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Carlos Sainz and Volkswagen win 2010 Dakar Rally

Carlos Sainz has avenged his disappointment from last year’s Dakar Rally on the way to headlining a clean sweep of the podium for the diesel powered Volkswagen Race Touraegs. It is the first time Volkswagen have claimed a one-two-three finish at the Dakar and follows their one-two result from the 2009 race.

Sainz and co-driver Lucas Cruz (#303) finished 2 minutes 12 seconds ahead ofÂ Nasser Al-Attiyah and Timo Gottschalk (#306). Third place was taken by Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford (#305). Last year’s winners Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz (#300) finished seventh.

Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen was understandably elated with the unprecedented success for his team, “Three weeks ago a highly motivated Volkswagen team came with the goal of successfully defending the â€˜Dakar’ title won last year. Volkswagen has achieved something historical with this one-two-three.”

Sainz, who can now add the Dakar crown to his two World Rally Championship titles, said “I have fulfilled a dream by winning the â€˜Dakar’. An enormous weight has fallen from my shoulders particularly as the fight for victory was extremely hard both physically and enormously exhausting mentally.

“Everything ran perfectly for me: My co-driver Lucas Cruz did an excellent job, from the technical side the Race Touareg ran like clockwork and the entire Volkswagen squad worked tirelessly for the win. Thank you for this.”

It’s the first time an all-Spanish crew has won the event and Cruz was over the moon with the win, “After so much pressure over the last few days it goes without saying that I’m incredibly happy on the day of my first â€˜Dakar’ victory. I think we have beaten tough competitors and also one of the hardest â€˜Dakar’s’ ever.

“Carlos approached his job throughout the entire event patiently, concentrated but also with great tenacity. He is a great champion, it’s fantastic to win with him.”

A huge image gallery from the Volkswagen Motorsport team can bee seen after the jump, along with extensive press releases including quotes from all Race Touareg driving crews.

Volkswagen Touareg TDI wins 2009 Dakar Rally

The Volkswagen Race Touareg claimed a series of firsts in this year’s 2009 Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile. Including the first that counts the most, with outright success going to the South African-German pairing of Giniel de Villiers (driver) and Dirk von Zitzewitz (co-driver).

It was the first time the race had been held in South America. It was the first time a diesel powered car won overall honours. And, with American Mark Miller’s second position, it was also Volkswagen’s first quinella at the Dakar. Volkswagen have one previous Dakar win, the 1980 Paris-Dakar won by Sweden’s Freddy Kottulinsky in a Volkswagen Iltis.

The 280bhp TDI Race Touaregs dominated the rally winning 10 out of 13 stages, and it was a sweet taste of victory for the de Villiers-von Zitzewitz combination after the duo piloted a Touareg to second in the 2006 race. Volkswagen also claimed a third position in the top ten with sixth place going to the German duo of Dieter Depping and Timo Gottschalk .

De Villiers was elated with the win, “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 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.”

It was a bitter sweet rally for high-profile driver Carlos Sainz who looked set for victory until a nasty accident on the twelfth leg, but he was happy for the team success, “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 PÃ©rin 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 â€˜Dakar’ victory. They deserved winning this tough rally.”