Volkswagen opens second "Dakar" half with one-two-three win
Zetavision Rally Dakar (Special Volkswagen Motorsport)
Wolfsburg (9 January 2011). Volkswagen maintains lead with Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E) in the Race Touareg 3 as Dakar Rally enters second half. However, with victory on the day in the seventh stage in Chile their team mates Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) have moved to within 1 minute 22 seconds the Spaniard in the overall standings. In their battle for the lead the two Race Touareg 3 have moved further ahead of their closest pursuer Stéphane Peterhansel in the X-raid-BMW. The Frenchman is already 21 minutes 11 seconds off the lead.
Al-Attiyah celebrated his second stage victory of the rally ahead of Carlos Sainz on the way to Arica from Antofagasta – for Volkswagen it was already the sixth on the seven stage to date. In the process Al-Attiyah halved his deficit to Sainz. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) completed the successful day in third 2 minutes 56 seconds behind.
The character of today’s stage resembled the recently driven sixth stage; however the teams completed the route in the opposite direction. A serpentine downhill section to conclude the stage proved so narrow that the drivers had to reverse in some of the corners. The accompanying service fleet also mastered a known route in the opposite direction. The sporting events forced the organiser to change the route: Following the extremely difficult fifth and sixth stages many drivers only arrived at the bivouac throughout the course of the rest day on Saturday a whole twenty-four hours late. To make the start of the second rally week easier for them, those responsible shortened the original 611 kilometre long seventh stage to 273 kilometres. As a result, the teams already reached the stage finish close to the Rio Loa with its view across the Pacific. It is the only river with its source in the Andes and which does not completely evaporate in the Atacama Desert as it meanders to the sea.
The character of today’s stage resembled the recently driven sixth stage; however the teams completed the route in the opposite direction. A serpentine downhill section to conclude the stage proved so narrow that the drivers had to reverse in some of the corners. The accompanying service fleet also mastered a known route in the opposite direction. The sporting events forced the organiser to change the route: Following the extremely difficult fifth and sixth stages many drivers only arrived at the bivouac throughout the course of the rest day on Saturday a whole twenty-four hours late. To make the start of the second rally week easier for them, those responsible shortened the original 611 kilometre long seventh stage to 273 kilometres. As a result, the teams already reached the stage finish close to the Rio Loa with its view across the Pacific. It is the only river with its source in the Andes and which does not completely evaporate in the Atacama Desert as it meanders to the sea.
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
"That was a fantastic day for three of our cars. The one-two-three shows just how well the team worked on the rest day. I’m delighted with the start of the second half of the rally. We also managed to increase the cushion to Stéphane Peterhansel. Nevertheless the same still applies: We must first beat the Dakar Rally and its conditions and secondly continue to keep Stéphane Peterhansel at arm’s length.”
"That was a fantastic day for three of our cars. The one-two-three shows just how well the team worked on the rest day. I’m delighted with the start of the second half of the rally. We also managed to increase the cushion to Stéphane Peterhansel. Nevertheless the same still applies: We must first beat the Dakar Rally and its conditions and secondly continue to keep Stéphane Peterhansel at arm’s length.”
director@rallydakar.org
prensa@rallydakar.org
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