Report: Volkswagen unlikely to return to Dakar

Filed under: Motorsports, Volkswagen, Off-Road, Racing

Everything has its cost. And in the case of Volkswagen's new WRC effort, that cost appears to be Dakar.

The German automaker has dominated the famous rally raid for the last three years, but if the latest reports come to pass, VW could be preparing to retire the Race Touareg. Volkswagen, it seems, has nothing left to prove out there on the dunes, and with its focus shifted on the World Rally Championship, a return to Dakar doesn't look to be in the cards.

The news will undoubtably be welcomed by X-Raid, the team operated by Sven Quandt (of the Quandt family that owns BMW) which has campaigned off-road Bimmers and Minis at Dakar for the past several years, and which has come closest to defeating Volkswagen. The team will reportedly be returning to the South American event next year with four of its specially-built Mini Countrymen, and with Volkswagen out of the way, this team looks poised to finally claim the trophy.

Volkswagen unlikely to return to Dakar originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 17:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/28/volkswagen-unlikely-to-return-to-dakar/

Georges Grignard Bobby Grim Romain Grosjean Olivier Grouillard Brian Gubby