Dakar stage cancelled because of fog

Thick fog has caused organisers to cancel the 11th leg of the Dakar Rally, leaving Carlos Sainz 27 minutes ahead with just three days to go.

Impressive spectator enthusiasm and fascinating landscapes that offer extremely tough sporting challenges: Volkswagen goes to the final spurt of the Dakar Rally featuring the event’s last three legs. On the eleventh day of the rally the four Race Touareg vehicles with Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn (E/F), Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D), Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) and Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk (D/D) completed a liaison stage from Copiapó via the Chilenian-Argentine border to Fiambalá and back to Argentina.

The eleventh special stage was cancelled due to the late ending of the tenth leg the day before as well as an inclement weather forecast, and changed to a so-called liaison stage.
 
Continuing as the front runners in the overall standings are Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn in the Race Touareg marked as competition vehicle number 301. The Spanish-French duo has so far taken the Race Touareg powered by a 280-hp TDI diesel engine to six victories on ten legs. The tally of two-time world rally champion Sainz and three-time "Dakar” winner Périn reflects eight days on which the pairing led the event.
 
"Volkswagen can look at an interim result of the Dakar Rally that is positive across the board,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "Eight out of ten stage victories show that the Race Touareg is the fastest car in the field. Furthermore, the fact that all four vehicles entered in the event are reaching Fiambalá, thus returning to Argentine soil, shows that we’ve got an extremely reliable car. Now, three more legs are on the agenda. The way the ‘Dakar’ has gone so far has taught us not to underestimate them. Particularly the twelfth leg on Thursday to La Rioja and the huge white dunes pose a tough challenge that puts man and material to yet another extremely severe test.”

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