News.

Dubai/Wolfsburg, 31 May 2010 - Volkswagen Motorsport driver, Nasser Al Attiyah, raced to first place in a one-two-three class victory for alternative power cars at the Nürburgring 24-hour race in Germany. The three Bio Natural Gas powered Scirocco GT24-CNGs retained Volkswagen’s untarnished three year alternative power non-retirement record, completing the race with total reliability in front of 220,000 spectators on 16 May.

In what is fast becoming a Volkswagen Motorsport tradition, it is the second one-two in class Volkswagen Victory for alternative power cars since 2009. It is also the second time this year that Qatari sensation, Nasser Al Attiyah, has contributed to a Volkswagen hat-trick, after coming second in a one–two–three Volkswagen Race Touareg victory in January’s Dakar rally.

Volkswagen Motorsport achieved an excellent 16th overall in the round-the-clock race.

“The 24-hour race was a completely new challenge for me and I’m happy to have been a part of this fantastic team. The result is also perfect. It was a little too cold for me – but it was quite simply a fantastic experience,” said Nasser Al Attiyah.

Thanks to its class victory with the powerful 330 hp Scirocco GT24-CNG with its green heart, Volkswagen also celebrated winning the FIA Alternative Energy Cup, which was awarded for the first time after the motorsport marathon in the Eifel.

For the first time in 2010 in the ‘green hell’, the Wolfsburg based automobile brand used combustion engines powered by Bio Natural Gas, which allow up to an 80 per cent overall reduction of CO2 emissions. Bio Natural Gas is extracted from biomass as well as regenerative raw materials and is climate neutral in its manufacture.

Volkswagen relies on production-based technology for many of the vehicle components used during the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife.

Among other components, the popular six-speed double clutch gearbox DSG as well as the unchanged electro-mechanical steering, which perform their duties day for day in the many street cars produced by the Volkswagen Group. The three teams could rely on the excellent reliability of their Volkswagen down to the last metre in the world’s toughest circuit race.

It was not only the reliability of the Volkswagen Scirocco GT24-CNG that was a benefit – also its speed. The sports coupé powered by a two-litre turbo engine also completed the fastest race lap for a front-wheel drive car with a time of 9m 04.710s.