Dakar : Volkswagen Motorsport - Leg 4
Wolfsburg (3 January 2006). Volkswagen has retaken the Dakar Rally lead after recording its third victory on the fourth stage. Works driver Carlos Sainz won the 639 kilometre section from Er Rachidia to Ouarzazate in Morocco in the Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 and, in the process, reclaimed the overall lead that he had already held after the first two stages. Bruno Saby in second overall and Jutta Kleinschmidt in third complete the trio of 275 hp TDI diesel Volkswagen prototypes at the head of the field. Giniel de Villiers jumped from twelfth to fifth position by setting the fourth fastest stage time. Mark Miller completes the Volkswagen quintet as eighth in the top-ten.
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
"Our drivers have performed excellently once again, just as the newly designed Race Touareg 2 proves to be in top form. In the organisation and preparation we are concentrating completely on giving our drivers the best possible support in their strong positions, especially as the lead battle is and, will continue to be extremely hard."

#301 – Bruno Saby (F), 2nd position overall
"We`ve picked up another position! A great result after such a challenging day. My co-driver Michel Périn mastered the difficult navigation perfectly. We had to change a front right tyre somewhere in the middle of the stage.”

#303 – Jutta Kleinschmidt (D), 3rd position overall
"Before the first check point we had to tighten bolts on the steering wheel which had vibrated loose. A tyre failure cost us additional time. We thought that the day was already over after this. It`s great that we moved up a position in spite of these problems.”

#305 – Giniel de Villiers (RSA), 5th position overall
"To jump seven places up the leader board is great. The navigation is a little like a lottery as a result of the new regulations. We took the wrong route in the dunes once. We have an excellent starting position for the fifth stage – not too early and not too late.”

#307 – Carlos Sainz (E), 1st position overall
"I`m surprised to be at the front again. We started twelfth, followed Luc Alphand for ages and drove at a normal pace. We didn`t have the feeling that we were particularly fast. It was a significant advantage from the navigational point of view to start where we did."

#309 – Mark Miller (USA), 8th position overall
"It`s fantastic to drive in the first dunes in Africa again. We made the mistake of following Nani Roma through a section of dunes where we hoped to gain an advantage. However, he got lost and we also lost time as a result.”


Tags: volkswagen, touareg, leg-four, wolfsburg, ouarzazate, prototypes,