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Dirk von Zitzewitz (born 14 October 1968, inEutin) is a German professional racing driver and motorcyclist, most notable for being on the winning team of the2009 Dakar Rally alongsideGiniel de Villiers.
Von Zitzewitz started his career age 14, and after considerable success in domestic and worldenduro competition he began to participate in theDakar Rally, making his debut in1997. He finished fifth overall aboard atKTM, and was classified seventh thefollowing year. Von Zitzewitz then took his maiden stage victories in the1999 event, although he failed to finish the rally.
Von Zitzewitz turned his hand to navigation, partnering AmericanMark Miller during the Dakar in2002. In2005, he joined the worksVolkswagen team as co-driver toRobby Gordon, finishing in twelfth, and re-joined Miller in2006 to finish fifth in the overall classification.
Von Zitzewitz took his first Dakar stage wins as co-driver toGiniel de Villiers in2007, but turbo failure meant the pair would only finish eleventh overall.[1] When the event resumed in South America in2009, von Zitzewitz and de Villiers won four stages en route to an overall victory, albeit aided by retirement for long-time leader and Volkswagen teammateCarlos Sainz. The pair were unable to defend their title in2010 due to a severe engine problem during the third stage of the rally,[2] but then finished in a strong runner-up place toNasser Al-Attiyah, also at the wheel of a works Volkswagen, in the2011 event.
With Volkswagen withdrawing their participation in2012, von Zitzewitz and de Villiers joined the South African Imperial Toyota team and finished in third place driving aToyota Hilux. They repeated their success with overall second place in2013, fourth in2014, and posted second place again in the2015 Dakar Rally.