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
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