Volkswagen driver Carlos Sainz clinched his first overall victory in the Rally Transiberico on Sunday. The Spaniard, together with his French co-driver Michel Périn, won three of four legs, finishing 7.43 minutes in front of Mitsubishi driver Nani Roma after 1200 timed kilometres.
With a 15.40-minute gap, the Portuguese Carlos Sousa, in the second VW Race Touareg, captured third place in the FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup’s season opener.
The victory marked the sixth overall win for the Race Touareg in the Cross-Country World Cup, and the first win for Sainz.
"I’m happy about my first victory for Volkswagen and my first triumph in a cross-country rally. It’s a great success for the team and for me. The four legs were extremely rough, hot and strenuous because we were constantly busy in the cockpit on those twisty tracks.
"In the beginning, we built a nice advantage and after that kept our pace under control. I want to really thank the entire Volkswagen squad for providing me with a Race Touareg that was absolutely running like a charm throughout the rally," Sainz said after his win.
Provisional final result, Rally Transibérico (P/E), 31 May - 03 June 2007
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1. Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn (E/F), Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, 13h33m41s
2. Joan Roma/Lucas Cruz (E/E), Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution + 7m43s
3. Carlos Sousa/Andreas Schulz (P/D), Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 + 15m40s
4. Luc Alphand/Gilles Piccard (F/F), Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution + 17m29s
5. Filipe Campos/Jaime Baptista (P/P), Proto Dessoude + 54m16s
6. Helder Oliveira/José Marques (P/P), Toyota Land Cruiser + 1h40m11s
7. Nuno Inocêncio/Sérgio Cosme (P/P), Mitsubishi Pajero + 1h54m20s
8. Maurizio Traglio/Erika Pajer (I/I), Nissan Pathfinder + 2h03m00s
9. Balász Szalay/László Bunkoczi (H/H), Opel Antara + 2h06m33s
10. Francesc Termens/Jordi Vilalta (E/E), Mitsubishi Montero + 2h20m30s
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