These days, the world’s toughest rally is about a lot more than just the driving skills of the men behind the wheel. Proper navigation is equally important, and of course: being in top physical form. And the Volkswagen team has been working really hard on the latter in the Austrian village of Grän. We went along to watch the defending champions work out as they prepare for their Mission Hat-trick.
The vehicles can only be described using superlatives. And the same is pretty much true of the terrain in which they will eventually be deployed – in what is quite simply considered the toughest rally in the world. The 2011 Dakar Rally will be the ultimate acid test for a team that has twice in succession dominated the mother of all rallies and taught its competitors a lesson or two. The opponents of Volkswagen’s Race Touareg have no desire to let the team surrounding Carlos Sainz and Kris Nissen dominate the classic rally for a third year running. This is why the Volkswagen team must prepare more meticulously than ever. A faultless performance may be necessary to secure a third victory in South America.
Ready Pa Tu Mundo - Driving Xavi\'s Mundo. Xavi has just picked up the 2011 Ford Fiesta and want\'s to put his own flavour on it, in true Ready Pa Tu Mundo style. Naturally, he heads down to DUB to get the Fiesta personalised in Xavi\'s own style. The 2011 Ford Fiesta: Ready Pa Tu Mundo.
With only two weeks to the start of the Dakar 2011, gruelling challenges await the drivers and their vehicles. The Volkswagen team around Kris Nissen and Carlos Sianz seem strangely cheerful despite being about to face intense and grindingly painful special stages. Pointing the way to the first stage, the ‘Race Touareg 3’ travels from Europe to South America. This is very special freight indeed. The journey begins at Amsterdam airport.
It is an extraordinary challenge for extraordinary people. The Dakar Rally - the toughest automobile race in the world - has long been a great lure for adventurers and adrenalin seekers. 2011 marks the 33rd anniversary of the desert race and draws drivers from around the globe to South America. After having lost by only a small margin last year, one driver has high hopes for 2011.
He is THE icon of rally sports and a national hero in his home country, Spain. The Carlos Sainz phenomenon – what sets him apart, where has he had his biggest victories, what are his passions? We have been allowed to take a glimpse behind the scenes and visited the 48-year-old father of three in his home in Madrid.
