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2011 Dakar Rally Bosch diesel injection technology in the Volkswagen Race Touareg Exceptional efficiency and ruggedness

21st February 2011

Robert Bosch GmbH

ES Admin

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The long-distance rally classic is firing on all pistons: the Dakar Rally started in Buenos Aires on January 1, 2011. And Bosch high-pressure diesel injection technology is on board again this year. The Volkswagen Race Touareg, which won first, second, and third place in the rally last year, is equipped with Bosch injection technology. “Diesel engines are economical and high-torque,” says Dr. Gerhard Turner, president of the Bosch Diesel Systems division. “And diesel also offers the benefit of ruggedness, which is especially important in long-distance races.”

Bosch Motorsport provided the Race Touareg 3 with a specially designed MS16.1 engine control unit, as well as a high-pressure pump and injection nozzles that have both been adapted to the engine. Bosch engineers optimized the system so that the engine would run reliably under all the race's extreme climate conditions – be it in the sizzling Atacama Desert or high in the Andes, at altitudes of over 4,000 meters. A high dust content in the fuel is a particular challenge for the race vehicles. To limit the resulting increase in friction, Bosch specially coated the components that come into contact with the fuel. In addition to the injection system, Bosch also supplied a number of sensors for the powertrain in the Race Touareg 3, delivering the crankshaft sensor, the boost pressure sensor, and the sensors that measure the temperatures of the charge air, exhaust, and fuel.

The Dakar Rally has been one of the world's toughest long-distance races for over 30 years now. The 2011 course runs through Argentina and Chile, from January 1 to 16. Winners are decided in the car, truck, quad, and bike categories. Volkswagen diesel vehicles won the overall title in both of the past two years.