Bartek Sikorski

Volkswagen of America, Inc. has officially entered two Volkswagen Motorsport Dakar Rally vehicles in this year’s running of the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, June 1-3, 2007.

This will be the first race for the Race Touareg 2 vehicles in North America, and also marks the first ever Volkswagen factory racing entry in the legendary SCORE desert series racing. The Volkswagen team will feature an international cast of Volkswagen works drivers ready to tackle the challenging terrain of the Baja peninsula.

Race Touareg # 81i will be driven by American Mark Miller with his South African co-driver Ralph Pitchford. For Miller, the 45 year old Phoenix, Arizona native, this event will be a unique opportunity to bring together his experience and success from two of the most revered off-road races in the world. He is a five time Baja Champion and the highest finishing American driver ever in a four-wheeled vehicle at Dakar, taking fourth place overall this past January with Pitchford onboard as co-driver.
Piloting Race Touareg # 83i will be South African Giniel de Villiers and German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz. While this will be the first SCORE race for de Villiers, the 34 year old driver from Stellenbosch, South Africa, he is very familiar with the turbo diesel powered Race Touareg, having placed second overall in the 2006 Dakar rally.
The Race Touareg 2 is powered by an ‘in-line’ five cylinder, 2.5-liter four-valve per cylinder TDI diesel engine, fitted with a two-stage intercooled turbo-charger system. In this configuration, the engine produces 285 horsepower and over 440 ft.lbs of torque. The engine is positioned longitudinally behind the front suspension, and sends its power to a longitudinally mounted six-speed sequential race gearbox. A permanent four-wheel drive system featuring three mechanical differentials with viscous locking is used to provide superior traction.
“Volkswagen is looking forward to being involved in the 39th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500. It is a tremendously famous racing event worldwide, and running our Race Touaregs in North America is an excellent opportunity for us to show the potential of the Volkswagen TDI diesel engine technology”, said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. “It will be a great experience not only from a technical standpoint, but also for our logistics, race preparation and team organization.”
“SCORE is extremely excited to have these two international Volkswagen factory Race Touaregs competing in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500,” said Sal Fish, SCORE CEO and President for over 30 years. “We are also looking forward to enjoying the performance of the Volkswagen Turbo Diesel engines in this environment. Volkswagen engines are the most successful in the history of desert racing and this is a wonderful opportunity for all of us involved with this unique and incredible motorsport.”
- ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Curb Zone

 

Bartek Sikorski

- ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.
Volkswagen of America, Inc. announced today that Red Bull North America, Inc. will be partnering with Volkswagen as it competes for the first time in the 2007 SCORE Baja 500, in the new International Truck class.
Volkswagen, together with Red Bull, will run two Race Touareg 2 vehicles in this year’s Baja 500 – Race Touareg #81i driven by Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford, and Race Touareg #83i driven by Giniel de Villiers and Dirk Von Zitzewitz.

Red Bull is no stranger to Volkswagen Motorsport; partnering with Volkswagen for the 2007 SCORE Baja 500 is the latest extension of a long relationship between the two brands. In years past, Red Bull has been a key partner for Volkswagen at all four Dakar Rallies that the Race Touareg competed in. Red Bull also partnered with Volkswagen in last years Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, as three Touareg V10 TDI’s made their first race to the clouds. Outside of motorsports, Red Bull partnered with Volkswagen in the successful prize-winning effort to build an autonomous robotic vehicle (’04 Touareg Stanley) in the 2005 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Grand Challenge, and will once again be partnering with Volkswagen in this year’s DARPA Urban Challenge.
“Volkswagen and Red Bull have already enjoyed great success together in cross country rallies in many parts of the world. The unique opportunity to bring the diesel powered Race Touareg 2 to Baja is a great new development in our partnership,” said Clark Campbell, Volkswagen of America Motorsport Manager.
“I am excited about this partnership,” said Miller, a two-time Baja 500 winner. “Both Red Bull and Volkswagen have a passion for motorsports, and to be able to compete in the SCORE Baja 500 on this team is exciting.”
- ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Bartek Sikorski

- ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

In the Baja 500 offroad classic, the factory duo of Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/South Africa) clinched class victory ahead of their team-mates Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (South Africa/Germany).
In the overall classification of the 273 competing vehicles, Miller/Pitchford took eleventh, and de Villiers/von Zitzewitz 16th place. Volkswagen impressed particularly with its modern TDI diesel technology as the two Race Touareg cars powered by 2.5-litre five-cylinder TDI engines were the only vehicles to complete the 420.11-mile (675.92-km) Baja 500, which is considered the world’s toughest one-day rally, without a single refuelling stop.
- ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Curb Zone