Volkswagen boost for sport of eventing

German car manufacturer, Volkswagen, has begun a new relationship with the sport of eventing. It is the official vehicle sponsor at the FEI Blenheim Petplan European Eventing Championships (8-11 September) and is sponsoring two cross-county fences as part of its support.

The company is also providing Olympic gold medallist Leslie Law and his team mates Jeanette Brakewell, William Fox-Pitt, Pippa Funnell and Mary King, who brought home the team silver medal from Athens last year, with luxury Touareg 4×4 vehicles to drive for the 2005 season.

“Having the Touareg to drive has been a real boost,” said Leslie Law. “Eventers tend to drive an awful lot of miles, both at home and abroad, during the season but the Touareg is so comfortable and powerful to drive that it makes the journeys seem far shorter.”

The Touareg will also be in action at the FEI Blenheim Petplan European Eventing Championships, with 14 of the vehicles in action housing the dressage judges, driving officials around the cross-country and ferrying the top riders to press conferences.

“We are delighted to welcome such a prestigious company as Volkswagen to Blenheim in our special European Championship year,” said event director Mike Etherington-Smith. “The Touaregs will be crucial for enabling officials to move around the event site and their smart presence will only serve to enhance the weekend.”

The Touareg features permanent four-wheel drive, low and high gear ratios, electronic traction control, hill start and descent assist and short front and rear overhangs to make it easy to handle when off the beaten track. Equally at home on the road, the Touareg benefits from a host of electronic driver aids, such as ABS, brake assist and Electronic Stabilisation Programme.

“Volkswagen is delighted to support British Eventing,” said Alan Doyle, Volkswagen’s general manager of luxury cars. “The Touareg is designed to deliver class-leading performance both on and off the road so I am confident that driving this model will have a positive impact on the eventers’ performances in competition and hopefully see them win the European Championships.”