Volkswagen will defend its title

Launched on the roads of the Dakar in 2004, the Volkswagen Race Touareg managed to achieve a first victory in the most prestigious race in rally-raids in 2009 for its fifth participation thanks to the South African Giniel de Villiers and his German co-pilot Dirk von Zitzewitz. The fallout from this result, which contributed to “making the Volkswagen brand shine around the world” according to Martin Winterkorn, chairman of the Volkswagen Group executive committee, convinced its decision-makers to once again field the Race Touareg 2 in 2010.

While Mitsubishi announced the end of its rally raid activities, Volkswagen chose to continue the adventure during the second edition of the South American Dakar. “We have fast drivers, a reliable car and an experienced team,” said Kris Nissen, director of Volkswagen Motorsport. “In other words, we have everything we need to participate in the Dakar and fight for victory.”

However, it is not impossible that the composition of the crews will change like the number of Race Touareg 2s entered by the factory.

Giniel de Villiers is obviously holding the rope to aim for a second consecutive victory. Mark Miller is also well placed. On the other hand, Carlos Sainz seems to want to take a step back after the disappointment caused by his abandonment during the last week while leading the race. Winner of the Cross-Country Rally Cup, Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah has already announced the signing of a two-year contract with Volkswagen during the Kuwait International Rally.

The 2010 Dakar Rally will take place for the second time in Argentina and Chile between January 2 and 17, 2010.