This is a genuine Rally motorsport vehicle, like the one that was still touring South America in the Dakar Rally two weeks ago and was built to withstand the toughest rally race in the world. The vehicle now being shown in Qatar is a version of the Race Touareg 3 – an SUV that can sprint to 100 km/h in less than six seconds – that is legally approved for use on public roadways. The just over two meter wide body was slightly modified for road use. Instead of 16-inch wheels, new 18-inch wheels from BBS with a gold look are being used. The “Race Touareg” signature – also in a golden color – stretches the entire length of the vehicle’s sides. In turn, it is perfectly coordinated with the exterior paint in “Magic Morning,” a white that has a slight gold shimmer to it.

The interior was completely redesigned; all that remained unmodified was the safety cage. Without compromises also means an interior that offers easy controls and is ergonomic. The interior has an extremely well-organized appearance with focus on the driving machine, and it is equipped with Recaro racing bucket seats. Designers created an interior in so-called “Stealth look” that is reminiscent of the aircraft of the same name. In tribute to the Dakar Rally, the Dakar victories are etched in the anodized aluminum of the centre console, right next to the “Race Touareg” signature.

Other trim elements are treated in Matt Carbon. Tuned to this is the roll cage in “Serpentino Grey Metallic.” Interior designers have upholstered the seat side supports and the door trim panels with Nubuk leather in “Black” and “Pure Grey,” while the centre seat panels are made from perforated Nappa leather in “Titan Black.” Additional accents include the two-tone seams and silver piping on the seat covers and safety-related items painted in “Tornado Red.” The only other ingredient that is needed is some time to explore the world on a “360 degree route” in this uncompromising car.

- Volkswagen

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1. Dakar TV presence of the Volkswagen Race Touareg 3

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Extreme desert passages, dizzying heights in the Andes, fast gravel sections – the Dakar Rally remains the longest and toughest test in motorsport: Volkswagen is determined to bring the title home to Wolfsburg for the third consecutive time.

This is the aim for which the new Race Touareg 3 and the four proven driver pairings have been carefully prepared. Volkswagen is the only manufacturer so far to have decided the automobile classification of the desert classic in its favor with diesel technology. From 01 to 16 January 2011, which marks the third edition of the “Dakar” through Argentina and Chile, the historic 2009 and 2010 exploits are to be succeeded by another triumph with TDI power. The challenge remains an immense one: in addition to battling very powerful rally rivals, the Volkswagen squad first has to successfully master the grueling special stages, which means beating the “Dakar” itself. But what does the 33rd edition of the Dakar Rally mean for the four driver/co-driver duos in terms of the sport? What challenges are posed to the technology? And how will the complex logistics be organized? Answers to these and other questions are provided in several press kits addressing various topics.

The “Dakar” as a media event: the desert classic is booming

Spectacular and fascinating pictures aired to living rooms around the world, millions of enthusiastic fans on location – the Dakar Rally captivates spectators with dramatic scenes and thrilling impressions. It is the biggest challenge motorsport has to offer. Those who triumph here can be sure to make a global impact. Those who triumph here will be on everyone’s lips.

“The Dakar Rally generates huge media interest worldwide,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. “If you prove technical expertise here you can shine on a grand stage. In as many as 190 countries the ‘Dakar’ is present on TV. Compared with other top categories in motorsport it offers an outstanding global platform. Once a year you can reach billions of people around the globe for two weeks.”

- Volkswagen Motorsport

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An evolution model that is as tough as nails: the Volkswagen Race Touareg 3 has completed three weeks of testing in Spain and Morocco with extreme success.

The successor of the diesel prototype from the model range 2 that had been successful twice in the legendary Dakar Rally handled the more than double “Dakar” distance without any technical problems and thus proved to be well prepared to tackle the remainder of the programme before the Dakar Rally’s start on 01 January 2011 in Buenos Aires and the world’s toughest desert rally itself. On 20 August the “RT3” will be presented to the public for the first time in “Dakar” trim in Trier (Germany). From 11 to 18 September it will make its competitive debut at the Silk Way Rally through Russia that starts in St. Petersburg and finishes in Sochi.

“The Race Touareg 3 tests were more than positive,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen, who was on location to get a personal impression of the first kilometres of the updated vehicle. “A direct comparison between the ‘RT2′ and the ‘RT3′ showed that the new car has made a step forwards in many areas. Its reliability was immediately impressive. Our plan had been to complete long runs of one and a half of the ‘Dakar’ distance – but in the end we covered more than twice the number of test kilometres thanks to the vehicle’s stability and the very good job done by the drivers and the team.”

Seasoned teams: the four “Dakar” driver pairings

All four “Dakar” duos participated in the tests as driver/co-driver combinations: Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E), who decided the past 2010 Dakar Rally in their favour with Volkswagen, Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D), the “Dakar” runners-up in January 2010, Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D), the “Dakar” winners in the Race Touareg 2 in January 2009, and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA), who completed a one-twin for Volkswagen as the overall runners-up in 2009.

Set-up in Spain, performance comparison and endurance test in Morocco

At the beginning of the extensive tests set-up runs in Spain were on the agenda. Then the Volkswagen “Dakar” team tested the new Race Touareg 3 in direct comparison with its predecessor in the region around Mahmid, Morocco, before moving on to the Erfoud test centre for two weeks of long runs. The new, attractive aerodynamics of the Race Touareg 3, which improves air flow with more efficient flow directed towards the inter-cooling and water cooling systems, proved its viability. The new flow of cooling air was thoroughly tested around Mahmid where temperatures reach 48 °C in the shade, which equates to the heat that prevails at the “Dakar”.

The long runs around Erfoud were focused on testing in conditions resembling the “Dakar” as closely as possible. A 370-kilometre loop that was covered twice per day included dunes with vegetation and a large share of off-road tracks with river bed crossings. Sections with hard soil were on the agenda as well as soft sand passages. In total, the Race Touareg 3 completed almost 10,000 kilometres of simulated special stages. This equates to the distance of an entire Formula 1 season and more than twice the special-stage distance at the legendary Dakar Rally.

- Volkswagen Motorsport

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After three stages, it is turning out to be a Volkswagen vs. BMW X-Raid race. We know this is way early but these guys have been trading times and places over the past 9 hours. Team X-raid GmbH’s Stephane Peterhansel had a record breaking run to win the stage and take the overall by 04:33min.

Last years champion, Giniel de Villiers did not have a good day. The #300 Race Touareg hit a deep hole and managed to flip. They eventually were uprighted with the help of a Mitsubishi. Later they were to hit a rock damaged the underside and had to wait for the truck to tow them in.

2010 Dakar Rally, 3rd leg, 04 January 2010

Volkswagen continues maintaining its hold in the group of the front runners on the third leg of the Dakar Rally: Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E), Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) with their three Race Touareg cars are ranking in positions two to four at the world’s toughest desert rally.The overall lead was taken by today’s stage winners Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (F/F) from the X-raid-BMW-Team.

On the 182-kilometre special stage from La Rioja to Fiambalá in Argentina the rally’s level of difficulty clearly increased with scree passages, soft sand and the first high dunes: Sainz, who managed setting the second-best stage time with a driving time of 3h 01m 03s, achieved an average of just 60.315 km/h on the special. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) had to take a repair brake after an accident at the beginning of the stage and therefore dropped back.

Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
“The Dakar Rally” started in earnest today. We knew that as of today things would be getting much more difficult. Nevertheless, we were a little surprised about how difficult it really was and how slow the average speed was on the course. With Carlos Sainz’s second place in front of his team-mates we continue doing well in the race and have every reason to be optimistic.”

#303 – Carlos Sainz (E), 2nd place leg / 2nd place overall
“This was an extremely strenuous stage both in terms of the physical strain and driving demands, with incredibly high temperatures in the cockpit. Although we lost a little time to Stéphane Peterhansel today it’s important to bring the car to the finish undamaged particularly at the beginning of a ‘Dakar’. Our days are still ahead.”

#305 – Mark Miller (USA), 4th place leg / 4th place overall
“Actually, the stage today went well for us. We hardly lost any time in the dunes, avoided punctures and didn’t get stuck at any point in time. We’re very pleased with this section. Our problem, though, was the start to the special stage. There we took the wrong way right at the beginning and lost an enormous amount of time searching. We’d better not let that happen to us every day.”

#306 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q), 3rd place leg / 3rd place overall
“Today the ‘Dakar’ showed its true face to me for the first time. The leg was extremely tough and for the first time we drove in soft sand. Unfortunately, we lost time due to a puncture and got lost once. My co-driver Timo Gottschalk had to get out of the car to look for the way at a canyon. That cost some time, but there’ll still be plenty of opportunities to make it up again.”

#312 – Maurício Neves (BR), 14th place leg / 10th place overall
“In terms of driving and navigating the third rally day was really tricky. We lost a bit of time because we took the wrong way at the beginning. The dune section was hard to handle because we could only drive in narrow areas at times. But all in all I’m happy because the rough days are still coming up. Even though we lost some time – everything’s still possible.”

Number of the day
The maximum pulse rate of Nasser Al-Attiyah on the third leg of the Dakar Rally was 218 heartbeats. During the 182-kilometre special stage measurements of the driver from Qatar showed that 91 per cent of the time his heart was beating at rates between 120 and 160 per minute. For comparison: a professional footballer has a maximum pulse rate of 180 during a 90-minute match, and an average rate between 100 and 120. The heart rate is comprised of endurance pulse and – particularly in motorsport – stress-induced pulse.

Did you know that…

… every night so-called check runs are done? As soon as the service on the Race Touareg is finished the 300-hp “Dakar” prototypes are checked again on short trips and the data logs analysed afterwards.

… the catering service of the “Dakar” organisers serves 2,500 guests every day? A total of 1.5 tons of food and 12,000 half-litre bottles of water are consumed daily.

Standings after leg 03, La Rioja (RA)–Fiambalá (RA); 182/441 km SS 03/total

Pos.; Team; Vehicle; Leg 03; Total time
1 Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-P. Cottret (F/F) BMW X3 CC 2h 55m 19s (1) 9h 14m 28s
2 Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E) Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 3h 01m 03s (2) + 4m 33s
3 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 3h 05m 20s (3) + 7m 31s
4 Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 3h 05m 33s (4) + 13m 12s
5 Krzysztof Holowczyc/Jean-Marc Fortin (PL/B) Nissan Pick-up 3h 23m 39s (8) + 40m 38s
6 Carlos Sousa/Matthieu Baumel (P/F) Mitsubishi Racing Lancer 3h 34m 21s (9) + 46m 45s
7 Alfie Cox/Jürgen Schröder (ZA/D) Nissan Pick-up 3h 22m 20s (7) + 47m 58s
8 Guilherme Spinelli/Filipe Palmeiro (BR/P) Mitsubishi Racing Lancer 3h 36m 19s (10) + 1h 01m 52s
9 Robby Gordon/Andy Grider (USA/USA) Hummer 3h 50m 15s (12) + 1h 04m 54s
10 Maurício Neves/Clécio Maestrelli (BR/BR) Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 4h 01m 23s (14) + 1h 09m 14s
23 Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 5h 51m 18s (32) + 3h 00m 46s

Coming up next …

Tuesday, 05 January: 4th leg, Fiambalá (RA)–Copiapó (RCH). First a climb to high altitudes and from there into the Atacama desert – besides physical fitness the Dakar Rally’s first crossing of the Andes also demands the rally vehicles to be in perfect shape. With rising altitudes and decreasing air pressure the engines have less oxygen available for combustion. Only those who are perfectly prepared for these conditions have chances of clinching stage victory.

The Dakar Rally on TV

05 January
00:48–01:30 Eurosport Highlights, 3rd leg (re-run)
08:30–09:15 Eurosport Highlights, 3rd leg, (re-run)
11:45–12:30 Eurosport Highlights, 3rd leg (re-run)
18:45–19:03 RTL RTL aktuell (evening news)
20:20–20:30 Eurosport Arrival at the finish; live report
23:00–23:45 Eurosport Highlights, 3rd leg
Additional reports on the news and sports programmes of channels n-tv, ARD, ZDF, DMAX and Sky (Motorvision TV)

- Volkswagen Motorsport

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With a stage victory to the top – the Volkswagen factory duo Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) decided the second stage of the Dakar Rally in their favour.

After coming fourth today, Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E) in another one of the 300-hp Race Touareg cars powered by TDI diesel engines are ranking in second place overall with a gap of just 1m 19s.

The factory squad continued the solid team performance from the previous day: Maurício Neves/Clécio Maestrelli (BR/BR) secured third place on the special stage between Córdoba and La Rioja, Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) fifth and Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz eighth place. This means that all five Race Touareg vehicles are among the top six in the overall standings of the world’s toughest rally.

The special stage that took the “Dakar” participants in a north-westerly direction featured quick gravel passages as well as jumps and lengthy bends. In addition, there were rougher and stonier sections on the agenda of this special.

Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
“It was an outstanding day for Volkswagen because things went very well. Those who were in one of the front starting positions today were clearly at a disadvantage. Tomorrow, we’ll be in for a difficult stage. But I’m very happy with our stage and overall results and therefore I’m confident that we’ll be able to continue this way tomorrow.”

#300 – Giniel de Villiers (ZA), 8th place leg / 6th place overall
“It was a strenuous and long day that, due to overnight rainfalls, started with muddy ground, partial fog and poor visibility and kept us busy with many slippery places. On a hilltop I caught a stone alongside the track which gave us a slow puncture. We lost a little bit of time until we found a place to change the tyre. But the rally will only really get started tomorrow with the first dune stage.”

#303 – Carlos Sainz (E), 4th place leg / 2nd place overall
“Today was anything but easy. As early as after two kilometres we overtook Nani Roma in the X-raid-BMW who had gotten off the track. That’s why we had the honour of opening the route, which was really tricky: in the mud and fog of the first part we acted cautiously the twisty section on gravel was physically strenuous. We’re still in a good position for the days ahead.”

#305 – Mark Miller (USA), 5th place leg / 4th place overall
“Today really put us to the test in the cockpit for four solid hours and took quite a toll on us. We’re very pleased with the result. Our goal for this stage was to stay within a striking distance and we managed doing that. Now, we’re looking forward to the first real dune stage. The last kilometres in the dunes were a few months ago, so we’re really hot to tackle them.”

#306 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q), 1st place leg / 1st place overall
“At the beginning – like yesterday – I was cautious. But when the muddy and slippery part was over we attacked a little more. I think we found a good pace without taking too much of a risk. Actually it felt as though we hadn’t been driving all that fast. But the stage victory shows that we did everything right.”

#312 – Maurício Neves (BR), 3rd place leg / 5th place overall
“Fantastic. I really like this type of stage. It was very demanding technically, many bends alternated with downhill and uphill sections. We didn’t have a single problem, did a good job of calculating the risk and thus avoided punctures. In addition, my co-driver Clécio Maestrelli did an outstanding job. We’re more than pleased. We’re overjoyed with having clinched third place today.”

Number of the day
The fastest spring deflection motion of a Race Touareg was measured on the second rally day on the vehicle of Maurício Neves at 8.3 metres per second – more than ten times faster than a road-going vehicle. On average, the 300-hp “Dakar” prototype of the Volkswagen factory driver, which is equipped with dampers from partner ZF Sachs, achieved over 20 of the maximum permissible 25 centimetres of suspension travel more than 35 times per kilometre.

Three questions for car chief Martin Hassenpflug

You are assigned as chief mechanic for Nasser Al-Attiyah’s car. Experience is said to be of paramount importance at the “Dakar”…

“The 2010 ‘Dakar’ is indeed my sixth one already and for two years I’ve been working as car chief: last year for Dieter Depping’s vehicle and now for Nasser Al-Attiyah and Timo Gottschalk. It’s immensely important to know every nut and bolt of the Race Touareg inside and out in order to be precise and efficient. After having prepared the car from scratch together with the other members of the car crew it’s like your own baby, so it goes without saying that you want to do your job every day with due meticulousness.”

Work within the car crew is organised according to a strict hierarchy. What does the process flow during a service look like?

“The car chief is the connecting link between the race engineer and the mechanics and ensures that the work is distributed as perfectly as possible. He is also responsible for all the jobs to be done on the car. Everyone in the team knows in advance exactly what their tasks are with respect to the service and the checks. But in the event that something out of the ordinary should have to be done, as the chief mechanic, I assign the respective work.”

So, you’re the contact person for the race engineer on the one hand and your fellow mechanics on the other. What traits does a good car chief have to possess?

“First of all, you’ve got to set an example and be a total team player. After all, the Dakar Rally is the toughest one in the world and that goes for the daily service too. Consequently, at times it’s necessary to practice the art of motivation. It’s possible for anyone to have a bad day now and then, but everyone in the squad wants to do as perfect a job as possible. So, careful attention to detail is another typical trait of a mechanic.”

Standings after leg 02, Córdoba (RA)–La Rioja (RA); 355/687 km SS 02/total

Pos.; Team; Vehicle; Leg 02; Total time
1 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 4h 01m 55s (1) 6h 16m 39s
2 Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E) Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 4h 04m 36s (4) + 1m 19s
3 Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-P. Cottret (F/F) BMW X3 CC 4h 05m 04s (6) + 2m 30s
4 Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 4h 04m 39s (5) + 5m 28s
5 Maurício Neves/Clécio Maestrelli (BR/BR) Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 4h 03m 56s (3) + 5m 40s
6 Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 4h 08m 10s (8) + 7m 17s
7 Carlos Sousa/Matthieu Baumel (P/F) Mitsubishi Racing Lancer 4h 08m 15s (9) + 10m 13s
8 Nani Roma/Michel Périn (E/F) BMW X3 CC 4h 17m 08s (18) + 11m 44s
9 Robby Gordon/Andy Grider (USA/USA) Hummer 4h 13m 04s (11) + 12m 28s
10 Christian Lavieille/Jean-Paul Forthomme (F/B) Nissan Pick-up 4h 08m 09s (7) + 12m 50s

Coming up next …

Monday, 04 January: 3rd leg, La Rioja (RA)–Fiambalá (RA). The special stage between La Rioja and Fiambalá was the pinnacle of the past 2009 Dakar Rally in the opposite direction. The Sierras Pampeanas, sand galore and the famous towering white dunes provide the terrain to be mastered on the third day of the competition. But in view of many tricky forks in the roads the stage demands both highly accomplished driving and navigational skills.

The Dakar Rally on TV

04 January
00:49–01:35 Eurosport Highlights, 2nd leg (re-run)
08:30–09:10 Eurosport Highlights, 1st leg (re-run)
18:45–19:03 RTL RTL aktuell (evening news)
20:20–20:30 Eurosport Arrival at the finish; live report
23:00–23:45 Eurosport Highlights, 3rd leg
Additional reports on the news and sports programmes of channels n-tv, ARD, ZDF, DMAX and Sky (Motorvision TV).

- volkswagen Motorsport

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