Volkswagen Racing

Volkswagen Defends Dakar Title With 1-2-3 Finish

Volkswagen has won the legendary Dakar Rally for the second time in succession and including 1980 for a third time. Their TDI powered Race Touareg's celebrated a one-two-three podium lockout at the finish of the toughest challenge worldwide in motorsport.

Carlos Sainz(with the co-driver Lucas Cruz) who is already a two-time World Rally Champion won the race by only 2 minutes 12 seconds ahead of his team mates Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) in a thrilling finale on the closing 202 kilometre sprint on the 14th and final rally day.

Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) finished in the third position. Last year's winners Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) finished seventh.

Final standings after stage 14, Santa Rosa (RA)-Buenos Aires (RA)	202/707 km SS/total Pos.	Team	Vehicle	Leg 14	Total time
1	Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E)	Volkswagen Race	Touareg 2	1h 20m 18s (2)	47h 10m 00s
2	Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D)	Volkswagen Race	Touareg 2	1h 19m 42s (1)	+ 2m 12s
3	Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA)	Volkswagen Race	Touareg 2	1h 21m 21s (5)	+ 32m 51s
4	Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-P. Cottret (F/F)	BMW	X3 CC	1h 20m 50s (4)	+ 2h 17m 21s
5	Guerlain Chicherit/Tina Thörner (F/S)	BMW	X3 CC	1h 20m 25s (3)	+ 4h 02m 49s
6	Carlos Sousa/Matthieu Baumel (P/F)	Mitsubishi Racing	Lancer	1h 25m 31s (15)	+ 4h 31m 45s
7	Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D)	Volkswagen Race	Touareg 2	1h 21m 23s (6)	+ 5h 10m 19s
8	Robby Gordon/Andy Grider (USA/USA)	Hummer		1h 21m 40s (7)	+ 6h 02m 24s
9	Orlando Terranova/Pascal Maimon (RA/F)	Mitsubishi Racing	Lancer	1h 22m 10s (8)	+ 6h 04m 47s
10	Guilherme Spinelli/Filipe Palmeiro (BR/P)	Mitsubishi Racing	Lancer	1h 24m 50s (13)	+ 6h 13m 41s

VW is the only manufacturer to have won the car category of the Dakar Rally with diesel power. Other successes with diesel cars for the group include Audi's Le Mans victories between 2006 and 2008 and winning the World Touring Car Championship with SEAT in 2008 and 2009.

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TDI Cup

The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup is single make racing series sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America. The series was started in 2008 and is a sports car series that is run only in North America. Series sponsors include Aggreko, Athletes' Performance, Auto Logistics, Bondurant, Bosch, Castrol, ful, Holder, Hoopla, Ironclad Performance Wear, Kyosho, Oakley, Red Bull, SCORE, UTI, ViON, VW Credit, VW Parts & Accessories, VW Pre-Loved.

Rules & prizes

The series is open to only drivers between the ages of 16 and 26 who hold a passport from the U.S., Canada or Mexico. The entry fee for drivers is $45,000.00, but this could be offset by sponsors that the driver is able to ascertain him/herself. In addition to more than $50,000 in prize money at stake during the season, the series champion receives Volkswagen factory career advancement support with a value up to $100,000.

Vehicles

Jetta TDI car from German race series. (Jetta is called Bora in Germany)
The cars are 2009 VW Jettas that are modified by VW at the factory for the series. They are identical Jettas that once completed are still about 70% stock with the other 30% made up of parts from the VW parts bin, one-off brackets and mounts, and race prepping from outside parties. The cars feature VW's DSG twin shaft, dual clutch automatic manual transmisson and have height adjustable Sachs race suspension. Brakes are controlled by an ATE Racing ABS system and utilize Brembo 4 piston fixed calipers in front and Lucas 1 piston floating caliper disc brakes in the rear. The tires are racing slicks provided by Pirelli. The minimum race weight for the car with driver and equipment is 1,370kg (3,014 lbs.). The safety equipment on each car includes but is not limited to airbags, seat belts, HANS device, roll cage, fire extinguishers, and an FIA rated racing seat.

Engine

2.0 TDI
Configuration- inline 4 cylinder 1,968 cc (120.1 cu in) TDI
Head- 4 valves per cylinder, DOHC, compression ratio 18:1
Fuel system- Common-Rail Injection with 8 nozzle output, piezo elements, pressure up to 1850 bar
Aspiration- turbocharged, intercooled, water cooled Exhaust Gas Recirculation
Engine management- Bosch
Exhaust- VW Catalyst and particulate filter
Output- 125 kW (170 PS; 168 bhp) @ 4200 rpm, 350 Nm (258 ft/lb) @ 1900 to 2500 rpm