Dakar - 1-16 Jan 2011

MONSTER ENERGY X-RAID TEAM SAFELY ARRIVES IN BUENOS AIRES FOR START OF 33RD PERSONAL DAKAR ARGENTINA-CHILE

Posted: December 30, 2010 6:17 PM

All members of the Monster Energy X-raid rally team have safely arrived in Buenos Aires to begin final preparations for the official start of the 33rd Personal Dakar Argentina-Chile on New Year’s Day.

Six BMW X3CCs, the brand new Mini All4 Racing and the team’s fleet of race trucks, service trucks and support vehicles have been removed from the dock area in Buenos Aires and are being prepared by Sven Quandt’s army of mechanics and engineers.

Guerlain Chicherit and co-driver Michel Périn managed to carry out a short pre-event shakedown test in the Mini All4 Racing about 50km from Buenos Aires at a nearby motorcross circuit on Wednesday afternoon. Chicherit’s Mini has been developed in record time and the Frenchman will be hoping to improve on the fifth position he obtained with a BMW X3CC last year.

The entire X-raid team will attend pre-rally administration and scrutineering formalities at La Rural conference centre in Buenos Aires on Friday morning, before the competition cars are placed in a Parc Ferme area. Team members will then attend a New Year’s Eve dinner in the fashionable Puerto Madero area of the city to celebrate the start of the New Year.

One hundred and fifty-six cars, 183 bikes, 33 quads, 68 trucks and competitors from 51 nations are expected to finalise pre-rally formalities over the next two days before the official start on New Year’s Day.

Entry List

Posted: December 23, 2010 2:08 PM

Dakar Rally

MONSTER ENERGY X-RAID TEAM UNVEILS NEW MINI ALL4 RACING FOR WORLD DEBUT ON 2011 DAKAR RALLY

Posted: December 7, 2010 12:50 PM

The X-raid Team has unveiled an exciting new cross-country motor sport programme to run and develop the MINI All4 Racing in international competition.

The project was first discussed in the summer of 2009 and the competitive debut of the new MINI All4 Racing will be in the hands of the French rally crew of Guerlain Chicherit and co-driver Michel Périn in January’s 33rd Personal Dakar Argentina-Chile. The event starts in Buenos Aires on New Year’s Day and finishes in the Argentine capital on Sunday, January 16th, 2011.

The new MINI All4 Racing will form part of X-raid’s seven-car Dakar team – the largest ever entered by a team in the 33-year history of the world’s most famous off-road rally - and the third of three vehicles running on the event under the Monster Energy X-raid Team banner.

X-raid team director Sven Quandt began looking at the feasibility of the project in 2009 and held initial discussions with automotive engineering and manufacturing company Magna Steyr and BMW to see whether the new model was a realistic replacement for the BMW/MINI X3 CC - which has earned the Trebur-based team three successive FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rally titles since 2008.

Quandt received the green light for the new project from BMW in June 2010 and Magna Steyr gave their full approval on September 24th. Initial plans for the new project were discussed at length throughout September in Graz, Austria.

The MINI design team and Magna have managed the design of the vehicle. Quandt and engineer Martin Ertl, a former X-raid staff engineer who also manages a Formula 3 racing team, have overseen the new project on behalf of X-raid.

Construction of the new MINI All4 Racing cross-country rally car began in November and has continued into December. The car will be put through a first series of tests in France on December 13/14th. It will then be transported by airfreight to South America for final preparations for scrutineering in Buenos Aires at the end of the month.

The MINI will be powered by a variable twin-turbo diesel engine that is fitted to the 2011-specification BMW X3 CC and built in Steyr – the same place as the MINI and BMW diesel engines are made. The power unit delivers in the region of 315hp and 710Nm of torque. This is an increase compared to the output of the 2010-specification BMW X3 CCs used on the Dakar Rally to seal fourth and fifth places last January.

“This is a major development in cross-country rallying and something of which we are very excited,” admitted Quandt. “There has been a very short time between the decision to go ahead and the roll out for the next Dakar, but we are confident that the new Mini All4 Racing will be competitive out of the box.

“Compared to the BMW X3CC, the MINI will be characterised by improved handling as the overall length is shorter and it is lower. We have also been able to improve on many other smaller details, such as the relocation of smaller components to lower the centre of gravity.”

The MINI benefits from larger air intakes, a one-piece bonnet and a revised and improved ventilation system using a front air intake and a roof intake. Visibility inside the MINI All4 Racing is not on a par with the BMW X3 CC and entry and exit of the vehicle for the occupants is slightly more difficult, but Quandt is delighted with general improvements nonetheless.

Quandt confirms that the MINI All4 Racing is 10cm shorter than the BMW X3 CC, about 3cm lower than its predecessor and has a 10cm reduced rear overhang when compared to the BMW.

Magna Steyr, under the project lead of Hermann Pecnik, have been responsible for concept design, the technical drawings and calculations, as well as the production data and compliance with stringent FIA regulations governing cross-country motor sport.

The frame and chassis components were designed by Büren-based Heggemann autosport GmbH and Faster worked on the complete carbon-kevlar body and provided Magna-Steyr with assistance on the construction of the MINI.

Quandt reckons that the Mini All4 Racing is more service friendly than the X3 CC, as all the body panels can be removed within minutes to give easier access to important mechanical components. The skin of the MINI, for example, can be changed within less than 30 minutes.

The BMW X3 CC was developed over a period of five years and all this development has been utilised by the MINI All4 Racing. The new car runs fully within the 2010 regulations and should be competitive from the outset.

The X-raid team have also confirmed that TÜV Rheinland is to support the three-car Monster Energy X-raid Rally Team entries for Chicherit, Stéphane Peterhansel and Portugal’s Ricardo Leal De Santos on the 33rd Personal Dakar Argentina-Chile.

Cologne-based TÜV Rheinland is a leading global provider of technical, testing and assessment services, has 490 locations in 61 countries and a workforce of 14,500. The company has a long history in the automotive industry and is leading the way in automotive inspection, a service provided not only in Germany, but also in Chile, Argentina, Spain, France and Lithuania.

“The concept of the MINI fits very well with TÜV Rheinland and we are, therefore, delighted to support the team in the 2011 Dakar,” said Caio da Silva, TÜV Rheinland chief regional officer South America. “A lot of our 2,000 staff members in South America are very interested in the Dakar.”

The X-raid team’s vast array of equipment is now making its way to South America to arrive in good time for scrutineering and documentation in Buenos Aires on December 30th-31st.

Seven race cars, two race trucks (one MAN and a Kamaz), eight service trucks, six assistance vehicles, two press cars and a team of around 80 people make X-raid’s challenge for honours in the 2011 Dakar Rally the biggest in the team’s history.

BMW X-raid and Monster Energy form Monster Energy X-raid Team for 2011 Dakar Rally

Posted: November 24, 2010 1:45 PM

Monster Energy and the BMW X-raid Team have joined forces to create the Monster Energy X-raid Team, which will tackle January’s 33rd Personal Dakar Argentina-Chile (2011 Dakar Rally) in South America.

The Trebur-based operation will field seven cars in the world’s most famous off-road rally, with Monster Energy supporting three of the teams.

X-raid team director Sven Quandt has also confirmed that Argentina’s Orlando Terranova has joined the BMW X-raid team to drive a seventh car alongside the French duo of Stéphane Peterhansel and Guerlain Chicherit, Portugal’s Ricardo Leal De Santos, Russia’s Leonid Novitskiy, Poland’s Krzysztof Holowczyc and Germany’s Stephane Schott.

The seven drivers will be co-driven by Portugal’s Filipe Palmeiro, the French duo of Jean-Paul Cottret and Michel Périn, Portugal’s Paulo Fiúza, Germany’s Andreas Schulz, Belgian Jean-Marc Fortin and German Holm Schmidt, respectively.

Terranova, from Mendoza in Argentina, represented the BMW X-raid Team in the 2009 Dakar Rally and was running inside the top 10 before leaving the road and damaging his car in a deep ravine. He was the first Latin American driver to win a round of the FIA World Cup, when he claimed victory in the 2009 Rally of Tunisia.

Palmeiro co-drove Terranova to that Tunisian success in a BMW X3CC and is one of the most experienced Portuguese cross-country participants. He has also worked in the X-raid team with Brazil’s Paulo Nobre and Dutchman René Kuipers in the 2009 Dakar. Last season he co-drove for the Brazilian privateer Guilherme Spinelli and is a regular competitor in the Portuguese Off-Road Championship.

Three teams will make up the Monster Energy X-raid Rally Team, with the cars being driven by Peterhansel, Dos Santos and Chicherit.

Peterhansel is the most successful driver in the history of the Dakar Rally. He won the race six times on a motorcycle, before switching to racing on four-wheels in 1999. Partnered by Cottret, Peterhansel claimed three victories in the Dakar on four wheels and finished fourth overall with the X-raid Team on the 2010 Dakar in South America – his first with the German team.

The Frenchman has also achieved numerous wins in rounds of the FIA World Cup, is a two-time World Enduro champion and took part in the Race of Champions in 2005 and 2006. He joined the X-raid team for Baja Spain 2009 and won the recent Rally of Morocco.

Cottret switched to co-driving in 1992 and finished second with Peterhansel on the Dakar in 2000. He has won the gruelling event with Peterhansel on three occasions (2004, 2005 and 2007) and has also been successful in numerous smaller Bajas and FIA World Cup rallies.

Dos Santos and co-driver Fiùza drive a second Monster Energy-backed BMW X3CC. Dos Santos switched from riding a quad on the Dakar to racing in a car and will take part in his first marathon challenge with X-raid. He finished 14th overall and first privateer in the 2010 Dakar and completed the recent Rally of Morocco with the X-raid team in seventh place.

Chicherit and experienced co-driver Périn crew the third Monster Energy-backed car. Chicherit finished fifth overall in this year’s Dakar Rally, which he tackled as the defending FIA World Cup champion.

The former Extreme Skiing World Champion has been driving for the X-raid team since the 2006 Dakar Rally. He won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and Transiberico, was ninth in the 2009 Dakar Rally and claimed the prestigious FIA World Cup for X-raid the same year.

Périn was a three-time winner of the Dakar with Frenchman Pierre Lartigue and is one of the most experienced co-drivers in the FIA cross-country rallying discipline. His first victory with the X-raid team came at the Baja Spain 2009 and he was leading the 2009 Dakar Rally with a rival team for several days.

“We are obviously delighted to announce Monster Energy as a key sponsor of the X-raid team,” said a delighted Sven Quandt. “We now have our largest ever Dakar team with seven cars and we are confident that we have strength in depth and experience across the team spectrum.”

The team recently took part in a five-day test near Zagora before the Rally of Morocco and select team members have just returned from a five-day fitness-training schedule at Tignes in France’s northern Alps.

They used a bivouac for one night and stayed in a chalet next to Lake Tignes at 2,000 metres above sea level for the remaining nights. Team members took part in hiking and running and attended a wellness centre, before walking in snow shoes from 2,100 metres above sea level to the glacier restaurant at over 3,000 metres.

“It was a useful way of improving fitness, team bonding and communication between crew members,” added Quandt.

Novitskiy and co-driver Andreas Schulz clinched the 2010 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies, marking the third successive occasion that the BMW X-raid team have won the coveted title and the fourth in total.

The Russian tackled the 2009 Dakar Rally with X-raid, finishing eighth overall, and he went on to finish second in the Rally of Morocco after returning to the sport following a high-speed accident in the Libya Tunisia Rally.

Novitskiy and Schulz have been a regular pairing ever since the 2009 Rally of Morocco. They finished second overall in the Baja Spain Aragon and won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in March 2010 on the way to the FIA World Cup title. The Russian also earned a maximum points’ score in June’s Rally TT Vodafone Estoril-Marrakech. Leonid won the Russian Rally Cup in 2005 and was Russian champion two years later.

Schulz began his Cross-Country rallying career as a mechanic, before graduating to become one of the top co-drivers in the sport. The Bavarian won the Dakar on two occasions in 2001 and 2003 and has been a regular face in leading Cross-Country rallies since the 1980s, partnering many of the leading names in the sport, including Jutta Kleinschmidt, Carlos Sainz, Hiroshi Masuoka, Andrea Mayer, Carlos Sousa and now Novitskiy.

Krzysztof Holowczyc will be taking part in his first Dakar with the X-raid Team. A former FIA European Rally Champion, he has been the top Polish driver in cross-country events in recent years and teams up with regular Belgian co-driver Jean-Marc Fortin in a PKN Orlen-backed BMW X3 CC.

Stephan Schott is the co-founder and CEO of KS Tools in Germany and joins the BMW X-Raid team for the first time with co-driver Holm Schmidt. The German has been a regular on the cross-country rallying scene for several seasons and finished 16th in the 2005 UAE Desert Challenge and 18th the following year. He also recorded a 17th-placed finish on the Middle East event two years later and has finished his two Dakar Rally outings in 74th and 26th overall in 2009 and 2010.

The route
The 2011 Dakar Rally starts in Buenos Aires on January 1st, 2011 and finishes in the Argentine capital on Sunday, January 16th. Day one action takes teams in an anti-clockwise northerly direction for the first time from Buenos Aires to Victoria on New Year’s Day.

This section is followed by an overnight halt in Argentina’s second city – Cordoba – on January 2nd and then the action heads west towards the Andes foothills and San Miguel de Tucuman for the first time. The route then climbs towards San Salvador de Jujuy – close to the border with Bolivia – and heads on to the town of Salta.

On January 5th, teams tackle a stage across the border in Chile between Salta and Calama in the Atacama desert and the route continues to head north towards Iquique, one of the most northerly points in the Chilean Atacama. The traditional rest day takes place at Arica on Saturday, January 8th.

The 2011 Dakar then heads down the spine of Chile, taking in an overnight halt at the mining city of Antofagasta on January 9th and then reaching Cópiapó on January 10th – the town which made international headlines in mid-October for being the closest hub to the San Jose mine where 33 miners were rescued after 68 days trapped under the Atacama.

Crews will tackle a loop stage around Cópiapó on January 11th, taking in some of the towering Atacama dunes, before the route re-crosses the spine of the Andes mountain range and reaches Chilecito via the San Francisco Pass and the notorious white dunes on the Argentinean side of the border.

From Chilecito, the route reaches San Juan and heads on to Cordoba and back to Buenos Aires on January 15th, before the official ceremonial finish on Sunday, January 16th.

Volkswagen welcomes demanding route of 2011 Dakar Rally

Posted: April 30, 2010 9:11 PM

The legendary pampas, the Atacama desert and the dizzying altitudes in the Andes: title defender Volkswagen sees itself confronted with an even tougher route of the Dakar Rally from 02 to 15 January 2011. The third edition of the most gruelling challenge in worldwide motorsport to be held in Argentina and Chile will offer the entrants more varied desert sections, quicker gravel stretches and twistier mountain passes than ever before. Volkswagen had decided each of the two past Dakar Rally events in South America in January 2009 and 2010 with the Race Touareg in its favour and is thus the only automobile manufacturer to have won the legendary desert rally with diesel technology. In January 2011 Volkswagen will tackle “mission hat-trick” setting its sights on the big aim of clinching the third consecutive “Dakar” victory. In Paris, the organiser, A.S.O. (Amaury Sport Organisation), has now presented the route that is awaiting title holders Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (2010), Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (2009) and company.

"We welcome the new route of which we´ve now gotten a first foretaste,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "There are two ‘Dakar´ principles: expect the unexpected and the next one is always the toughest ‘Dakar´. In view of even more demanding sand passages in the Atacama desert and a route that leads even farther towards the north into so far unknown regions the A.S.O. as the organiser of the Dakar Rally has more than stuck to its principles in this respect for the 2011 event again. Our biggest rival continues to be the Dakar Rally itself, but we shouldn´t underestimate our sporting rivals either.”

Chile´s vast north and Argentina´s legendary pampas as ideal off-road terrain

Far into the sandy depths of the Atacama desert, at high speed through "La Pampa” and all the way up to the borders of Bolivia and Peru: the 2011 "Dakar” route again delivers its typical superlatives. In 2011 the contenders will be in for a new adventure of even more varied desert passages. Besides featuring new classics like the white dunes of Fiambalá, the route scheduled before the only rest day will run up to the Peruvian border of Chile to the town of Arica and thus into a totally new type of desert for the first time.

But before, the rally´s start in Argentina´s metropolis Buenos Aires with built-in goose bump guarantee will be on the agenda. In 2009 and 2010 the ceremonial start marked one of many emotional highlights. The first special stage of the 2011 Dakar Rally will take place on 02 January 2011 between Victoria and Córdoba and feature somewhat well-known terrain for those who contested the event in previous years. Immediately afterwards, though, the "Dakar” will enter new off-road territory.

Through the mountain ranges and plateaus of the Sierras Pampeanas the route will lead via San Miguel de Tucumán to San Salvador de Jujuy - to new stage destinations and high up to the Argentine-Bolivian border. Along the Paso de Jama the rally armada will cross the Andes into Chile. Calama and Iquique which has been known as a "Dakar” component from 2010 - with its breathtaking arrival at the finish - form the final two stations before Arica which marks the northernmost point of all three "Dakars” held in Argentina and Chile so far.

Not until after the only rest day in Arica on 8 January 2011 will the competitive stages in the north of Argentina and Chiles be followed by familiar terrain and previously known towns at the end of the stages: Antofagasta and Copiapó mark the end of the legs in Chile. After the crossing of the San Francisco pass in the Andes back to Argentina Fiambalá, San Juan and Córdoba will be further towns at the end of the stages until, ultimately, on 15 January 2011 between Córdoba and Buenos Aires the 2011 "Dakar” winner will be determined and cheered by an emotional crowd on arriving in the metropolis with a population of three million.

"Mission hat-trick”: Sainz and company look forward to the new challenge

The route which is more demanding than before in view of the totally new types of terrains it features is welcomed by the current "Dakar” title holder. "Winning the Dakar Rally one day has always been a big dream of mine which came true last January after an extremely tough battle,” says Carlos Sainz who together with his Spanish compatriot Lucas Cruz clinched victory in front of his Volkswagen team colleagues Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford with the smallest lead of all time and - together with them - secured a historic one-two-three victory for Volkswagen. "Success always makes even hungrier for success. That´s why, in view of the new and promising route, I´m looking forward to returning in January 2011.”

Argentina – Chile 2011: the route and new features

Posted: April 30, 2010 9:10 PM

The organisers of the Dakar have unveiled the route of the 33rd edition, which will take place from 1st to 16th January 2011 in Argentina and Chile. Competitor enrolment will open on 15th May on www.dakar.com

For this third episode in South America, the riders, drivers and crews will be returning to some places that have already written themselves into the rally’s legend, such as the white dunes of Fiambala, the vast Atacama Desert or the dizzying descent to Iquique. More particularly, they will have the opportunity to discover five new Argentinean provinces, come close to Bolivia and encounter the very northern tip of Chile in Arica, at the gateway to Peru.

In order to respect the rally-raid spirit; the rules will continue to change in 2011, with all elite riders in the bike category obliged to ride on a machine whose power does not exceed 450cc. Furthermore, the GPS functions have been reduced for guidance to the WPM (way point markers), giving priority to reading and mastering the road-book.

The collaboration between the rally’s teams and the various bodies in charge of environmental matters has continued during all the preparatory phases for the Dakar 2011, with particular care given to avoiding sensitive areas on the path of the rally’s route. Additionally, a new assessment of the race’s carbon footprint has been commissioned to determine the greenhouse gas emissions related to the rally.

For more than 30 years in Africa, and now in South America, the rally has teamed up with many initiatives to establish links with the people that welcome it. The context of rebuilding currently experienced by Chile has incited the organisers to develop aid with housing, via the charity Un Techo Para Mi Pais (www.untechoparamipais.org).

The Dakar World Tour, a series of presentations of the rally intended for competitors, partners and the media, will take place in 17 different countries, starting on 6th May.

More Details:

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Volkswagen wants to clinch diesel hat-trick at Dakar Rally

Posted: April 21, 2010 10:13 AM

Volkswagen will contest the Dakar Rally again in January 2011. After the outstanding one-two-three win in January this year, the Volkswagen management board decided to continue the successful commitment. This means that the Wolfsburg based automobile manufacturer is grabbing the opportunity to clinch a hat-trick at the toughest test in worldwide motorsport. Volkswagen made motorsport history as early as in 2009. With a one-two victory, the automobile manufacturer from Wolfsburg managed to win the classic rally straight away as the first manufacturer with diesel power.

Brand welcomes South America as the venue

"The Dakar Rally makes maximum demands on the vehicles and the team. This makes it the ideal terrain to present Volkswagen´s technical expertise and perfect teamwork to a large audience,” says Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Management Board of the Volkswagen Brand for the Development Division. "South America is an important growth market for Volkswagen and thus the ideal venue to continue expanding the awareness and popularity enjoyed by the Volkswagen brand.”

Motorsport team is highly motivated

"We now have the opportunity to achieve the diesel hat-trick and to thereby make motorsport history again,” enthuses Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "We will again invest all our passion, heart and soul in this project at the next ‘Dakar´.”

Worldwide successes in motorsport

The Dakar Rally thus remains at the forefront of Volkswagen´s motorsport involvement. With great innovative achievements and sporting exploits, the engineers from Wolfsburg have established diesel technology with its high fuel economy in top-calibre sport.

The brand pursues an all-new approach with the Scirocco R-Cup that is being staged for the first time. With a CO2 reduction of 80 per cent, Volkswagen banks on a novel concept. The use of bio natural gas combines sustainability and environmental compatibility in motorsport. Bio natural gas will be used at the 24-hour race on the legendary Nordschleife of the Nürburgring for the first time as well. Furthermore, the automobile manufacturer from Wolfsburg proves its technological prowess at other one-make cups, in India, China and the USA. As engine supplier to several Formula 3 series and the ADAC Formula Masters junior series, Volkswagen complements its motorsport commitment.

Event Website

Posted: April 21, 2010 10:12 AM

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