Wolfsburg (17 January 2009). Only when passing the toughest motorsport test with flying
colours, only when winning ten of 13 possible stages, and only when thrilling millions of
people along the rally route in the process – only then will it be deemed “Das Auto” (“The
Car”). Volkswagen won the 2009 Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile with the Race
Touareg and thus made motorsport history. The exploit clinched by the South African-
German duo Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz in the debut event of the legendary
desert classic in South America marked the first ever victory of a diesel-powered vehicle in
the automobile class in the 30-year-history of the “Dakar”. Their Volkswagen team
colleagues Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) as the runners-up completed the exploit
as a one-two victory.
In the extremely tough test for man and material the Volkswagen Race Touareg with its
innovative 280-hp TDI engine proved to be the fastest and most reliable car, while the field
of contenders – featuring 14 top cars with diesel engines – was of a higher calibre than
ever. Volkswagen defeated the serial “Dakar” winners, Mitsubishi, who had not been
beaten since 2001, as well as the X-raid BMW team. Besides de Villiers/von Zitzewitz and
Miller/Pitchford at the top, the German duo Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk in another
Race Touareg finished the Dakar Rally, in sixth place overall. Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn
(E/F) in another one of the Red Bull blue Race Touareg vehicles, who had been leading
the class of the total of 168 cars that had started to the event on eight days, retired after an
accident on the twelfth leg while leading the rally.
36-year-old Giniel de Villiers from Stellenbosch had already clinched second place at the
“Dakar” in the Race Touareg in 2006. In 2003, the former South African touring car
champion contested his first Dakar Rally, since 2006 he has been navigated by Dirk von
Zitzewitz. The 40-year-old from Karlshof, and 15-time German Enduro champion,
contested his first first “Dakar” on two wheels, switched into the cockpit as a co-driver in
2002, alongside Mark Miller by the way, and formed a team with Robby Gordon (2005) for
Volkswagen as well. Since 2007 Dirk von Zitzewitz has been pointing the right way to
Giniel de Villiers. 46-year-old Mark Miller from Phoenix/Arizona drove his first “Dakar” in
2002 and has been a Volkswagen factory driver since 2005, with Ralph Pitchford from
Pretoria in his co-driver’s seat since 2006.
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
“We did it: We wanted to be the first automobile manufacturer to win the Dakar Rally with
diesel power. We have now managed to do this, and with a one-two victory at that.
Volkswagen can truly be proud of this historic triumph. We’ve got ‘Das Auto’, we’ve got
‘The Team’ and together we have won ‘The Race’. Celebrating a one-two victory at this
extremely tough rally is a major achievement. We not only beat our strongest rivals,
Mitsubishi and X-raid-BMW, but prevailed against the Dakar Rally itself. It was more
challenging, demanding and murderous on the material than ever. But Volkswagen was
tougher, more reliable: Three of our four cars reached the finish, and not one of the Race
Touareg vehicles retired due to a technical problem. I want to congratulate and thank the
entire team and our successful drivers and co-drivers.”
#305 – Giniel de Villiers (ZA), 1st place leg / 1st place overall
“I’m so happy about having clinched this exploit for Volkswagen. This victory is worth more
than any of the titles I won in touring car racing. The twelfth leg was the crucial day. Just
before it I’d thought we’d be finishing in third place. I kept thinking about how our rival
Stéphane Peterhansel lost the rally with a huge lead one day before the finish in 2003. And
so we again led the rally after the twelfth leg as well. The Race Touareg was running
absolutely like a charm, and at such a tough edition of the Dakar Rally at that. That was
the key to success. I want to thank everyone at Volkswagen for this. Even though I’ve now
ended up winning precisely the ‘Dakar’ that was not staged in Africa, which is home to me:
It was definitely a genuine Dakar Rally, and the toughest edition I’ve ever contested.”
#305 – Dirk von Zitzewitz (D), co-driver
“I’m filled with incredible joy and relief. Up to the very end there was enormous pressure on
us, and I only believed in our success after we’d completed the last special stage. I’ve
experienced disappointments in motorsport only too often. This result with Volkswagen is
simply fantastic! After completing the incredibly tough twelfth leg, I had a feeling that we
could make it. If not now, when should we? And it worked out. It’s the biggest exploit in my
career on both two and four wheels – it’s simply a dream.”
#308 – Mark Miller (USA), 6th place leg / 2nd place overall
“That’s a great result for Volkswagen after a difficult rally. It’s nice to have contributed to
the brand’s one-two victory. This rally certainly compares well with the editions in Africa – it
was extremely tough. I perceived the special stage from Fiambalá to Rioja as being the
most difficult one I’ve ever contested. That was an edition of the rally I’ll definitely never
forget. The Volkswagen team and the Volkswagen Race Touareg never let us down on
this long drive.”
#308 – Ralph Pitchford (ZA), co-driver
“Congratulations to Volkswagen on this fantastic result – a wonderful rally, which was a lot
of fun and very, very demanding for the drivers and co-drivers. This rally will be
unforgettable not least because it ended with the best result for Mark and me. The car was
outstanding and we took it to the finish in one piece.”
#301 – Carlos Sainz (E)
“We set the pace for a long time at the Dakar Rally and led it for a long time as well. That’s
why it was a particularly bitter pill for my co-driver Michel Périn and me that we were forced to retire after an accident on the twelfth leg. One must never underestimate the Dakar
Rally and prevail against it before being able to win. I congratulate my team colleagues
Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz on their ‘Dakar’ victory. They deserved winning this
tough rally.”
#301 – Michel Périn (F), co-driver
“Congratulations to Volkswagen, to Giniel and Dirk – a fantastic result for the brand, to
which we’d have liked to contribute as well. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to do this
although we had the best prospects almost up to the end of the rally. But that’s the
‘Dakar’.”
#307 – Dieter Depping (D), 13th place leg / 6th place overall
“A super success for Volkswagen, and I’m proud to be part of this team. I personally
experienced the capabilities of TDI diesel power during the rally several times when I
surmounted seemingly insurmountable dunes with the Race Touareg after all. For my codriver Timo Gottschalk and me, the Dakar Rally had both ups and downs. With good stage
results, as well as with good intermediate times, we showed that we can keep up with the
big names in cross-country rally sport and beat them. My special thanks go to my
mechanics who always gave us a perfectly prepared car despite working additional night
shifts and who, like the rest of the team, really backed us in a tremendous way. I’d have
liked giving them an even better result. Despite several setbacks we struggled through
and, in the end, sixth place overall is a good result.”
#307 – Timo Gottschalk (D), co-driver
“The Dakar Rally has found a new home in Argentina and Chile. The special stages were
tougher and more varied than ever. The continually changing terrain is one of the new
challenges, which puts high demands on the driver and co-driver’s adaptability. In addition,
the enthusiastic audience gave us a thrilling welcome along the daily legs. This has been a
great debut of the ‘Dakar’ in South America, at which Dieter Depping and I had to deal with
setbacks as well, though. But that’s part of it. The Volkswagen team performed an
impressive feat and definitely deserves this one-two victory.”
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Volkswagen Motorsport
