One year after Volkswagen’s win at the debut event in Argentina and Chile, the Wolfsburg-based automobile manufacturer repeated that triumph with a comprehensive one-two-three victory for its Race Touareg vehicles at the world’s toughest motorsport event.
Read more about the Dakar Rally
Sainz and Cruz: a strong unit in the Volkswagen cockpit
Wolfsburg (17 January 2010). Two Dakar winners like chalk and cheese:... Read More
Volkswagen defends Dakar title with one-two-three victory
Stage 14 (16 January 2010). Triumphant title defence in South America:... Read More
Duel between Volkswagen drivers keeps Dakar result open...
Stage 13 (15 January 2010). Two Race Touaregs are fighting for victory and... Read More
Wolfsburg (1 January 2010): Volkswagen started the Dakar Rally in front of an inspiring audience. More than 300 000 fans gathered in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires to celebrate title defenders Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (South Africa/Germany) as well as their Volkswagen team-mates Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (Spain/Spain), Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/South Africa), Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Quattar/Germany) and Maurício Neves/Clécio Maestrelli (Brazil/Brazil). After the required drive across the starting ramp, the route took the five Race Touareg vehicles to Colón, from where the first special stage in open terrain departs on Saturday.
Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, Volkswagen management board member for Technical Development, and Hans-Joachim Stuck, the Volkswagen Group’s motorsport representative, were among the enthusiastic spectators gathered to see off the contestants. After the liaison leg to the first bivouac on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, the actual rally kicks off on Saturday the 2nd of January with the first, 251-kilometre special stage from Colón to Córdoba. A total of 684 kilometres, including liaison stages, are on the agenda.
“The ceremonial start marks a successful, emotional and appropriate beginning for the Dakar Rally,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. “The enthusiasm of the spectators for our sport is fantastic and provides everyone in the Volkswagen team with that final bit of motivation to show top performances. There’s no better way to start to the new year than to complete the first few kilometres of the Dakar in the presence of a cheering crowd before things get serious the next day.”
Coming up next …
Saturday, 2 January: 1st leg, Colón – Córdoba. Dakar 2010 starts with a 251-kilometre special stage. Yet the first leg covering a total of 684 kilometres is anything but an easy warm-up. With the route’s first mountain passages, the Sierras Pampeanas will present contestants with their first serious challenge. Drivers and co-drivers are well advised to find their rhythm from the outset in order to establish good positions for the days ahead.
Wolfsburg (01 December 2009). Volkswagen’s Dakar crew embarked on its voyage across the Atlantic to South America with 60 tons of material and 17 support vehicles. The team that won the past Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile will tackle the title defence project from 1 to 17 January 2010 by fielding five Volkswagen Race Touareg vehicles. To successfully master the challenge of the world’s toughest rally Carlos Sainz, Giniel de Villiers and company will be supported on location by a service crew consisting of some 80 members. In Le Havre, France, five service trucks, three equipment trucks and two race trucks set out on the longest part of the journey, the roughly four-week passage to Buenos Aires in Argentina. The cargo ship that takes the equipment to the starting location, the Grande Brasile, was loaded the day before.
‘For Volkswagen, the most important phase in the preparation for the Dakar Rally started as early as at the end of September. The cargo loading and embarkation of the support crew marked the completion of another stage for the team,’ said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. ‘And of course, the successful completion of each of these individual steps makes us look forward to the Dakar even more. As the title defender we want to decide it in our favour again. A major portion of the logistical effort has now been accomplished.’
The Grande Brasile and its precious cargo: joint passage of all participants
Dakar Rally organiser A.S.O. (Amaury Sport Organisation) made it possible for all European participants to transport their material to South America by ship by organising the voyage themselves. The Grande Brasile carries a major portion of the material of the total of 373 participating teams in its bowels.
On 28 December – exactly 27 days after the Grande Brasile’s departure – the teams will receive their trucks and other support vehicles again, including six Volkswagen Panamericana Multivans that will transport the Volkswagen crew through South America.
For the roughly 80 team members work will then start on location: immediately after clearing customs the support vehicles will be checked again. On 29 and 30 December they will undergo scrutineering, just like the actual rally vehicles. Every vehicle has to prove that the required modifications – from safety features all the way to sufficient water supply – were made. On 1 January, when the starting signal is given at the ceremonial Dakar start, the armada will embark on its tour of Argentina and Chile.
Wolfsburg (23 November 2009). After its historic victory at the 2009 Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile the Wolfsburg-based automobile manufacturer will tackle the title defence project in 2010. When the five factory-prepared and factory-fielded Race Touareg vehicles move across the starting ramp for the 32nd running of the desert classic in Buenos Aires on 1 January 2010 Volkswagen, for the first time, will be in the position of the squad being hunted.
At the Dakar Rally’s debut in South America in 2009 – a gruelling cross-country rally from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean and back – Volkswagen was the first manufacturer in the history of cross-country rally racing to celebrate victory with a diesel-powered automobile.
‘Victory at the Dakar Rally was the biggest exploit for Volkswagen in motorsport,’ says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. ‘But now this triumph is history. Clearly, our new goal is to prove at the 2010 Dakar Rally that the Race Touareg is the most reliable and quickest cross-country rally vehicle in the world. The squad is extremely eager and motivated to demonstrate that the Dakar Rally victory this year was not achieved by accident. We’re ready for this new challenge.’
Five Race Touareg vehicles, one goal: Volkswagen competes with five strong duos For the title defence project Volkswagen banks on five strong driver/co-driver pairings. In addition to the 2009 one-two winners Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (SA/Germany) and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/SA), three newly formed duos will compete for the Wolfsburg-based squad. Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz form a purely Spanish pair, while new signing Nasser Al-Attiyah (Quatar) will be navigated by Timo Gottschalk (Germany). The fifth team consist of the Brazilians Maurício Neves and Clécio Maestrelli.
Like clockwork: Volkswagen logistics at the Dakar Organization is half the battle – this maxim is particularly true in cross-country rally racing. From transporting people and equipment to the venue and throughout the rally, to organizing the service locations, all the way to smooth spare parts supply – planning with clock-work-like precision is one of the success factors at the Dakar Rally. About 80 team members and 23 service vehicles ensure that the five factory-fielded and factory-prepared Race Touareg vehicles receive efficient service day by day throughout the desert classic.
On water, on the ground and in the air: logisticians work to a tight schedule The Volkswagen logisticians only had about two months to prepare their spare parts supply operation for the Dakar Rally. The return of the service vehicles from the Silk Way Rally on 25 September, which Volkswagen successfully contested with a one-two-three win, gave the starting signal for the preparation of the service and equipment trucks – the centrepiece of the logistics effort.
Five trucks specifically designed for this purpose are assigned to each of the Race Touareg vehicles during the Dakar Rally. Each of these trucks carries so many spare parts on board that a new Race Touareg could be built from them – plus several identical components that are prone to higher wear or risk of damage.
As between the various stage destinations, the Volkswagen Race Touareg vehicles will also use a more direct route than the service trucks in terms of logistics. The five Dakar prototypes will be transported by air to Buenos Aires. Volkswagen charters space on two cargo planes for this purpose which will take off for their flights across the Atlantic Ocean on 11 and 14 December.
The marathon alongside the marathon: travel at daytime, service at night On location, a daily marathon will be on the Volkswagen Motorsport service team’s agenda during the Dakar Rally. To arrive at the 15 stage destinations on time, a total of 23 service vehicles are available to the roughly 80 team members. In addition to the service and equipment trucks, the Wolfsburg-based automobile manufacturer even deploys several Panamericana Multivans.
Every day of the rally will push the engineers and technicians of the Volkswagen factory team to the limits. In the daytime, the team members travel the service route to the evening bivouac where maintenance of the Race Touareg vehicles is on the agenda right after their arrival.
High-tech nomads: self-sufficient Volkswagen bivouac as a mobile service centre The Volkswagen bivouac is a self-sufficient, inherently fascinating service centre that is re-erected every day. Stage after stage, the team extracts material from the MAN service and equipment trucks transporting a total cargo of 50 tons between them and sets up a service location that is totally geared to the effective and professional maintenance of the rally vehicles, at a different location for each of the rally’s legs.
The Volkswagen bivouac is not dependent on any external utilities. For example, each of the service trucks carries its own power generator on board. Combined, these generators deliver a connected load equalling that of four one-family houses. Part of this energy is directly converted into light: lighting balloons ensure that the mechanics can see properly at night.
The various trucks are geared to a perfect division of labour. All service trucks equipped exclusively for the maintenance needs of the rally vehicles have side panels that can be opened and entered by the mechanics. After the panels have been opened, they allow direct access to the spare parts arranged in aluminium transport boxes and to the tool drawers. In addition, each truck contains a mobile ‘garage’ including a workbench, grinding and milling machines. The reason why each truck has an identical configuration and equipment is safety: in case one of the trucks should break down, the remaining vehicles can ensure continued support without any delays.
Unlike the service trucks, the equipment trucks are used to fit out the bivouac: tents as dust, sun and rain protection for the engineers and the medical department, a kitchen with a team chef as well as showers for the mechanics are on board of these vehicles. Preparing food for the crew in the bivouac saves a great deal of time, allows the crew to get more sleep and, last but not least, helps the mechanics to maintain their strength.
Always perfectly organised: inventory is electronically acquired and analysed Another clever solution helps to save a lot of time: for the first time at a Dakar Volkswagen uses an electronic inventory system which has been successfully tested during several preparatory rallies. Every spare part – from the bonnet complete with graphics to a small specialty bolt – is marked with a barcode. The data on the replacement and spare parts are acquired using special scanners. This has two advantages: The software provides information about the inventories available on the service trucks. In addition, the mileages of the removed components are captured and catalogued. Each rally kilometre therefore adds to the engineers’ knowledge regarding the durability of each individual component – and even documented in the form of a digitized log.
Kris Nissen: ‘Success makes us even more hungry’
Volkswagen starts the 2010 Dakar Rally as defending champions. Following the first ever victory by a diesel automobile – namely the Race Touareg in January 2009 – the brand is confronted again twelve months later by the toughest test that motorsport has to offer. As Motorsport Director Kris Nissen is responsible for the operation title defence in Argentina and Chile, which begins on 2 January and runs over 14 stages and includes 9,000 competitive kilometres. Here is an interview with the 49-year old Dane about the sporting demands, the technical pioneering role and the main goal for Dakar 2010.
Why does Volkswagen compete in the Dakar Rally? ‘The Dakar represents an excellent platform for an internationally active manufacturer like Volkswagen to demonstrate technical expertise, and this in the toughest motorsport discipline overall. Compared with other leading categories the Dakar offers a broad platform since these events are followed by billions of people around the world. The media interest is unique. Television reports are broadcast in 189 countries. This is another reason why we are involved in the Dakar.’
What are the greatest challenges in cross country rallying? ‘To be successful in cross country rallying a great deal of know-how and experience are required from the technical side. Among other things you have to deal with extremely different conditions and correspondingly different terrain. Just the subjects of reliability and the mileage of individual components require years of experience, which we have collected since we entered cross country rallying.’
How do you judge the 2009 motorsport year from Volkswagen’s point of view? ‘We can look back with pride over a successful year in 2009. It goes without saying that the one-two Dakar result in particular stands out, but also victories in equally demanding rallies like the ‘Sertões’ in Brazil or the ‘Silk Way’ through Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. There were also the three Formula 3 titles won in Great Britain, Germany and at the world final in Macau or the successful Scirocco GT24 outing in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring that make 2009 the most successful of our brand’s 43-year motorsport history.’
Now operation Dakar title defence is on the agenda. Is the pressure greater if you are the hunter or the hunted? ‘The situation has obviously changed. For the first time we start as defending champions. Nevertheless, our wins have not quenched our desire but in fact make us even hungrier for victory. The expectations from outside are high, but we put ourselves under pressure since we want to prove in January that the first diesel victory in the Dakar was anything but a fluke.’
What make you confident that Volkswagen can win again? ‘The team’s great routine. Every team member knows their job and is sure of what they are doing. This leads to enormous inner calm and concentration within the team. We have also done an enormous amount over the last few years to improve efficiency during the Dakar – which paid dividends during the last event. I think that we are even better prepared than ever before.’
What are the biggest hurdles on the way to bringing the Dakar trophy back to Wolfsburg?‘In sport in general it is not possible to predict success or even to be sure of victory beforehand. This is also valid for motorsport and more specifically for the Dakar Rally. It is not possible to compare this category with others in motorsport. You have to prepare for a new route every day that has never been driven before. The iron rule in cross country rallying is ‘expect the unexpected’. The same goes for weather conditions. There are many possibilities to make mistakes and to lose time. Mere details can have a huge effect. There are many factors which play a part. Which is why in 2010 we must also beat the Dakar itself. However, we also have experience of this. To finish first, you first have to finish.’
You mentioned the expectations placed on the team by the public. Are these a burden or additional motivation? ‘Already in 2009 many outsiders expected Volkswagen to win, and following the dominant one-two the same people are saying this year that anything other than a Volkswagen victory would be a surprise. I can only answer that it will be harder than ever before to win the rally in 2010. Our competitors have, like us, improved, have a better driver line-up and have sorted out possible problems during their preparations. For these reasons I’m convinced that victory in 2010 will be even harder to come by than in 2009. However, we enter the race with plenty of confidence because we are extremely well prepared to master the challenges thrown up by the Dakar.’
Volkswagen was the first manufacturer to win the automobile category in the Dakar with diesel technology. In 2010, thanks to Natural Gas power the next innovative concept from Wolfsburg follows in the form of the Scirocco Cup in Germany. Just how important is such a ground breaking direction for a brand like Volkswagen? ‘In the past Volkswagen frequently played the pioneering roll and successfully developed technology for motorsport before introducing it in mass production. In motorsport innovations within the bounds of some regulations are developed to an extreme degree. Volkswagen customers benefit directly from this. Volkswagen permanently thinks about the future to develop lasting technologies. The entire world currently talks about vehicles with lower emissions and alternative fuels. The TDI engines are highly efficient, which they also proved in the Dakar. Natural Gas is an innovative, market-ready fuel and Volkswagen already leads in this segment with a 40 per cent market share of assembly line production. With the Scirocco Cup in 2010 we will demonstrate without compromise that sporting dynamic and environmental awareness are compatible with each other. Up to 260 hp despite reducing the CO2 emissions by over 80 per cent are impressive values.’
Successful start to the Dakar for Volkswagen
Stage 1 (02 January 2010). Volkswagen accomplished the first special stage of the 2010 Dakar Rally with a good team result – all five Race Touareg vehicles are among the top ten at the beginning of the rally.
Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (Spain/Spain) in their Race Touareg reached the day’s finish as the top Volkswagen team with a 2.07-minute gap between them and first-placed Nani Roma in the X-raid BMW. The next Race Touareg followed in fourth place: Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Quattar/Germany) were 3.29 minutes behind the front runners, followed by last year’s winners Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (South Africa/Germany) in fifth place with a 4.31-minute gap. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/South Africa) came eighth.
The fifth Race Touareg, piloted by Maurício Neves/Clécio Maestrelli (Brazil/Brazil), completed the Volkswagen team performance in position ten.
Since several stretches of water were impassable due to heavy rainfall, the organisers were forced to reduce the first special stage by 52 kilometres from 251 to 199 kilometres. The stage started with quick sections on firm soil, followed by more twisty and narrow passages on stony ground, allowing drivers with experience in classic sprint rallies to shine.
Interviews
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
“The rally started very well for Volkswagen. Everything’s going according to plan and we’re more than pleased with the day’s result. The difficult sections of the rally will start day after tomorrow. Only then can we seriously begin thinking about the strategy.”
#300 – Giniel de Villiers (ZA), 5th place leg, / 5th place overall
“It’s an honour being able to open the first leg as the title defender. Unfortunately, this was not particularly advantageous today. We weren’t able to use the tracks of preceding vehicles for orientation. In addition, due to the many stones along the edges of the track there was more to be lost than gained by taking too much of a risk. The first 200 kilometres of the ‘Dakar’ were demanding – but not crucial. That’s why we didn’t show everything yet.”
#303 – Carlos Sainz (E), 2nd place leg / 2nd place overall
“The beginning of the leg was positive in every respect and we were able to catch up with Robby Gordon in the Hummer, who had started in front of us. In his dust it was impossible to overtake on our own power. We used the sentinel but apparently Robby didn’t notice that. Still, second place is a good starting base for tomorrow, which will be similar in terms of the route’s characteristics.”
#305 – Mark Miller (USA), 8th place leg / 8th place overall
“The style of today’s leg was the same as that of the World Rally Championship. This isn’t necessarily the driving style I prefer. Nevertheless, I’m pleased with the first day because we didn’t lose a lot of time although we proceeded with caution. The Dakar Rally is never decided on the first day. At the beginning it’s vitally important not to take any unnecessary risks and to keep the car in top shape.”
#306 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q), 4th place leg / 4th place overall
“It was a good start for us with alternating quick stretches and sections like those in the World Rally Championship. Today it was important to achieve a good position for the next day, and we managed to do this. Yet the first 200 special-stage kilometres were anything but an easy beginning and, in particular, involved a much heavier mental strain than expected.”
#312 – Maurício Neves (BR), 10th place leg / 10th place overall
“The leg was particularly appealing from a technical point of view. The route was narrow, very twisty and resembled the route at my home rally, the Sertoes. It was good fun driving it. I think we found a good rhythm. That’s why I’m very pleased with the first part of the Dakar Rally which is new to me.”
Position
Team, Vehicle
Time
1. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz
(Spain/ Spain)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
2h 13m 22s
2. Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret
(France/ France)
BMW X3 CC
2h 14m 5s
3. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Göttschalk
(Qatar/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
2h 14m 44s
4. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz
(South Africa/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
2h 15m 46s
5. Robby Gordon/Andy Grider
(United States/ United States)
Hummer H3
2h 16m 3s
6. Krzysztof Holowczyc/Jean-Marc Fortin
(Poland/ Belgium)
Nissan Overdrive pickup
2h 17m 22s
7. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford
(United States/ South Africa)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
2h 17m 28s
8. Leonid Novitskiy/Andreas Schulz
(Russian Federation/ Germany)
BMW X3 CC
2h 18m 17s
9. Mauricio Jose Neves/Clecio Maestrelli
(Brazil/ Brazil)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
2h 18m 23s
10. Carlos Sousa/Matthieu Baumel
(Portugal/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
2h 18m 37s
Volkswagen driver Al-Attiyah takes lead at Dakar
Stage 2 (03 January 2010). Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Quattar/Germany) decided the second stage of the Dakar Rally in their favour. After coming fourth, Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (Spain/Spain) in another Race Touareg are in second place overall with a gap of just 1m 19s.
The Volkswagen team continued their solid team performance from the previous day: Maurício Neves/Clécio Maestrelli (Brazil/Brazil) secured third place on the special stage between Córdoba and La Rioja, while Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/South Africa) came fifth and Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (South Africa/Germany) eighth. This means that all five Race Touareg vehicles are among the top six in the overall standings of the world’s toughest rally.
The special stage that took the participants in a north-westerly direction featured quick gravel passages, jumps and lengthy bends as well as rougher and stonier sections.
Coming up next …
Monday, 04 January: 3rd leg, La Rioja – Fiambalá. The special stage was the pinnacle of the 2009 Dakar Rally in the opposite direction. The Sierras Pampeanas, sand galore and the famous towering white dunes provide the terrain to be mastered on the third day of the competition. But in view of many tricky forks in the roads the stage demands both highly accomplished driving and navigational skills.
Interviews
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
"It was an outstanding day for Volkswagen because things went very well. Those who were in one of the front starting positions today were clearly at a disadvantage. Tomorrow, we’ll be in for a difficult stage. But I’m very happy with this stage and the overall results and confident that we’ll be able to continue this way tomorrow.”
#300 – Giniel de Villiers (South Africa), 8th place leg / 6th place overall
"It was a strenuous and long day that, due to overnight rainfalls, started with muddy ground, partial fog and poor visibility and kept us busy with many slippery places. On a hilltop I caught a stone alongside the track which gave us a slow puncture. We lost a little bit of time until we found a place to change the tyre. But the rally will only really get started tomorrow with the first dune stage.”
#303 – Carlos Sainz (Spain), 4th place leg / 2nd place overall
"Today was anything but easy. After only two kilometres we overtook Nani Roma in the X-raid-BMW who had gotten off the track. That’s why we had the honour of opening the route, which was really tricky: in the mud and fog of the first part we acted cautiously and the twisty section on gravel was physically strenuous. We’re still in a good position for the days ahead.”
#305 – Mark Miller (USA), 5th place leg / 4th place overall
"Today really put us to the test. The four solid hours of driving took quite a toll on us, but we’re very pleased with the result. Our goal for this stage was to stay within striking distance and we managed to do that. Now, we’re looking forward to the first real dune stage. Our last kilometres in the dunes were a few months ago, so we’re really keen to tackle them.”
#306 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Quattar), 1st place leg / 1st place overall
"At the beginning – like yesterday – I was cautious. But when the muddy and slippery part was over we attacked a little more. I think we found a good pace without taking too much of a risk. Actually it felt as though we hadn’t been driving all that fast. But the stage victory shows that we did everything right.”
#312 – Maurício Neves (Brazil), 3rd place leg / 5th place overall
"Fantastic. I really like this type of stage. It was very demanding technically, many bends alternated with downhill and uphill sections. We didn’t have a single problem, did a good job of calculating the risk and thus avoided punctures. In addition, my co-driver Clécio Maestrelli did an outstanding job. We’re more than pleased. We’re overjoyed with having clinched third place today.”
Three Volkswagen drivers in the top four places
Stage 3 (04 January 2010). Volkswagen continues to stay in the front runners on the third leg of the Dakar Rally.
Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (Spain/Spain), Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Quattar/Germany) and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/South Africa) with their three Race Touareg cars are ranking in positions two to four at the world’s toughest desert rally. The overall lead was taken by the day’s stage winners Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (France/France) from the X-Raid-Team.
On the 182-kilometre special stage from La Rioja to Fiambalá in Argentina the rally’s level of difficulty clearly increased with scree passages, soft sand and the first high dunes.
Sainz, who set the second-best stage time with a driving time of 3h 01m 03s, achieved an average of just 60.315 kph on the special. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) had to take a repair break after an accident at the beginning of the stage and therefore dropped back.
Coming up next …
Tuesday, 05 January: 4th leg, Fiambalá – Copiapó. First a climb to high altitudes and from there into the Atacama desert – besides physical fitness the Dakar Rally’s first crossing of the Andes also demands that the rally vehicles are in perfect shape. With rising altitudes and decreasing air pressure the engines have less oxygen available for combustion. Only those who are perfectly prepared for these conditions have a chance to clinch stage victory.
Interviews
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
"The Dakar Rally started in earnest today. We knew that as of today things would be getting much more difficult. Nevertheless, we were a little surprised about how difficult it really was and how slow the average speed was on the course. With Carlos Sainz’s second place in front of his team-mates we continue doing well in the race and have every reason to be optimistic.”
#303 – Carlos Sainz (Spain), 2nd place leg / 2nd place overall
"This was an extremely strenuous stage both in terms of the physical strain and driving demands, with incredibly high temperatures in the cockpit. Although we lost a little time to Stéphane Peterhansel today it’s important to bring the car to the finish undamaged - particularly at the beginning of the Dakar. We still have lots of time.”
#305 – Mark Miller (USA), 4th place leg / 4th place overall
"Actually, the stage today went well for us. We hardly lost any time in the dunes, avoided punctures and didn’t get stuck at any point in time. We’re very pleased with this section. Our problem, though, was the start to the special stage. We took the wrong way right at the beginning and lost an enormous amount of time. We’d better not let that happen to us every day.”
#306 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Quattar), 3rd place leg / 3rd place overall
"Today the Dakar showed its true face to me for the first time. The leg was extremely tough and for the first time we drove in soft sand. Unfortunately, we lost time due to a puncture and got lost once. My co-driver Timo Gottschalk had to get out of the car to look for the way at a canyon. That cost some time, but there’ll still be plenty of opportunities to make it up again.”
#312 – Maurício Neves (Brazil), 14th place leg / 10th place overall
"In terms of driving and navigating the third rally day was really tricky. We lost a bit of time because we took the wrong way at the beginning. The dune section was hard to handle because we could only drive in narrow areas at times. But all in all I’m happy because the rough days are still coming up. Even though we lost some time, everything’s still possible.”
Position
Team, Vehicle
Time
1. Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret
(France/ France)
BMW X3 CC
2h 55m 19s
2. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz
(Spain/ Spain)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
3h 1m 3s
3. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Göttschalk
(Qatar/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
3h 5m 20s
4. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford
(United States/ South Africa)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
3h 5m 33s
5. Alfie Cox/Jürgen Schröder
(South Africa/ Germany)
Nissan Overdrive Pickup
3h 22m 20s
6. Krzysztof Holowczyc/Jean-Marc Fortin
(Poland/ Belgium)
Nissan Overdrive pickup
3h 23m 39s
7. Carlos Sousa/Matthieu Baumel
(Portugal/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
3h 34m 21s
8. Guilherme Spinelli/Filipe Palmeiro
(Brazil/ Portugal)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
3h 36m 19s
9. Bernard Errandonea/Jean-Pierre Garcin
(Andorra/ France)
SMG Buggy
3h 47m 18s
10. Robby Gordon/Andy Grider
(United States/ United States)
Hummer H3
3h 50m 15s
Volkswagen trio remains at front of the field
Stage 4 (05 January 2010). After a successful beginning in Argentina, Volkswagen has proved the qualities of the Race Touareg on the first Chilean leg of the 2010 Dakar Rally as well.
Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Quattar/Germany) achieved third place at the demanding crossing of the Andes on the fourth leg from Fiambalá to Copiapó with a gap of 2m 26s behind the stage winners Robby Gordon/Andy Grider (USA/USA) in the Hummer and Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (France/France) from the X-raid team.
In the following places, Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (Spain/Spain), Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (South Africa/Germany) and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/South Africa) completed Volkswagen’s successful stage in their Race Touaregs. Maurício Neves/Clécio Maestrelli (Brazil/Brazil) reached the stage destination for Volkswagen in tenth place. At an average speed of 95.15 km/h Al-Attiyah was clearly faster than on the previous day’s stage, which featured lots of dunes and was run at a speed that, on average, was about 35 km/h slower.
After four of the 14 stages Stéphane Peterhansel continues ranking in front of the Volkswagen trio Carlos Sainz, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mark Miller while Maurício Neves is in tenth place overall. Last year’s winners Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz, who had dropped back the day before due to electrical damage – as a result of an accident – achieved a fifth-place finish.
In view of the high level of difficulty of stage three and the fact that various participants had not even arrived at the finish during the night the organiser decided to shorten stage four. As a result, it only encompassed the first 163 of the planned 203 kilometres.
Coming up next …
Wednesday, 06 January: 5th leg, Copiapó – Antofagasta. The first day of an extremely tough desert four-pack starts with a 483-kilometre special stage – the second-longest one of the first Dakar week. Drivers and technical crews should be prepared for many sandy passages with dune crossings at high altitudes. But the Atacama desert also offers gravel and scree passages to challenge drivers and co-drivers.
Interviews
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
"It was a thrilling day which Robby Gordon finished as the surprise winner. All five Volkswagen vehicles reached the finish among the top eight cars. The five Race Touareg vehicles were running without the slightest technical problems. This means we’re fully on schedule. And we’re pleased to see that the Dakar Rally is such an exciting and open race.”
#300 – Giniel de Villiers (South Africa), 5th place leg / 20th place overall
"After yesterday’s electrical problem I started far at the rear of the field today and had to overtake many cars. That’s why I had to struggle a bit with dust. In addition, I must have caught a cold and started to the special stage with a headache. Every pothole hurts twice as much in that case. Aside from that, it was a great day. The car is running flawlessly.”
#303 – Carlos Sainz (Spain), 4th place leg / 2nd place overall
"The leg today tended to be one of the faster types on which we had no problems whatsoever. On the contrary: The Race Touareg was running like a charm today. In one of the situations we lost some time because at a tricky place we weren’t sure whether or not we’d taken the right way. So we decided to play it safe there, but that wasn’t the quickest option.”
#305 – Mark Miller (USA), 6th place leg / 4th place overall"That was probably not the strongest stage for us because we got stuck on a dune for a few minutes. It wasn’t really deep but enough to lose a lot of time. That was my fault because I may have been too cautious in that place. We had to get out of the car and jack it up to free it. That explains our loss of time.”
#306 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Quattar), 3rd place leg / 3rd place overall"Today, we had a bit of bad luck again. A slow puncture cost us a lot of time. But we decided not to change the tyre and, instead, added more air. Unfortunately, we had to stop twice, so this decision didn’t pay off. I’m sure that otherwise I could have won the special. Consequently, I’m a bit disappointed.”
#312 – Maurício Neves (Brazil), 10th place leg / 10th place overall
"That’s what Dakar days should be like. Gravel stretches on slippery sections, downhill passages and beautiful dune crossings – a landscape right out of a picture book. To experience all this with the Race Touareg is simply fantastic. Unfortunately, we again caught a puncture today – if we hadn’t, our result might well have been better.”
Position
Team, Vehicle
Time
1. Robby Gordon/Andy Grider
(United States/ United States)
Hummer H3
1h 40m 21s
2. Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret
(France/ France)
BMW X3 CC
1h 40m 22s
3. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Göttschalk
(Qatar/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
1h 42m 47s
4. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz
(Spain/ Spain)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
1h 43m 25s
5. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz
(South Africa/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
1h 44m 35s
6. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford
(United States/ South Africa)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
1h 46m 35s
7. Orlando Terranova/Pascal Maimon
(Argentina/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
1h 49m 27s
8. Ronn Bailey/Kellon Walch
(United States/ United States)
Hummer H3
1h 51m 14s
9. Leonid Novitskiy/Andreas Schulz
(Russian Federation/ Germany)
BMW X3 CC
1h 51m 25s
10. Mauricio Jose Neves/Clecio Maestrelli
(Brazil/ Brazil)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
1h 51m 43s
Volkswagen trio in front: Miller with stage win, Sainz takes lead
Stage 5 (06 January 2010). Volkswagen took the lead on what was the longest and toughest special stage of the Dakar Rally to date. Three Race Touareg vehicles are setting the pace at the front of the field after five days, both in the stage and overall classifications.
Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (Spain/Spain) are leading the cross-country classic with an advantage of 4m 37s. Runners-up are their team-mates Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Quattar/Germany), followed with a gap of 9m 39s by Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/South Africa) who celebrated their first ever stage win at the Dakar Rally. Consequently, the first five days of the closely fought rally through Argentina and Chile have seen five different winners.
On the way from Copiapó to Antofagasta, which led across elevations of almost 3,000 metres and vast scree fields, the participants contested the special stage that – at 483 kilometres – was the second-longest one of the rally. For the stage winners Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford the key to success was a style of driving that was consistently fast and yet easy on the vehicle: the American-South African duo avoided any punctures which, in view of the presence of large and sharp stones in the washed-out terrain, were almost inevitable.
The X-raid-BMW team of Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (France/France), who had been ranking in first place so far, lost well over an hour’s time in the Atacama desert. Now, the Americans Robby Gordon/Andy Grider in the Hummer are the Volkswagen trio’s immediate rivals in the overall standings.
Coming up next …
Thursday, 07 January: 6th leg, Antofagasta – Iquique. The Dakar retains its typical South American character on the sixth day too: on the way from Antofagasta to Iquique dune passages will again alternate with ground covered with stones and gravel. Not only the drivers have to prove their versatility, though. For the navigators the share of off-road navigation, and thus driving in the compass direction, will increase in the north of Chile.
Interviews
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
"This was a long and very, very good day for Volkswagen. All drivers and co-drivers did a super job. Despite our exploits in the stage and interim classifications we’ve got to remain calm and concentrated because the Dakar itself has to be defeated first. We’ve still got more than 3 000 kilometres in tough terrain to tackle.”
#300 – Giniel de Villiers (South Africa), 17th place leg / 18th place overall
"It seems like we’re attracting bad luck this year. Bad for us – good for the team if the situation continues this way. Today we failed to notice a diagonal rut from a motorcycle rider in an off-road section in the dust and hit it, breaking a bolt of one of the front hub carriers in the process. The repair of the ball joint took a long time. But that wasn’t all: afterwards we got stuck in the dust of a Kamaz truck and then, to top things off, had two punctures. For Dirk and me, helping the team as much as we can is all that counts any more.”
#303 – Carlos Sainz (Spain), 2nd place leg / 1st place overall
"An extremely hard and long day on which almost nothing went wrong, actually. The Race Touareg was running like clockwork. Unfortunately, though, we damaged the right rear tyre on a stone about 100 kilometres before the finish. There was a big risk of that happening today. By finishing today’s special stage as the runners-up we took the overall lead. That’s why I’m more than pleased. I’m happy for my team-mate Mark Miller, who won the stage.”
#305 – Mark Miller (USA), 1st place leg / 3rd place overall
"My first stage victory at the Dakar! Today reminded me a little of the film ‘Days of Thunder’ – I didn’t feel like I was particularly fast, but the others were slower. Today was about avoiding punctures, and we managed avoiding them. In addition, my co-driver Ralph Pitchford did a top-notch job of navigating. But we only saw a snapshot today. There’s still a lot of work to be done.”
#306 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Quattar), 3rd place leg / 2nd place overall
"Today, Timo and I were busy containing damage. Unfortunately, we suffered a puncture in an attempt to overtake Stéphane Peterhansel because we drove across a large stone. That was right at the beginning of the special, so we were cautious in the middle section because we only had one spare tyre left. We attacked only towards the end and were able to make up some time that way.”
#312 – Maurício Neves (Brazil), 5th place leg / 7th place overall
"A demanding stage with large scree fields and an impressive landscape. Unlike many others we were able to avoid punctures. That’s why I’m more than happy with the stage result – particularly because my co-driver Clécio Maestrelli did a very good job of navigating me today.”
Position
Team, Vehicle
Time
1. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford
(United States/ South Africa)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
5h 6m 15s
2. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz
(Spain/ Spain)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
5h 8m 25s
3. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Göttschalk
(Qatar/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
5h 10m 42s
4. Robby Gordon/Andy Grider
(United States/ United States)
Hummer H3
5h 11m 3s
5. Mauricio Jose Neves/Clecio Maestrelli
(Brazil/ Brazil)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
5h 15m 36s
6. Guerlain Chicherit/Maria Cristina Thoerner
(France/ Switzerland)
BMW X3 CC
5h 18m 39s
7. Orlando Terranova/Pascal Maimon
(Argentina/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
5h 22m 48s
8. Carlos Sousa/Matthieu Baumel
(Portugal/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
5h 26m 23s
9. Krzysztof Holowczyc/Jean-Marc Fortin
(Poland/ Belgium)
Nissan Overdrive pickup
5h 31m 41s
10. Leonid Novitskiy/Andreas Schulz
(Russian Federation/ Germany)
BMW X3 CC
5h 31m 53s
Volkswagen driver Sainz extends lead at Dakar
Stage 6 (07 January 2010). Volkswagen continues leading the 2010 Dakar Rally with three Race Touaregs after the sixth of 14 stages.
Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz (Spain/Spain), who had taken the lead the day before, extended their advantage in the Race Touareg from 4m 37s to 15m 24s. Their team-mates Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Quattar/Germany) continue ranking as the overall runners-up ahead of Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/South Africa) in another Race Touareg.
Almost up to the finish of the 418-kilometre stage from Antofagasta to Iquique in Chile’s Atacama desert it looked as though Miller/Pitchford was going to take second place overall. However, on the final 25 kilometres their advantage of 3m 19s over Al-Attiyah changed to a gap of 2m 23s behind Al-Attiyah.
The sixth leg between Antofagasta and Iquique was marked by constantly changing terrain.
Apart from vast expanses, the day featured winding passages across gravel. The leg ended with a spectacular downhill finish to the rally bivouac from a dune situated on the coast, where the participants drove 600 metres downhill at speeds of up to 180 km/h.
Volkswagen, however, also suffered a set-back on the sixth leg: The Brazilian duo Maurício Neves/Clécio Maestrelli retired from the event after rolling over. The driver and co-driver are in good condition considering the circumstances. As a precautionary measure, Maurício Neves was taken to a hospital for a check where he was diagnosed as having fractured two ribs.
Coming up next …
Friday, 08 January: 7th leg, Iquique – Antofagasta. Before the rest day, the organisers of the Dakar Rally, the A.S.O. (Amaury Sport Organisation), have scheduled a veritable marathon. The way through the Atacama desert back to Antofagasta includes a 600-kilometre special stage and is therefore the longest timed section of Dakar 2010 which promises to take participants to their physical limits.
Interviews
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
"On the sporting level the day went well for us. The three leading Race Touareg cars made it through the stage alright although, according to the drivers, it was an extremely difficult leg. The navigation was difficult and the powdery fech-fech sand put high demands on the drivers. Today’s leg also involved a bit of a shock for us: Our Brazilian duo experienced a severe roll-over. While co-driver Clécio Maestrelli sustained no injuries, driver Maurício Neves complained about chest pains and was taken to a hospital for a medical examination. The fact that neither of them suffered any serious injuries shows that the Race Touareg’s build is very strong and sturdy.”
#300 – Giniel de Villiers (South Africa), 8th place leg / 16th place overall
"Starting so far at the back after yesterday’s loss of time was no gift to us. The dust was extreme and it was nearly impossible to overtake safely. After 135 kilometres we arrived at the scene of Maurício and Clécio’s accident and stopped there for almost half an hour to call the helicopter and assist them. Afterwards just finishing the stage was the only thing that counted for us yet again. But the last ten kilometres in the dunes were simply incredible and really good fun.”
#303 – Carlos Sainz (Spain), 2nd place leg / 1st place overall
"Today’s leg was even more demanding - particularly with respect to navigation one could lose a lot of time. We still haven’t covered even half of the Dakar yet, so during the next few days I'm going to try my best to drive in a way that’s as easy as possible on the vehicle and to take it one day at a time.”
#305 – Mark Miller (USA), 3rd place leg / 3rd place overall
"Unfortunately, we lost a lot of time right in the beginning today because we had to look for the way. I'm not blaming my co-driver Ralph Pitchford for this because the road-book was not very precise today. But all in all I’m happy. And particularly the final shot was a good reward for today’s hard labour: thousands of spectators and a steep downhill drive towards the ocean, with the bivouac in front of us. That was a massive surge of adrenaline.”
#306 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Quattar), 4th place leg / 2nd place overall
"Particularly for the co-drivers today wasn’t easy. There were many places where you could lose time looking for the way. That’s exactly what happened to us too. Nevertheless, I’m pleased with the stage result, considering the circumstances. Our tactics won’t change in any way: We’ll remain concentrated and cautious. But maybe we can still recover some time in the next few days anyhow.”
Position
Team, Vehicle
Time
1. Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret
(France/ France)
BMW X3 CC
4h 23m 55s
2. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz
(Spain/ Spain)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
4h 24m 42s
3. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford
(United States/ South Africa)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
4h 32m 50s
4. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Göttschalk
(Qatar/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
4h 35m 29s
5. Leonid Novitskiy/Andreas Schulz
(Russian Federation/ Germany)
BMW X3 CC
4h 41m 27s
6. Nicolas Misslin/Jean-Michel Polato
(France/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
4h 42m 19s
7. Carlos Sousa/Matthieu Baumel
(Portugal/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
4h 45m 24s
8. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz
(South Africa/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
4h 48m 27s
9. Guerlain Chicherit/Maria Cristina Thoerner
(France/ Switzerland)
BMW X3 CC
4h 48m 43s
10. Krzysztof Holowczyc/Jean-Marc Fortin
(Poland/ Belgium)
Nissan Overdrive pickup
4h 52m 4s
Volkswagen leads Dakar Rally with three cars at mid-point
Stage 7 (08 January 2010). After seven of the 14 legs of the 2010 Dakar Rally Volkswagen maintains a commanding lead: three Race Touareg cars with TDI power are running in front in the overall standings before the rest day.
Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (Spain/Spain) are leading the world’s toughest rally with 11m 03s ahead of their team-mates Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Quatar/Germany) and 22m 06s in front of Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/South Africa).
Nasser Al-Attiyah managed an outstanding feat when he won the 600-kilometre, and so far longest, stage from Iquique to Antofagasta in the Chilean Atacama desert. After a nail-biting duel and the lead changing many times he arrived 3m 29s earlier at the finish than the second-placed Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean Paul Cottret (France/France) in the X-Raid-BMW. During the first 80 kilometres the two drivers had been snatching individual seconds from each other. For Al-Attiyah it was the second stage win after his exploit on the second day of the rally.
Carlos Sainz finished the stage (consisting of dunes, a surface of "salar” salt crystal blocks and quicker, stony sections) in third place while Mark Miller took the fourth position.
Last year’s winners Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (South Africa/ Germany) finished the stage before the rest day in sixth place after two punctures but, due to previous delays, are ranking 4h 31m behind the front runners.
Coming up next …
Saturday, 09 January: rest day, Antofagasta. On the eighth day of the Dakar Rally the rally vehicles will stop. Still, the rest day of the world’s toughest rally will provide a respite only for the drivers and co-drivers. The mechanics will perform extensive service to the vehicles in Antofagasta – including in-depth checks down to the smallest detail and cleaning work. The drivers, on the other hand, will be in the lime-light due to the media’s high interest in the event.
Sunday, 10 January: 8th leg, Antofagasta – Copiapó. An easy re-start after the break? Not by a long shot! The Dakar organisers have scheduled a 472-kilometre special for the start of the second rally week – the second-longest stage of the whole rally. Again, a mix of sand, gravel and firm clay soil and constant changes between different types of terrain will be in store for the participants.
Interviews
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
"I take my hat off to our drivers, co-drivers and the Race Touareg. We mastered the longest day with a stage victory and places one to three in the overall standings. The mechanics are in for a lot of work on the rest day, while the drivers and co-drivers have a chance to recover a bit. We’re very pleased at the moment but also know that we’ve still got 50 per cent of the rally ahead of us.”
#300 – Giniel de Villiers (South Africa), 6th place leg / 11th place overall
"Today was another one that was a little jerky for us. We took the wrong way twice and ended up in a vast scree field. That cost us time. Two punctures cost us time as well. We had to finish the last part of the special with just one spare wheel left and therefore drove with particular caution. Our mission will continue to be to support our team-mates up to the finish in Buenos Aires.”
#303 – Carlos Sainz (Spain), 3rd place leg / 1st place overall
"High dunes in the beginning and quick sections formed the first part of the rally day. A minor navigation error cost us a little time and that made it possible for my team-mate Nasser Al-Attiyah to overtake us so shortly after the neutralisation phase. He set a fast pace and deserves having decided the stage in his favour. Remaining at the top of the standings after this hard rally day is our little victory of the day.”
#305 – Mark Miller (USA), 4th place leg / 3rd place overall
"I think that while we were driving on the exact route we were fast too. This day suited the all-rounders well. Unfortunately, we lost time due to a navigation mistake because the road-book wasn’t always easy to understand. But be that as it may: We’re running in third place at mid-point. We want to use the second Dakar week to further improve this position.”
#306 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Quatar), 1st place leg / 2nd place overall
"A really tough stage, a perfect car, an excellent co-driver and I think a good driver, too, were the combination that resulted in the stage win. The split special was anything but easy and offered a wide variety of terrain. This took some mental strength. Before the stage I made the decision to attack and managed doing a good job of that. We’re in a good position for the rest of the rally.”
Position
Team, Vehicle
Time
1. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Göttschalk
(Qatar/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
5h 41m 29s
2. Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret
(France/ France)
BMW X3 CC
5h 44m 58s
3. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz
(Spain/ Spain)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
5h 45m 50s
4. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford
(United States/ South Africa)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
5h 50m 9s
5. Guerlain Chicherit/Maria Cristina Thoerner
(France/ Switzerland)
BMW X3 CC
5h 57m 2s
6. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz
(South Africa/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
6h 2m 51s
7. Orlando Terranova/Pascal Maimon
(Argentina/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
6h 14m 37s
8. Krzysztof Holowczyc/Jean-Marc Fortin
(Poland/ Belgium)
Nissan Overdrive pickup
6h 23m 8s
9. Nicolas Misslin/Jean-Michel Polato
(France/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
6h 28m 55s
10. Christian Lavieille/Jean-paul Forthomme
(France/ Belgium)
Nissan Proto Dessoude
6h 46m 36s
Good start to second-half: Volkswagen defends first three places
Stage 8 (10 January 2010). Three "Blues” top the leader board: Volkswagen comfortably defended its first three positions overall on the Dakar Rally’s eighth stage between Antofagasta to Copiapó.
Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (Spain/Spain) finished second on the day and continue to hold the overall lead by 14 minutes 35 seconds ahead of their team mates Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Quatar/Germany) and 22 minutes 28 seconds in front of Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/South Africa).
The rally professionals staged a head-to-head battle throughout the 472 kilometre long and extremely tough stage through Chile, and the lead changed no less than four times. To start, the X-raid BMW drivers Guerlain Chicherit (France) and Stéphane Peterhansel (France) exchanged places up until the mid-point of the stage before Mark Miller assumed the lead for Volkswagen.
Then last year’s winners Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (South Africa/ Germany) took control of proceedings in the fourth Race Touareg before they suffered their second puncture and were caught by Peterhansel just short of the finish line.
Peterhansel, who also complained of a tyre failure, nevertheless moved up to fourth place overall as closest rival to the Volkswagen trio almost two hours behind. After suffering two punctures each Sainz, Miller, De Villiers and Al-Attiyah took second to fifth on the day separated by 3 minutes 32 seconds.
The eighth day was dominated by a nearly 400 kilometre long, extremely stony section. Large boulders and trial-like passages made this part of the 472 kilometre long special stage into a real challenge for suspension and tyres. Constant changes of rhythm demanded permanent concentration from the drivers and navigators. A dune section of soft sand ended the stage between Antofagasta and Copiapó.
Coming up …
Monday, 11 January: 9th leg, Copiapó – La Serena. On the one hand hard, stony, off-road sections and, on the other, fast sections over gravel – the stage between Copiapó and the seaside resort is hard on both man and machine. On the ninth stage of the Dakar the navigators are in demand: innumerable junctions in canyons must be taken correctly so as not to lose any time.
Interviews
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
"A perfect day as all four Race Touaregs ran fantastically and we are still at the top of the leader board with all three cars. Today we experienced one of the most difficult stages overall. The stage was particularly hard to the suspension and tyres. The stage did however show the exceedingly high quality of work done by our mechanics on the rest day. Our drivers were given perfect material for today and the Race Touareg once again demonstrated just how robust and reliable it is.”
#300 – Giniel de Villiers (South Africa), 4th place day / 9th position overall
"That was by far the most picturesque and difficult stage of the 2010 Dakar Rally so far. Fields of scree, canyons and at the end plenty of sand and of course many changes in rhythm between fast and slow sections – this is exactly how Dakar stages should be made. Unfortunately Lady Luck has deserted us during this rally. We could have won today’s stage but two punctures put paid to this. With a little more luck our slow puncture, which had already held several hundreds of kilometres, would not have needed changing only 30 kilometres before the finish ...”
#303 – Carlos Sainz (Spain), 2nd place day / 1st position overall
"I’ve never seen so many stones in my entire life. Almost the entire stage – apart from the last belt of dunes – consisted of gravel and extremely large boulders. Unfortunately we had a tyre failure right at the beginning and we had to use our second spare tyre almost 200 kilometres before the finish. This also meant that we had to approach the final section extremely cautiously. It’s a great relief to still be at the front after this tough and demanding stage.”
#305 – Mark Miller (USA), 3rd place day / 3rd position overall
"An extremely varied day. Not just as far as the landscape was concerned but also from the sporting point of view. We overtook Carlos Sainz and Guerlain Chicherit in his X-raid BMW several times during the stage, however punctures constantly mixed up the running order on the route. In the road book this morning it looked as if the first section of 40 kilometres would be stony. Fact is, however, it was 400 kilometres of stones, stones and even more stones. This caused us to have two punctures.”
#306 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q), 5th place day / 2nd position overall
"You can describe today’s stage particularly well with the word ‘stony’. Many gravel fields, many slow passages but also constant changes in rhythm to fast sections. We had to change a punctured tyre twice, and we also got bogged down in the final dune section. All in all we didn’t lose too much time to our team mate Carlos Sainz and we are happy to have put this extremely hard stage behind us without a single mechanical problem.”
Position
Team, Vehicle
Time
1. Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret
(France/ France)
BMW X3 CC
5h 6m 5s
2. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz
(Spain/ Spain)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
5h 6m 50s
3. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford
(United States/ South Africa)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
5h 7m 12s
4. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz
(South Africa/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
5h 10m 6s
5. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Göttschalk
(Qatar/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
5h 10m 22s
6. Orlando Terranova/Pascal Maimon
(Argentina/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
5h 13m 20s
7. Carlos Sousa/Matthieu Baumel
(Portugal/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
5h 27m 15s
8. Guerlain Chicherit/Maria Cristina Thoerner
(France/ Switzerland)
BMW X3 CC
5h 28m 9s
9. Krzysztof Holowczyc/Jean-Marc Fortin
(Poland/ Belgium)
Nissan Overdrive pickup
5h 31m 37s
10. Robby Gordon/Andy Grider
(United States/ United States)
Hummer H3
5h 43m 4s
One-two-three for Volkswagen - third stage win for Al-Attiyah
Stage 9 (11 January 2010). Volkswagen claim first three positions on stage, three "Blues” head overall standings: The TDI diesel powered Race Touareg continued to set the benchmark on the ninth of the 14-day long 2010 Dakar Rally.
Nasser Al-Attiyah and Timo Gottschalk (Quatar/Germany) claimed the day’s victory on the route between Copiapó and La Serena in Chile ahead of their team mates Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (Spain/Spain) and Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (South Africa/Germany). Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ South Africa) recorded the fifth fastest time in another Race Touareg behind the French X-raid driver Guerlain Chicherit in a BMW. Carlos Sainz continues to lead the overall standings, with Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mark Miller in second and third place.
In the process of taking Volkswagen’s fourth stage victory this year Nasser Al-Attiyah’s winning margin of 5 minutes 59 seconds represented the largest lead for the winner of a stage during the 2010 Dakar Rally. The rally professional from Qatar achieved this notable performance on the shortest stage so far, which ran, however, through difficult dune fields in the Atacama Desert.
The original 354 kilometre long section was reduced by more than half to only 170 kilometres. The organisers postponed the start by 3 hours 45 minutes due to isolated fogbanks.
The ninth day of the Dakar finally saw the competitors leave the Atacama Desert behind. Beforehand, however, it was a case of overcoming dune belts and deep, soft sand. The key to success was the drivers’ ability to read the steeply falling dunes scattered with camel grass vegetation so as not to get bogged down on the opposite side and lose time as a result.
Coming up …
Tuesday, 12 January: 10th leg, La Serena – Santiago. Narrow, passage-like mountain tracks dominate the picture during the tenth stage of the Dakar. The fitness of the drivers can be particularly critical on this section: numerous heavy braking manoeuvres and tight corners require plenty of movement in the cockpit. Also, the drivers must be prepared for permanently changing terrain. Drivers with experience of traditional rallying will be particularly at home on this stage.
Interviews
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
"On a very sandy stage the Race Touareg with TDI Power demonstrated once again what you need to win under the toughest of conditions. The quality of our drivers was obvious again today. Although the stage was very short, Nasser Al-Attiyah and his co-driver Timo Gottschalk opened up a considerable advantage in the dunes. Four Race Touaregs in the first five cars is a strong performance, as is holding the first three positions in the overall standings.”
#300 – Giniel de Villiers (South Africa), 3rd place day / 7th position overall
"A dune stage from start to finish. I really enjoyed this special stage. Right at the beginning we waited for our team mate Nasser Al-Attiyah so we could help him if required and then we followed him. The navigation today was not without its puzzles – but my co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz did an excellent job.”
#303 – Carlos Sainz (Spain), 2nd place day / 1st position overall
"Not a simple stage, as you could lose time very easily. After around 40 or 50 kilometres we had a puncture, which we changed quickly. Afterwards we overtook Stéphane Peterhansel in the X-raid BMW who had got bogged down. From then on I was the lead car in the stage together with my co-driver Lucas Cruz – this certainly wasn’t an advantage. All in all I’m satisfied with the result - particularly as we are still at the front.”
#305 – Mark Miller (USA), 5th place day / 3rd position overall
"I’m a little disappointed today, since we had a good pace in the first 80 kilometres. However, we then got lost and lost a lot of time as a consequence. Afterwards I lost contact with my team mates Nasser Al-Attiyah and Carlos Sainz along the route and probably approached the remainder of the stage a little too cautiously. Be that as it may, a completely different terrain with plenty of gravel awaits us tomorrow. This sort of stage suited me last time – I want to make good here the time I’ve lost.”
#306 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Quatar), 1st place day / 2nd position overall
"That was my stage. Before the start we decided to attack. Loads of sand, several dune fields, some with camel grass – I was able to make up a lot of time here. Now I trail my team mate Carlos Sainz by a good eight minutes after clawing back six. Because the forthcoming stages should also suit me I hope to be able to be in with a shout of taking overall victory.”
Position
Team, Vehicle
Time
1. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Göttschalk
(Qatar/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
1h 59m 18s
2. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz
(Spain/ Spain)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
2h 5m 27s
3. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz
(South Africa/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
2h 7m 6s
4. Guerlain Chicherit/Maria Cristina Thoerner
(France/ Switzerland)
BMW X3 CC
2h 9m 41s
5. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford
(United States/ South Africa)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
2h 10m 16s
6. Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret
(France/ France)
BMW X3 CC
2h 16m 54s
7. Nicolas Misslin/Jean-Michel Polato
(France/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
2h 19m 22s
8. Leonid Novitskiy/Andreas Schulz
(Russian Federation/ Germany)
BMW X3 CC
2h 19m 43s
9. Carlos Sousa/Matthieu Baumel
(Portugal/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
2h 20m 31s
10. Orlando Terranova/Pascal Maimon
(Argentina/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
2h 29m 36s
Volkswagen celebrates fifth stage win - three Race Touaregs lead
Stage 10 (12 January 2010). The Spaniards Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (Spain/Spain) increased their lead over their two team mates in the overall standings following the duo’s first stage victory and Volkswagen’s fifth so far this year in the 2010 Dakar Rally.
Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Quatar/Germany) are now in second place 10 minutes 6 seconds behind the leaders, while Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (United States/South Africa) in the third Race Touareg trail the leaders by a margin of 28 minutes 19 seconds.
The three leaders in the overall standings were incredibly evenly matched after more than three hours of driving through the tenth Dakar stage: Sainz, Al-Attiyah and Miller reached the finish in team formation covered by a mere 1 minute 40 seconds.
As the former Rally World Champion, Sainz was in his element along the small mountain passes from La Serena to Santiago. Stony tracks, tight corners and many braking manoeuvres – the demands were more reminiscent of a rally world championship than a desert rally.
Sainz eventually won the desert classic’s tenth stage in the Race Touareg with a 28 second margin over Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (France/France) in an X-raid BMW. It was his sixteenth stage victory in a Dakar Rally, which he has been contesting for Volkswagen since 2006. Another rival in the fight for victory was Volkswagen team mate Mark Miller, who was in the lead after 148 of the 238-kilometre stage. The American finished third, ahead of team mate Nasser Al-Attiyah.
After ten of the 14 stages the Volkswagen trio hold a considerable advantage in the overall standings: fourth-placed Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (France/France) at the wheel of an X-raid-BMW are 2 hours 14 minutes 20 seconds behind.
Coming up …
Wednesday, 13 January: 11th leg, Santiago – San Juan. In view of the impressive landscape the second Andes crossing requires the undivided attention of both drivers and co-drivers. In addition to gravel sections, passages with soft, powder-like sand are on the agenda during the journey across the border to Argentina. Locals call this special subsoil "Guadal”.
Interviews
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
"That was a stage like a sprint rally. We set up the cars differently and selected suitable damping characteristics for the ZF Sachs dampers. As a result, the cars were very agile and fast. My congratulations go not only to the drivers but also to their co-drivers. The navigation was really tricky today also. We can be extremely satisfied with the results but should nevertheless not forget that there is still a long way to go. Everybody must continue to do their jobs faultlessly.”
#300 – Giniel de Villiers (South Africa), 11th place day / 7th position overall
"Actually a great stage with many gravel sections which were great fun to drive. It’s easy to explain our loss of time. At the start of the stage we waited until our team mate Mark Miller had overtaken us to be able to help if something happened. That was the first four minutes. A puncture cost us another two minutes. Afterwards we were stuck in the dust cloud kicked up by Stéphane Peterhansel’s X-raid BMW.”
#303 – Carlos Sainz (Spain), 1st place day / 1st position overall
"A typical stage like we see in the rally world championship, which really suited us. Tight corners, very slippery passages – today you could lose more than you could gain. Nevertheless we found a good rhythm. We caught up very quickly with Nasser Al-Attiyah who had started in front of us, but couldn’t overtake in his dust.”
#305 – Mark Miller (United States), 3rd place day / 3rd position overall
"These types of stages actually suit me less than those with more sand. Nevertheless we drove at a good pace today. Just before the start I spoke to my team mate Carlos Sainz and he gave me a few good tips. I think this helped us to finish third today.”
#306 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Quatar), 4th place day / 2nd position overall
"I was first on the stage today – which certainly wasn’t an advantage. But I knew that it would be difficult for my team mate Carlos Sainz to pass in the dust. We were able to control the time loss as a result. This gives us a small advantage for tomorrow with these stages like those in the rally world championship and the tracks through dry riverbeds, because we have three cars starting in front of us which effectively sweep the tracks clean – just as we did for the others today.”
Position
Team, Vehicle
Time
1. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz
(Spain/ Spain)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
3h 1m 5s
2. Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret
(France/ France)
BMW X3 CC
3h 1m 33s
3. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford
(United States/ South Africa)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
3h 2m 7s
4. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Göttschalk
(Qatar/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
3h 2m 45s
5. Guerlain Chicherit/Maria Cristina Thoerner
(France/ Switzerland)
BMW X3 CC
3h 3m 37s
6. Orlando Terranova/Pascal Maimon
(Argentina/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
3h 4m 47s
7. Miguel Barbosa/Miguel Ramalho
(Portugal/ Portugal)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
3h 8m 48s
8. Guilherme Spinelli/Filipe Palmeiro
(Brazil/ Portugal)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
3h 10m 31s
9. Robby Gordon/Andy Grider
(United States/ United States)
Hummer H3
3h 10m 41s
10. Carlos Sousa/Matthieu Baumel
(Portugal/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
3h 10m 43s
Volkswagen still lead - Al-Attiyah reduces deficit to Sainz
Stage 11 (13 January 2010). Volkswagen defended its lead on the eleventh of the 14 stages in the Dakar Rally: The three Volkswagen Race Touareg cars continue to lead the overall standings after the second Andes crossing from Chile to Argentina.
The name of the potential winner still remains wide open: The leaders Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (Spain/Spain) lost 5 minutes 38 seconds of their lead to Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Quatar/Germany) and Mark Miller/ Ralph Pitchford (United States/South Africa). Their closest rivals – Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (France/France) in an X-raid BMW – are already 2 hours 9 minutes behind the leader in fourth place.
Sainz was forced to accept a setback on the descent of the Andes from an altitude of around 3 000 metres: Two slow punctures threw him back. In the overall standings he now leads his team mate Al-Attiyah by only 4 minutes 28 seconds. Mark Miller is still third 23 minutes 50 seconds behind.
Best Volkswagen drivers on the day were Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (South Africa/Germany): Last year’s winners recorded the third fastest stage time ahead of Al-Attiyah and Miller and remain seventh overall. Victory on the day went to Guerlain Chicherit/Maria Cristina Thoerner (France/Switzerland) in an X-raid BMW.
The eleventh Dakar Rally day was dominated by tight gravel sections, making great demands of both man and machine through numerous river crossings, and was a challenge for the brakes with a long downhill section at the end of the stage. Drivers also tried to avoid getting punctures on the numerous rocky and stony sections.
Coming up …
Thursday, 14 January: 12th leg, San Juan – San Rafael. The journey through the Argentinean provinces San Juan and San Rafael is the longest of the entire rally: 796 kilometres in one day – 476 of these against the clock – ensure that the day will be long and tiring. But it is not only the length of the stage that will test the competitors: days eleven to fourteen feature a total of almost 400 kilometres with sandy subsoil – about half of all the stage kilometres.
Interviews
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
"Three Race Touareg cars at the top of the leader board – we can still be satisfied with this. Carlos was thrown back today by two tyre failures, however his position in the overall standings remains unchanged. At the moment Carlos and Nasser are fighting among themselves at the head of the field – the next few days will be very exciting. All four Race Touareg vehicles again ran faultlessly at high altitude during this demanding stage .”
#300 – Giniel de Villiers (South Africa), 3rd place day / 7th position overall
"A very narrow stage including the long crossing of a dry riverbed and also some water splashes. On top of this came deep hanging treetops through which we had to fight. There were enough opportunities to get a puncture today. We managed to avoid this, but after having started so far down we lost loads of time stuck in the dust cloud created by two Mitsubishis. From this point of view our result is quite satisfying.”
#303 – Carlos Sainz (Spain), 9th place day / 1st position overall
"Two slow punctures cost us a lot of time today. The first held only 30 kilometres, the second 40 before we had to change. The first time Stéphane Peterhansel in the X-raid BMW overtook me and the second time my team mate Mark Miller. From then on we spent the rest of the day in dust. Although this stage was short it was anything but easy. I’m happy that were able to retain the overall lead.”
#305 – Mark Miller (United States), 5th place day / 3rd position overall
"Today things were really tough. I wasn’t completely sure whether we’d found the right set-up as a lot of today’s route followed riverbeds. I intentionally took very little risk. However, in view of the time we achieved both the set-up and tactics were correct. Towards the end I had a slow puncture, which I didn’t have to change before the finish. I’m more than happy with the result.”
#306 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Quatar), 4th place day / 2nd position overall
"The gap between my team mate Carlos Sainz and I has shrunk. However, it wasn’t my own performance which was decisive but in fact Carlos’ bad luck which brought him two slow punctures and cost him time. I think our tactics of driving carefully on the terrain with sharp stones before attacking when tyre failures were unlikely paid off. I must, however, admit that we were lucky today – as we hit a tree once and could have damaged the car.”
Position
Team, Vehicle
Time
1. Guerlain Chicherit/Maria Cristina Thoerner
(France/ Switzerland)
BMW X3 CC
2h 34m 51s
2. Orlando Terranova/Pascal Maimon
(Argentina/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
2h 35m 21s
3. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz
(South Africa/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
2h 35m 30s
4. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Göttschalk
(Qatar/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
2h 36m 32s
5. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford
(United States/ South Africa)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
2h 37m 41s
6. Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret
(France/ France)
BMW X3 CC
2h 37m 43s
7. Robby Gordon/Andy Grider
(United States/ United States)
Hummer H3
2h 39m 52s
8. Nicolas Misslin/Jean-Michel Polato
(France/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
2h 41m 45s
9. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz
(Spain/ Spain)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
2h 42m 10s
10. Carlos Sousa/Matthieu Baumel
(Portugal/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
2h 42m 17s
Two times three: Volkswagen trio leads stage and overall standings
Stage 12 (14 January 2010). Exciting 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 (Spain/Spain) as well as Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Quatar/Germany) dominated the two-part twelfth stage, while their team mates Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (United States/South Africa) came third. All three Race Touaregs were more than ten minutes faster than their closest rivals 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 (Spain/Spain) celebrated their second stage win, the sixth for a Race Touareg this year. Along the hard and stony subsoil towards the middle of the stage - from San Juan to San Rafael - the two Spaniards were about four minutes faster than their team mates Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Quatar/Germany).
On the second, sandier section consisting of many crests and jumps, Al-Attiyah reduced the gap to 52 seconds and in the overall standings the Qatari now lies 5 minutes 20 seconds behind Sainz. Miller/Pitchford (United States/South Africa) completed the extremely fast starting stage 4 minutes 22 seconds behind in third place. They now trail Sainz and Cruz in the overall standings by 28 minutes 12 seconds.
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.
Coming up …
Friday, 15 January: 13th leg, San Rafael –Santa Rosa. 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 Pampas 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.
Interviews
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 (South Africa), 9th place day / 7th position overall
"At 800 kilometres an extremely long and hard day. 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 fulfill. Afterwards we followed in Carlos’ dust at a respectable distance. 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 (Spain), 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 pass. 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 pass 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 (United States), 3rd place day / 3rd position overall
"An incredible day. Very long, very hard on the vehicle. In the first part it was all hard, stony tracks and I thought that we had found a good pace here as we were able to catch our team mate Nasser Al-Attiyah. 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 (Quatar), 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 vehicle, 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.”
Position
Team, Vehicle
Time
1. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz
(Spain/ Spain)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
3h 30m 29s
2. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Göttschalk
(Qatar/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
3h 31m 21s
3. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford
(United States/ South Africa)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
3h 34m 51s
4. Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret
(France/ France)
BMW X3 CC
3h 41m 18s
5. Robby Gordon/Andy Grider
(United States/ United States)
Hummer H3
3h 41m 25s
6. Nicolas Misslin/Jean-Michel Polato
(France/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
3h 48m 27s
7. Carlos Sousa/Matthieu Baumel
(Portugal/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
3h 49m 42s
8. Orlando Terranova/Pascal Maimon
(Argentina/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
3h 52m 19s
9. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz
(South Africa/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
3h 55m 50s
10. Guilherme Spinelli/Filipe Palmeiro
(Brazil/ Portugal)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
3h 57m 26s
Duel between Volkswagen drivers keeps Dakar result open to the finish
Stage 13 (15 January 2010). Two Race Touaregs are fighting for victory and keeping the 2010 Dakar Rally's result open to the last minute. On the desert classic’s thirteenth and penultimate stage Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Quatar/Germany) took 2 minutes 32 seconds from their team mates Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (Spain/Spain).
As a result, the Spanish duo’s lead over their team mates in the overall standings shrunk to only 2 minutes 48 seconds. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (United States/South Africa) completes the Volkswagen trio at the head of the leader board.
The two leading drivers and co-drivers have kept the Dakar fans on tenterhooks for days. During a remarkable chase Al-Attiyah/Gottschalk reduced their deficit from 10 minutes 6 seconds (stage 10) to 4 minutes 28 seconds the following day (stage 11). The gap then climbed to 5 minutes 20 seconds (stage 12) and following stage 13 between San Rafael and Santa Rosa in Argentina, it is only 168 seconds – so, the tension will rise all the way to the finish in Buenos Aires.
Victory on the 725 kilometre leg went to Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (France/France) in an X-raid BMW ahead of Al-Attiyah. Sainz and Miller were fourth and fifth. Peterhansel in fourth position overall is also the closest challenger to the three leading Race Touaregs. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (South Africa/Germany) are a further three positions behind in the fourth Volkswagen Race Touareg.
The penultimate Dakar day was characterised by two different sections. The start of the 368 kilometre stage provided the rally’s final dunes and soft sand, changing to fast sections across fields and farm tracks in the final part.
Victory in the world’s hardest rally will be decided on the final 206 kilometre stage, which leads the teams to the Argentine capital Buenos Aires. The victorious crew will receive the winners’ spoils on Sunday after having been greeted enthusiastically on the drive across the podium.
Coming up …
Saturday, 16 January: 14th leg, Santa Rosa – Buenos Aires. Flat out to the finish: The last stage of the 2010 Dakar Rally is dominated by high speeds. Last year this was the fastest stage with 81 per cent full throttle although driven in the opposite direction. At that time the longest section without "lifting” was measured at almost ten kilometres. Long straights along narrow farm roads take turns with 90 degree corners.
Interviews
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
"That was a nerve racking day! The Dakar Rally was exciting and it remains so thanks to Carlos and Nasser. Tomorrow will reveal which Volkswagen duo wins the rally. Everybody in the team and all the fans can look forward to a thrilling finale.”
#300 – Giniel de Villiers (South Africa), 6th place day / 7th position overall
"Once again a day of two sides. It started with a dune belt close to San Rafael where there was plenty of soft sand. We overtook two Mitsubishis here, which had started before us. However, we didn’t see them – so they must have got lost. My co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz obviously did a fantastic job again. In the second, faster section with a large percentage of full throttle we were caught up in Carlos Sousa’s dust cloud with no chance of getting past him.”
#303 – Carlos Sainz (Spain), 4th place day / 1st position overall
"The day started well for us, particularly when you think that we had to open the stage after having won yesterday. In the second, faster part, Nasser Al-Attiyah caught up with us and took a big risk to overtake us. I didn’t particularly like this. The gap between us has shrunk again. So, tomorrow we’ll be using the same tactic that we’ve used throughout the entire rally: attack to the finish.”
#305 – Mark Miller (United States), 5th place day / 3rd position overall
"The final dune section of the Dakar gave us plenty of soft sand, but it was very easy to master with the Race Touareg. There followed an extremely fast second part with tracks like motorways. We were running in some dust kicked up by the quads and motorbikes when we hit a stone in the middle of these wide tracks. Then we had to change a tyre which cost us some time.”
#306 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Quatar), 2nd place day / 2nd position overall
"The first dune section was ours. We made up a lot of time here and were hot on the heels of our team mate Carlos Sainz, who started before us, entering the final section across wide farm tracks. I repeatedly used the Sentinel which is used to warn drivers ahead, however, Carlos didn’t make space. Perhaps he didn’t hear it – either way we were forced to make a risky overtaking manoeuvre. Anything is possible tomorrow. I’ll do all I can all the way to the finish.”
Position
Team, Vehicle
Time
1. Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret
(France/ France)
BMW X3 CC
2h 58m 25s
2. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Göttschalk
(Qatar/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
2h 59m 46s
3. Guerlain Chicherit/Maria Cristina Thoerner
(France/ Switzerland)
BMW X3 CC
3h 2m 10s
4. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz
(Spain/ Spain)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
3h 2m 18s
5. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford
(United States/ South Africa)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
3h 5m 54s
6. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz
(South Africa/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
3h 6m 38s
7. Orlando Terranova/Pascal Maimon
(Argentina/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
3h 9m 41s
8. Robby Gordon/Andy Grider
(United States/ United States)
Hummer H3
3h 10m 46s
9. Ronn Bailey/Kellon Walch
(United States/ United States)
Hummer H3
3h 12m 2s
10. Carlos Sousa/Matthieu Baumel
(Portugal/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
3h 15m 25s
Wolfsburg (17 January 2010). Two Dakar winners like chalk and cheese: The Volkswagen factory duo of Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz complement one another inside and outside the cockpit to form a strong, heterogeneous unit. The two Spaniards – the driver emotional and spirited, the co-driver calm and meticulous – took the trophy to their homeland for the first time in Dakar Rally history. Together with their team mates Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford they secured a one-two-three for Volkswagen in the greatest challenge in motorsport and helped the Wolfsburg-based brand to successfully defended its title after the Race Touareg became the first diesel powered automobile to win the desert classic in 2009.
For Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz a long-harboured dream was fulfilled following their Dakar triumph. In front of enthusiastic spectators the two Spaniards were the stars for millions of fans along the rally route. "El Matador”, as Carlos Sainz is known by his fans, celebrated winning the world rally championship title in 1990 and 1992. With 26 individual rally wins and two world championships the 47-year old looks upon an extraordinarily successful WRC career. He finished the world championship eleven times in the top three. After switching to off-road rallying he won the FIA Cross Country World Cup in 2007. Before the 2010 Dakar he celebrated eight podium positions including four victories from 14 off-road rallies. The passionate footballer claimed his most important victory in a desert rally in his 15th cross country rally: the long desired Dakar victory.
Respected by opponents and team alike: Carlos Sainz
"Carlos Sainz is totally target oriented and works in an incredibly structured way,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "He brought a lot of experience from other leading teams to Volkswagen Motorsport. He shares his ideas and know-how openly with other team mates, everybody in the team respects Carlos for his nature and performance – even when it isn’t easy for the mechanics and engineers to be pushed permanently to the limits of their performance.”
With Lucas Cruz, Sainz has a new co-driver since last year. "Carlos is a real gentleman, whether he’s in or out of the cockpit,” says the Catalan from Ripollet close to Barcelona, who has won every one of the three rallies he has contested up to now with Sainz in the Race Touareg. "He is an exceptional driver and great character. To work with him is really something special.”
Constructive cooperation as recipe for success
While Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz might be different in their appearance, they make a wonderful and unified team. An integral part of the daily routine at the Dakar is to jointly work through the road book every evening. "It was important for us that Carlos had a feeling beforehand for the junctions and dangerous points expected during the following day,” says Lucas Cruz. "I think this was one of the secrets to our success in the 2010 Dakar.”
While "El Matador” Carlos Sainz approaches his work emotionally and spiritedly, the strength of his 35-year old wingman is found in his calmness. "To choose a Spanish speaking co-driver was a conscious decision,” says Carlos Sainz. "It’s quite simply an advantage to receive instructions in your own language, without having to translate it first in your head. This gives the last tiny piece of concentration. In addition, Lucas works meticulously and calmly and knows how to prepare perfectly for the forthcoming stages. I think the record of three wins in three rallies proves a point.”
Precision born from calmness: Lucas Cruz
His appearance within the Volkswagen team is rather inconspicuous. Lucas Cruz does not like to be the centre of attention, but in fact puts himself at the service of the team. "Lucas is a quiet person and anything but a hot-blooded Spaniard,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "He complements Carlos Sainz perfectly. Lucas works through his tasks in a concentrated and precise manner. The balance inside the cockpit between Lucas and Carlos is 100 per cent. In addition they also get on famously with one another outside the Race Touareg.”
Cruz contested the Dakar Rally for the second time with the Volkswagen factory team. In 2006 he completed the most important desert rally with the Race Truck. The Catalan had previously followed a career in both classic sprint rallies and also in off-road racing. Before he returned to Volkswagen he competed twice in the Dakar Rally for Mitsubishi. Together with his fellow countryman Joan "Nani” Roma the IT engineer clinched a top-ten position in 2009.
The language of the fans: Sainz/Cruz the stars in South America
In the exciting battle to the finish, staged with their Volkswagen team mates Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk, which the Spaniards finally won by a margin of 132 seconds, the support in Argentina and Chile clearly belongs to Sainz und Cruz. The factory duo in the Race Touareg with start number 303 was always at the centre of the media interest. Millions lined the route of the Dakar Rally. In addition to the driving and navigational skills, what they love about "El Matador” Sainz and his co-driver Cruz is the open manner. After winning the 2010 Dakar Sainz and Cruz are not only closer than ever with their fans, but also in the cockpit of their Race Touareg.
Stage 14 (16 January 2010). Triumphant title defence in South America: Volkswagen has won the legendary Dakar Rally for the second time in succession and including 1980 for a third time. After a ‘showdown in blue’ the Volkswagen duos and their TDI powered Race Touareg prototypes celebrated a one-two-three podium lockout at the finish of the toughest challenge worldwide in motorsport.
In the process, Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (Spain/Spain) triumphed by only 2 minutes 12 seconds ahead of team mates Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Quatar/Germany) in a thrilling finale on the closing 202 kilometre sprint. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (United States/South Africa) claimed third position. Last year’s winners Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (South Africa/Germany) finished seventh.
"I’m incredibly proud of our team. It’s amazing what the drivers, co-drivers and the entire team achieved on every single day of the Dakar Rally. With this one-two-three triumph Volkswagen Motorsport even surpassed its own lofty goals,” says Dr. Francisco Javier Garcia Sanz, Member of the Board of Management at VOLKSWAGEN AG for procurement, at the finish of the final stage.
Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen explains: "Three weeks ago a highly motivated Volkswagen team arrived with the goal of successfully defending the Dakar title we won last year. Volkswagen has achieved something historical with this one-two-three. We are not only unbeaten in South America, we are also the only manufacturer to have won the world’s hardest rally up to now with diesel technology. The Volkswagen drivers fought among themselves for victory all the way to the chequered flag. This is exactly how we imagine motorsport to be. My congratulations therefore go to every Volkswagen duo - all would have been worthy winners.”
The Wolfsburg-based brand remains the only manufacturer to have won the car category of the Dakar Rally with diesel power. TDI technology was already dominant in 2009 in Argentina and Chile. In addition to the efficiency of the Volkswagen Group’s diesel direct injection technology the Race Touareg’s reliability was the key to the 2010 Dakar victory: Despite the extreme demands the powerful 300 hp Race Touareg proved to be not only the most robust, but also the fastest vehicle: seven of 14 possible stage victories and eleven days in the lead went to the four-wheel vehicles from Wolfsburg.
The result of the rally kept observers and fans alike on tenterhooks up to the finish line: Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz, Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford led in this order since the fifth stage. However, at no point did any driver duo have an unassailable lead. In a strong final burst Al-Attiyah/Gottschalk edged ever closer, repeatedly taking seconds from their Volkswagen team mates Sainz/Cruz and, in doing so, staged an open and hard but fair duel for the leading position. The Qatari/German duo made up ground specifically in the dune sections – which once again formed one of the Dakar’s core elements – while the Spanish duo Sainz/Cruz controlled proceedings on the fast, twisty gravel sections.
The 32nd edition of the Dakar Rally saw two stage wins going to to Sainz/Cruz, four to Al-Attiyah/Gottschalk and one to Miller/Pitchford. In addition to the varied stages across soft sand and through towering and endless dune fields in the Atacama Desert, gravel sections and tracks through enormous boulder fields were also on the agenda. The Race Touaregs brilliantly mastered terrain that changed several times a day during two Andes crossings, passages through the world’s driest desert, the Atacama, as well as parts of the legendary Pampas. One Race Touareg was always found in the top three at the finish of each stage and 27 out of a possible 42 top three positions on the 14 stages went to Wolfsburg.
For the new Dakar champions, Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz, a winning streak continued in front of millions of fans lining the daily stages in Argentina and Chile. A newly formed duo, the Spanish pair remained unbeaten in their third competition together and secured a new superlative in Dakar history: never before have two Spaniards won the legendary desert rally’s automobile category. Sainz/Cruz had won the Rallye dos Sertões in June and July 2009 as well as the Silk Way Rally in September 2009.
Volkswagen's statistics in cross country rallying make for very impressive reading indeed. Its second successive Dakar triumph continues the Wolfsburg-based brand's success story with TDI technology: after Audi’s Le Mans victories between 2006 and 2008 and winning the World Touring Car Championship with SEAT in 2008 and 2009, Volkswagen's success at the Dakar in 2009 and 2010 can be ascribed to TDI power.
Was this the hardest Dakar Rally ever for you?
Kris Nissen: "It was certainly the hardest Dakar for both the cars and drivers, and which Volkswagen has ever contested. I also believe it was the hardest there has ever been. In contrast, for the team behind the scenes it wasn’t as hard physically. Because the team completed its preparations impeccably at home, the Race Touareg mastered everything thrown at it and the service plan also functioned perfectly. These are the reasons why the entire team had less stress than the years before. I even think that with regard to the drivers’ gentle driving style and the reliability of the overall package it was the least complicated Dakar since we started. We have just kept on developing over the years.”
Which win do you consider to be the most intensive: the one-two in 2009 or the podium lockout in 2010?
"Last year’s victory released the pressure associated with having to win the Dakar from the entire team. However, I think that the competition this year was harder. Particularly from the X-raid BMW. The route was also harder this year, which is why I think that this win is of even greater value. Particularly as our drivers fought so hard among themselves all the way to the finish line, I find the 2010 victory the more valuable of the two so far.”
Volkswagen started the rally as title holder and favourite. Just how did this influence the daily work?
"Not at all. Before the 2009 Dakar Rally we compiled a manual outlining all the points which we wanted to optimise and worked through it logically. This manual was considerably thinner for the 2010 Dakar. What we wanted to change was already completely implemented and tested before the test rallies, the ‘Sertões’ and the Silk Way Rally. The only thing we were unsure about was the strength of the competition. X-raid BMW was the strong opponent we expected, on the other hand Robby Gordon’s Hummer was not as strong as we thought. Also, the Race Touareg proved to be the most reliable car.”
One point before the Dakar Rally was to put together two new driver/co-driver duos. It was exactly these two teams which fought for victory. How crucial was this new formation for success?
"I’m convinced that our newcomer Nasser Al-Attiyah did the entire team a world of good. It wasn’t just Carlos Sainz switching to his new co-driver Lucas Cruz, who spoke the same language, that brought so much, but it was also a breath of fresh air. I think Carlos Sainz’s overall victory was overdue, as he was already capable of winning in 2009 and only lost the Dakar Rally lead due to unfortunate circumstances. However, Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz must raise their game in the future to stay ahead of Nasser Al-Attiyah and Timo Gottschalk.”
Volkswagen's contracted drivers and co-drivers all have unique personalities and special driving styles. Is this an advantage or disadvantage for the development of the entire team?
"For a team contesting the Dakar it is never advisable to back just one good driver, because these races are very difficult and unpredictable. You have to have more than one iron in the fire. At Volkswagen we have several pairings capable of winning. Depending on the type of terrain it sometimes appears that specific driver personalities have an advantage. However, winning a stage often has much to with luck and circumstances on the day. You can only make a direct comparison of the drivers with the same material within the same team. On the whole the variety pushes a factory team like Volkswagen forward.”
During the 2010 Dakar Volkswagen allowed one of the most exciting duels in the event’s history to run its natural course. How important was it for Volkswagen to have a fair fight for overall victory?
"We didn’t only win the race, but we also made the race. Nevertheless, I believe that you first have to conquer the Dakar before you can win it. We knew this beforehand. During the event a Volkswagen trio initially established itself at the head of the field with an advantage of more than two hours, the duel between Nasser Al-Attiyah and Carlos Sainz resulted from this. However, you can’t plan a Dakar and take wins into account. For this reason I am of the opinion that the decision to give every driver the chance of winning was correct. For the team and also for the rally itself. I think the fans’ enthusiasm proves this.”
As Motorsport Director how can you minimise the risk for the brand despite three potential winners with a strong will for victory?
"We are a committed and established team. Over the course of the years every driver has made mistakes and learnt from these. Each driver reconsidered and implemented our Dakar motto every day, ‘To finish first, first you have to finish’. This is the key at the Dakar Rally: you can’t make good a bad day.”
The Race Touareg was credited with the most stage wins during the 2010 Dakar, and also proved to be the most reliable car in the field. In your opinion which of these points proved crucial for overall victory?
"It’s very clear: You can only win a Dakar if you have a reliable car that is fast enough and you have drivers who can handle this. You don’t have to win every stage to lead at the end. It was apparent this year with the level of competition as close as it was that it was always going to be a disadvantage, after winning the previous day’s stage, to be the first car on track. A key to the success of Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz was to have a good stage every day and not necessarily go for the win.”
Volkswagen has an extremely closely-knit team and has worked on the documentation of every individual step of the procedure over the years. What part does this play in a Dakar victory?
"No human being or team can have so much luck as to just win the Dakar by turning up, which is why it is immensely important that the individual parts of a team mesh perfectly together. The team and I have spent many hours working together to optimise the procedures, to respect the processes and to be a little better every day. A team resembles a chain. If there is a weak link then you have to strengthen it as a team, because if it breaks you have a problem. I think we implemented this perfectly last year.”
Many critics are of the opinion that the Dakar must be held on the African continent. How would you assess the last two South American Dakars?
"First and foremost the Dakar is more a term than the definition of a place. If you take the rally’s history into consideration it’s apparent that several events didn’t start or finish in Dakar. A Dakar belongs in a region where there is organisational security and challenging terrain. If there is also a large market for manufacturers in this region then this is a bonus. However, the first two factors are the most important. Unfortunately, this currently isn’t the case in Africa. I think that the Dakar belongs in countries like Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Russia or India. The last two South American Dakars proved that the stages are just as tough or tougher than in Africa. It doesn’t need any more.”
#300 – Giniel de Villiers (South Africa), 7th position overall
"Operation ‘title defence’ was already over on the third day of the rally for my co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz and me when we lost several hours due to an electrical problem after an end-over-end. From then on we put ourselves at the service of the team, as others also did for us in 2009. This is natural. First, second and third – this is an exceptional result for Volkswagen. Everybody in the squad deserved victory. Without question it is the best team in the world.”
#300 – Dirk von Zitzewitz (Germany), co-driver
"Dakar 2010 was once again an exciting rally. The enthusiasm shown by the spectators in Chile and Argentina never ceased to amaze me. It's ncredible just how much it spurs you on. From a sporting point of view the Dakar did not go particularly well for Giniel and I, as we had to bury our thoughts of victory early on and worked for the team from then on. Even though it was technically very tough on the vehicle, I didn’t find this Dakar as demanding as the event of 2009.”
#303 – Carlos Sainz (Spain), 1st position overall
"I have fulfilled a dream by winning the Dakar. An enormous weight has fallen from my shoulders, particularly as the fight for victory was extremely hard and enormously exhausting, both physically and mentally. I’m incredibly happy to have achieved this goal after having been so close to victory on several occasions. Everything ran perfectly for me: my co-driver Lucas Cruz did an excellent job, from the technical side the Race Touareg ran like clockwork and the entire Volkswagen squad worked tirelessly for the win. Thank you for this.”
#303 – Lucas Cruz (Spain), co-driver
"After so much pressure over the last few days it goes without saying that I’m incredibly happy on the day of my first Dakar victory. I think we have beaten tough competitors on one of the hardest Dakars ever. The tracks were varied and presented new challenges every day, even though every stage wasn’t at the same level. Carlos approached his job throughout the entire event with patience, concentration but also with great tenacity. He is a great champion, it’s fantastic to win with him.”
#305 – Mark Miller (United States), 3rd position overall
"A great rally for us and the entire Volkswagen team, who did an excellent job. We really deserve to celebrate on the podium with three cars. It was small things that made the difference between winning and third place. I salute Carlos Sainz who drove almost faultlessly and who made the least amount of mistakes. It’s just these small things that make the difference. My goal is to be better with the details in the future.”
#305 – Ralph Pitchford (South Africa), co-driver
"This Dakar was harder than last year’s event. Even though our dream of winning the Dakar was not fulfilled, taking third place behind two team mates and against the strong competition posed by X-raid BMW, Hummer and Mitsubishi is a genuine success. However, this rally is relentless and immediately penalises the smallest error. But there is no reason to regret having not achieved a better result – since finishing in the top three with such a strong team is sufficient reward.”
#306 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Quatar), 2nd position overall
"On the one hand it goes without saying that it’s tough to have just missed winning the Dakar. But on the other hand, I got the chance to live my Dakar dream all the way to the finish line with Volkswagen, for which I am thankful. I feel completely at home in this team and look forward to every day with the squad. Carlos Sainz is a worthy winner and a real champion. Second place behind him is a fantastic result. Now I’m looking forward to challenge him at the next Dakar.”
#306 – Timo Gottschalk (Germany), co-driver
"Those were the two hardest weeks of my life, particularly mentally. With a driver as strong as Nasser Al-Attiyah alongside me, I wanted to do my stuff as best as I possibly could. We went through many highs and lows together, and all in all I’m extremely happy with the result. We demonstrated what we are ready to win the Dakar. To lose to a driver as exceptional as Carlos Sainz in such a close battle is – I think – respectable.”
#312 – Maurício Neves (Brazil), retired
"Unfortunately the Dakar dream for Clécio Maestrelli and me ended much too early. On the sixth stage we didn’t see a pothole and rolled several times. I broke four ribs in the process. However, it sounds worse than it is, because in view of the severity of the accident I escaped with light injuries thanks to the robustness of the Race Touareg. It's such a shame - to pay back the hard work of the team it would have been great to arrive at the finish in Buenos Aires.”
#312 – Clécio Maestrelli (Brazil), co-driver
"It’s a shame that we retired so early. The Dakar Rally was a fantastic experience and we really enjoyed the days before our accident. My thanks go to the Volkswagen squad who gave us this opportunity.”
Position
Team, Vehicle
Time
1. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Göttschalk
(Qatar/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
1h 19m 42s
2. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz
(Spain/ Spain)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
1h 20m 18s
3. Guerlain Chicherit/Maria Cristina Thoerner
(France/ Switzerland)
BMW X3 CC
1h 20m 25s
4. Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret
(France/ France)
BMW X3 CC
1h 20m 50s
5. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford
(United States/ South Africa)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
1h 21m 21s
6. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz
(South Africa/ Germany)
Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
1h 21m 23s
7. Robby Gordon/Andy Grider
(United States/ United States)
Hummer H3
1h 21m 40s
8. Orlando Terranova/Pascal Maimon
(Argentina/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
1h 22m 10s
9. Ronn Bailey/Kellon Walch
(United States/ United States)
Hummer H3
1h 22m 57s
10. Nicolas Misslin/Jean-Michel Polato
(France/ France)
Mitsubishi Racing Lancer
1h 24m 2s
Giniel de Villiers (South Africa) and
Dirk von Zitzewitz (Germany)
‘Racing is in my blood,’ says Giniel de Villiers, who came seventh in the 2010 Dakar Rally. In January 2009 de Villiers and his navigator, Dirk von Zitzewitz, triumphed ahead of their team-mates Miller/Pitchford and thus made history: Volkswagen won the first Dakar Rally held on South American soil with the 208kW cross-country rally prototype.
De Villiers came second in the 2006 Dakar Rally and went on to win four stages of the 2007 Dakar Rally. ‘When it comes to desert rallies, you have to overcome new challenges every day, be incredibly flexible and be focused all the time – all of which I love’, says de Villiers.
At 19, Dirk von Zitzewitz became the German Enduro champion for the first time. He went on to clock up 15 German Enduro Championship wins and entering the bike class of the Dakar Rally too, before rising to the challenge of being a navigator in cross-country rallies. ‘I am very good at finding the right way,’ states the 39-year-old professional co-driver.
Mark Miller (USA) and
Ralph Pitchford (South Africa)
This pair, who was placed second in 2009, came third in the 2010 Dakar Rally. Mark Miller is a bit of a racing all-rounder. He started his career on a motorbike in the SCORE off-road racing series in the USA in 1979, then achieved success in a NASCAR truck series and scored a number of victories in the trophy truck category of the famous Baja 1000 and Baja 500 rallies. In 2008, he entered the Baja 1000 with the Baja Race Touareg TDI for the first time before moving on to compete in the Race Touareg.
Composed, reserved and focused at all times – this is the way South African Ralph Pitchford, who has co-piloted for Mark Miller since the 2007 Dakar Rally, is seen in the Volkswagen team. ‘The two of us work together perfectly as a team,’ Pitchford enthuses. ‘We can discuss politics at length over breakfast, but when we’re in the cockpit, we hardly need to talk. And we have the utmost respect for each other.’
Carlos Sainz (Spain) and
Lucas Cruz Senra (Spain)
Winner of the 2010 Dakar Rally, Carlos Sainz is of the best championship rally drivers of all time. He joined Team Volkswagen in 2006 and won the Central European Rally in 2008. In January 2009, he led the Dakar Rally until the 12th stage and later in 2009 he won the Silk Way Rally in a Race Touareg.
Sainz shares the cockpit with Lucas Cruz Senra, a compatriot who has been part of the Dakar squad from as early as 2006 as a co-driver in a Race-Truck. ‘Having Carlos Sainz as one of the strongest and most famous drivers at my side gave me additional motivation,’ he says. ‘Being able to speak Spanish in the cockpit proved to be an advantage – because in extreme situations precise instructions are absolutely crucial.’
Nasser Al-Attiyah (Quatar) and
Timo Gottschalk (Germany)
Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Timo Gottschalk claimed second place in the 2010 Dakar Rally. In addition to his driver’s titles in the FIA Rally World Cup and the FIA World Cup for Baja rallies in 2008, Al-Attiyah has a track record of victorious races in the Group N classification and the FIA World Rally Championship. At the 2009 Dakar Rally he clinched two stage victories.
Timo Gottschalk, the 34-year old Berliner who achieved sixth place in the 2009 Dakar Rally and 3rd place in the Central Europe Rally as co-driver for Dieter Depping, is a qualified mechanical engineer and vehicle test engineer. He comments: ‘We quickly grew together as a team during tests and preparation rallies. His driving skills and my knowledge as a navigator created a striking combination during the Dakar.’
Maurício Neves (Brazil) and
Clécio Maestrelli (Brazil)
After an accident during the sixth stage, Maurício Neves and Clécio Maestrelli had to withdraw from this year’s Dakar Rally. As the most successful driver in Brazilian cross-country rally racing, Maurício Neves made his debut in the Dakar prototype at the Rally dos Sertões at the end of June 2009. At the ‘little Dakar’ (as it is known) in Brazil, the 40-year-old Neves finished third in class behind the commanding one-two winners Sainz/Cruz and Al-Attiyah/Gottschalk and sixth overall.
Clécio Maestrelli was signed as Neves’ co-driver for the 2010 Dakar. ‘For Clécio and me, it was a great honour being able to contest the Dakar Rally with such a perfectly organized and professional team,’ says Neves. ‘At the ‘Sertões’ I was able to experience the team’s working style and the perfect handling of the Race Touareg. Unfortunately our Dakar dream ended at the sixth stage. It would have been great to be able to arrive at the finish in Buenos Aires, even if just to pay back the team’s hard work.
Extreme athlete on four wheels: the Race Touareg
When the Dakar Rally ended on 16 January 2010 in Buenos Aires, the victorious Race Touaregs moved across the finish line thanks to a number of detailed enhancements. The vehicles have been designed to master the worst type of terrain at racing speed: the world’s hottest desert, awe-inspiring altitudes at two crossings of the Andes mountain range and high-speed stretches across gravel, to name but a few.
To tackle these challenges, the engineers from Volkswagen subjected the 208kW Dakar Rally prototype with a TDI diesel power-plant to continuous development. The prototypes from Wolfsburg for the 2010 Dakar Rally were based on the basic concept of the Race Touareg that made its competition debut in 2005 and has been improved step by step ever since. Thanks to the long development cycles that are typical in cross-country rally racing the current Race Touareg embodies the experience of five years of competing in rallies. ‘Expect the unexpected’ is one of the Dakar’s principles. The Race Touareg proved more than ready to accomplish that feat.
Detailed enhancements to the Race Touareg
For 2010, the Race Touareg features some detailed enhancements. To achieve them, the engineers did not focus on performance leaps but on the durability of the individual components. For example, component life in the area of the gearbox was improved and the voltage supply of the onboard network stabilized even more than before for use in extreme conditions. In addition, further optimizations were achieved with brake cooling for longer component life as well as with respect to the service life of the intercooler.
In collaboration with tyre partner BFGoodrich, the ‘All Terrain’ tyre was further improved. This basic tyre, which is also used by some competitors, now exhibits a better grip on loose gravel. In addition, the tyre carcass and tread were optimized yet again.
In-depth quality assurance
Not counting the TDI engine, the Race Touareg consists of some 5,000 individual components. Every single one of them is subjected to detailed tests and inspections before it is installed or loaded for shipping as a scheduled exchange or spare part. Volkswagen has developed a system of unrelenting quality checks for this purpose. Both purchased and in-house produced parts are non-destructively examined for manufacturing defects using special procedures. In addition, samples of each series are subjected to extremely tough loading tests. Each individual assembly component is electronically catalogued and its service life recorded.
On the location of the Dakar Rally in South America barcode scanners provided a constant overview of the mobile ‘warehouse’ on board of the service trucks carrying the spare parts and indicated scheduled component exchanges. All of this served just one single purpose: to face the ‘unexpected’ of the Dakar Rally with optimum preparation.
Extensive test phases and long development cycles
To be perfectly prepared for the excruciating demands of the Dakar, Volkswagen subjected all of the vehicle components of the Race Touareg to in-depth tests during their development cycles. Only parts that completed distances at least equal to the Dakar without any problems received the green light to be used in the rally.
Immediately after the Dakar win in 2009 Volkswagen started preparing for the title defence in January 2010. Three Race Touareg vehicles completed tests in competitive conditions at the Rally dos Sertões in Brazil, and four of the prototypes from Wolfsburg at the Silk Way Rally through Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, each covering some 4,500km of special stages. In addition, at a test in Morocco, one and a half of the Dakar Rally distance was reeled off in long runs without any significant defects.
Maintenance in extreme conditions
The Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile is the world’s toughest motorsport cross-country marathon. Every day, quick gravel stretches alternate several times with deep sand. Undulating, twisty sections with narrow trails and crossings of flat, wide lowland plains were also on the agenda. In all these conditions Volkswagen, as the winning squad of the 2010 Dakar Rally, were able to draw on their valuable experience gained in their 2009 victory. For example, a sophisticated high-altitude application for the engine electronics was developed before the end of 2009. It limits power output and performance losses caused by low oxygen content at high altitudes.
Maintenance of the vehicles in the bivouacs was another important aspect of the multi-faceted motorsport category. The service crew itself had to complete a daily marathon run to guarantee perfect service at the various stage destinations in Argentina and Chile, sometimes with added complications of blazing heat and extremely dirty vehicles.
Did you know?
One year after its debut in Argentina and Chile, the infamous Dakar Rally returned to some of the toughest terrain the world has seen.
The 2010 Dakar Rally started on New Year’s Day and finished in Buenos Aires on 16 January. Led through Argentina and Chile, crossed the Andes mountain range twice and – on a total of five legs – ran through the towering dunes of the notorious Atacama desert.
The loop, covering about 8,500km (about 5,200 of which were special stages), ran anti-clockwise through the Argentine rally mecca of
Córdoba, across the ‘pinnacle stage’ of the last Dakar between La Rioja and Fiambalá and across the Andes at extremely high altitudes. Copiapó in Chile was again a stage finish, and the town of Antofagasta was on the schedule for the first time.
The 2010 Dakar’s northern-most point was in Iqueque. From there the route led through Antofagasta, where the rally’s only rest day was scheduled for 9 January, and Copiapó to La Serena and Chile’s capital Santiago de Chile. In Argentina, after the second crossing of the Andes, the destinations San Juan, San Rafael and Santa Rosa were on the agenda before the winners were celebrated in Buenos Aires.
The annual Dakar Rally is organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and, despite its name, is an off-road endurance race rather than a conventional rally.
The race originated in 1978, a year after racer Thierry Sabine got lost on his motor bike in the Libyan Desert and decided he would share this testing experience with the world. Thierry describes Dakar as ‘A challenge for those who go. A dream for those who stay behind.’
Known as one of the toughest tests in international motorsport, there is always risk involved. In 1982, Mark Thatcher (Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s son) got lost for 6 days in the desert.
Originally, the rally was from Paris, France to Dakar, Senegal, interrupted by a
transfer across the Mediterranean to face the extreme challenges that Northern Africa has to offer competitors.
The rally began at Paris each year until 1995. Due to political and other factors, the course, including origins and final destinations, has varied over the years.
The Dakar has always thrived on discovering unknown territories, and was held in South America for the first time in 2009.
Volkswagen made history at this event by being the first automobile manufacturer to win the legendary desert marathon in a diesel-powered automobile, the Race Touareg. This year, the Wolfsburg-based automobile manufacturer did even better when it celebrated a one-two-three podium lockout at the finish of the toughest challenge in motorsport.
