Once again, there was a car launch in the run-up: Volkswagen’s luxury sedan, the Phaeton – the production version of the D1 project – was set to make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show just a few days later. There was just one change to the driver line-up, with rally driver Raimund Baumschlager replacing Naspetti at the wheel. The Austrian, whose own private team now runs a Polo GTI R5 on the rally scene, had already contested several 24-hour races for Volkswagen. To ensure there was another iron in the fire, they this time went in pursuit of new records with two cars. A back-up car used during tests, with the chassis from a Lamborghini Murciélago, was run by an Italian team with its own drivers. Perfect teamwork: the team once again took full advantage of the opportunity, staying out on the track for the full 5,000 miles. “After 24 hours, we simply carried on driving,” says Depping. In the end, the team bettered all of its own records – and added a further two (see table on page 24).