49m 05s
5. Guerlain Chicherit (F)/Tina Thörner (S) BMW X3 CC 39h 05m 44s
6. Carlos Sousa (P)/Matthieu Baumel (F) Mitsubishi Racing Lancer 40h 28m 50s
7. Giniel de Villiers (ZA)/Ralph Pitchford (ZA) Volkswagen Race Touareg 41h 20m 58s
8. Guilherme Spinelli (BR)/Filipe Palmeiro (P) Mitsubishi Racing Lancer 41h 59m 53s
9. Orlando Terranova (RA)/Pascal Maimon (F) Mitsubishi Racing Lancer 42h 15m 16s
10. Robbie Gordon (USA)/Andy Grider (USA) Hummer 42h 18m 41s

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One-two-three victory for Volkswagen: Carlos Sainz wins Silk Way Rally

Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz, Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen

Carlos Sainz

The fourth Volkswagen pairing, Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D), had been fighting a close duel with Sainz/Cruz and was leading the rally up to the eighth leg. After a roll-over, which both survived unharmed, they did not start to the ninth leg any more. The final leg, which was not held as a special stage, was opened by the presidents of the three hosting countries, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, the President of Turkmenistan, Dmitri Medwedew, the President of Russia, and Nursultan Nasarbajew, the President of Kazakhstan.

Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)

“The ‘Dakar’ dress rehearsal was successful: The Race Touareg vehicles were running with absolute reliability, our drivers and co-drivers delivered a close competition and the service crew did a perfect job. Long stages, dust and heat put the entire team to a tough test. There’s no better way to prepare. My thanks also go to the organisers and the hosts who created a competition that was well-organised and marked by a high sporting level. Volkswagen is perfectly prepared to tackle the ‘title defence project’ at the Dakar Rally in January 2010.”

#100 – Giniel de Villiers (ZA), 3rd place overall

“We had a good rally week. For Dirk and me, it was particularly important to get used to working in the cockpit after such a long break – the ‘Dakar’ in January was our last competition. At the beginning we had a bit of a problem getting back into the swing of things, but during the second half of the rally we found the right pace. I’m very optimistic as far as the ‘Dakar’ is concerned, we’re well prepared. I enjoyed the Silk Way Rally, it was well organised and a real change.”

#100 – Dirk von Zitzewitz (D), co-driver, 3rd place overall

“The rally was a great experience and a very good test for the whole team. I’m very confident for the ‘Dakar’. I really respect the organisers; they did a good job with this rally that was a nice as well as a difficult event. We received a very warm welcome in Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and I would be happy if this rally were staged again next year.”

#101 – Carlos Sainz (E), 1st place overall

“My assessment of this rally is completely positive. Our car was running perfectly, the whole squad did an outstanding job, and it was also a long and tough event. The pace was very high throughout and the duel with Nasser and Timo was really good fun. It’s a shame that they were unlucky in the end and had to retire; they would have deserved victory as well. Our prospects of again competing for victory at the Dakar Rally in January are good.”

#101 – Lucas Cruz (E), co-driver, 1st place overall

“The navigators had a difficult job at the Silk Way Rally: Unlike at the ‘Dakar’ where the motorcycles start in front of us, we often had no orientation at all as the first vehicle out on the course. What’s more, the pace was very high and there was very little time to make decisions on the special stages with the many small branch-offs. Of course I’m happy about our victory, but the fact that the whole squad was able to get attuned to the ‘Dakar’ in an optimal manner is a lot more important.”

Mark Miller

#103 – Mark Miller (USA), 2nd place overall

“The rally really helped us to prepare for the ‘Dakar’. Ralph and I learned a lot about good teamwork in difficult situations. On three or four days, a lot more would probably have been possible for us, we’ll reflect on that again afterwards. In addition, for me as an American, it was a very special experience being able to explore these countries that were a taboo just a few years ago.”

#103 – Ralph Pitchford (ZA), co-driver, 3rd place overall

“Driving the Silk Way Rally was absolutely the right thing to do. There’s no better way to prepare for the ‘Dakar’ than in a competition in unknown territory. We can definitely be pleased with our result. Mark did a very good job of driving; the navigation problems were a bit frustrating at times. Nevertheless, ‘well done’ to the organisers; it was a very good rally.”

#104 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q), retired

“Of course we’re disappointed about retiring so close to the finish, but these things can happen in rally racing. I was impressed with how positively the squad received us afterwards. I really feel at home with Volkswagen, Timo and I grew together as a team. That was our major goal and we achieved it. We’re ready for the ‘Dakar.’”

#104 – Timo Gottschalk (D), retired

“We fought a great duel with Carlos and Lucas and led the rally for a long time. I feel particularly sorry for the team, which did a great job day by day, that we didn’t quite make it in the end. But we proved that we’re serious contenders. Our time will come.”

Provisional final standings Silk Way Rally

Pos., Team, Vehicle, Total time

1 Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E), Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, 24h 12m 21s

2 Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA), Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, +21 m 52s

3 Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D), Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, +28 m 09s

4 Ruslan Misikov/Konstantin Zhiltsov (RUS/RUS), Nissan, +4h 44m 04s

5 Ilya Kuznetsov/ Andrey Neshin (RUS/RUS), Mitsubishi, +5h 23m 30s

6 Maris Saukans/Didzis Zarnis (LV/LV), OSC, +6h 06m 56s

7 Alexey Berkut/Konstantin Meshcheryakov (RUS/RUS), Mitsubishi, +6h 12m 25s

8 Benediktas Vanagas/Saulius Jurgelenas (LT/LT), OSC, +6h 26m 11s

9 Raz Heymann/Hillel Segal (ISR/ISR), Mitsubishi, +8h 17m3 5s

10 Bodgan Novytskyi/Iurii Kondratiiev (UKR/UKR), Mitsubishi, +10h 20m 01s

Links:    Volkswagen Motorsport –    Silk Way Rally –     YouTube Videos

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Volkswagen celebrates one-two win at “little Dakar” in Brazil

Wolfsburg (03 July 2009). Ten out of ten possible stage wins, four lead changes and a captivating duel: Volkswagen decided the Rallye dos Sertões in Brazil in their favour with a one-two win and thus took the first successful step in the title defence the brand targets at the Dakar Rally in January 2010. The all-Spanish factory duo in the Race Touareg, Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz Senra, secured third place on the final stage of the rally regarded as the toughest and longest cross-country after the legendary “Dakar” and thus clinched overall victory. On the tenth and last special stage between Caicó and Natal, which covered 85 kilometres of narrow gravel tracks and sandy sections, Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) took the stage win and finished as the overall runners-up, just 1m 09s behind Sainz/Cruz Senra. The team-internal duel for stage victories ended in a score of 6:4 for the newly formed duo Al-Attiyah/Gottschalk. The Brazilian pairing Maurício Neves/Eduardo Bampi in another 280-hp diesel prototype from Wolfsburg finished the rally in sixth place overall.

Carlos Sainz vs. Nasser Al-Attiyah: nail-biting duel for the top position

Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz Senra and Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk delivered a nail-biting duel for victory to the countless cheering spectators of the Rallye dos Sertões, who enthusiastically welcomed the “Blue Frogs” – as the “Dakar” winning cars are affectionately nicknamed by the Brazilian fans due to their uncompromising off-road-capable shape – every day in the towns where the stages finished. In the well-balanced fight between the two new pairings who have been put together for the next Dakar Rally the largest gap during the rally was just a little more than ten minutes, and on the eighth day of the rally a mere three seconds. The Volkswagen duos took turns leading the event a total of four times.

Ideal “Dakar” preparation: toughest cross-country rally after the off-road classic

The track profile of the 17th edition of the Rallye dos Sertões made maximum demands on man and machine on the 5,036-kilometre route from the start in Goiânia to the finish in Natal. Extremely narrow gravel trails along farm roads alternated with washed-out trial passages and sections with deep, soft sand. The rally featured very quick as well as slow special stages. For Volkswagen, it was an ideal test for the Dakar Rally in January 2010, which will again be held in Argentina and Chile. Unlike at the “Dakar”, there was no day of rest scheduled during the ten-day rally. Consequently, the “Sertões” was a serious test for the entire team, from the drivers and co-drivers to the mechanics, in terms of technology, logistics and endurance. The “Sertões” also included numerous water passages which posed additional challenges during the cross-country rally through Brazil.

Besides the Rallye dos Sertões the Silk-Way-Rallye from 05 to 13 September – organised by “Dakar” organiser A.S.O. – through the Russian republic of Tatarstan as well as through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan is part of the preparation for the 2010 “Dakar”.

Pressure test in team-internal duel: new duos prove themselves in Brazil

At their first joint performances both “Dakar” pairings, Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz Senra as well as Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk, demonstrated why they were signed for the Volkswagen brand’s “Dakar” programme. Nasser Al-Attiyah, the personable driver from Qatar, competed for the first time together with his German co-driver Timo Gottschalk and – with stage wins during the first six days of the rally – delivered a strong showing as a new team member. Carlos Sainz shared the cockpit of the 280-hp Race Touareg for the first time with Lucas Cruz Senra. This combination worked successfully as well. As early as on the second leg the all-Spanish duo was victorious and captured the lead on the penultimate leg of the 2009 “Sertões”.

Brazilian duo in sixth place overall despite setbacks

The Brazilian duo Maurício Neves/Eduardo Bampi in a third factory-fielded and factory-prepared Volkswagen Race Touareg finished sixth overall despite smaller setbacks. The local heroes were struck by misfortune as early as on the second day of the “Sertões”. A motorcycle rider obstructed them on one of the numerous narrow wooden bridges. While passing the rider Neves/Bampi damaged their rear suspension. Despite a gap of several hours they subsequently moved forwards in the overall standings by clinching a total of seven top-three stage finishes – including three second and four third places.

Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
“If I could award a maximum of five stars for perfect work I’d give each and every team member exactly five stars. The one-two victory here in Brazil can be credited equally to the team and the drivers. The work of the entire crew was perfect, just as it was at the Dakar Rally. The outstanding job by Carlos Sainz, Nasser Al-Attiyah and their co-drivers makes me just as optimistic about the future. Both would have deserved victory and, in the end, were separated by just a few minutes after a tough fight. The Brazilian pairing Maurício Neves and Eduardo Bampi, without a lot of experience in the car, did a great job as well. I’m proud of the entire squad.”

#301 – Carlos Sainz (E), 3rd place leg / 1st place overall
“A victory that makes me very happy, clinched after a hard fight. The ‘Sertões’ was truly a challenge for us drivers. The special stages were long and extremely demanding, the terrain exceptional varied, and a continuous change of rhythm demanded full concentration. For me and my co-driver Lucas Cruz Senra it was a good test to get used to each other in the cockpit in competitive conditions. I think we definitely achieved this. That we won our first joint rally against such strong team-internal rivals was the icing on the cake.”

#301 – Lucas Cruz Senra (E), co-driver
“When you first join a team there’s an incredible number of influences to deal with. You’ve got to familiarise yourself with new team colleagues, new technicians, new engineers and, in particular, a new driver in every detailed aspect in order to be able to deliver a top performance. That I managed to do this with a victory straight away in my maiden race with Carlos Sainz makes me feel proud. Especially because the ‘Sertões’ is the longest and toughest rally after the ‘Dakar’. In some sections it was even tougher.”

#302 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q), 1st place leg / 2nd place overall
“The Rallye dos Sertões was my first competition with Volkswagen and I’m more than happy with the result. Everyone in the team works in a highly professional manner; the technical crew members love their jobs and give everything to achieve success. I need to thank them because they made it possible for me to make such a great debut with material that was always one-hundred-percent right. Thanks to the team spirit and my co-driver Timo Gottschalk, with whom I got on perfectly from the outset, I’m sure that I’ll be able to make my dream of winning the ‘Dakar’ come true.”

#302 – Timo Gottschalk (D), co-driver
“Quite honestly: Before the ‘Sertões’ almost none of us thought that the rally would be this tough. It was a really competitive test for Volkswagen to prepare for the Dakar Rally in January and it showed that it’s regarded as the second-toughest and second-longest cross-country of the world for good reason. The communication with Nasser Al-Attiyah in the cockpit worked smoothly just about from the start. The ‘Sertões’ offered the optimum opportunity for us to get accustomed to each other.”

#309 – Maurício Neves (BR), 2nd place leg / 6th place overall
“To compete in such a professional and well organised team as the Volkswagen team was like entering a new world for me. Every day we learned more about the car and the way the team works. We were able to always fully concentrate on our job. Unfortunately, a few mistakes repeatedly set us back somewhat, so we weren’t able to fully meet our own expectations. Nevertheless, contesting the ‘Sertões’ with Volkswagen has made a dream come true for us.”

#309 – Eduardo Bampi (BR), co-driver
“The Rallye dos Sertões in 2009 had everything a cross-country rally stands for. All sorts of terrain were included: stones, gravel, sand, mud or water passages. To have the chance to contest this event with the world’s best off-road vehicle was a great honour for us. And we’re proud of that. If I could pick a place and time to be at, I’d choose exactly the place and time we’re at right now.”

Number of the day The Rallye dos Sertões was also a technical preparation for Volkswagen for the “Dakar” which, among other things, confronts the contenders with extreme altitudes due to two crossings of the Andes. On the fifth day of the rally the sensors controlling the engine electronics in the Race Touareg logged an ambient pressure of 872 mbar, which corresponds to the pressure at an altitude of about 1,400 metres.

Tentative final standings after Leg 10, Caicó (RN) – Natal (RN)
85 km/340 km SS 11+12/overall

Pos. Team, Vehicles, Leg 10, Total time
1 Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz Senra (E/E), Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, 1h 06m 38.7s (3), 29h 16m 40.1s
2 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D), Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, 1h 03m 55.1s (1), + 1m 09. 4s
3 Jean Azevedo/Youssef Haddad (BR/BR), Mitsubishi L200, 1h 19m 37.0 (14), + 3h 53m 02.7
4 Roberto Reijers/Marcos Almeida (BR/BR), Ford Ranger, 1h 22m 11.2 (12), + 5h 35m 21.6
5 Felipe Bibas/Emerson Cavassi (BR/BR), Mitsubishi L200, 1h 16m 38.3 (9), + 5h 51m 53.2
6 Maurício Neves/Eduardo Bampi (BR/BR), Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, 1h 04m 24.6 (2), + 6h 00m 00.2
7 Luiz Facco/Silvio Deusdara (BR/BR), Mitsubishi L200, 1h 22m 43.3 (16), + 6h 21m 29.3
8 Richard Vaders/A. Spacassassi (BR/BR), Sherpa, 1h 14m 50.9 (7), + 7h 47m 26.1
9 Jarbas de Castro/W. von Schmidt (BR/BR), Sherpa 1h 17m 29.3 (11), + 7h 51m 19.6
10 Romeu Franciosi/Deco Muniz (BR/BR), Sherpa, 1h 14m 13.2 (6), + 9h 00m 00.8

Provinces GO: Goiás; TO: Tocatins; BA: Bahia; PE: Pernambuco; CE: Ceara; RN: Rio Grande do Norte

Volkswagen Motorsport public website: www.volkswagen-motorsport.com

Rallye dos Sertões information: www.dunas.com.br/ing

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