Dakar Blog Day 1: Allow me, my name is Amarok!

U nd the participants of the Dakar rally come slowly to the proper operating temperature. During the acceptance test, people and materials were checked for three days. Now it can finally get going for the 430 starters (188 motorcycles, 39 quads, 146 car crews and 68 truck crews) as well as for the accompanying group of around 2,500 men and a few women.

The beginning of a friendship between Man and machine

auto motor und sport will also be back in the Dakar rally - live and in color. Photographer Bodo Kräling and sports editor Claus Mühlberger report daily in the exclusive Dakar blog about the big and small stories from the bivouac.

A silver-colored Volkswagen Amarok Pickup with the starting number 906 ensures mobility during a rally of more than 9,000 kilometers through Argentina and Chile. Even after the first few kilometers in the chaotic city traffic of Buenos Aires, the driver and co-driver are certain: This is the beginning of a nice friendship between man and machine.

The double-charged two-liter TDI and also the six-speed The transmission and the body correspond to the series. In the interior of the double cabin, however, there is a pure rally feeling: an elaborate roll cage offers perfect protection in the event of an accident. And so that the crew sits correctly even when cornering quickly, the series furniture has been replaced with tight-fitting racing seats. It goes without saying that the crew is securely lashed into the racing seats with six-point belts.

Hardly any terrain can stop the Amarok

When the Amorok study debuted at the 2008 Commercial Vehicle Show, he still listened to the beautiful term 'robust'. This name says it all for our number 906 and its ten identical brothers from the press companion. Because the Amarok is a thoroughly honest off-road vehicle - with an indestructible ladder frame, with a rigid rear axle and switchable all-wheel drive including off-road reduction. There are only a few obstacles in the area that stop such an Amarok.

Volkswagen Argentina demonstrated what an Amarok can do in the 'Dakar Village' (to be seen in the photo show). For three days, the interested audience was carrioled over an obstacle course by off-road vehicle specialists. The highlight of the demonstration drive: the balancing act on onefour meter high seesaw and a drive across a slope, with a 45 degree list. 'It only becomes critical for it to tip over at 50 degrees,' assures José, one of the drivers.

The Amarok makes it easy for its drivers to like it. This is particularly true for the double press cabins that have been pushed out. Because the chassis has also been upgraded by Seikel-Motorsport, for more ground clearance and more agile handling in the field. Both in terms of the suspension and in terms of air conditioning. The Presse-Amarok have very efficient air conditioning - just like the Race Toureg by Carlos Sainz, Nasser Al-Attiyah, Giniel de Villiers and Mark Miller.