Transsyberia rally 2008 Porshe teams prepare

Stuttgart. Between Moscow and Ulaanbaatar they will compete against each other, but prior to the start of the 2008 Transsyberia Rally, they all pull together: In a joint intensive training from 20 to 22 May, the 19 teams - who place their trust in the Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia – undergo preparations for the famed long distance rally in July. Aside from extensive offroad driving practice, participants also learn how to handle the navigation system down pat. They also receive valuable tips from last year’s winner Rod Millen as well as from the double Dakar winner Andi Schulz.

The instruction course begins with general information on the rally.
Experienced competitors share their knowledge with Transsyberia rookies. In a technology seminar, Porsche engineers instruct the drivers and co-drivers. The pilots themselves are responsible for basic maintenance work. Only when major technical problems crop up or in the case of an accident does the technical team, which accompanies the participants along the entire route, step in to help. During the course, participants also practice using the sand ladder and winch as well as vehicle recovery.

During various driving sections, competitors learn how to cope with very difficult terrain conditions as well as how to control the vehicle on fast gravel passages. The training for co-drivers far exceeds the use of special navigation equipment. Professional co-driver Andi Schulz, navigator to Armin Schwarz who contests the rally for Porsche AG, gives competitors advice on the correct preparation for complex navigation tasks. Another crucial chapter includes learning to read the terrain. Only those who can interpret the countryside from a distance can show their drivers the best route and give ample warning of deep trenches, for example.

For many of the participants, the training in and around Leipzig is the first opportunity they have had to familiarise themselves with the modified Cayenne S Trannsyberia. Compared to its predecessor, the 2008-spec features an improved suspension set-up, an optimised sump guard protection and a more robust all-terrain tyre with considerably higher side walls. The 385 hp V8-petrol direct injection power unit taken from the standard Cayenne S remains unchanged. The torquey 4.8-litre engine proved to be totally reliable during the 2007 Transsyberia, even using fuel of inferior quality, like 91 Octane.

The Transsyberia Rally takes off on 11th July in Moscow and finishes after more than 7,000 kilometres on 25th July in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia.

© Source: germancarscene
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2007 Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia

(from Porsche Press Release) The Specialist for Long-Distance Rallies: the Cayenne S Transsyberia.

Porsche is adding yet another highlight to the Company's wide range of customer sports activities: the Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia based on the new Porsche Cayenne S and serving as the perfect vehicle especially for long-distance rallies.

This ultra-sporting offroader is making its debut in the Transsyberia Rally taking contestants from Moscow all the way though Siberia to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia from 2-17 August.

The Porsche Cayenne is well-known and admired for its outstanding onroad qualities in the SUV segment. Now the second generation, which is making its debut at Porsche Centers the world over at this very moment, moves up this benchmark to an even higher standard. The new power units with direct gasoline injection, for example, provide even more power and performance on less fuel, cutting fuel consumption by up to 15 per cent versus the for­mer models.

Another highlight is Porsche's new PDDC Dynamic Chassis Control featuring two active anti-­roll bars to almost completely eliminate body sway in bends.

Off the beaten track, the new Cayennes are naturally also on home ground, maximum axle articulation ensured by PDDC when driving offroad serving to further improve the already superior traction offered by the electronically controlled all-wheel drive.

Last year two private teams participated in the Transsyberia Rally for the first time with the Porsche Cayenne S, finishing first and second in their very first attempt. Attracted by the successful participation of these two cars, Porsche has obviously become aware of the event and, in response, now offers the dyed-in-the-wool Cayenne driver the option to enter motor­sport successfully with this outstanding model.

To ensure such superiority in motorsport, Porsche has enhanced the already very good off­road qualities of the Cayenne to an even higher standard, developing a special model sui­ted particularly for successful participation in long-distance rallies. Precisely this is why the new Cayenne S Transsyberia being built from the beginning in a small series of just 26 units comes, inter alia, with extra-rough special offroad tyres, a safety cage, a shorter final drive ratio, a transverse lock, a reinforced, even larger underfloor cover, as well as beefed-up track control arms on the front axle. At 385 bhp (283 kW), engine output of the eight-cylinder re­mains unchanged.

Now sporting, ambitious Porsche customers will be participating at the wheel of a Cayenne S Transsyberia in one of the last adventures in the world on four wheels – the Transsyberia Rally. From 2-17 August, they will be following the route of this very demanding orientation rally from Moscow all the way through Siberia to the finish line in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia. In all, they will be covering almost 6,200 kilometres or 3,850 miles on public roads, gravel tracks and the toughest trial paths, even crossing rivers and taking special tests in the Gobi Desert. And while navigation is perhaps the biggest challenge on the long stages of the Rally, it is particularly the driver's personal skill and, of course, the qualities of the car that count in the special trials on tracks closed to the public.

© Source: article on seriouswheels
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