Sainz to drive new VW Race Touareg…
author: Leon Botha
Although patriotism seems to have faded out of South Africa along with those who decided to look for other countries to live their lives and that specific quality was replaced by an everyone for himself - help yourself attitude, one still gets that almost forgotten pang when you feel that a South African was done short?
Of course I am realistic and I do realise that Carlos the Sainz sells more cars that Giniel de Villiers will be able to in Europe, and of course I am aware of the fact that Sainz is better known than de Villiers (or is he?) but still - I get that feeling that Giniel has to be satisfied with what is left over after His Sainztly has taken his piece of the cake?
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Give me a "G" give me an "I".......Giniel de Villiers arguably one of the best drivers in the world
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I have no doubt that Giniel can in a straight fight out-drive Sainz and I have no doubt that he is one of the best drivers I have ever seen in action - still one has to say thank you to whoever is in charge for at least taking up two South Africans in the Volkswagen team.
So lets shut-up and look at the press release from Volkswagen:
The new Race Touareg 3 with which Volkswagen aims to score a remarkable hat-trick of Dakar Rally victories in January 2011 faces its first real challenge under competitive conditions when it takes on the Silk Way Rally in Russia on September 11 to 18.
All four of Volkswagen’s Dakar rally crews, will be in action in the 4 579km marathon, which starts from the historic Palace Square of the St Petersburg Winter Palace on September 11 and ends in Sochi on September 18.
Spain’s Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz (2010 Dakar winners) will team up in the new Race Touareg 3, while team-mates Giniel de Villiers of South Africa and German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz (2009 Dakar winners), Mark Miller (USA)/Ralph Pitchford (South Africa) and Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar)/Timo Gottschalk (Germany) will compete in the Race Touareg 2 before receiving the third generation car for the Dakar Rally in January 2011.
De Villiers, a former national circuit and off road champion, became the first South African to win the Dakar Rally in 2009 when he and Von Zitzewitz scored the TDI diesel Touareg 2 car’s first win in the world’s toughest off road race. Pitchford, a former national off road motorcycle and reigning production car co-driver champion, navigated Miller to second place overall.
The route, which includes 2 100 km of special stages, will take competitors from St Petersburg, the world’s northernmost metropolis, to Staraya Russa and from there via Vyazma, Lipetsk and Volgograd to Sochi, the rally’s final destination and venue of the 2014 Winter Olympics. With eight special stages across North Russia featuring the sandy massifs of Kalmykia and the rough foothills of the Caucasus, it will be ideal preparation for the Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile.
The new four-wheel drive Race Touareg 3, which has already successfully completed some 10 000 km of testing in Spain and Morocco, develops 310 horsepower and sports the attractive design language of the latest production model.
“The Silk Way Rally is a task of enormous importance to us,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen, “because it is the only competition we’re tackling before the 2011 Dakar Rally and our aim of achieving the hat-trick there. We want to use the opportunity to not only test the material at this tough rally and to sharpen the senses of our drivers and co-drivers after an eight-month break in rally racing – but very clearly get our whole team to work together smoothly. After all, this is the Dakar dress rehearsal for the engineers and technicians as well.”
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The old and the new!
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“Last year’s Silk Way was my first time in the car after the back operation I had following the 2009 Dakar,” said De Villiers. “It was tough. After driving the bulk of the testing in Morocco, I feel I’m a lot better prepared this time. It will be good to get back into competitive mode after such a long break.”
Pitchford comments: “We have quite a different route this year, with the entire event taking place in Russia, and the wide variety of terrain we expect will be excellent training under competitive conditions for the Dakar.”
Volkswagen finished 1-2-3 in the 2009 Silk Way Rally with the diesel-powered Race Touareg 2, with Sainz/Cruz taking the overall honours from Miller/Pitchford and De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz.
The daily highlights of the rally will be shown on Supersport from 11 to 18 September 2010.
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