Dakar 2009 - 1980 winners congratulate VW on Dakar victory

29 years ago, on 23 January 1980, Freddy Kottulinsky/Gerhard Löffelmann clinched the first victory for Volkswagen at the "2nd Paris-Algiers-Dakar Rally” in the Iltis, ahead of their French team-mates Patrick Zaniroli/Philippe Colesse.
Back then as well as today, Volkswagen celebrated a one-two victory: Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz won the current edition of the desert classic, which ended in Buenos Aires on Sunday after 9,500 kilometres, in front of their team colleagues Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford in the Race Touareg. On the way towards clinching the first victory of a diesel-powered vehicle Volkswagen decided ten out of 13 stages in its favour at the first "Dakar” through Argentina and Chile.

The one-two victory prompted the driver pairing that had been victorious in 1980 to congratulate Volkswagen. ”Ever since I won the rally, I’ve been watching it in the media,” said Freddy Kottulinsky, who is now living near Schleiz in Thuringia. "I wanted to express my sincerest congratulations to Volkswagen on the historic TDI victory. Even though an exploit in our day with naturally aspirated diesel engines would have been inconceivable, I had no doubt that a diesel would win one day. In passenger cars, modern diesel technology has long become the ultimate.”
Kottulinsky/Löffelmann in the Iltis: unusual conditions in 1980

"Of course I’ve actively been watching Volkswagen’s current path to victory in the media as well, and congratulate the squad,” said former co-driver Gerhard Löffelmann. Back then, he was working for AUDI AG in Technical Development; today, he is a team leader in vehicle engineering, still with the same department. After almost 30 years, the differences in conditions are tremendous. We only drove with a compass, now there are modern GPS systems, even though their use is restricted. What’s more, I didn’t even have any experience as a co-driver. My main role was that of a mechanic who had to be able to repair the car and to thus help to take it to the finish.” Löffelmann still has the roadbook. It was all in French and then team boss Roland Gumpert – the driver of a rally Iltis himself – helped to translate it every night at the bivouac.

Back in 1980, an almost entirely production-based Volkswagen Iltis sufficed to achieve the duo’s victory. The off-road vehicle was only complemented by underbody protection, modified dampers, a roll cage, different seats, additional instruments and a further fuel tank. The standard 1.7-litre engine delivered about 110 instead of 75 hp for the 10,000-kilometre rally distance from France via Algeria, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and (then) Upper Volta, all the way to Senegal. "That was enough to win,” recalled Kottulinsky. As much as he enjoyed his activities as a racing and rally driver in his day, he still has a wish, "I’d really be thrilled to drive today’s Race Touareg just for once ..."

Dakar 2009: De Villiers claims historic Dakar win

Autosport.com

By Matt Beer

Saturday, January 17th 2009, 14:16 GMT

Giniel de Villiers has clinched a historic Dakar Rally victory for Volkswagen, taking the first diesel-powered win in the event in its first year in its new South American location.

Mark Miller completed a VW one-two, as this year's dominant team cruised through the final days over an hour clear of the rest of the field.

It should have been a top three sweep for VW, had Carlos Sainz not crashed out of the lead on Thursday. The former World Rally champion had led for most of the rally, only to slide into a ravine with just two days to go, leaving his co-driver Michel Perin with shoulder injuries that forced them to withdraw.

With Miller losing a lot of time in the same stage, de Villiers suddenly vaulted from a distant third - 41 minutes adrift - into the rally lead, where he remained through today's deciding run from Cordoba back to Buenos Aires.

"Absolutely incredible," said de Villiers, who was also fastest in the final stage. "I've never experienced such a feeling before. I was very nervous in the last couple of kilometres, but it's an unbelievable feeling.

"I'm so happy for the team and everyone back at Volkswagen, who've been supporting us for five years to get this win."

Miller drove conservatively and ultimately finished eight minutes behind his victorious teammate.

"The team won, that was our goal," he said. "It could have been Giniel or me, and that's the way it works. I'm a young guy and I'm going to have plenty of chances, I hope."

While VW celebrated, it was a disastrous event for Mitsubishi. The winners of the last seven Dakars hoped their brand new diesel Lancer could continue that streak, but took just one fastest stage time, never led the event, and lost three of their four works cars early on. Joan Roma's eventual 10th place was little consolation.

With Mitsubishi under-performing, the X-Raid BMW team proved to be VW's main rivals. Nassar Al-Attiyah battled for the lead with Sainz in the opening days, only to be disqualified for missing waypoints while trying to protect an overheating engine.

Third place finally went to Robby Gordon, despite the Hummer driver having some late scares with a stuck throttle yesterday and a flat tyre today. But with a vast advantage over Overdrive Nissan drivers Ivar Erik Tollefsen and Krzysztof Holowczyc in fourth and fifth places, Gordon was still able to make it home in third.

Dakar 2009: Volkswaguen celebrates 1-2 victory and first diesel engine triumph in a Dakar

Only when passing the toughest motorsport test with flying colours, only when winning ten of 13 possible stages, and only when thrilling millions of people along the rally route in the process – only then will it be deemed "Das Auto” ("The Car”).

Volkswagen won the 2009 Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile with the Race Touareg and thus made motorsport history. The exploit clinched by the South African-German duo Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz in the debut event of the legendary desert classic in South America marked the first ever victory of a diesel-powered vehicle in the automobile class in the 30-year-history of the "Dakar”. Their Volkswagen team colleagues Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) as the runners-up completed the exploit as a one-two victory.
In the extremely tough test for man and material the Volkswagen Race Touareg with its innovative 280-hp TDI engine proved to be the fastest and most reliable car, while the field of contenders – featuring 14 top cars with diesel engines – was of a higher calibre than ever. Volkswagen defeated the serial "Dakar” winners, Mitsubishi, who had not been beaten since 2001, as well as the X-raid BMW team. Besides de Villiers/von Zitzewitz and Miller/Pitchford at the top, the German duo Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk in another Race Touareg finished the Dakar Rally, in sixth place overall. Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn (E/F) in another one of the Red Bull blue Race Touareg vehicles, who had been leading the class of the total of 168 cars that had started to the event on eight days, retired after an accident on the twelfth leg while leading the rally.
36-year-old Giniel de Villiers from Stellenbosch had already clinched second place at the "Dakar” in the Race Touareg in 2006. In 2003, the former South African touring car champion contested his first Dakar Rally, since 2006 he has been navigated by Dirk von Zitzewitz. The 40-year-old from Karlshof, and 15-time German Enduro champion, contested his first first "Dakar” on two wheels, switched into the cockpit as a co-driver in 2002, alongside Mark Miller by the way, and formed a team with Robby Gordon (2005) for Volkswagen as well. Since 2007 Dirk von Zitzewitz has been pointing the right way to Giniel de Villiers. 46-year-old Mark Miller from Phoenix/Arizona drove his first "Dakar” in 2002 and has been a Volkswagen factory driver since 2005, with Ralph Pitchford from Pretoria in his co-driver’s seat since 2006.
Straight from the rally’s start, the Race Touareg crews set best stage times. A total of ten out of 13 possible stage wins at the "Dakar” went to Volkswagen, on twelve of the 14 rally days one of the cross-country rally prototypes from Wolfsburg was leading the event. The duo Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn decided six of the stages in its favour, while de Villiers/von Zitzewitz contributed four stage wins to the Race Touareg’s tally of success. In just five fieldings in the cross-country classic the prototype has achieved 31 stage victories since 2004, Volkswagen’s "Dakar” tally since 1980 reflects 38 stage wins. At the same time, the four Volkswagen pairings contesting this event showed a very close performance: On the 14 legs – one stage was cancelled by the organiser A.S.O. – the Volkswagen drivers occupied 24 of 39 possible top-three positions in the daily standings. Each of the duos finished at least three of the special stages in the top three places.
Race Touareg adds yet another chapter to TDI Power’s success story 
For the Volkswagen Group, the Race Touareg’s "Dakar” victory also marked the continuation of a TDI success story. In motorsport, forward-thinking direct injection technology has now won in any of the fields in which it is being used: In addition to the exploit of the Race Touareg at the Dakar Rally, Audi – with the R10 TDI – celebrated its third consecutive victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June 2008 and later won the title in the European Le Mans Series as well as in the American Le Mans Series, while SEAT in 2008 clinched its maiden title in the FIA World Touring Car Championship with the Léon TDI.

VW thrills spectators along the toughest "Dakar” route
The Dakar Rally’s debut in South America has proved to be the toughest edition of the off-road classic so far as well as featuring a totally new change. Besides quick gravel stages – the first leg was completed at an average speed of 143 km/h – and long stretches of dune fields with soft sand, trial-like sections across scree, the two-time passage across the Andes with altitudes of up to 4,700 metres above mean sea level as well as sections with high camel grass were on the agenda of the "Dakar”. Unlike earlier editions, the rally’s daily variations of terrain put extreme demands on the adaptability of the teams.

Arriving at the bivouac and the locations where the legs finished provided an emotional reward to the drivers and co-drivers. Millions of thrilled spectators, 500,000 of them just during the ceremonial start in Buenos Aires on 2 January, lined the rally route and gave the total of 530 cross-country rally teams that had started to the event on motorcycles and quads as well as in cars and trucks an enthusiastic welcome every day.
Second "Dakar” exploit for Volkswagen after 1980

As early as in 1980 Volkswagen at its first – and for a long time only – entry won the Dakar Rally. Almost three decades ago, Freddy Kottulinsky and co-driver Gerhard Löffelmann won the second edition of the rally through Africa at the wheel of a Volkswagen Iltis, a nearly production-based car, followed by their French team-mates Patrick Zaniroli/Philippe Colesse – clinching a Volkswagen one-two victory back then as well. Two further Iltis vehicles finished in places four and nine. In 2003, Volkswagen returned to cross-country rally racing with breakthrough TDI technology, fielded the first generation of the Race Touareg in 2004 and won the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup titles in 2005 and 2007. The one-two victory at the 2009 Dakar Rally marks the Race Touareg’s biggest single exploit. (VW-Motorsport)

Dakar 2009 - Stage 12 - Quotes from VW crews

Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
"The most important news is that the accident of Carlos Sainz and Michel Périn did not result in any severe personal injuries. Both of them are very disappointed that the ‘Dakar’ is over for them, but at the same time they’re relieved that with a shoulder injury for Michel the incident did not result in really serious consequences. We wish Michel a speedy recovery. But – we knew that to win, we’d first have to overcome the ‘Dakar’ itself. With Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford we’ve still got two irons in the fire to win the Dakar Rally with the Race Touareg and TDI power.”

#301 – Carlos Sainz (E), retired"Suddenly, a four-metre deep hole appeared in front of us. We fell into it and landed on our roof. A BMW and Nani Roma were able to get around us at the last moment. The BMW team stopped and helped us to put the car back on its wheels. In the meantime an ASO doctor had arrived who briefly checked Michel Périn and barred him from continuing the drive on account of a shoulder injury. The Race Touareg was by and large okay, the engine was running. Of course we were lucky in this situation as well. I’m very disappointed and I’m very sorry for the team that we´re out, but I’m hoping that our team will win in the end anyhow.”

#301 – Michel Périn (F), co-driver"About 30 kilometres before our accident we’d lost our way but soon found the right route again. We were heading towards the next waypoint, I counted down the distance – as always – and just as I was saying ‘20 metres’ we dropped into this whole. Even the days before, the roadbook had not been particularly accurate and today we paid the price for it. I broke a shoulder blade in the accident and that ended the rally for me and Carlos. I’m very sorry for the team. But I’m hoping that in the end a ‘blue’ vehicle will finish in front.”

#305 – Giniel de Villiers (ZA), 1st place leg / 1st place overall"It was an incredibly rough day for us. Although the special stage today was short, it was extremely slow. The organiser selected routes with large stones, deep and super-soft sand. In addition, there were some places left out in the roadbook, which of course made the navigation extremely difficult. But about five kilometres before the finish my co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz made up a lot of time for us when he found the quickest way while others were still looking for it.”

#307 – Dieter Depping (D), 4th place leg / 7th place overall"I think today wasn’t just 100 per cent ‘Dakar’, it was more like 120 per cent ‘Dakar’. The dunes were incredibly hard to handle, lots of vegetation that made life difficult for us, and we had to cross riverbeds several times. My co-driver Timo Gottschalk had his work cut out for him. Many branch-offs were hard to see and the roadbook led us astray several times today as well. So, today had everything a rally day could offer.”

#308 – Mark Miller (USA), 2nd place leg / 2nd place overall"Today is one of those days where there’s a lot to talk about. The special stage has definitely been the most difficult one of this ‘Dakar’ so far. Particularly in the sand we had to work hard, we got stuck several times and had to dig ourselves out. On several occasions we let some air out of the tyres and filled them up again after the difficult passages. Once we got stuck, and when I left the car I only then realized we’d lost the rear part of the body – I haven’t noticed beforehand that we’d lost it at all. We were leading for a long time, but lost time again at the end. The overall gap between me and my team colleague Giniel de Villiers is small now – but the main thing is that a Volkswagen will be in front in the end.”

Dakar 2009 - Stage 12 - Fiambalá - La Rioja: Video - Cars

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Dakar 2009 - Stage 10: Sainz makes it once again

Carlos Sainz in a VW Race Touareg won Stage 10, which started and ended in Copiapo, Chile. The most difficult Stage of the Dakar 2009 so far. The Spaniard alternated first place of this amazing special in the infamous Atacama desert, one of the driest on earth, with O. Terranova and Robby Gordon. Terranova, the Argentine driver of the BMW X-Raid team turned over his car at km 180, just 2 km after passing a check point, the car was destroyed but the crew were rescued unscathed it seems. Robby Gordon in his brutal Hummer did a great job right until the end of the stage and came in second to C. Sainz for only 21 seconds. 3rd place was for Mark Miller also in a VW Race Touareg, 7 min 39 sec behind Sainz. 4th place was for G. Chicherit with BMW (12:25),5th came in Joan Roma, the last surviving Mitsubishi Racing Lancer at 15:01 min. 6th was Giniel de Villiers with a VW Touareg at 18:15 min. The race is still on at this time, as ASO, the organizer delayed the start for almost 2 hours this morning on account of the prevailing fog (the helicopters for rescue, television and the organization could not take off). The stage was also shortened in 200 km as there were dunes with far too soft sand for the up to now tired crews to traverse. It seems the French organizers are weary that there will not be enough vehicles to end the race. There are still 5 more stages to go and it is believed that the Stage in Fiambala, La Rioja, Argentina is extremely difficult and shall be raced in marathon style, not allowing the vehicles to be serviced or repaired after the stage, only the crews by themselves will be allowed to repair. Tomorrow is the last stage in Chile and off they go back into Argentina by one of the highest passes there are in the Andes mountains. We'll have to wait and see who survives this last leg in Chile. 

Carlos Sainz now leads the 2009 Dakar Rally-Raid by 27:31 minutes over his team mate Mark Miller, De Villiers is third 41:13 minutes from Sainz, 4th is Roma at 1:13:13 hour.

Dakar 2009 - Stage 9: Sainz takes fifth Dakar stage victory

Autosport.com

By Pablo Elizalde Monday, January 12th 2009, 18:46 GMT

Carlos Sainz stretched his lead at the top of the Dakar standings once again after scoring his fifth stage win of the rally.

The Volkswagen driver has now won three stages in a row to increase his lead at the top of the table to nearly 20 minutes over teammate Mark Miller, who took second place in today's stage.

In one of the longest and hardest specials of the rally at 449 km, Sainz avoided trouble and reached the finish line after nearly six hours of driving.
"This special was very hard," said Sainz. "Very, very, very hard with lots of rocks and with difficult navigation. Really complicated.

"Being here today is a victory. We'll see what happens later, but it was a difficult day."

Miller finished less than two minutes behind, but the American had looked set to win the stage before he was forced to stop to fix his steering and a wheel.

"We have been waiting for a year for this stage," said Miller. "We caught Carlos after 60 kms and we overtook him after around 150. Things were going quite well.

"In the last off-road section Carlos and I were both a little bit... The track was difficult to find and there were big boulders and I hit one on the right, I didn't even see it and it broke the steering so we had to stop and fix the steering and at the same time fix a wheel that broke. But it was a really, really fun day."

Thanks to today's result, Miller moved into second place in the overall standings after a difficult day for Giniel de Villiers, who finished far from his teammates after getting lost around the 80-km mark.

The South African, fourth in the special, dropped 12 minutes and is now nearly 23 behind Sainz in third.

American Robby Gordon was third in the stage after another solid day with his Hummer, ahead of the only works Mitsubishi left, that of Joan Roma.

The Spaniard, a former winner in the bikes category, set the fifth fastest time today, but over 24 minutes adrift of Sainz. Roma is now nearly an hour behind the former rally champion.

Standings after Stage 9

Dakar 2009: Stage 8 - Valparaíso - La Serena Video

See more Dakar 2009 videos here

Dakar 2009 Stage 8: Interviews - Cars

Carlos Sainz (Sp – Volkswagen) - 301

“As long as the rally isn’t over, then nothing is certain. Today was the first time we have driven on tracks. In fact, this stage was very much like a traditional rally stage. Up until now, those are the first real tracks that I’ve seen. But it was very nice, very slippery and sometimes quite tricky. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and I hope that we’ll carry on being as successful as we have been today”.

 

Mark Miller (USA – Volkswagen) - 308

“There were a lot of chances to lose the rally today and no chances of making up any time, so it’s not the kind of stage built for me. It was perfect for Carlos (Sainz) and the guys that like the rally stuff. At every turn there was a chance to ruin your race. It was difficult for me, but I did better than I expected so it was a success for me. Starting fifth or sixth tomorrow, maybe it’s an advantage, we’ll see”.

 

Nani Roma (Sp – Mitsubishi) - 304

“We came really close today. After 50 km we had a puncture, a double puncture in fact. We changed a front wheel and re-inflated a rear tire, so we lost quite a bit of time. As regards the gap at the end, after what happened on the stage, it’s not bad at all. It was a really nice stage in driving terms, but also the type of stage on which Carlos is very good. 

But he’s also good at off-track racing. Anyway, in rally-raids there are always surprises. Now we’re going to be faced with two or three very difficult days. Everything can change, and we won’t not let anything go. Just wait and see”.

Dakar 2009 - Stage 7 - Mendoza - Valparaiso

Summary of stage 7 - Cars

Pending validation of the

 results by the race stewards, Spaniard Carlos Sainz (VW) has won the 7th stage, picking up his 3rd stage victory of this 31st Dakar, 3.41 ahead of his American team-mate Mark

 Miller (VW) and 4.13 in front of American Robby Gordon and his Hummer. As a result, in the general standings "El Matador" Sainz has taken

 the lead, 9 short seconds ahead of his South African team-mate Giniel De Villiers and 13.53 in front of the Race Touareg belonging to Miller, putting the 3 Volkswagens in the first 3

 places! Worthy of note, the 9 times winner of the event Stéphane

 Peterhansel again suffered problems today. After a fire in the engine of his Mitsubishi Racing Lancer, the Frenchman has now lost

 all chance of grabbing a 10th victory on his 20th Dakar. In the Open category, Robby Gordon (Hummer) was again victorious and is the

 undisputed category leader in the general standings. Finally, in the Production category, Japanese driver Jun Mitsuhashi (Toyota) won the

 stage, but still only managed to claw back 10.20 on Frenchman Nicolas Gibon (Toyota) who retains a solid lead in the category in the general standings.

Summary of stage 7 - Bikes

Pending validation of the results by the race stewards, Chilean Francisco Lopez (KTM) has won the 7th stage, picking up his 1st success on the Dakar, 3.57 ahead of the leader of the general standings, Spaniard Marc Coma (KTM) and 5.21 in front of France’s Cyril Despres (KTM). As a result, in the general standings Spaniard Marc Coma (KTM) carries on opening up a gap at the top of the rankings, with a 51.22 lead over American Jonah Street (KTM), still leader in the marathon category, and a 52.31 lead over Frenchman David Frétigné (Yamaha), leader of the 450cc category.

Summary of stage 7  - Quads

Pending validation of the results by the race stewards, Argentine Marcos Patronelli (Can Am) has won the 7th stage, picking up his 1st success on the Dakar, 14.01 ahead of Uruguayan Luis Henderson (Suzuki) and 20.22 in front of Poland’s Rafal Sonik (Yamaha). As a result, in the general standings Czech rider Josef Machacek (Yamaha) is way out in the lead, 2:27.32 ahead of Patronelli and 2:38.27 in front of Polish rider Sonik.

Dakar 2009 - Stage 7: Volkswagen leads the Dakar Rally with three Race Touareg cars

Volkswagen leads the Dakar Rally with three Race Touareg cars, ahead of Saturday’s rest day and after seven of the 14 legs. 

Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn took over at the top on the seventh leg of the rally from Mendoza in Argentina to the Chilean city of Valparaíso. The former front-runners and Volkswagen team colleagues, Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz, trail them by just nine seconds. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford, driving a third Race Touareg with a 280 hp TDI diesel engine, are now third overall.
 
Carlos Sainz achieved his third leg victory on today’s difficult leg, which included the first Andes crossing of this first "Dakar” to be held in South America, thus placing him back at the top of the leader board. The day’s special stage was shortened from 419 to 243 kilometres due to inclement weather and rainfall overnight resulted in some treacherous driving conditions. Mark Miller is celebrating a double victory, having posted the second fastest time of the day and thus having given his best performance so far in this year’s legendary "Dakar”, which has been a tough one right from the start.
 
Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz ceded their lead today, after losing time due to a puncture and visibility problems on today’s muddy route, and were the sixth team to cross the finishing line. Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk, who lost a lot of time in the fourth Race Touareg yesterday, made good ground today to take twelfth place, moving them up in the overall rankings to ninth.
 
Volkswagen’s appraisal after seven legs: Volkswagen can lay claim to five leg victories and five days of leading the rally, and now dominates the event ahead of Mitsubishi, who have remained unbeaten in the "Dakar” since 2001. The second half of this desert classic will get under way on Sunday, after Saturday’s rest day which will primarily serve as an opportunity to thoroughly service the rally vehicles. Seven legs now remain, covering a total distance of 4,622 kilometres.
 

Coming up …
 
Saturday, 10 January: Rest day, Valparaíso (RCH). The rally vehicles won’t be going anywhere on the eighth day of the "Dakar”. But the sole rest day during the toughest rally in the world will only mean a welcome break for the drivers and co-pilots at best, as the mechanics will be giving the race vehicles a thorough going-over in the Chilean port of Valparaíso. Meanwhile, the racers can lap up the attention of the media spotlight. (VW-Motorsport)

Standings after Stage 6

Dakar 2009 - Video of Stage 4 - Cars/Autos

Dakar 2009 - Stage 4: Interviews

Carlos Sainz (Esp – 301 – Volkswagen) - 301

“We started very well and very quickly. We soon caught up with Nasser Al Attiyah. When he realized it was us, he counter-attacked and we both continued to race at a very speedy pace, until I was able to overtake on an off-track section. However, just afterwards, I started loosing air from a tire. I had to stop and pump it back up, because it wasn’t a flat tire, just a slow puncture. I was regularly loosing tire pressure right up until the end of the special stage. I think I arrived with only half a kilo of pressure and must have won by just 5 of 6 seconds. It’s a shame, because I could have done better”.

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Nasser Al Attiyah (Qat – 302 – BMW) - 302

“I think Carlos Sainz overtook me just before we reached the 100-km mark. After that, I followed on his tail and we raced up to the finish. It’s not a problem that he won the stage. It’s even a good thing for me that he will be leading the way for a stage where there should be sand dunes. I damaged the car a bit because there were plenty of trees and also a lot of overtaking to get past the bikers. So, we hit the odd tree, but fortunately it’s nothing serious. This Dakar is really going well and we’re right where we want to be!”

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Giniel de Villiers (Zaf – 305 – BMW) - 305

“It wasn’t such a bad stage. I caught up with Dieter Depping who had a puncture. I saw Carlos Sainz and Nasser Al Attiyah. I was two minutes behind them. The route was very bumpy and undulating. It was difficult to go full throttle, attack and make up some ground. When you are two minutes behind, it isn’t all that easy to claw back time on the leaders. The stages are becoming more and more difficult. It’s a proper Dakar”.

Marc Coma (Esp – 2 – KTM) - 002

“It was a nice stage with some good riding at the beginning then a bit more navigation. The landscape changed, making it a bit more technical, and more physical because you start to feel all the efforts put in so far. Today, it was shorter but harder than the other days. It was a bit like Morocco, where the tricks are nice and quick. I didn’t have any problems with my tires. Since it was a shorter stage, we chose to use foam bibs, and I haven’t had any problems with them. What was strange was having to open 4 or 5 gates. They are cattle gates for keeping the cattle from leaving the farms. In the Patagonia - Atacama the tradition is to close them behind you so everyone is on an equal footing, but this time I left them open, especially as it was my team-mate Viladoms behind me!”

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Jonah Street (Usa – 26 – KTM) - 026

“It was a nice day. Until refueling, I really enjoyed riding on these winding tracks. It was also good to be able to ride without having to constantly think about going easy on the tires, because on the first two stages, I had to slow down. I also liked the last part, because I knew there would be some off-track riding. When you have to ride without the others tracks, it’s even better”.

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David Frétigné (Fra – 12 – Yamaha) - 012

“It was superb. We finished on the stony tracks, which were a bit quicker, with a crossing of a dry river where there was a big crowd to encourage us. It was a really great special, very varied. I’ve never had such a good time on the rally. It’s also the way the special stages are designed which helps. They are technical, interesting and require a lot of concentration. As a biker, that makes for great riding”.

Dakar 2009 - Stage 4 - Jacobacci - Neuquen: Coma, Sainz and De Rooy strike again.

Over the 380 kilometers of the day’s special stage, Marc Coma boasted the best time and continues to increase his lead at the top of the general standings. In the car race, the struggle continues between Sainz and Al Attiyah, with a slight advantage for the Spaniard. 

What more would Marc Coma need to feel good? He had a relaxed start to the day, with the prospect of a long journey through Patagonia as the pathfinder. Since there were few navigational constraints, there was no worry about getting lost and losing time, especially since his nearest pursuer in the general standings, David Frétigné, was 39 minutes behind him. All the conditions were combined for the Catalan to continue widening the gap, riding at a pace that others would consider supersonic, but which he considers to be gentle. That said, on a bike, everything is relative… 

On the finishing line, in spite of a few cattle gets that he was careful to open on the way, Coma grabbed the day’s best time. He won his 7th stage victory on the Dakar with a lead of 1.17 over Cyril Despres and 1.21 over Jonah Street. With this display, the American rider pushed David Frétigné back into 3rd position, but with only 45 seconds between the two, the battle for second place is far from over. 

Spain continued its distinguished display in the car category, with a new victory for Carlos Sainz. Arriving in Neuquen with 6 seconds less on the clock than Nasser Al Attiyah, the VW driver brings his total of triumphs on the Dakar to 11. After four days of racing, it would appear that the duel which has the spectators holding their breath is the one being fought out between Sainz and Al Attiyah, who have shared the stage wins this year so far and are only separated in the general standings by 3.49. However, will their vehicles continue to be reliable? After all there are still more than 6,000 kilometers of the race to go. 

The expected rivalry with Mitsubishi could occur, as often is the case, later on in the race. In any case, it was not during this fourth stage that "Peter" and his team-mates were able to charge back up the standings. Far behind the leading Hispano-Qatari duo, Nani Roma was the best representative of the Japanese constructor, driving his Lancer to a 5th placed finish on the stage, 6.54 behind the day’s winner. In the general standings, after Masuoka’s withdrawal and the misfortunes of Alphand during yesterday’s stage, only Peterhansel and Roma are in a position to ambush the leaders, less than 20 minutes behind, in 4th and 5th place respectively. 

Close pursuit is also a method used in the T2 category. Today, Jun Mitsuhashi was again the quickest in the category, with the 28th best time of the day, followed this time by Ronan Chabot, also a former winner in the Production category. Having arrived in Neuquen 2.26 behind his Japanese team-mate, Chabot is also well placed in terms of the final podium, because Nicolas Gibon, who lost almost 30 minutes during the special, only hung onto his third place by three minutes. 

With his third stage victory in the truck category this year, Gerard De Rooy has strengthened his status as a legitimate pretender to the title. However, his rivals behind him are starting to apply pressure, meaning there is no room for error. The Russian fleet of Kamaz trucks lies in wait, with three drivers pursuing De Rooy. Indeed, Chagain is only 10.14 behind in the general standings.  (Marathonrally.com)

Standings after Stage 4

Dakar 2009: Al-Attiyah fastest again on day three

Carlos Sainz still in the lead

By Matt Beer (Autosport.com) Monday, January 5th 2009, 17:51 GMT

Nassar Al-Attiyah took his second stage win of the 2009 Dakar Rally on day three, but a puncture meant he was unable to significantly reduce Carlos Sainz's overall lead.

X-Raid BMW driver Al-Attiyah had led the event after the opening stage, only to drop back when he went off-course on Sunday and struggled to find the correct route afterwards.

He looked set to make up for that today, when he reached the second checkpoint of the 551-kilometre Puerto Madryn to Jacobacci stage 2:45 faster than the rest of the field, but a puncture then cost him a lot of time in the final section.

Although Al-Attiyah still managed to win the stage, his margin over second-fastest man Sainz was eventually just 35 seconds, which means that the VW driver is now 3:40 ahead of Al-Attiyah in the overall standings.
"In the last 50 kilometres there was one bike that jumped in front of us and we hit some rocks and had to change the tyres," said Al-Attiyah, who still moved up from fourth to second on the leaderboard.

"I think it's cost us about two minutes, but really this was a very good run - no problems in all the 550 kilometres except the puncture. It's good we are here (at the finish) and the car is working very well. I think we did a good job today.

"We're taking care of the car because it's a long rally, but I think one day we must really push a lot to make good times. But at the moment it's good going and we'll see what happens."

Sainz's teammate Giniel de Villiers has dropped from second to third after a cautious run through today's stage.
It was a bad day for the usually-dominant Mitsubishi team, with 2006 Dakar victor Luc Alphand stopping for nearly half an hour in the stage with an apparent mechanical problem, and 2007 winner Stephane Peterhansel losing time to Al-Attiyah throughout the stage and finishing five and a half minutes off the pace. He is now fourth overall, ahead of teammate Joan Roma and VW's Mark Miller.

Dieter Depping was third quickest in today's stage, but is over an hour behind the leaders in the overall times having suffered costly electrical problems on Saturday.

Standings after Stage 3

Dakar 2009 - More inteviews after Stage 2 - Santa Rosa - Puerto Madryn

Carlos Sainz (Esp – Volkswagen) - 301

At the wheel of a Race Touareg with a slightly crumpled right wing, Carlos Sainz crossed the finishing line of today’s special stage as the winner… The Spaniard also takes the lead in the general standings.

“It was a very difficult stage with all the dust and the bikes. At times, we nearly had to stop. I even hit a biker at one point; I hope he’s going to be ok”.

Giniel De Villiers (SA - VW) - 300

1.56 behind the day’s winner Carlos Sainz, Giniel De Villiers displayed good consistency by finishing 3rd in the special stage, like yesterday.

“The start of the special was very quick, but as soon as we arrived in the off-track part, it was not very easy to navigate and we got a little bit lost. We must have lost a minute or two. Then in the last section, there was lots of fesh-fesh, so it was very difficult to get past the bikers. But I tried to be cautious and avoid any mishaps. We didn’t do too badly”.

Stéphane Peterhansel (Fra – Mitsubishi) - 300

Slowly but surely, the title holder is getting stronger. While still adapting to his brand new Mitsubishi Lancer, Peterhansel manage to pick up second place on the special.

“This special stage was a bit more technical. There was some off-terrain work for the first time, so we had to be on our guard. But, it was okay. I caught up with Luc (Alphand) at one point. After that, we ended up in the dust thrown up by the bikers then by Miller (VW). It wasn’t very nice, until we were able to overtake him. It was a short special but, in spite of that, there were some big fesh-fesh sections with quite thick vegetation. We were almost stopped at that point, because visibility was down to 1 or 2 meters. The bikers were all over the place, so we had to be very careful”.

Frans Verhoeven (Nld – 15 – KTM) - 015

Having set off in 4th this morning from Santa Rosa, Team Vectra’s Dutchman made the most of the navigation section, picking up a first stage victory on the Dakar.

“At the start it was quite technical, but then it became quicker. In the middle, there was a very difficult navigation section in amongst the vegetation and with the dust, it was impossible to see any tire tracks. I managed to find the route and at one time I saw there were no more tire tracks in front of me, so I knew I was in the lead…”

Cyril Despres (Fra – KTM) - 001

Without a visor on his helmet and with serious damage to the front of his KTM, Cyril Despres once again had a complicated day, but still managed to finish second in the day’s special stage.

“On arriving in the Pampa, I hit a tiny sod of grass, not even a cow pat and the bike went flying. I rolled over forwards. The Iritrack and the GPS broke, so it was another difficult day, but that’s racing. I didn’t hurt myself though: I was only riding at 20 kmph when I came off. At least this second stage is now finished. I hope all these mishaps are finished too”.

David Frétigné (Fra – Yamaha) - 012

Just like the day before, David Frétigné finished this second special stage with a broad smile on his face. The Frenchman really seems to be enjoying riding his Yamaha 450cc, and the results are following on accordingly.

“To be honest, that was 200 km of really interesting special stage. I really enjoyed myself. We had a bit of everything: quick tracks at the end, after a winding beginning on which we could slide the bike round the bends. So, just from a riding viewpoint, it was a real pleasure. There was also some off-track navigation that was very difficult. Honestly, I was really cautious about it. I thought I had lost time, but I didn’t do too badly in the end. I hope I can continue like this”.

Marc Coma (Esp – 2 – KTM) - 002

“I had a problem with the radiator. I noticed after 104 km that I had an oil leak. At the CP, which was just a few kilometers afterwards, I asked if they had any oil, because I could see it was a big leak. I had to continue, because they couldn’t help me out and I decided to stop at the first place I came across where there were people to see of I could find a solution. That was at the 108-km mark. Someone from the crowd brought me an oilcan. I was able to put it to good use, but I had to stop regularly”.

Sainz takes Dakar lead on day two

By Matt Beer

Sunday, January 4th 2009, 14:48 GMT

Carlos Sainz has taken the Dakar Rally lead for Volkswagen after winning the second stage of the event.

Opening day leader Nassar Al-Attiyah (X-Raid BMW) had remained ahead through the first checkpoint in the Santa Rosa to Puerto Madryn stage, only to lose six minutes when he went off course in a particularly sandy section and struggled to find the stage route again - eventually having to double back to ensure he crossed the second checkpoint.

Sainz, who had already been slightly faster than Al-Attiyah in the first part of the stage, proceeded to take the fastest time and move into the overall lead, although he also had difficulty in the sand.

"It was very difficult with the dust and the motorbikes," said Sainz. "There were places where you basically had to stop. In one of these places I found a motorbike, and I hope it's okay."

The former World Rally champion now has a 2:19 lead over his VW teammate Giniel de Villiers in second place. Like Al-Attiyah, the South Africa had trouble staying on the rally route in the deep sand.

"The beginning was very fast, but in the middle there was an off piste section where it was not so easy with the navigation," said de Villiers.

"We lost about a minute or two but it was not too bad. Towards the end it was very, very dusty. We tried to be safe and not get stuck in anything."

Defending winner Stephane Peterhansel has now moved up to third for Mitsubishi, ahead of the delayed Al-Attiyah, after taking the second-fastest time in today's stage. (Autosport.com)

Stage 2 results

Dakar 2009: First Interviews after Stage 2.

At the wheel of a Race Touareg with a slightly crumpled right wing, Carlos Sainz crossed the finishing line of today’s special stage as the winner… The Spaniard also takes the lead in the general standings. "It was a very difficult stage with all the dust and the bikes. At times, we nearly had to stop. I even hit a biker at one point; I hope he’s going to be ok". 

1.56 behind the day’s winner Carlos Sainz, Giniel De Villiers displayed good consistency by finishing 3rd in the special stage, like yesterday. "The start of the special was very quick, but as soon as we arrived in the off-track part, it was not very easy to navigate and we got a little bit lost. We must have lost a minute or two. Then in the last section, there was lots of fesh-fesh, so it was very difficult to get past the bikers. But I tried to be cautious and avoid any mishaps. We didn’t do too badly". 

Slowly but surely, the title holder is getting stronger. While still adapting to his brand new Mitsubishi Lancer, Peterhansel manage to pick up second place on the special. "This special stage was a bit more technical. There was some off-terrain work for the first time, so we had to be on our guard. But, it was okay. I caught up with Luc (Alphand) at one point. After that, we ended up in the dust thrown up by the bikers then by Miller (VW). It wasn’t very nice, until we were able to overtake him. It was a short special but, in spite of that, there were some big fesh-fesh sections with quite thick vegetation. We were almost stopped at that point, because visibility was down to 1 or 2 meters. The bikers were all over the place, so we had to be very careful". (Marathonrally.com)

Dakar 2009 - Stage 1: Buenos Aires - Santa Rosa

Motorbikes

Cars and Trucks


Standings after first stage

More info on Stage 1

Still more info on Stage 1

Dakar 2009 - Volkswagen by the numbers

9 days until the 2009 Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile

Number games: with 182 litres of water 9,578 km through

Wolfsburg (25 December 2008). 530 teams from 49 nations set off for new pastures on 3 January. This is not just figuratively but quite literally as the first Dakar Rally in South America runs not only to the Atlantic but also to the Pacific Ocean. The competitors in cars, motorbikes, quads or trucks conquer completely new terrain along the 9,500 kilometre route through Argentina and Chile. There are a huge amount of interesting facts regarding the first running of the cross country classic far away from Africa about the Volkswagen team and the four Race Touaregs for Carlos Sainz/Michel Perin (E/F), Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D), Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) and Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk (D/D).

For example, did you know that ...

... the driver and co-driver have 13 litres of water each day on board the Race Touareg and the drinking supply can even be activated at the press of a button?

... fluid is hugely important? It is summer in South America and therefore hot. Furthermore, the Atacama Desert to be crossed has 100 times less moisture than the notorious Death Valley.

... just the special stages at a combined length of 5,656 kilometres easily exceed the distance covered during an entire Formula 1 season? The longest stage covers 837 kilometres, including liaison stages the 2009 "Dakar" ends after 9,578 kilometres.

... the loading list for one Service Truck belonging to the Volkswagen teams comprises of 60 DIN A4 pages?

... on every Service Truck a tool box with 27 sets of pliers, 58 spanners and 48 screwdrivers is transported? In addition, in a personal case every mechanic carries just the tools that are absolutely necessary for his work on the Race Touareg 2.

... Volkswagen Motorsport sends a total of 23 vehicle and 80 team members to South America?

... the Volkswagen Race Touareg is already a race winner? Since its debut in 2004 it has taken nine wins, 29 podium finishes, 79 stage victories and spent 70 days in the lead in 29 starts.

... the carbon bodywork of a Race Touareg only weighs 50 kilograms? Even more impressive is the weight of the spare parts that Volkswagen carries for all for cars: 50 tons.

... the participants will be confronted with temperature differences of up to 40 degrees Celsius and altitude differences of 4,700 metres?

... the rally armada crosses eleven Argentinean and three Chilean provinces on its way through South America?

-credit: volkswagen