After Volkswagen’s impressive one-two win in January 2009 the brand contests the "Dakar” with five instead of the previous four factory teams. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz, Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz, Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk, Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford and Maurício Neves/Clécio Maestrelli man the cockpits of the Race Touareg vehicles.


"We have retained our two driver pairings who celebrated the one-two victory with us in January 2009 unchanged,” explains Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "But we have also reinforced our line-up. Nasser Al-Attiyah was our strongest rival at the last ‘Dakar’. He is navigated by Timo Gottschalk who has a track record of major achievements for us. Maurício Neves has proved himself in our squad and relies on a new co-driver. Ever since Carlos Sainz has been running together with his Spanish compatriot Lucas Cruz, the duo has clinched as many as two victories.”
 
Exploits from sprint and cross-country rallies
The Volkswagen quintet’s combined tally reflects countless individual exploits and many championship titles in various disciplines. Carlos Sainz, for instance, was two-time World Rally Champion before switching to cross-country rally sport in 2005 and joining Volkswagen. Four single victories and the FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup win in 2007 continue his outstanding track record.
 
Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz have clinched five victories for Volkswagen to date. Their most recent exploit was also their most important one: The triumph at the 2009 Dakar Rally represented the first diesel victory in the automobile classification and the first win by an African. At home, de Villiers had previously celebrated five touring car titles. As the runners-up, Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford have achieved the major exploits in their careers thus far with the 2009 Dakar Rally as well. They are now contesting their third "Dakar” together.
 
Nasser Al-Attiyah has experience in different disciplines too. The Arab from Qatar claimed as many as five titles in FIA championships of classic as well as cross-country rallies in the past four years. His co-driver Timo Gottschalk has as many as five cross-country rallies in the Race Touareg under his belt and also has world championship experience.
 
Maurício Neves came to know the Race Touareg when running in the Rally dos Sertões in his native Brazil this year. His co-driver is his fellow countryman Clécio Maestrelli – a well-practised team.