Double WRC champion Carlos Sainz is to make a return to circuit racing after being named by Volkswagen as part of its line-up for this years Nurburgring 24 Hours.
The Spaniard will form part of the line-up in three new factory-developed VW Sciroccos for the race, with two-time Le Mans winner Hans-Joachim Stuck and Sainz's fellow Dakar competitor Giniel de Villiers also taking part in the race.
The event will see the new Scirocco making its race debut before its market launch with VW Motorsport director Kris Nissen confident that the new car will make an impression.
"With a fantastic drivers' squad and the racing debut of the Scirocco, which has attracted a lot of attention since its unveiling in Geneva, we're offering a real highlight to the crowd of some 200,000 spectators lining the circuit,” he said. "Last year, the successful running of the Golf GTI with class victory and eighth place overall made a strong impression. Now, the Scirocco's entry means that a legend, which made its mark in racing as early as in the seventies and eighties, returns to the race track.”
Sainz, who won the
FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup with VW in 2007, admitted he was looking forward to returning to circuit racing for the first time in over 20 years and said he would work hard to prepare for the event.
"My last circuit race dates back to the 1980s at the beginning of my career,” he said. "I've never driven a 24-hour race and am looking forward to it very much. I only know the Nurburgring from what others have told me about it and have heard that this race poses a very special challenge.
“I want to support the team as best I can, that's why I'm going to prepare myself thoroughly and will compete in a test race as well."
![The new Volkswagen Scirocco will debut in the Nurburgring 24 Hours [Pic credit: VW]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/429662.jpg)
