aBr November 2014 | Page 44

w hat ’ s the B uzz ? Team Zietlow sets third world record in Volkswagen Touareg When long distance driving record holder Rainer Zietlow left the northernmost point in Europe, Nordkapp in Norway on 21 September on route to the southernmost point in Africa, Cape Agulhas, he set a target of covering 17 000 km through 18 countries in under 10 days in the robust VW Touareg. Unfortunately, the world record drive attempt was interrupted on 27 September in Iringa, Tanzania after a head-on collision with a local car. Despite a two week delay, the VW Touareg reached its final destination at Cape Agulhas on 11 October. Luckily, Zietlow and his crew of Marius Biela and Mathias Prillwitz were not injured in the accident. “Nobody was injured but when we looked at the car, our first thought was that this was the end of our record attempt. Once it was established that the drivetrain was not damaged and that the Touareg could be repaired with Volkswagen genuine parts in Tanzania, a decision was taken to continue the journey to Cape Agulhas in a revised record time,” he recalls. Zietlow, who also hold the records for the fastest time in a car for the Panamericana Challenge, as well as the world record drive from Melbourne, Australia to St Petersburg in Russia, now also holds the world record drive for covering the northernmost point in Europe to the southernmost point in Africa. Despite the accident in Tanzania, Team Zietlow’s record of 21 days 16 hours and 36 seconds bettered the 1984 record achieved in 28 days. When one discounts the accident repair time, the team completed the nearly 17 000 km distance in only 8 days 10 hours and 26 minutes. Zietlow’s latest world record and his misfortune in Tanzania have proven the robustness of the VW Touareg in overcoming tough challenges in the harsh African terrain. Zietlow’s team relies on the support from its sponsors to achieve its impressive global feats. In order to ensure the highest standards of braking and visibility during this marathon run, global powertrain and vehicle safety technology leader Federal-Mogul equipped the VW Touareg V6 TDI with its range of Ferodo brake pads and Champion wiper blades. For more information on the Cape-to-Cape challenge visit www.touareg-capetocape.com LogiMat® - your ideal storage and picking solution for small parts Working according to the convenient principle of “goods to man”, this automated storage and order picking solution can efficiently reduces the proportion of travel time by more than 70% and increases the commissioning speed by 6 to 10 times. LogiMat® provides efficient space utilisation that helps reduce energy and storage costs, thanks to its extremely compact design. Contact us today for more information. P: +27/11/707 2600 · [email protected] · www.ssi-schaefer.co.za