Volkswagen continues to lead the Dakar Rally after clinching its fourth stage win in a row with two Race Touareg 3 cars.

The fourth leg featured the extremely demanding crossing of the Andes at an altitude of more than 4,400 metres – including a plateau at an elevation of over 4,000 metres. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E) extended their overall advantage by 50 seconds to 4m 24s. Their team colleagues Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) remain the runners-up. The two Volkswagen factory drivers also crossed the finish line of today’s stage in this order.

The fourth day of the world’s toughest desert rally was shaped by extreme physical strains for the entire team due to the crossing of the Andes and a nail-biting battle between Volkswagen and the Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel. The X-raid BMW driver had been leading the special, which had started at an altitude of 3,300 metres in the Atacama Desert, with nearly a one-minute advantage for some of the time but ultimately finished third with a gap of 1m 22s. Behind him the other two Volkswagen factory drivers, Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA), finished the stage in positions four and five. As a result, de Villiers continues to rank in fourth place overall. Miller improved by two positions and is now in the top ten again.

The leg between San Salvador de Jujuy and Calama was characterised by numerous canyons, riverbeds and quick gravel passages. Many branch-offs made the navigation a tricky proposition for the Volkswagen co-drivers. In addition, the teams had to be careful to avoid punctures on sharp stones and smaller fields of scree. Mission accomplished: None of the Volkswagen drivers had to change any of the BFGoodrich tyres.

Number of the day
A special victory for the Race Touareg: Since the launch of the cross-country rally prototype programme in 2004 the stage win of Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz today marks the 125th stage win in total. At the Dakar Rally the fastest time set on the stage between San Salvador de Jujuy and Calama amounted to the 40th single success.

Coming up next …
Thursday, 6th January: "If you roll over here, you won’t come to rest before the bivouac, said an impressed "Dakar” winner Carlos Sainz in 2010 as he described the finish of the stage to Iquique. From the crest of the near-700-metre dune the stage finish and the Pacific Ocean can already be seen. The teams have to successfully master the roughly three-kilometre descent – braking prohibited – plus more than one minute of pure adrenalin after a strenuous day.

Quotes after leg 4 http://www.volkswagen-motorsport.com...st=538&id=4217

From the Volkswagen bivouac http://www.volkswagen-motorsport.com...st=538&id=4216