AUBURN HILLS, Mich., May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Volkswagen of America, Inc. announced today that Red Bull North America, Inc. will be partnering with Volkswagen as it competes for the first time in the 2007 SCORE Baja 500, in the new International Truck class. Volkswagen, together with Red Bull, will run two Race Touareg 2 vehicles in this year's Baja 500 -- Race Touareg #81i driven by Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford, and Race Touareg #83i driven by Giniel de Villiers and Dirk Von Zitzewitz.
Red Bull is no stranger to Volkswagen Motorsport; partnering with Volkswagen for the 2007 SCORE Baja 500 is the latest extension of a long relationship between the two brands. In years past, Red Bull has been a key partner for Volkswagen at all four Dakar Rallies that the Race Touareg competed in. Red Bull also partnered with Volkswagen in last year's Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, as three Touareg V10 TDI's made their first race to the clouds. Outside of motorsports, Red Bull partnered with Volkswagen in the successful prize-winning effort to build an autonomous robotic vehicle ('04 Touareg Stanley) in the 2005 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Grand Challenge, and will once again be partnering with Volkswagen in this year's DARPA Urban Challenge.
"Volkswagen and Red Bull have already enjoyed great success together in cross country rallies in many parts of the world. The unique opportunity to bring the diesel powered Race Touareg 2 to Baja is a great new development in our partnership," said Clark Campbell, Volkswagen of America Motorsport Manager.
"I am excited about this partnership," said Miller, a two-time Baja 500 winner. "Both Red Bull and Volkswagen have a passion for motorsports, and to be able to compete in the SCORE Baja 500 on this team is exciting."
Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world's largest producers of passenger cars and Europe's largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Rabbit, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, GTI, Jetta, GLI, Passat, Passat wagon, Eos, and Touareg through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. Visit Volkswagen of America online at http://www.vw.com.
Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070524/CLTH091
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN9
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com