Total Competition preview

Ambitions and a single aim -- victory!
-Philippe Corsaletti Vice-President Motorsport Division

Our group has always been one of the Dakar's long-standing partners, and this year Total will again look after the logistics and fuel supply for this legendary event. But the 33rd Dakar marks a turning point in our relationship with the race as in 2011 Total and Elf will be gunning for victory!

For the third year of our increasingly successful partnership, the BMX X-Raid team in Total colours led by Stephane Peterhansel has set itself higher ambitions. We are all the more confident that these can be achieved, because for the first time the team will use products we have specifically developed for the characteristics of its X3 CCs, as well as for the extreme conditions of the rally.

On two wheels with the Elf brand we have the same ambitions with reigning off-road rally-raids champion David Casteu's team. Last year with Casteu we anticipated the new motor bike regulations in order to climb onto the topmost step of the podium with a 450 cc Sherco, known for its tried and tested reliability and performance.

Total is always ready to take on innovative technical challenges and is looking forward to taking up the one represented by the Dakar in which going beyond one's limits, sharing and mutual support enable people to find out what they're really made of!

The Total undertakings
For the race, in the race

A unique set of logistics
The Dakar is a very long event and Total's logistics are up to the task of ensuring the refuelling during the rally. After several months' preparation almost 400 people and 28 vehicles deployed at 47 supply stops will distribute the fuel throughout the race.

A question of values
The Dakar is a human adventure that combines a love of taking on technical and human challenges, going beyond one's limits, boldness and mutual support. Total shares and embodies these values. Numerous skills are required in cross functionality in the Total Group to put our action plan into effect at the event.

Our branches in the forefront
Our involvement in the Dakar dates from 1991. The event crossed the Atlantic three years ago and established itself on the South American continent where Total has been present for over 25 years, so the company was ideally placed to provide faultless logistics backup. In Argentina and Chile the Dakar provides a unique platform for exposure and growth through know-how and information. The rally has met with incredible popular success, and our branches using a wide-ranging media plan and an activation strategy have noted significant progression in the awareness and image of the brand, part of a policy of very active sales growth in these high potential markets.

Total involves itself with the ASO in the area of safety
Total provides active backing to the actions carried out by the ASO for spectator safety. The rally's passage is preceded by an on-thespot information campaign on the radio, and some sixty public zones will be made safe.

BMW X-Raid
An ambitious partnership

The X-Raid team led by the legendary Stephane Peterhansel (victories, 6 on bikes and 3 in cars) has BMW power and is tackling this year's Dakar as one the main victory contenders. It is the third season of its partnership with Total, and the German outfit is struck by the special work done on the lubricants. "We feel all the prouder to continue our adventure with Total as we've strengthened our cooperation," explains Sven Quandt, the team manager. "Total's experience in motor sport and especially in the Dakar is a guarantee of excellence and progress. The engine and gearbox lubricants, grease, cooling and anti-frost liquids help us progress in both performance and mechanical reliability."

THREE QUESTIONS TO STEPHANE PETERHANSEL

How is the 2011 Dakar looking?

SP: "We've done a lot of work on technical development rewarded by two victories in the Spanish Baja and the Moroccan Rally. We've improved the functioning of the gearbox thanks to Total; we're going for the win!"

What sort of Dakar are you expecting?

SP: "Physically tougher and longer so the race will sort out the men from the boys. It'll be more difficult than last year with the return of pure navigation that will spring a few surprises."

With more than twenty starts since 1988 what makes Peter run?

SP: "My passion for racing and the magic of the Dakar, a tricky race in which it's not easy to find the right balance between husbanding your strength and nursing the machine."

"Move to the front with BMW"
Shared values in the name of technological innovation

PATRICE DEVEMY Partnerships and key accounts Manager

"When we began this partnership with X-Raid three years ago, Total was just a competitor in the race with the Elf brand, but was not associated with a leading car team. When Stephane Peterhansel arrived at X-Raid, it took on another dimension, and we've progressed together. This year we've adapted our different products to the characteristics of the X3 CC and the Dakar environment. Through this challenge Total is developing a privileged relationship with BMW that Olivier Baumgartner looks after in our department. In a multi-make dealership this means new growth opportunities for our products via the BMW network. Above and beyond this, Total and BMW share the same core values in technical innovation and the reduction of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. For example, we're working together on projects for vehicles of the future with hydrogen power. We're partners with X-Raid on this Dakar with the X3 CC, and also with the Mini ALL4 Racing before it makes its WRC debut; we're also associated with a privateer BMW team in the endurance world championship for motor bikes. We've got numerous perspectives to grow in strength with BMW."

No. 301 BMW X3 CC
Stephane Peterhansel (Fra) - Jean-Paul Cottret (Fra)
No. 305 Mini ALL4 Racing
Gerlain Chicherit (Fra) - Michel Perin (Fra)
No. 313 BMW X3 CC
Ricardo Leal Dos Santos (Por) - Paulo Fiuza (Por)
No. 309 BMW X3 CC (sponsored by Total Argentina
Orlando Terranova (Arg) - Felipe Palmeiro (Por)

Team Casteu Elf Sherco
"Arrive in Buenos Aires as the winner"

Last year David Casteu led the Dakar right from the outset, but had to retire after a fall. This year he is back again and he is more ambitious than ever at the head of a 100% French team, the Casteu Elf Sherco squad. "Last year I decided to anticipate the evolution of the technical regulations by riding a 450 cc bike," explains the man from Nice. "This time all the manufacturers have entered them, and there's going to be one hell of a scrap. I hope that our experience will pay off as we've been working on this bike since September 2009." Casteu will start the event as the reigning 2010 world champion in offroad rally-raids. "I'm aiming for victory and I believe I can do it. It'd be great to win with a French bike with the unflagging support and the acknowledged expertise of the Elf brand".

Teams backed by Total
No. 5 Sherco 450 cc David Casteu (Fra)
No. 31 Sherco 450 cc Laurent Lazard (Fra/Uru)

Our favourite - Christian Califano
Seventy selections in the French XV, two grand slams, and yet the former rugby prop hasn't yet had his fill of thrills so he's taken up the awesome challenge of tackling the Dakar on a motor bike. After his retirement in 2009, Cali finished last year. "It's one of my best memories. The Dakar has transformed me. Rugby's not the only thing that helps you grow up in life." He's back again on a KTM sponsored by Elf and he's determined to see Buenos Aires.

Team Dessoude
The outsider

Andre Dessoude's team needs no introduction as he's been present in the Dakar for thirty years. With the backing of Total, Christian Lavieille his no. 1 driver will again try to play the role of outsider at the wheel of his Proto 05. "Our aim's simple. Finish in the top ten on the heels of the works teams. We're under no pressure and we're determined to make our mark."

The Dessoude crews backed by Total
No. 312 Proto Dessoude N05
Christian Lavieille (Fra) - Jean-Michel Polato (Fra)
No. 333 Buggy Sadev wheel drive buggy
Isabelle Patissier (Fra) - Thierry Delli-Zotti (Fra)
No. 334 Nissan Pathfinder
David Deslandes (Fra) - Alain Brousse (Fra)

Isabelle Patissier - A feminine asset
The Frenchwoman, who won the world rock climbing champion twice on the trotin 1990 and 1991, then turned her hand to off-road rally-raids. In 2004, she won the World Cup in this branch of the sport, and her exploits in the Dakar are too numerous to mention. This year she has a brand-new 2-wheel buggy constructed in the Vendee at Pro Pulsion. "The buggy combines many advantages including reliability, lightness and performance. It's very agile and should be really at home in the dunes. We're aiming for the podium in our category," smiles the ambitious Frenchwoman.

The Elf Moto Trophy
A recognized system at the service amateurs

Once again Total is supporting the amateur riders who do not have technical backup. The Elf Moto Trophy gives them several advantages. At the end of each stage our technical zone combined with the Elf-Casteu-Sherco service squad will provide the riders with advice, tools, accessories and Elf products. The first three in the Trophy will receive bonuses. "For me, Dakar means sharing," explains David Casteu, "and I'm delighted to be able to give as many riders as possible the benefit of my experience. I won the Elf Trophy in 2004 and 2005, and these victories helped me to launch myself in the professional arena in 2006 still with the backing of the Elf brand. I haven't forgotten where I've come from, and it's the least I can do to support those who are also gunning for victory."

Northward bound!
New directions -- increasing difficulty

The 2011 Dakar covers new territory skimming Bolivia and Peru, and competitors will be faced with even greater challenges. Conditions will be changeable in the north of Argentina in the Jujy and Salta provinces. The Pasco de Jama will then bring them to Chili by way of the very tough Atacama desert stage before going up to Arica. They will return to Argentina via the Paso San Francisco before heading down the Cordillera of the Andes towards the white dunes of Chilecito. The event will end with the redoubtable canyons and rios leading to San Juan.

-source: total