VW Van Centre:
20 December 2011
UP TO THE CHALLENGE: THE AMAROK SUPPORTS THE 2012 DAKAR RALLY
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will return to the 2012 Dakar Rally as the event's official supplier for the third year. A fleet of nearly 40 vehicles, including 30 Amarok pick-ups, are being provided to the event's organisation team, the Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.), as support vehicles. These will be used throughout the event, regarded as the toughest marathon rally in the world, which takes place from 1 to 15 January.
After three years starting from Buenos Aires, the 2012 Dakar Rally will see competitors from across the world lining up at Mar del Plata, Argentina before the 9,000 kilometre course takes them on a journey through Chile and on to the finish at Lima in Peru.
On the rally's rest day, some important visitors will join the event with Formula One legend Jacky Ickx showing Scorpions rocker Rudolf Schenker and boxing world champion Dariusz Michalczewski how to handle the Amarok Automatic safely under off-road conditions. Also, windsurfers Bjoern Dunkerbeck, Klaas Voget and Robby Swift will head into the Atacama Desert to experience surfing on the dunes.
The Amaroks and other support vehicles will be subjected to some of the toughest and most extreme terrain on the planet during the two week event. As the official vehicles of the organisation, they must be able to deal with everything this really fierce course can throw at them - from the Atlantic to the Pacific, through the Atacama Desert, the Andes mountains, through canyons, and across different climate zones.
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