VW en Mitsubishi zullen waarschijnlijk in 2008 opnieuw aan Dakar deelnemen, maar met enkele wijzigingen:
Quote:
Mitsubishi, Volkswagen plan for ’08
Mitsubishi and Volkswagen look set to compete with each other again in the 2007 FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup and the 2008 Dakar Rally, although both teams plan changes.
Despite winning the majority of stages on last month’s Dakar, VW failed to win the event. It will spend this year working on revisions to the Race Touareg, including altering the bodywork to reflect the facelifted road-car version. VW is scheduled to compete on the cross-country rounds in Tunisia, Por Las Pampas and UAE Desert Challenge before starting Dakar again next year.
On the driver front, VW looks likely to retain Giniel de Villiers and Carlos Sainz this season, while Ari Vatanen—who retired from the Dakar early—will be replaced by either Guerlain Chicherit or Production Car WRC champion Nasser Al-Attiyah. Portugal’s Carlos Sousa has been promised a program of events via a private sponsor, and American Mark Miller has high hopes of returning after his excellent fourth-place finish in Dakar.
Mitsubishi plans a major announcement in Japan in the near future, when the team is expected to switch from its V6 gasoline engine to a more environmentally friendly unit. All four of Mitsubishi’s Dakar drivers are still under contract, and the plan is to tackle select rounds of the FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup plus the Dakar.
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bron:
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl.../70131006/1032
Ik betwijfel wel of Chicherit en Al-Attiyah betere piloten dan Vatanen zijn. Hij had gewoon pech dit jaar.