Volkswagen has confirmed its line-up for the 2008 running of the Dakar Rally, with former WRC champion Carlos Sainz once again leading the team into the famous event in January.
Sainz, who won five stages during the 2007 event en route to ninth place, will once again be partnered by Giniel de Villiers and Mark Miller, while German driver Dieter Depping rejoins VW for the first time since 2003 to complete the 'works' line-up.
As was the case last season, Portuguese ace Carlos Sousa will compete in a fifth Race Touareg run by the Lagos customer team.
"Dieter Depping and [co-driver] Timo Gottschalk fit perfectly in the team," motorsport director Kris Nissen said of the final driver confirmed in the line-up. "Dieter has spooled off an enormous amount of test kilometres in the last few months with the Race Touareg, and the teamwork between with Timo works exceptionally well. The pair harmonised perfectly with one another in the Race-Truck during the 'Dakar' in 2007.
"The signing of this German duo has enabled us to finalise the Volkswagen squad ahead of schedule. I think we have an excellent base with our strong driver/co-driver combinations for the next Dakar."
