Volkswagen wins (sweeps) Dakar

Volkswagen wins the toughest race on earth! Not only that - it's a First and Second place victory! I often tell people that the Touareg is second to none when it comes to off-road capabilities. A victory such as the Dakar always helps backing up those claims car salesmen make.

From Touareg Training

HISTORIC VICTORY FOR DE VILLIERS AND VOLKSWAGEN!
Pending validation by the race stewarts, South-African driver Giniel De Villiers has won the 31st Dakar; it is his first success in the rally-raid but - more importantly - it is also the first victory for Volkswagen and for a diesel engine on teh world’s king of rally-raids. It is even a double victory for the German manufacturer as US driver Mark Miller (VW) finishes second in the standings at 8’59". The last one on the podium is US driver Robby Gordon (Hummer), ranking 3rd but finishing with a 1h46’15 delay on the winning duet. De Villiers’ victory is full of panache: indeed, the South-African won the last stage - the 10th stage victory for VW out of the 13 stages in total in the raid (!) - 2" ahead of Russia’s Leonid Novitskiy (BMW). On the production side, it is French driver Nicolas Gibon (Toyota) who finishes first in the general standings and wins the raid.