Tumultuous celebration at the “Dakar” finish: Volkswagen has won the Dakar Rally for the third time in succession. Standing alongside Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) on the podium in Buenos Aires on Sunday will be Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) and Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E). In front of millions of enthusiastic spectators the new Race Touareg 3 scored a much celebrated one-two-three finish in the desert classic through Argentina and Chile. As a result, Volkswagen is the only manufacturer to have won the automobile category in the desert classic with diesel technology – and remains unbeaten on the South American continent thanks to TDI power. To complete the victory all three cars must still roll across the winner’s ramp on Sunday and midday local time in Buenos Aires.

Three Volkswagen “Dakar” winners on the Podium

With Nasser Al-Attiyah from Qatar and Timo Gottschalk from Germany a third duo clinched a “Dakar” victory for Volkswagen in the 33rd running of the motorsport marathon. Thanks to superior and exceptionally durable high-tech made in Wolfsburg, the three victorious driver/co-driver pairs from the previous three years mount the winners’ podium as first, second and third – an expression of a harmonious and strong driving squad that dominated the 2011 “Dakar” from the beginning.

Volkswagen alone is credited with 12 of a possible 13 stage victories. Carlos Sainz realised a personal best with his stage victory on the way to Buenos Aires: Now with stage win number 24 he surpasses the 23 stage victories scored in the car class by current rival Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel. One of the Volkswagen teams led the rally, with its many extremely hard stages, from the start. The challenges: winding gravel roads, soft and deep desert sand in the unrelenting Atacama Desert, navigationally demanding sections through labyrinth-like canyons and washed-out river beds as well as spectacular river crossings. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) completed the solid Volkswagen team performance in sixth position. All four Race Touareg 3 that started finished the rally in leading positions and continued the success story of enviable reliability: Volkswagen has not recorded a single technically related retirement in cross country rallying in four years.

The three pillars of a historic victory

Reliable technology, perfect teamwork and strong driver squad – Volkswagen once again set the standards during the 2011 Dakar Rally with this winning formula. The TDI technology, which represents efficiency and reliability in millions of Volkswagen road cars, revolutionised cross country rallying. Thanks to the powerful and compact design it is also pioneering in the “Dakar”. The four 310 hp Race Touareg 3 spooled-off the approximate 9,600 kilometres overall distance with clockwork precision – and in the process always perfectly prepared for the forthcoming rally day by a closely-knit team and prepared tactically astute by Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. In addition to the service crew on location, the employees in Wolfsburg and Hanover undertook careful preparatory work beforehand – indispensable for the “Dakar” win. The technological basis – unbeaten since the end of 2008 – was converted by Sainz/Cruz into seven, Al-Attiyah/Gottschalk into four and de Villiers/von Zitzewitz into one stage victory.

The three: new Race Touareg triumph on debut

The third generation Race Touareg equipped with a 2.5 litre TDI engine and permanent four-wheel drive completed its “Dakar” premiere successfully from the beginning. The power unit’s in-line 5-cylinder, bi-turbo design guaranteeing compact dimensions and low overall weight when compared to its direct competition proved to be the best overall package for the third time in succession suiting both the WRC-like tracks and the extreme dune crossings. The TDI engine in the Race Touareg 3 is one of the most powerful and, at the same time, most efficient diesel power units in motorsport.

On extremely hot stages, where ambient temperatures neared 60 degrees Celsius, the new cooling concept paid dividends for the extreme prototype from Wolfsburg. Thanks to improved air flow and an optimised radiator the Race Touareg 3 shrugged off the boiling heat in Chile’s Atacama Desert and the extreme conditions in the notorious dunes in the Sierras Pampeanas around Fiambalá in Argentina. Reliability combined with speed – on every terrain Volkswagen demonstrated its technical expertise during the 2011 “Dakar”.

The three: multiple-winners made in Wolfsburg

One-two in 2009, one-two-three in 2010, one-two-three in 2011 – Volkswagen continues an irresistible winning streak in the Dakar Rally. The Wolfsburg based brand has been pace setter since the event moved from Africa to South America. In January 2009, Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz recorded the brand’s first “Dakar” victory since the prototype project started in 2004, followed by their team mates Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA). It was the second Volkswagen win in motorsport’s toughest test after Freddy Kottulinsky/Gerd Löffelmann (S/D) had won in a production based Volkswagen Iltis in 1980. In 2010, the first one/two/three followed with Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E) claiming victory from their Volkswagen team mates Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) in the closest ever “Dakar” finish in history. Number three marks the successful revenge for Al-Attiyah/Gottschalk – also an important entry in their career histories.

Nasser Al-Attiyah becomes the first Arab in the desert classic’s history to be presented with the big “Dakar” trophy. The Qatari won in his sixth “Dakar” competition, his second for Volkswagen, for the first time. His navigator Timo Gottschalk is only the fourth co-driver, after Gerd Löffelmann, Andreas Schulz and Dirk von Zitzewitz, to bring the “Dakar” victory to Germany – a premiere for the vehicle technology engineer living in Rheinsberg, Brandenburg.

Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)

“The third successive ‘Dakar’ victory for Volkswagen is a historic performance which was achieved thanks to perfect teamwork, exceptional driving and navigational skills and more specifically thanks to superior technology. I’m incredibly proud of the entire team, both the employees who made this win possible and also the team with its superhuman efforts here on location. It was without a shadow of doubt the toughest ‘Dakar’ that we have ever contested, and also probably the best organised. My compliments therefore also go to the organiser A.S.O. I think we proved that the Race Touareg 3 is currently the world’s most reliable and strongest cross country rally vehicle. This is the result of years of hard work. Congratulations to Nasser Al-Attiyah and Timo Gottschalk who have worked outstandingly and obviously also to the other Volkswagen pairs who made this one-two-three finish possible.”

#302 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q), 2nd place leg / 1st position overall

“My first ‘Dakar’ win. I’m absolutely delighted to have been the first Arab to win the world’s toughest desert rally. These feelings are incredibly difficult to express in words. I reached my greatest goal thanks to the world’s best cross country rally car and the best team in this sport. I’m delighted for the entire squad which slaved around the clock for three weeks for this victory. In Timo Gottschalk I have an exceptional co-driver at my side, who played an immense role in this victory. Today we’ll party like there’s no tomorrow.”

#302 – Timo Gottschalk (D), co-driver

“Victory in the ‘Dakar’ – I can still hardly believe it. Over last few days we built up a comfortable advantage and things looked really good for us in the previous stages. Nevertheless, everybody ignored any thoughts of victory, because anything can happen in this rally even within sight of the finish. I’m proud and happy about the win. It was the hardest ‘Dakar’ which I have ever contested. We’ve now spent two weeks at the absolute physical limit. The organiser kept its promise of wanting to stage the toughest Dakar Rally ever. To have won exactly this one is an incredibly good feeling.”

#308 – Giniel de Villiers (ZA), 4th place leg / 2nd position overall

“The Dakar Rally is an extremely long race during which a great deal can happen. At the beginning we tried to drive cautiously and tactically. Because you only have a chance of getting a good result if you reach the finish. This approach brought us second place and I’m delighted about the result. A podium finish in the Dakar Rally is always something special. Something we can personally be proud of. The team can be proud of making first, second and third positions possible.”

#308 – Dirk von Zitzewitz (D), co-driver

“An incredibly demanding ‘Dakar’ because the days were extremely long. In the mornings you had to get up very early, we only reached the bivouac in the late afternoon. There were loads of changes to the roadbook, which duly gave us co-drivers plenty of work during the night. The stages were also physically challenging. In the Atacama Desert the navigation could certainly have been a little more challenging, which was the case in Argentina, as is fitting for a ‘Dakar’. My highlight was the Fiambalá stage which we won because of perfect navigation. All in all a positive Dakar Rally for me – especially because second overall was the reward.”

#300 – Carlos Sainz (E), 1st place leg / 3rd position overall

“All in all I’m more than satisfied with 2011 Dakar Rally. I think that my co-driver Lucas Cruz and I did a good job and therefore were rightfully fighting for victory for a long time. Unfortunately two bad days and several mistakes cost us any chance of overall victory. But this is the Dakar Rally: You always have to be alert. I’m delighted for the entire Volkswagen team, which truly deserves this one-two-three finish, and to have contributed to it. Everybody worked hard for this win.”

#300 – Lucas Cruz (E), co-driver

“This was by far the most challenging ‘Dakar’ that I have ever completed. It was full of tricky situations for a navigator which had to be solved with caution. There were plenty of dune sections of soft sand which meant an incredible amount of work for the driver in the cockpit. On top of this were the WRC-like sections with jumps and extreme temperatures. The rally was very varied. However, the Race Touareg 3 is the perfect car for such conditions. From the sporting point of view we were beaten for the first time since Carlos Sainz and I compete together. However, I think that we nevertheless did a good job. Luck deserted us on occasion.”

#304 – Mark Miller (USA), 5th place leg / 6th position overall

“This ‘Dakar’ was a wonderful event, with many interesting stages that demanded everything from man and machine. Unfortunately we lost so much time already on the second stage that we were out of the battle for overall victory. Our role was then to support our team mates – a task we were happy to do. When you work an entire year as team for victory, it goes without saying that you support one another to reach the targets. We did exactly this with energy and vigour on the eleventh stage to help Carlos Sainz onto the podium.”

#304 – Ralph Pitchford (ZA), co-driver

“This year on the Dakar Rally there were many hard stages that ran through fascinating landscapes. Mark and I had real highlight stages which we really enjoyed. Unfortunately we lost our chance of overall victory right at the beginning. However, I’m delighted for the entire team that it turned out to be a one-two-three finish. I think this is just reward. Now, after the last stage and after all the tension has gone we’ll have a big celebration. It was fantastic to have worked together with this team. We have all earned the fun and relaxation which comes now.”

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1. Dakar 2011: Nasser Al-Attiyah, Timo Gottschalk increase gap to pursuers with stage victory

You're reading Dakar 2011: Nasser Al-Attiyah & Timo Gottschalk win, Volkswagen sweeps podium originally posted on oneighturbo.com. If you've enjoyed this article, be sure and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and YouTube.

The Volkswagen factory drivers Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) increased their lead at the top of the Dakar Rally standings on the eleventh stage. On the section from Chilecito to San Juan they recorded their fourth stage victory this year in the Race Touareg 3 and benefited at the same time from the bad luck of their team mates Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E). Last year’s winners from Spain dropped back due to damage on their car, but are still on course for a podium finish. New second placed duo is Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) in another Race Touareg.

Carlos Sainz, up to now second in the overall standings, led the cross country rally’s eleventh stage for almost 400 kilometres. Damage to the right-hand front suspension of his car then forced the Spaniard to stop and make repairs, during which last year’s winner lost a lot of time. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) stopped in the stage to help their team mates under inhuman conditions. Sainz/Cruz dropped back to third overall due to the repair work, their team mates Miller/Pitchford fell to sixth position.

Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel in the X-raid-BMW reached the stage finish second 1 minute 13 seconds behind Nasser Al-Attiyah. The third best time went to yesterday’s stage winner Giniel de Villiers. The 2009 “Dakar” Champion now sits 51 minutes 49 seconds behind Al-Attiyah in the overall standings.

Originally the eleventh stage at 622 kilometres would have been the longest of the entire rally. However, rain in the area around San Juan most recently caused deep erosion and new gorges. For safety reasons the organiser therefore cut 93 kilometres from the final section. As a result the distance dropped to 530 kilometres. To begin the teams crossed canyon terrain with plenty of bush vegetation at the foot of the Andes; afterwards they conquered a climb to over 3,200 metres before the stage ended at about 800 metres above sea level.

Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)

“A proverb in motorsport is – ‘To finish first, first you have to finish’. Congratulations to Nasser Al-Attiyah and Timo Gottschalk for their performance today. It was a very exciting day for everyone. Carlos Sainz suffered suspension damage. Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford helped them with spare parts and energy and encouragement. I’m proud of the four as they completed the repair in record time. As a result we still lead the field with three Race Touareg cars. All in all a good day for Volkswagen.

#300 – Carlos Sainz (E), 14th place leg / 3rd position overall

“Today we really attacked and were about 25 seconds behind in the dust cloud kicked up by our team mate Nasser Al-Attiyah. This is a risky game and we knew this. Because of the dust we didn’t see a hole which we slid into when we locked the brakes. The suspension broke. Luckily our team mates Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford were directly behind us with spare parts and we could replace the destroyed components in record time in incredibly high temperatures. Thanks to Mark and Ralph’s help we still managed to reach third place overall. I’m really thankful for this. But today I’m not only simply exhausted I also need a new body.”

#302 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q), 1st place leg / 1st position overall

“A few days ago I planned to approach the job in hand as clever as possible to the finish. Today there were two stages during which you had to be wide awake. In the first part we looked after the material as well as possible so we would be in a good position in the second part. It paid dividends. And although we were driving rather cautiously we still won the stage at the end. We now have a comfortable advantage, but this doesn’t mean anything if you don’t arrive in Buenos Aires. I’m not wasting any thoughts about winning. After all there are still two extremely tough days ahead of us.”

#304 – Mark Miller (USA), 11th place leg / 6th position overall

“The day began with us having to make difficult overtaking manoeuvres on the cars running in the dust in front of us. We did well under these conditions. Just after the start of the second part of the stage we came across Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz who had suffered suspension damage. We worked fantastically together and solved the problem as quickly as possible. Normally you need at least two hours for this, we managed it in one. But this is exactly why we are one team.”

#308 – Giniel de Villiers (ZA), 3rd place leg / 2nd position overall

“The second part of the stage was much harder than we had previously expected. The first part was also tricky. Many canyons and bushes meant plenty of work at the steering wheel. Owing to Carlos’ problem we made good a place in the overall standings. I feel sorry for him as he’d drive an outstanding race so far. However, it also shows that anything can happen every day during this extremely tough rally. You have to be alert all the way to the finish. This is also exactly what my co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz and I plan to the finish in Buenos Aires.”

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1. Dakar 2011: Nasser Al-Attiyah claims the overall lead by 5 minutes

You're reading Dakar 2011: Nasser Al-Attiyah, Timo Gottschalk increase gap to pursuers with stage victory originally posted on oneighturbo.com. If you've enjoyed this article, be sure and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and YouTube.

On the most difficult Dakar Rally stage so far the Volkswagen teams guaranteed enormous tension with a change of leadership. As was the case on Friday the four Race Touareg teams took the top four finishing positions on the eighth stage from Antofagasta to Copiapó. In Chile’s most famous town since the mining miracle the Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) duo took their third stage win. On his favorite terrain in deep sand Al-Attiyah replaced last year’s winner Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E) at the head of the overall standings. The Arab is now 5 minutes 14 seconds ahead of the Spaniard.

Initially, after winning yesterday and thus having to open today’s stage, Nasser Al-Attiyah was behind Sainz. Only after the tenth of 13 way points did the professional rally driver from Qatar transform a 1 minute 58 second deficit into a 6 minute 36 second advantage. Behind Sainz and Al-Attiyah, Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) ended the day third in front of their Volkswagen team mates Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA). As a result the two duos each moved up a place in the overall standings: De Villiers is third. Miller, who led the stage at the start, is now fifth in the rally.

While Volkswagen recorded the seventh of a possible eight stage victories, its strongest challenger fell even further behind. Stéphane Peterhansel in the X-raid-BMW is 1 hour 33 minutes behind in fourth overall.

At 508 kilometers in length the teams today completed the rally’s longest stage so far. Only the forthcoming stages on 13 and 14 January will be longer. In the first part of the stage the teams had to master many opencast mining access roads and passed the Paranal Observatory – the scene of the James Bond film “Quantum of Solace”. All in all it was a kind of mini “Dakar” in one stage: The stage between Antofagasta and Copiapó provided a huge array of varied terrain. On the one side gravel sections requiring a more respectful approach for the material, and on the other washed out sand sections, dry river beds and canyons, which tested the navigators’ skills. Several dune belts formed the crowning glory on the toughest stage of the 2011 Dakar Rally to date.

Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)

“Today was the Volkswagen day! The Race Touareg ran without problems, our drivers and co-drivers worked very well. There has quite possibly never been such a difficult stage as today’s. And here Volkswagen has pulled out such a large margin. It shows how good our car is and just what the occupants achieved in the cockpit. Many thanks to the whole team for this. We move ever closer to our big goal, but the ‘Dakar’ is and remains merciless. We must continue to give our all.”

#300 – Carlos Sainz (E), 2nd place leg / 2nd position overall

“Today probably wasn’t our day. We lost the lead after getting bogged down twice in the dunes. For the majority of the time we were close to our team mate Nasser Al-Attiyah. This would have meant that we would have extended our lead by two minutes. Instead it of this we were six minutes slower in the special stage. Of all the places we got stuck in the final dune belt. This means that our role has changed. We are now hunting and no longer the hunted. However, this changes nothing to the approach: We will continue to give our all day by day in order to be right at the front at the finish.”

#302 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q), 1st place leg / 1st position overall

“Today I saved my entire energy for the dune sections and concentrated solely on attacking there. We drove for almost the entire distance alongside Carlos Sainz, the lead changed frequently between us. In the final dune section I said to my co-driver Timo Gottschalk: It’s now or never. We extracted the absolute maximum. The target was to reduce the deficit. The result is the overall lead. We must continue to work cleverly to defend this advantage up to the finish.”

#304 – Mark Miller (USA), 4th place leg / 5th position overall

“A really fantastic stage. This is how ‘Dakar’ stages must be: A little bit of everything was in it. Today we had a good day. Just at one point the road book allowed a lot of room for interpretation. My co-driver Ralph Pitchford did everything correct, we were right on target and nevertheless had to search for a long time for a way point. To start the stage we had to change a slow puncture, but this can always happen on such a stage. All in all I enjoyed the day. We’d be happy to see more like this.”

#308 – Giniel de Villiers (ZA), 3rd place day / 3rd position overall

“This stage was really tough. Everything was expected today from both the driving and navigational points of view. My navigator Dirk von Zitzewitz did a great job today. We followed the route 100 per cent. Occasionally, however, we didn’t see any tracks from the guys in front of us. They must have been particularly clever today. Because otherwise I just can’t explain my deficit on today’s stage. Although we had a tyre failure it was changed very quickly. To be third overall now is fantastic. The podium is our goal. Nevertheless, I think from day to day. There are still tough stages to come. We can’t afford to make any mistakes here, if we are going to make any more progress towards the front.”

Standings after leg 08, Antofagasta (RCH)–Copiapó (RCH); 508/776 km SS 08/total

Pos.   Team   Vehicle   Leg 08   Total time
1   Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D);   Volkswagen Race Touareg 3; 5h 16m 30s (1)   28h 39m 50s
2   Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E);   Volkswagen Race Touareg 3;   5h 23m 06s (2)   + 5m 14s
3   Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D);   Volkswagen Race Touareg 3;   5h 33m 52s (3)   + 48m 45s
4   Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-P. Cottret (F/F);   BMW X3 CC;   6h 30m 11s (6)   + 1h 33m 30s
5   Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA);   Volkswagen Race Touareg 3;   5h 36m 31s (4)   + 2h 32m 23s
6   Krzysztof Holowczyc/Jean-Marc Fortin (PL/B);   BMW X3 CC;   7h 27m 52s (11)   + 3h 38m 59s
7   Christian Lavieille/Jean-Michel Polato (F/F);   Nissan Proto;   6h 40m 06s (9)   + 4h 48m 55s
8   Ricardo Leal dos Santos/Paulo Fiuza (P/P);   BMW X3 CC;   6h 38m 41s (7)   + 4h 51m 29s
9   Guilherme Spinelli/Youssef Haddad (BR/BR);   Mitsubishi Racing Lancer; 8h 12m 50s (13)   + 5h 33m 48s
10   Matthias Kahle/Thomas Schünemann (D/D);   Buggy SMG;   6h 39m 39s (8)   + 7h 06m 57s

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1. Dakar 2011: Volkswagen take a 1-2-3-4 win on Day 6

You're reading Dakar 2011: Nasser Al-Attiyah claims the overall lead by 5 minutes originally posted on oneighturbo.com. If you've enjoyed this article, be sure and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and YouTube.

The Volkswagen drivers went into the rest day of this year’s Dakar Rally with a 1-2-3-4 win. After the victories in the first week the score in the duel with the X-raid BMW team is now 5-1 to Volkswagen.

After six legs through Argentina and Chile Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E) are leading by 2m 42s in front of their team colleagues Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D). After 1,925 of the 5,020 kilometers against the clock Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (F/F) in the X-raid BMW are Volkswagen’s fiercest rivals. Their gap amounts to 14m 51s – a time as short as the blink of an eye at the Dakar Rally. Four out of six possible stage wins so far went to Sainz/Cruz and one each to Al-Attiyah/Gottschalk and Peterhansel/Cottret. The leading trio is followed within a striking distance by two other Volkswagen factory duos: Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) in fourth and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) in sixth place overall.

Yet the rest day of the “Dakar” is anything but a day for lazing around. The mechanics intensively prepare the vehicles for the second week of the “Dakar”. After the joint press conference the drivers, co-drivers and team management will present the Volkswagen bivouac to Chile’s President Sebastián Piñera and subsequently be available to the media for interviews.

The first rally week offered the “Dakar” participants the variety which is typical for South America. The terrain changed several times a day between gravel passages, scree fields, solid clay soil, jungle sections and soft dune sand. On the sixth leg the Volkswagen drivers definitely earned their day of rest, which gives them the first chance to recuperate since the rally started on New Year’s Day in Buenos Aires. Plenty of the powder-like sand that is called “guadal” in the national language (and is similar to Africa’s fesh fesh) made this leg a particularly grueling endeavor for “man and material”. The Volkswagen duos finished this stage with a 1-2-3-4 victory.

The second half of the Dakar Rally will start on Sunday and Monday like a thunderbolt. A total of 611 timed kilometres on the seventh and 508 on the eighth leg are on the agenda. The tasks are as varied as they were in the first part of the “Dakar”. Gravel, solid ground and lots of sand make sure that the participants will not suffer from boredom. The Dakar Rally ends on 15 January after the second crossing of the Andes and after thirteen legs when the teams arrive at the finish in Buenos Aires.

Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
“On the rest day we can look back on six exciting ‘Dakar’ days that were successful for Volkswagen. The pace and the challenge are even higher than they were last year. Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret are doing a great job in the X-raid BMW, and our Volkswagen duos Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz plus Nasser Al-Attiyah and Timo Gottschalk an even better one. We worked hard and delivered a strong team performance to clinch the one-two lead. The whole squad is doing an impeccable job. I’m proud of this. In total we’ve got four cars among the top six, which means we’re in a good position for the second week of the rally. But we also know that we’ve achieved a lot but haven’t won anything yet.”

#300 – Carlos Sainz (E), 1st place overall

“On the whole, the first rally week went very well for us. Despite some rough stages the Race Touareg 3 ran without the slightest technical problems. We had the honor of being the stage winners a total of three times and the handicap of having to open the stage. My co-driver Lucas Cruz did a great job. Now, on the rest day, we’ve got to perfectly prepare for the second week. I know that I can rely on the work of my mechanics one hundred per cent. This gives me the backing for a tough second week.”

#300 – Lucas Cruz (E), co-driver

“We’ve just finished a little less than 2,000 of the more than 5,000 kilometers of special stages. They were tough but next week the ‘Dakar’ will probably be showing its true face on even more occasions. I’m expecting many more sandy passages which don’t make the work for the drivers and co-drivers any easier. We’ll use the rest day to prepare as well as we can. The pace at the front is high – any mistake could mix up the order of the standings. The race continues to be thrilling.”

#302 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q), 2nd place overall

“The situation with respect to the overall standings is no less exciting than it was last year. Quite the opposite is true. The battle between two has turned into a battle between three contenders. My team colleague Carlos Sainz and I enlarged our gap a bit. But these gaps are extremely small for a Dakar Rally. We’ve got to continue to stay concentrated and attack at the right moment. I’m really looking forward to the second ‘Dakar’ week.”

#302 – Timo Gottschalk (D), co-driver

“The first week passed quickly and I’ve got to admit that I’m a little relieved that it has. The battle at the front of the field is extremely fierce. Running at the necessary pace with a calculated risk isn’t easy. The second week is equally interesting. Now the days are coming up on which we’ll need to work out an advantage if we want to win the rally. Even though we’ve already got one week in our bones we need to maintain the energy and concentration that are needed to achieve our goal.”

#304 – Mark Miller (USA), 6th place overall

“A less-than-perfect day that threw us out of contention for overall victory. That’s our story at the Dakar Rally. Since then our task has changed. We want to help our team-mates as best we can to clinch the third ‘Dakar’ victory in a row. We need to stay close to the blue cars in front. The past few days have shown that we’ve got the right pace to do so. The day before today’s rest day revealed that the time we set – down to nearly a second – was about the same as that of our team colleague Giniel de Villiers. I think taking this approach is exactly what’s expected of us.””

#304 – Ralph Pitchford (ZA), co-driver

“The first week was extremely varied and I really enjoyed the third special stage in particular. Unfortunately, we didn’t achieve the results we’d imagined. But I think that the toughest job is still ahead of us. The first two legs after the rest day are real humdingers. I’m looking forward to these tasks and another ‘Dakar’ week.”

#308 – Giniel de Villiers (ZA), 4th place overall

“Actually, the first part of the Dakar Rally was going pretty well for us, even though I’d have wished to have been closer to the front-running duos. But my team colleagues Carlos Sainz and Nasser Al-Attiyah are running at a fast pace. Right at the beginning we lost the time on the first two stages that we’re now lacking. But our performance on the three days before the rest day was good. We’ve still got more of a distance ahead of than behind us. We won’t give up until the very end. That’s why I’m looking forward to the upcoming seven legs.”

#308 – Dirk von Zitzewitz (D), co-driver

“The first week of the Dakar Rally was a far cry from what Giniel de Villiers and I expected. On the first WRC-like stages we lost a lot of time and on the off-road sections we didn’t do as well as we could have either. Our aim is clear: We want to attack again in the second half of the rally. Anything’s still possible.”