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Volkswagen Race Touareg and its wins

Victories by the dozen -- the Volkswagen Race Touareg and its wins Wolfsburg (21 December 2009). The Volkswagen Race Touareg celebrated its debut at the Dakar Rally in 2004. In 28 rally events to date the successful model from Wolfsburg has ...

Victories by the dozen -- the Volkswagen Race Touareg and its wins

Wolfsburg (21 December 2009). The Volkswagen Race Touareg celebrated its debut at the Dakar Rally in 2004. In 28 rally events to date the successful model from Wolfsburg has recorded twelve victories, including the ground breaking first diesel victory for a manufacturer in the 2009 Dakar Rally. A short summary reviewing the Race Touareg's history and the path to the winner trophies.

Rally Por las Pampas (RA/RCH), 5-12 March 2005
Bruno Saby and his French compatriot Michel Perin are the first winners with the original Volkswagen Race Touareg model. The young design from Wolfsburg took victory in South America, in its sixth event, along the very tracks which are, in part, still used today by the Dakar Rally. Saby finishes 11 minutes 12 seconds ahead of Mitsubishi driver Stephane Peterhansel.

Rally Morocco (MA), 25-29 May 2005
Bruno Saby sprays the champagne again only two months after his debut victory. He heads a Volkswagen one-two-three at the finish. The South African-Swedish duo Giniel de Villiers/Tina Thorner and the German-Italian pairing Jutta Kleinschmidt/Fabrizia Pons round off the success. Two renowned competitors Stephane Peterhansel and Nani Roma from the Mitsubishi factory squad also start.

Rally d'Orient (TR), 26 June-2 July 2005
Bruno Saby and the original Race Touareg win a rally together for the third and final time. In Turkey the Frenchman takes revenge for his misfortune the previous year when he slid off the track while leading. Giniel de Villiers/Tina Thorner finish second to complete the one-two finish. At the same time Saby/Perin win the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup after taking this win.

Rally Transiberico (E/P), 12-15 May 2006
The new Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 triumphs in only its fourth event. Giniel de Villiers and his German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz clinch their first victory for Volkswagen in the most south-western corner of Europe. After a fabulous battle they win by 24 seconds from Mitsubishi driver Nani Roma. Luc Alphand follows in another Mitsubishi more than 15 minutes behind.

Rally Morocco (MA), 31 May-5 June 2006
Volkswagen packs its bags for yet another event a mere two weeks after the latest victory. Like last year the brand prevails in Morocco. Giniel de Villiers takes the second victory in succession. Following behind was two-time Dakar Rally winner Jean-Louis Schlesser. Local matador Carlos Sousa from Portugal in another Race Touareg also adds a podium position to Volkswagen's balance.

Rally Transiberico (E/P), 31 May-3 June 2007
The Rally Transiberico also stages a premiere: Carlos Sainz from Spain, who is navigated by Michel Perin, celebrates his first victory for Volkswagen. At the same time for the two-time rally world champion it is the first win for him in a new discipline - cross country rallying. Carlos Sousa was third in another Race Touareg together with his co-driver Andreas Schulz.

Rally Morocco (MA), 25-30 September 2007
Giniel de Villiers collects his third victory for Volkswagen. The South African crosses the finish line of the African desert rally 3 minutes 13 seconds ahead of his team mate Carlos Sainz. Nasser Al-Attiyah was third 35 minutes 56 seconds behind in an X-raid entered diesel powered BMW. The Volkswagen TDI technology was clearly superior. At the end of the year Carlos Sainz wins the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup.

Central Europe Rally (HU/RO), 20-26 April 2008
Following the cancellation of the 2008 Dakar Rally Volkswagen won the first competition of the season which the team contested under Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. Carlos Sainz pushed closest rivals Mitsubishi with Stephane Peterhansel at the wheel to second place. The Germans Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk finished third in another Volkswagen Race Touareg.

Rally dos Sertões (BR), 17-27 June 2008
In the first event in Brazil - in the meantime Volkswagen's third largest market after China and Deutschland - the brand recorded a one-two finish. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz and the American-South African combination of Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford filled the first two positions. The Race Touareg's record now includes no less than nine victories within a little more than three years.

Dakar Rally (RA/CH), 2-18 January 2009
Classy victory: For the first time ever a diesel powered car in the form of the Volkswagen Race Touareg won the Dakar Rally. It is also the first victory for Giniel de Villiers, who is navigated by Dirk von Zitzewitz, and for his homeland Africa - all this in the year when the event is held for the first time in South America. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford complete Volkswagen's breakthrough one-two finish.

Rally dos Sertões (BR), 24 June-3 July 2009
The second start in Brazil also brings a second successive victory for Volkswagen. Carlos Sainz and his new co-driver and fellow compatriot Lucas Cruz finish ahead of Volkswagen newcomer Nasser Al-Attiyah from Qatar and his co-driver Timo Gottschalk in a second Race Touareg. It is the eleventh victory for the prototype from Wolfsburg. The two Volkswagen factory drivers are separated by a mere 1 minute 9 seconds at the flag after an exciting battle.

Silk Way Rally (RUS/KZ/TM), 5-13 September 2009
Volkswagen can celebrate a one-two-three podium lock out for the second time in the Race Touareg's history: Carlos Sainz, Mark Miller and Giniel de Villiers are the most successful competitors on the trail of the silk way. The record from five years of Race Touareg: 36 podium positions which include twelve victories, 14 second places and ten third places. Including the historical victory in the Dakar Rally.

-credit: vw

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