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A Hat Trick and One-Two for Volkswagen in the Dakar Rally

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Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah was declared the winner of the 2011 Dakar Rally Argentina Chile on Saturday when he crossed the finish line in Buenos Aires 49 min 41 sec ahead of Volkswagen team-mate Giniel de Villiers of South Africa and 1 hr 20 min 38 sec in front of last year’s winner Carlos Sainz of Spain in a third Volkswagen Race Touareg 3. It was Volkswagen‘s third successive Dakar victory with the diesel-engined Race Touareg and its most dominant performance yet – 12 stage wins out of 13.

SoNasser Al-Attiyah Dakar 2011me comfort for Sainz, who lost over an hour on the third last stage when he hit a hole and damaged his front suspension, was the superb achievement of winning seven of the stages, including the first two and the last two. Al-Attiyah, second in 2010, won four stages and De Villiers, winner of the 2009 Dakar, won one to take his all-time Dakar stage wins to 13.

Fourth overall and 1 hr 33 min 48 sec in arrears after a 9 000-km adventure through Argentina and Chile and 5 000 km of special stage rallying was France’s Stephane Peterhansel in a BMW X3, making it four Dakar winners in the top four. The three-times Dakar winner (he last won in a Mitsubishi in 2007) took stage five. America’s Mark Miller and South African co-driver Ralph Pitchford finished sixth overall in the fourth factory Race Touareg, 41 min 20 sec behind the BMW X3 of Polish rally champion Krzysztof Holowczyc. They lost almost an hour when their car rolled on stage two and thereafter performed the role of backup to their team-mates, including stopping to repair Sainz’s front suspension on stage 11.

Rally Dakar 2011“As you would expect from the Dakar, this has been a really tough rally, long and tiring,” said De Villiers. “My co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz and I are very happy to have finished second after our disappointing result last year when we were seventh after losing over two hours with electrical problems on the third stage. Our strategy throughout the 13 days of racing was to push as hard as we could without taking any unnecessary risks. The Dakar demands great respect and we are proud to have made it on to the podium for the third time in five years. This is a great result for Volkswagen, who once again have proved they are the best team. Congratulations to Nasser on a brilliant race.”

Dakar 2011 - Volkswagen Touareg

Pitchford, second with Miller behind De Villiers in 2009 and third last year, was disappointed to not make it into the top three for a third year in a row. “The Dakar is not regarded as the world’s toughest off road race for nothing,” said the former South African off road co-driver champion. “To finish is an achievement. We’re very proud to have been part of the best team in the race, for the third year in succession, and although we lost any chance of a good result after our roll on stage two we enjoyed our Dakar and were pleased to be able to help Carlos when he crashed his car.”

See the 2011 Dakar finish line audio summary and images by the VW Motorsport Touareg 3 race pilots Carlos Sainz, Dakar Rally overall winner Nasser Al-Attiyah, Giniel De Villiers and Mark Miller below:

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.