The 2010 Dakar Rally is set to start in Argentina on January 1. Defending champions Volkswagen are running five driver and car teams this time. The Race Touareg cars were crated-up in the Netherlands and freighted to Argentina to get ready for the start.

 

2009 rally winner Giniel de Villiers of South Africa will team-up with Dirk von Zitzewitz of Germany.

Former world rally champion Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz of Spain are chasing the rally win, as are Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah and Denmark's Timo Gottschalk.

Mark Miller of USA and Ralph Pitchford of South Africa will drive the fourth car, and Mauricio Neves and Clecio Maestrelli, both of Brazil.

Volkswagen has been testing the cars for most of this year with a variety of rallies on dry and wet terrain. All will be driven on the 9 thousand km rally across tough terrain in Argentina and Chile.

The rally will see about 150 motorbikes, 150 cars and 80 trucks and quad-bikes racing in a circle from Buenos Aires on the east coast, to Antofagasta on the west coast, and back again over more than two weeks.