Both South Africans who have featured so prominently in VW’s Dakar successes in 2009 and 2010, 2009 winning driver Giniel de Villiers and 2009 runner-up co-driver Ralph Pitchford (who was also third in 2010), will again be part of the four-crew team that will contest the legendary desert rally through Argentina and Chile and will be present at the public unveiling. They will also compete with all of their Volkswagen colleagues in the Silk Way Rally.

The full team is: 2010 winners Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz of Spain, 2009 winners Giniel de Villiers of South Africa and Dirk von Zitzewitz of Germany, American Mark Miller and South African Ralph Pitchford and Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah and German co-driver Timo Gottschalk.

“With the Race Touareg 3 we’ve completed the next step in the evolution of a technology
that has already been successful,” said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen.
“Particularly in respect of aerodynamics we’ve reached the next level and improved the
qualities of the predecessor yet again. This effort has produced a spectacular outer skin
and an updated technical core. With the ‘RT3’ we’ll tackle our big aim: the hat-trick at the
Dakar Rally!”

The official presentation of the Race Touareg 3 forms part of the WRC Rally
Germany and will take place in the ancient (100 AD) amphitheatre of Trier. Immediately after the presentation the Race Touareg 3 will embark on the journey to Russia for the Silk Way Rally.

All four driver/co-driver combinations participated in the tests and the new Race Touareg 3 completed the extensive shake-down without any technical problems.

After initial set-up runs in Spain the Volkswagen Dakar team tested the new Race Touareg 3 in direct comparison with its predecessor in the region around Mahmid, Morocco, before moving on to the Erfoud test centre for two weeks of long runs. Temperatures reached as high as 50 degrees Centigrade in the shade and a high of 62 degrees was recorded on one particular day in the sand dunes.

De Villiers, who did the bulk of the driving, completed more than 6 500 km behind the wheel over a period of 19 days.

“It was an awesome experience and the cars came through with flying colours,” said De Villiers. “It was crazy hot! We stayed in traditional Moroccan buildings, which fortunately had air conditioning and there was also a swimming pool. The ground was so hot you had to wear your shoes at all times, even when you climbed out of the pool and walked to your chair.

“On one day the car’s air conditioning failed and we drove for about 100 km with no relief from the heat. When we got back to base I jumped into the pool with all my clothes on. I thought I was going to die.”

The long runs around Erfoud were focused on testing in conditions resembling the “Dakar” as closely as possible. A 370-kilometre loop that was covered twice per day included dunes with vegetation and a large share of off-road tracks with river bed crossings. Sections with hard soil were on the agenda as well as soft sand passages. In total, the Race Touareg 3 completed almost 10 000 km of simulated special stages. This equates to the distance of an entire Formula One season and more than twice the special-stage distance of the Dakar Rally.

TO CLINCH DIESEL HAT-TRICK AT DAKAR RALLY

After the one-two-three finish in January this year, the Volkswagen Board of Management has decided to continue the successful commitment confirming that Volkswagen will contest the Dakar Rally again in January 2011.

Volkswagen made motorsport history back in 2009 with the diesel-powered Race Touareg, finishing the classic rally with a one-two victory on its first attempt.  This announcement means that the Wolfsburg based automobile manufacturer has the opportunity to clinch a hat-trick on one of the toughest tests in worldwide motorsport.

‘The Dakar Rally makes maximum demands on the vehicles and the team. This makes it the ideal terrain to present Volkswagen’s technical expertise and perfect teamwork to a large audience,’ said Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Brand for the Development Division.  ‘South America is an important growth market for Volkswagen and thus the ideal venue to continue expanding the awareness and popularity enjoyed by the Volkswagen brand.’

Commenting on the continued commitment to the Dakar Rally, Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen explained: ‘We now have the opportunity to achieve the diesel hat-trick and to thereby make motorsport history again.  We will again invest all our passion, heart and soul in this project at the next Dakar.’

The Dakar Rally remains at the forefront of Volkswagen’s motorsport involvement. With great innovative achievements and sporting exploits, the engineers from Wolfsburg have established diesel technology with its high fuel economy in top-calibre sport.

The brand pursues an all-new approach with the Scirocco R Cup that is being staged for the first time.  With a CO₂ reduction of 80 per cent, Volkswagen banks on a novel concept.  The use of bio natural gas combines sustainability and environmental compatibility in motorsport.  Bio natural gas will be used at the 24-hour race on the legendary Nordschleife of the Nürburgring for the first time as well.  Furthermore, Volkswagen proves technological prowess at other one-make cups in India, China and the USA and complements its motorsport commitment as engine supplier to several Formula 3 series and the ADAC Formula Masters junior series.

Pitchford, the 2009 South African off road champion co-driver, navigated American Mark Miller to third place overall in their Volkswagen Race Touareg in the 32nd Dakar Rally which ended in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Saturday, providing Volkswagen with an historic and emphatic 1-2-3 and a second consecutive victory after the success of De Villiers and German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz in last year’s event. Miller and Pitchford were second in 2009.

Spain’s Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz won their first Dakar Rally after 14 days and over 9 000 km of driving, completing the 14 special stages and 4 800 km of racing section in a time of 47 hours and 10 minutes. Nasser-Al Attiyah of Qatar and German co-driver Timo Gottschalk were second in the closest finish seen in the car category of the Dakar, 2 minutes 12 seconds behind their Volkswagen team-mates. Miller and Pitchford were 32 minutes and 51 seconds in arrears at the finish.

Volkswagen’s dominance was illustrated by the fact that the closest challengers were the French pairing of nine-times former Dakar champion Stephane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret in a BMW X3, who completed the marathon race 2 hours 17 minutes 21 seconds behind the winners.

“We were disappointed to finish third, but pleased for Volkswagen. 1-2-3 is an awesome result that Volkswagen richly deserves. This is a great team with a lot of motivated and talented people,” said the 47-year-old Pitchford, who hails from Woodmead in Gauteng. “Congratulations to Carlos and Nasser. They were in a class of their own this time.”

Defending champions De Villiers and Von Zitzewitz lost all chance of repeating their 2009 triumph when they experienced electrical problems on their Race Touareg on the third race day and had to wait almost three hours for assistance from their support truck. From then on they were required to play a support role to their team-mates, carrying additional spares and having to stop and render assistance when needed.

Three stages after their mishap, on the sixth race day, they were called upon to stop and help Brazilians Mauricio Neves and Clecio Maestrelli after they were involved in a multiple rollover in the fifth factory Race Touareg. Neves suffered several broken ribs and De Villiers waited until medical help arrived.

They eventually finished a creditable seventh, 5 hours 10 minutes 19 seconds behind Sainz and Cruz.

It was a race in which the South African off road champion of 2001 once again had to deal with the disappointment of defeat as he had done in Dakar 2007 in Africa when he was stopped by an under-bonnet fire while comfortably leading.

True to form, he dealt with the disappointment with the same grace and humility with which he handled his historic win last year, the first by a South African in this famous race.

“While we are proud to be members of the winning Volkswagen team, we are naturally very disappointed,” said the 37-year-old from Stellenbosch. “All the training and preparation over the past 12 months, including my successful recuperation from back surgery was not rewarded with the success we had worked so hard to achieve.

“From special stage four until the finish we were the ‘water carriers’. Our job was to assist our team-mates still in with a chance of winning the race and we carried lots of spares, making us around 150 kg heavier than the others.

“It was hard to maintain our motivation under these circumstances and we certainly felt disheartened at times. But that is how it works. We were part of a team, the best team in the Dakar for the second year in a row, and it was our turn to assist as others did for us in 2009.

“This was a Dakar where nothing went right for us – we had eight punctures on top of everything else – but we look ahead to the next Dakar and will be putting everything we can into preparing ourselves for the new challenges that lie ahead.”

For the record, Volkswagen also won the most stages (seven) with Al-Attiyah taking four, Sainz two and Miller one. It was a fast Dakar with Sainz recording an average speed for the 4 800 km of special stages of 101,8 km/h. It was also the closest finish ever in the car category, with the 2 minute 48 seconds gap between Sainz and Al-Attiyah equivalent to a distance of just 3,73 km.

This time he made no mistake and finished a slim 2min 12sec ahead of team-mates Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar and Timo Gottschalk of Germany and 32min 51sec in front of American Mark Miller and South African Ralph Pitchford in the third Volkswagen.  Miller and Pitchford, who is the South African off road champion co-driver, finished second in last year’s Dakar.

It was Volkswagen’s third Dakar win after previous victories in 1980 (with a Volkswagen Iltis) and last year with De Villiers in a Race Touareg.

Fourth overall and the first non-Volkswagen to complete the gruelling event was the BMW X3 of nine-times Dakar winner Stephane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret.  They were 2h 17min 21sec behind the winning Volkswagen.  Fellow Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit and Swede Tina Thorner were fifth in a BMW X3, a further 1h 45m 53s back.

Defending champion Giniel de Villiers of South Africa and his German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz finished seventh overall in a Race Touareg, 5h 10min 19sec behind Sainz.  Any chance De Villiers had of winning a second Dakar was dashed when his Volkswagen suffered electrical problems in stage three on January 4 and he had to wait for his assistance truck, losing over two hours.

For the rest of the rally he played a support role to his team-mates, carrying spares that slowed him down and stopping to render assistance when needed.  Despite this he almost won stage eight on January 10 when he led with just seven kilometres remaining, only to drop back to fourth after picking up a puncture.

The final stage of the 14 that made up the 9 000-km event, from Santa Rosa to Buenos Aires, was won by Al-Attiyah, who made a supreme effort to haul in his team-mate.  Sainz was not to be denied and finished just 36seconds behind the Qatari.  Third and fourth were French team-mates Guerlain Chicherit and Stephane Peterhansel in BMW X3s, followed by Miller and Pitchford and De Villiers and Von Zitzewitz.

Volkswagen won seven stages (Al-Attiyah 4, Sainz 2, Miller 1), BMW won six and Hummer 1.

Giniel de Villiers: “The operation ‘title defence’ was already over on the third day of the rally for my co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz and I when we lost several hours due to an electrical problem.  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.”

Ralph Pitchford: “This Dakar was hard, harder than the last year’s event. To have taken third place behind two team mates and against the strong competition posed by X-raid BMW, Hummer and Mitsubishi is a genuine success, even though our great dream of winning the Dakar was not fulfilled. However, this rally is relentless and immediately penalises the smallest error. There is, however, no reason to regret having not achieved a better result – since finishing in the top three with such a strong team is sufficient reward.”

Little more than half the crews that started the rally in Buenos Aires on January 1 started Saturday’s final stage.  Only 57 of the original 134 cars remained, 88 of the 151 bikes, 28 of the 52 trucks and 14 of the 25 quads.

It was on the 12th stage of last year’s Dakar that Sainz crashed out of the lead and opened the door to eventual winner Giniel de Villiers of South Africa. On Thursday he had to fight off Al-Attiyah, but increased his lead to 5min 20sec. The Qatari in turn increased his advantage over Miller and Pitchford to 2min 52sec. France’s Stephane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret (BMW X3), finished fourth in today’s stage to remain in fourth overall, but a distant 2h 20min 42sec behind Sainz and 1h 52min 30sec behind Miller.

De Villiers and German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz finished ninth on the stage and remain seventh overall, 51m 29s behind sixth-placed Carlos Sousa of Portugal (Mitsubishi Lancer).

The finish of Thursday’s special stage was moved back to the 470-km mark because of the record number of spectators gathered at the finish line at 476 km. A fairly quick and technical first half was dominated by former world rally champion Sainz, before Al-Attiyah closed the gap on the sandy but still quick second half and limited the damage.

Pitchford commented: “We are happy to have finished third today and retained third overall. It was a ! rough, bumpy and hard stage. The pace was hectic. Our TDi Race Touareg is still strong and performing well.”

Remembering how his fortunes were decidedly better in last year’s race as he took over the lead of the rally following Sainz’s demise, De Villiers reflected ruefully on his 2010 race so far: “Things have not gone our way, but we are happy to still be in the race and just one position off the fifth place we have been aiming at since our problems on special stage three 10 long days ago.”

Today’s stage is the penultimate stage of this year’s 9 000-km edition of the Dakar and the route includes a 368-km special between San Rafael and! Santa Rosa in Argentina. With a total distance of 1 432 km (liaison a! nd special) of the rally still to go – the equivalent of more than three separate rounds of the South African national off road championship – this rally is far from over and there is still much at stake.

The fine grey sand of the Nihuil dunes awaits inside the first 40 km of the special, leading into faster paths to the finish that will test the top speeds of the cars.

Second was the Mitsubishi Lancer of Argentina’s Orlando Terranova, 30 seconds behind Chicherit and just nine seconds quicker than South Africa’s Giniel de Villiers and German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz in the first Volkswagen Race Touareg.

Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah finished fourth in his Race Touareg and closed to 4m 28s seconds of overall race leader Sainz. Team-mates Mark Miller of America and South African Ralph Pitchford were fifth, 2m 50s behind Chicherit. They retain their third place overall and are now 19m 22s behind Al-Attiyah and 1h 46m 03s ahead of France’s Stephane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret BMW X3).

Chicherit is still fifth overall, 2h 23m 40s behind Sainz with defending Dakar champion De Villiers seventh and a further 45m 21s behind sixth-placed Carlos Sousa of Portugal (Mitsubishi Lancer).

Today’s stage was similar to yesterday’s, with fast, winding tracks and mostly downhill. The battle for overall honours between Sainz and Al-Attiyah has intensified and the Qatari was able to more than halve the gap to his team-mate. Both hit trees in heavy dust while closely following another competitor and were fortunate not to crash.

“We had a good, clean run today and were able to close the gap to sixth-placed Sousa by nearly seven minutes,” said De Villiers. &! ldquo;It was a very narrow stage that included the long crossing of a dry riverbed and also some water splashes. There were lots of opportunities to pick up a puncture, but we managed to avoid this. Starting so far back today (in 11th place) we lost loads of time stuck in other people’s dust. We set ourselves a target of fifth overall after our problems on stage three, but unless something happens to Sousa and Peterhansel in front of us we are going to have to settle for seventh.”

Pitchford reported another trouble-free day, but he and Miller have dropped back to 19m 22s behind team-mate Al-Attiyah with just three stages remaining.

Stage 12 on Thurs! day is from San Juan to San Rafael in Argentina and, at 476 km, is the ! third longest stage of the rally. The early part of the route is tracks cut by rios and surrounded by canyons and “fairy chimneys”. After some 200 km of special competitors will briefly use the road to avoid a protected natural site. The second part is exclusively sandy with many jumps.

Sainz remains in the overall lead for the fifth day in a row, 10m 06s ahead of team-mate Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar and 28m 19s quicker than Miller and Pitchford. With just four of the rally’s 14 special stages remaining, all in Argentina, Volkswagen is looking good for an historic 1-2-3 finish.

Al-Attiyah was fourth on today’s stage, while defending Dakar champions Giniel de Villiers of South Africa and German co-driver Dirk von Z! itzewitz were 11^th after riding shotgun again for their front-running team-mates. They remain seventh overall, 4h 46m 13s in arrears.

Only 206 of the original 362 crews started stage 10, with 94 of 151 bikes, 68 of 134 cars, 35 of 52 trucks and 14 of 25 quads left in the race.

Today’s stage, the final one in Chile, saw the competitors bid farewell to the Atacama desert and undertake a more technical and undulating route on hard surfaces that wound through a landscape of mountains. It was a tricky special stage, dotted with vegetation and cactuses.

! “We were happy with third place today,” said Pitchford. “Mark prefers the sandy desert stages to the world rally championship-type conditions we experienced today – fast, loose surfaces on hard roads with lots of corners and gear changes. We had no problems.”

De Villiers thoroughly enjoyed the stage: “It had 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 Peterhansel’s BMW.”

Tomorrow’s stage 11 from Santiago to San J! uan in Argentina will cover 434 km and will take competitors out of Chi! le through the Paso Libertadores in the Andes at an altitude of 3 500 metres. The special stage section is 220 km in Argentina and the first 50 km will be the only portion of the rally contested at high altitude and in the snow line. Racing high in the Andes, the highest mountain range outside Asia and the world’s longest continental mountain range (extending 7 000 km over seven countries), the surviving crews will catch a glimpse of its highest peak, Aconcagua, 6 859 m above sea level.

The Qatari and his German co-driver Timo Gottschalk finished 5m 59s ahead of Spanish team-mates Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz and 7m 38s in front of South African Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz.

First of the non-VWs was the BMW X3 of Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit and S! wede Tina Thorner, who were fourth and 10m 13s behind Al Attiyah. American Mark Miller and his South African co-driver Ralph Pitchford finished fifth, 10m 48s behind team-mates Sainz and Cruz and 6m 38s ahead of the French pairing of Stephane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret (BMW X3).

Volkswagen Race Touaregs still occupy the first three places overall with Sainz in the overall lead with five special stages remaining, 8m 36s ahead of Al-Attiyah and 27m 17s clear of Miller and Pitchford. Peterhansel and Cottret (BMW X3) are fourth, 2h 28m 27s behind Sainz and 1h 46m 35s behind Miller.

Defending champions De Villiers and Von Zitzewitz improved another two places to seventh overall, 4h 36m 28s behind team-mate Sainz.

Today’s special stage was reduced from 338 km to 170 km and the start was delayed from 07.15 to 11.00 as a result o! f heavy fog in the Copiapo area. The stage was made up almost! entirely of the sand dunes around Copiapo. A total of 211 crews out of 362 starters lined up for today’s stage, with 94 bikes out of 151, 68 cars from 134, 35 trucks from 52 and 14 quads out of 25 remaining in the race.

“We battled with the navigation a bit today and dropped 10 minutes to Nasser,” said Pitchford. “There are only five stages remaining, but as we know on the Dakar every day has its own challenges and it’s never over until you reach the podium in Buenos Aires. We’re definitely not settling for third place just yet.”

De Villiers commented: “We had another good run today and, although we’re not risking too much, we’re still pushing to try and improve our overall position. However, our goal is to finish and be around if any of our team-mates needs our assistance.”

Special stage 10 on Tuesday i! s a 238-km journey from La Serena to Santiago, the capital city of Chile. It is the last day in the Atacama desert before the rally crosses back into Argentina on Wednesday with a 3 500-metres high traverse of the Paso Libertadores through the Andes mountains.

VW team-mates Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz of Spain continue to lead the race overall after finishing second on Sunday, 45sec behind the BMW driver. Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah and Timo Gottschalk of Germany are still second overall in their 300 bhp Touareg after completing the stage in fifth place, but have now dropped back to 14min 35sec behind the Spanish pairing. American Mark Miller and South Africa’s Ralph Pitchford kept it a VW 1-2-3 in the overall standings with third place, after finishing stage eight 1min 07sec behind Peterhansel.

The Frenchman, winner of three Dakars in a car and six on bikes, moved up a place to fourth overall at the expense of team-mates Guerlain Chicherit of France and Swede Tina Thorner (BMW X3), but is a distant 1h 35m 57s behind Miller.

Stage eight followed a rest day at Antofagasta on the Pacific coastline of Chile, which provided some of the competitors with welcome relief from the gruelling battle with the elements. Others straggled in to the bivouac throughout the day, with 32 cars still out on the stage at midnight on Friday. Sunday’s stage, which marked the start of the second half of the 9 000-km race, was the penultimate one in the Atacama desert and was described by Pitchford, the 2009 SA rally champion co-driver, as very hard with lots of rocks. All four Volkswagens suffered two punctures each.

“That was by far the most picturesque and difficult stage of the 2010 Dakar Rally so far,” commented De Villiers. “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 must 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.”
“We know that we cannot win as we are too far behind now. We are aiming to finish in the top 5, and plan to support the team as much as we can. We are carrying a lot of spares (spare turbo, wishbones, driveshafts) for our team mates and have essentially become the quick assistance team. We are going to do our best to ensure a VW 1-2-3 podium finish.”

Today’s 338-km stage from Copiapo to La Serena is the last one in the Atacama desert before heading south to Santiago and then Wednesday’s crossing over the Andes mountains and back into Argentina.

American Mark Miller and South African Ralph Pitchford, winners of Wednesday’s stage, remain third overall and have closed the gap to Al-Attiyah to 2min 23sec.

Despite having to start stage six first and opening the way for the following cars, Miller and Pitchford did well to complete the stage in third place, 8min 55sec behind winners Stephane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret in a BMW X3 and 7min 08sec behind Sainz and Cruz. Al Attiyah was fourth, 11 min 34sec behind Peterhansel.

Defending Dakar champions Giniel de Villiers of South Africa and German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz were eighth on the stage in their Race Touareg TDi and are now up to 16th overall. After the disappointment of losing over two hours on Monday when they experienced electrical problems on their Touareg, De Villiers and Von Zitzewitz have made up six places in the past three days, but are now concentrating on helping their team-mates.

There are now only four factory Volkswagens left in the race following the retirement of Brazilians Mauricio Neves and Clecio Maestrelli, whose Touareg was too badly damaged after a multiple roll. “Clécio sustained no injuries, but Maurício complained about chest pains and was therefore 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,” said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen.

“It was a tough navigational challenge today, particularly during the first part of the stage,” said SA off road champion co-driver Pitchford. “We started first so we were at a disadvantage, having to lead the way and open the road for the others. We are very happy to have consolidated our third place and closed the gap to Nasser.”

Today’s stage (stage seven) is the longest stage of this year’s Dakar and is the final test before the rest day on Saturday. The rally will head south from the Chilean coastal town of Iquique back to Antofagasta on the edge of the Pacific ocean. There will again be lots of sand dunes in the first half of the stage and the unique experience for many of negotiating huge blocks of salt at speeds as low as 10 km/h. From there it is fast and open to Antofagasta and the welcome rest day.