The Volkswagen team is preparing for the upcoming Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile at the beginning of January with further tests.
From 18 to 26 October suspension set-ups and long runs of the Race Touareg 2 around Erfoud, Morocco, are on the agenda.
The tests are run with two of the 280-hp "Dakar" prototypes and the driver pairings Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn (E/F), Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA).
A new continent, the same challenge: on 03 January 2009 – after 29 rounds in Africa – the legendary Dakar Rally 2009 will start in South America for the first time in its history.
Among the vehicles moving across the starting ramp in Buenos Aires will be four Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 cars. The countdown for the desert classic has long begun. It will cover 15 legs through Argentina and Chile from the Atlantic to the Pacific and back, crossing landscapes that make extreme demands on man and material. The Volkswagen team is tackling the hot phase before the start to this new era backed by the self-confidence of successfully completed rallies and the awareness of facing a big task.
The preparations of the four-factory fielded Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 vehicles for Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn (E/F), Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (RSA/D), Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/RSA) and Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk (D/D) as well as logistics planning are in full swing. By 15 November the parts and equipment will be loaded on the service trucks, on 26 and 27 November the technical scrutineering of the support vehicles and subsequent shipping to South America is scheduled to take place in Le Havre (F).
"Already now the whole team is looking forward to the event with incredibly eager anticipation. The Dakar Rally’s debut in South America is one of the greatest challenges Volkswagen Motorsport has tackled so far,” said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "With two victories and a second place at three events, the Race Touareg 2 has been one of the most successful cars in 2008. At the ‘Dakar’ we will give everything to add an important win to this tally. Everyone in the team knows that we’re strong enough to achieve this goal. But we also know that in sport – and particularly at the Dakar Rally – there are no guarantees, that we need to work with concentration and without compromise and that we’ve got strong rivals to beat."
New challenges every day: 9,000 km through Argentina and Chile
The 2009 "Dakar” offers new challenges galore. For the first time, the rally will be staged in South America. In a loop of roughly 9,000 kilometres, 6,000 of which are special stages, the route will lead from the start and finish in Buenos Aires through Argentina and Chile. Not only for the drivers and co-drivers this is truly new territory. Due to the constantly changing landscapes along the route, the technicians and engineers will be put to the test in terms of vehicle set-up and maintenance as well. Maximum demands will be made on the logisticians before and during the "Dakar". The smooth supply with spare parts, the preparation of the support vehicles as well as meals and accommodation for the crew on location have to be organised for the desert classic in advance and during the event. More than 500 teams will tackle this challenge. As in previous years, the starting slots have been booked out for months.
Landscape of extremes: heat and dryness, cold and altitude
The "Dakar” principle, "Expect the Unexpected” applies particularly to the four teams. Twice during the rally the crossing of the Andes is on the agenda. Extreme heights of up to 3,250 metres above normal zero during the special stages and up to 4,600 metres during the liaison stages must be mastered. As usual, man and machine are preparing themselves for these strains in their typical, professional manner: the Volkswagen drivers completed an altitude training in the Alps, the 280-hp 2.5-litre TDI diesel engine is subjected to test runs in an environmental chamber simulating the thin air. Aside from the extreme elevation, the teams will be facing a mix of highly varied terrain in the midst of the South American summer. In addition to hard and stony sections at the beginning of the rally, the passage through the Atacama desert is on the agenda – the driest desert of the world with the highest dune fields.
Good omen: first victory for the Race Touareg in Argentina
The evolution of the Race Tourareg 2 powered by a 280-hp TDI diesel engine was driven by the dictum of "evolution, not revolution”. Optimisations of rear suspension kinematics and changes to the dampers were made. In addition, the driver’s vision was improved by a flatter bonnet and modified seating positions. The development stages were subjected to extensive testing for durability over thousands of kilometres. During the tests the distance of a Dakar Rally was simulated several times.
But also in competitive conditions the interaction between technology, team and drivers was extensively tested. During the preparation for the 2009 Dakar Rally the driver/co-driver pairings contested at least two rallies. The cross-country rally year of 2008 marked a successful season for Volkswagen: at the two rounds of the newly incepted Dakar Series Sainz/Périn secured victory in Central Europe and second place in Portugal. De Villiers/von Zitzewitz and Miller/Pitchford celebrated the one-two victory with Volkswagen at the Rallye dos Sertões in Brazil. The Race Touareg is ready to compete in Argentina – and thus is ready for the terrain on which - in 2005 at the Rallye Por las Pampas – it clinched its first ever victory. Altogether, the "Dakar” prototype scored nine wins at 24 events and 29 podium results.
92 days until the 2009 Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile
From the Alps to the Andes: altitude training of the Volkswagen drivers
Wolfsburg. Rally drivers as mountaineers: the Volkswagen squad prepared for the Dakar Rally from 3 to 18 January 2009 with a five-day fitness training camp in the Swiss Alps. For the first time, the motorsport marathon on its route through Argentina and Chile will lead across the huge mountain ranges of the Andes -- at the "Dakar" this represents a new and extreme challenge for man and material, for which the four Race Touareg pairings, Carlos Sainz/Michel Perin (E/F), Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (RSA/D), Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford (USA/RSA) as well as Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk (D/D), intensively train.
"The 2009 Dakar Rally poses an enormous challenge to all participants. There's not much experience to draw on, many things are new. We know that, among other things, the rally will lead across sections at extreme altitudes, for which we prepare as best we can," says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "Our training camp in the Alps offered the drivers and co-drivers the opportunity to adjust to unusual heights while optimising their personal fitness with individual training regimes."
In Arosa, Switzerland, surrounded by peaks with heights of up to 3,000 metres, a diverse and sweat-inducing programme - individually developed and accompanied by physiotherapists and license
Carlos Sainz and Michel Périn
physical education instructors from the Bad Nauheim Sports Clinic - was on the agenda. "Altitude training offers the athletes several positive effects. For one, a higher, specificcardiovascular stress level is achieved, and thus an increase in performance capacity. For the other, our regime is designed to be gentle on joints and muscles," says MD Johannes Peil, the director of the Bad Nauheim Sports Clinic
At 4000 metres: crossing the Andes with the Race Touareg at the 2009 "Dakar"
Endurance was systematically addressed by running and mountain biking activities beyond the snow line. "The training in the Alps was an important part of our physical preparation for the 'Dakar'. During the rally we'll be driving at altitudes of up to 4,000 metres," says Volkswagen driver Carlos Sainz. "Extreme mountains always pose a big challenge and I'm eager to cross the mighty Andes with the Race Touareg." Climbing the "Hoernli" steep face towering above the roofs of Arosa, led by experienced mountain guides, required utmost concentration of the athletes. "Climbing was a completely new experience. At first, the mountain seems to be insurmountable, but then you accept the challenge anyhow. After reaching the peak, you're rewarded with adrenalin and self-confidence," says Volkswagen co-driver Timo Gottschalk. "This is the motivation with which we'll tackle the 'Dakar' as well."
By David C. Schilke - Motorsport.com It was another tarmac event and another win for Sebastien Loeb at Rally Catalunya. His fourth victory in Spain the Frenchman can't seem to do any worse on the harder surface. Teammate Dani Sordo finished second, the third consecutive one-two finish for the Citroen team. Mikko Hirvonen was the highest Focus in third after Francois Duval slowed down to give the position to the Finn for maximum points, Duval took fourth for himself. The World Rally Championship title fight has moved even more in Loeb's favor. He is now 12 points ahead of Hirvonen with three events to go. Next weekend the teams head to France for Tour de Corse, another tarmac event. The way things have been for a full year one could expect Loeb to be on the top podium for his home rally. "It won't surprise anyone to learn that I am delighted with this win," said Loeb. "The Riudecanyes and Santa Marina stages we contested today were quite similar to those of the first two days, but the Serra d'Almos test was different from the others. It was narrow, the asphalt was in a fairly poor state and it was quite bumpy. We took special care not to pick up a puncture, just as we did all weekend, and that was one of the main concerns on this rally. In order to make the most of our Pirelli Pzero WRC Hard tyres, I had to adapt the way I drove to manage their rate of wear. But we didn't make any mistakes and our C4 WRC performed impeccably from start to finish, and that has taken us a step loser to both world titles, although there's still a long way to go..."
Dani Sordo
In fact, the C4 has been impeccable since returning from the summer break. First beating the Finns on their home soil, the Citroen team has gone on to claim each event, usually with Sordo coming in second. Their efforts have boosted the team 27 points ahead of Ford in the Manufacturers' Championship. Beyond a doubt Sordo has become quite the rally ace himself, the Spaniard was thrilled to take second in front of his home crowd.
"This is our third consecutive silver medal on our home round and the third time we have contributed to a one-two finish here for Citroen. I would obviously love to win this event one day, but I am happy with today's outcome," said Sordo. "It was a superb weekend for us, and there was much less corner-cutting this time round compared with previous years. We profited from Friday's run to make some set-up changes to adapt the car to our tyres and I then fell into a quick but safe rhythm which enabled us to defend second spot. Our C4 was awesomely competitive all the way to the finish and monopolising the top two positions today is a great reward for everyone in the team. It has enabled Citroen to close in on the title and we will do all we can to reproduce the same result in Ajaccio next weekend!"
For the first half of the event Mikko Hirvonen was frustrated to find himself in fourth. The Finn was attacking each turn but couldn't make up time on the leaders. Constant changes to the setup gave him mixed results. Then, after midday service for leg two, the Flying Finn realized his aggressive driving was the problem. Hirvonen went back on the road and smoothed out his approach. A stage win was his reward. The Finn went on to take three more on the final day, boosting him into third overall.
Coming into the third leg Hirvonen was still behind Duval. The Belgium came to the BP-Ford team as their secret weapon on tarmac but he knew the points battle was between Hirvonen and Loeb. Duval took it easy on the final stages to let his teammate by, a sporting move as a way of thanks for the ride from the Ford team.
"This wasn't how I wanted to take a podium and I really have to thank Francois," admitted Hirvonen. "He was a true team player and helped me to score an extra point. Winning the drivers' championship will be very difficult now but it isn't out of the question so I will keep trying. I finally found a good rhythm yesterday afternoon and I've learned a lot about driving on this surface this weekend."
Duval is looking forward to the next event, which like Loeb is very close to home, "This was a good weekend for me and I'm happy to be back in the Ford team. I made no mistakes and suffered no punctures and this has given me real confidence for next weekend's rally in Corsica. This isn't my favourite asphalt event because the surface is too pure and too smooth, like driving on a motorway at times. However, I found a good set-up for my Focus, my pace was consistent and I enjoyed the tougher and more slippery roads yesterday."
The usual second BP-Ford driver, Jari-Matti Latvala took a seat with his old team Stobart M-Sport while Duval occupied his. The young Finn echoes the same difficulty learning on pavement that Hirvonen did when he was second to Marcus Gronholm. This weekend Latvala was able to finish in the points at sixth place after Urmo Aava retired. He was sandwiched between the two Subarus of Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson. Latvala just edged out Atkinson by the day's end. The Finn will stay with Stobart for France while Duval keeps his experience with the primary Ford team.
Mikko Hirvonen
"This rally started off quite frustrating for me but actually, when I look back, it was positive and we found a good setting, said Latvala. "The setting we found on Saturday is working and the first stage we had today was great -- I can say it was one of my best stages on Tarmac this year. Now the car setup is right I have the confidence to push some more so from that point of view it has been very productive. Also I'm pleased to have scored some more points for my old team Stobart and hopefully I can repeat this next week in Corsica."
Both Subaru drivers helped shape the tarmac setup in the new car. With their weekend concluded in the hard surface the pair is ready to bring what they learned to the next event. Solberg was consistent in fifth for the whole rally, while Atkinson swapped places with Latvala for much of the event. The Aussie finished seventh, running out of road before he could chase the Ford driver down.
"For sure it's been a tough rally for us, and fifth place is fifth place but it's good to be a little way up there" said Solberg. "The car actually felt a little better in the last two stages after I made some changes, so it's the right direction but we still have more to do. Now we have Corsica straight after to continue this work."
Team Ford Munchis race report Munchi's sail through Spanish stages A trouble free RallyRACC Catalunya - Rally de Espana has seen both crews in the Munchi's Ford World Rally Team finish inside the top-12 on this 12th round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud topped the team's time sheets finishing the event in 11th position while Federico Villagra/Jorge Perez Companc finished one place back in 12th on just their second ever asphalt event. Rally Catalunya was the first and only Tarmac round of the Munchi's Ford WRT's 10 event 2008 campaign and while both drivers finished just outside the points the team still maintains its two point advantage over Suzuki in the Manufacturers' Championship.
Solberg began cautiously on Friday morning as he experimented with the setup of his Munchi's Ford Focus RS WRC07 to try and find the correct balance and subsequent pace on the sealed surface.
The Norwegian's search for speed paid off by Sunday's stages as he began to set more competitive times and secured his 11th position after a weekend long battle with team-mate Villagra. Despite not posting any driver points Solberg still remains seventh in the WRC drivers' classification.
Federico Villagra/Jorge Perez Companc
Villagra had a positive Rally Catalunya on just his second ever Tarmac round in the World Championship. Driving for the first time on the Pirelli PZero asphalt tyre it was a steep learning curve for the Argentine who adapted both well and quickly as he continues to gain maximum experience of top-level Tarmac rallying. The only issue for 'Coyote' was, in places, a lack of rhythm between his driving and the pacenotes made during recce earlier this week. With the high-speed, racing-circuit-like nature of the Spanish stages, pacenote precision is a key ingredient in finding the confidence to go flat out on these roads.
The event ran an identical layout on all three days with a repeat loop of three stages broken up by a midday service. Saturday played host to the longest stage of the event when crews passed over the monster 38.27 kilometre El Priorat/La Ribera d'Ebre test.
Rally Catalunya was seen as another successful event with tens of thousands flocking to Costa Daurada creating the perfect atmosphere for this fast-paced, action-packed asphalt event based in the tourist town of Salou. The next event for the Munchi's Ford squad is the team's final round of the year and sees Solberg again join the side for Rally Japan next month.
Munchi's Ford World Rally Team Driver Henning Solberg said:
"I came here knowing I had to drive to the conditions and learn as much as possible and that's what I did. We are not able to push from the start as I need to have a good feeling with the car and with no tarmac testing before the rally, this was always going to take some time. We found a really positive diff setting on Saturday which let me settle down and concentrate on perfecting my driving style. But it's difficult here with all the cuts and gravel on the stages so it's important not to get carried away. With Corsica just a few days away we needed to keep the car undamaged and the setting we have should hopefully work in Corsica and help us to be faster from the start of the rally. I have also been doing some work on my pacenotes here to help me with faster lines on Tarmac."
Munchi's Ford World Rally Team Driver Federico Villagra said:
"I don't have much experience on this surface so the rally was always going to be a big learning experience for me. The test before the event was a huge benefit and we got some good information from there. But we stuck to the game plan, which was to try and get to the finish with no problems, and this was definitely the correct decision. We changed the rear anti-roll bar on Saturday and that helped a lot in making the car more stable and precise as one of the problems we had early in the rally was some understeer. This has been a good event and a positive experience for me and we know a lot more about this rally and the conditions."
Here a preview of Spain's Catalunya and France's Corsica rallies, plus Mathew Wilson drifting with rock band friends, Henning Solberg, the WRC Slot Car Challenge and more...
