Dakar 2015

TornadoRed

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Location
West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)
Dakar 2015 is underway in South America, and Volkswagen Motorsport is nowhere to be seen. The WRC-champion Polo R? Nope, only a few local teams with miscellaneous VW chassis.

The guys who drove for VW in the recent past? Nasser al-Attiyah is with Mini, Giniel De Villiers for Toyota, Carlos Sainz with Peugeot, Carlos Sousa with Mitsubishi.

It will still be fun to watch -- NBC Sports channel has a half-hour daily summary.

"Peugeot has developed a radical diesel-powered two-wheel drive buggy that it believes will give it an advantage over the four-wheel drive Minis.

"Even though the four-wheel drive will give the Minis better traction in the desert stages Peugeot is confident that its lighter, more agile two-wheel drive 2008 DKR buggies can conquer the terrain."
(snip)
Another contender for overall honours in the car category is 2009 winner De Villiers. The South African will tackle the event in a Toyota HiLux he has spent the past three years developing into a serious off-road racer.

A dark horse for the car title is American Robby Gordon, who is always fast but has usually struck trouble. The former NASCAR and Indycar winner is competing in an off-roader racer built by his own team.

Based on his former Hummer-based racer, the Gordini is a smaller, lighter two-wheel drive machine that Gordon has spent 12 months testing and developing in the US.

"This car is better than my best Hummer," a confident Gordon said. "The objective is still the same. I am not coming to relax, but rather to win. As a team owner, I have to admit that the Dakar is the hardest event I know." (end of quote)
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/motorsp...ughest-race-in-the-world-20150103-12h0z9.html
 

TDI smile

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2012
Location
Edmonton, Alberta (b4 BC - LOWER MAINLAND = Chilli
TDI
2002 TDI (ALH) with 513,000 km. First Owner and very happy... No Problems, never left us stranded on the Highway. Average useage is about between under 4 ltr. and 5 ltr. Normal longdistance travel: 4.1/100
Love to watch the DAKAR..... wild STUFF! Great Cars and Drivers.
 

Lug_Nut

TDIClub Enthusiast, Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 20, 1998
Location
Sterling, Massachusetts. USA
TDI
idi: 1988 Bolens DGT1700H, the other oil burner: 1967 Saab Sonett II two stroke
Maybe I jinxed the effort:
http://henrard-racing.com/
last entry:"Bad day! Collision dans les dunes! On est épuisé. Les mécanos mesurent l'ampleur des dégâts. On a percuté une voiture plantée dans un passage étroit au sommet d'une grande dune. Direction arrachée..."
Bad Day! Collision in the dunes! It's bought it. The mechanics check the extent of the damage. It struck a car in a narrow passage on top of a large dune. Torn steering...
 
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Lug_Nut

TDIClub Enthusiast, Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 20, 1998
Location
Sterling, Massachusetts. USA
TDI
idi: 1988 Bolens DGT1700H, the other oil burner: 1967 Saab Sonett II two stroke
He's back! 36th in class, 10:22:11 behind the class leader (as of the end of stage 8)
 

coachgeo

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2006
Location
Dayton OH area
TDI
99 Blue Bug.. new top end
didn't realize the Peugeot cars were diesel. Well the Peugeots pretty much disintegrated as the race went on. They fell apart.
 

Lug_Nut

TDIClub Enthusiast, Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 20, 1998
Location
Sterling, Massachusetts. USA
TDI
idi: 1988 Bolens DGT1700H, the other oil burner: 1967 Saab Sonett II two stroke
think he withdrew after stage 10 salt fiasco?
I believe he was disqualified (not a voluntary withdrawal) for not getting the repairs completed on time to continue on the next stage. Tant pis.
 
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