PoloDriver

Former WRC winner and Belgian rally driver François Duval will drive a Polo RX Supercar at this year’s World RX of Belgium. Confirmed last week, Duval will pilot another Polo prepared by Marklund Motorsport, who currently run cars for Anton Marklund and Toomas ‘Topi’ Heikinnen in the 2014 FIA World Rallycross Championship.

Duval will compete in the World RX of Belgium on 12-13 July alongside Marklund and Heikinnen, with support from the Belgian VW Club and Gordon and Ramaekers. The Belgian driver has previous form, winning the country’s round of the European Rallycross Championship in 2010. The third 560bhp Marlund Motorsport-prepared Polo RX will wear Duval’s number 30 (rendering of possible livery pictured above).

‘I am delighted to confirm my involvement with the Swedish Marklund Motorsport team for Belgium,’ said 33-year-old Duval. ‘I’ve worked on this project with my partners for some time and I’m happy that the Belgian VW Club have now given me the extra boost needed to allow this deal to happen.’

Atte Varsta, Head of Marketing & Communications for Marklund Motorsport, added: ‘We are delighted about this opportunity to offer a Volkswagen Polo RX Supercar to François Duval for the Belgian round. Belgium is a country full of motor enthusiasts and they must be happy to see him drive on home soil. François’ wealth of experience in both rallying and rallycross will help him succeed at Mettet.’

[Image: Belgian VW Club / autosport.be]

At the first round of the 2014 FIA World Rallycross Championship in Portugal, Toomas ‘Topi’ Heikinnen and Anton Marklund drove their Polo RX Supercars into the final, taking fourth and fifth places respectively. The Marklund Motorsport drivers are third and sixth in the overall drivers’ standings after the season’s opener at the Pista Internacional de Montalegre in Montalegre. Marklund Motorsport is second in the manufacturer points table. Former World Rally Championship ace Petter Solberg took overall victory in the Supercar class.

After the first and second heats, Team Peugeot-Hansen driver Timur Timerzyanov lead the pack in his Peugeot 208. Heikinnen finished fourth in heat one, while the no 92 Polo of Marklund was in eighth place. Solberg finished second. Heat two saw Heikinnen’s no 57 Polo in third and Marklund fifth.

In the third of the four heats, Heikinnen finished two rankings ahead of sixth-placed Marklund. In the final heat, Marklund reversed the order staying in sixth, once place higher than Heikinnen. The first semi-final saw Marklund third out of six drivers. Heikinnen meanwhile, finished second in the second sem-final, meaning both young 560bhp Polo drivers lined up on the grid for the final six laps of the 0.945-metre track.

The next round is the World Rallycross of Great Britain, at Lydden Hill Race Circuit, Kent, UK on Saturday and Sunday 24-25 May.

2014 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,
PORTUGAL: FINAL RESULTS
1 Petter Solberg, PS 100% AB, Citroën DS3: 4m 02.081s
2 Andreas Bakkerud, Olsbergs MSE AB, Ford Fiesta ST: +0:02.358s
3 Renis Nitiss, Olsbergs MSE AB, Ford Fiesta ST: +0:03.048s
4 Toomas Heikinnen, Marklund Motorsport, Volkswagen Polo: +0:05.025s
5 Anton Marklund, Marklund Motorsport, Volkswagen Polo: +0:05.901s
6 Koen Pauwels, Koen Pauwels, Ford Focus: +0:10.790s

2014 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Petter Solberg, 29
2 Renis Nitiss, 24
3 Toomas Heikinnen, 21
4 Andreas Bakkerud, 20
5 Timur Timerzyanov, 19
6 Anton Marklund, 18

[Images: www.rallycrossrx.com, Tom Banks Photography]

As well as seeing action in the World Rally Championship, the Polo is to star in another high-profile FIA-sanctioned series, the World Rallycross Champinship presented by Monster Energy which kicks off on 3-4 May at Montalegre in Portugal.

More than 50 of the world’s best rallycross drivers will battle it out at the Portugese track, in Supercar, Super1600 and TouringCar classes.

Volkswagen Motorsport has teamed up with rallycross team Marklund Motorsport to run a two-car Polo RX squad with drivers Anton Marklund and Toomas ‘Topi’ Heikinnen. The Swedish outfit are well-known in rallycross circles and Anton Marklund ran a Polo RX during the 2013 season.

The 2014 Volkswagen Polo RX Supercar developed together with Volkswagen Motorsport generates an almost unbelievable 560bhp across all four wheels and can accelerate from 0 to 62mph (100km/h) in 2.1 seconds!
 
‘I can’t wait for the season to finally start,’ said Topi Heikkinen, adding: ‘We’re aiming for the championship title – but it’s going to be a tough fight, because seasoned professionals and fast up-and-coming drivers take part in the rallycross championship.’
 
Anton Marklund is chomping at the bit too: ‘I’m really looking forward to the start of the season in Portugal. I can no doubt learn a lot from my teammate Topi. And I couldn’t ask for any better support from the team. I’m feeling good about the new season.’

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In the first of nine rounds, Alexey Ignatov and Alina Kondratieff (RUS/RUS) emerged victorious at the recent opening stages of the Volkswagen Polo Cup Russia. The 165bhp Volkswagen Polo which conforms to the technical specifications of the RC5 rally class, led the fourth ‘Rally Masters Show’ in Moscow rankings early. The Russian duo led to the end of the rally, climbing onto the podium after 39 kilometres of six special stages.

Vadim Lelyukh and Alexander Danilov (RUS/RUS) finished second. The final step on the podium was awarded to a duo from Germany. Starting as a guest driver, Helmar Hinneberg (D), experienced rally co-driver and member of the Volkswagen Motorsport Meteo crew in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), navigated the German journalist Reiner Kuhn into third place.

Round two of the 2014 South African National Rally Championship, the Sasol Rally, took place in Nelspruit on 11-12 April, and Volkswagen Sasolracing’s Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin finished the gruelling event in fourth place.

Having a fearsome and tough reputation, the 2014 Sasol Rally certainly lived up to its name. Zulu and Peskin’s Polo S2000 was a victim of multiple punctures – two within the first 10km on day one’s action – but the duo ended the first half of the event in fourth place, a position they would keep up to the finish.

‘The Sasol Rally didn’t smile on us this year,’ said Zulu. ‘We recovered to fourth overnight and I did think we were in with a chance for a podium. It didn’t work out as this event is very unpredictable, but it felt good bringing home the first Volkswagen Sasolracing Polo S2000 at the Sasol Rally.’

Zulu and Peskin’s team-mates Henk Latagen and Barry White were only two places further down the field after the two days and 14 stages were over. ‘This is one of the toughest events I’ve ever done,’ remarked Lategan. ‘Sometimes things were perfect, but three punctures and other issues took their toll. But, we worked hard to make it to the finish, winning stage 11 in the process.’

Meanwhile, Hans Weijs Jnr and Bjorn Degandt finished the event under Super Rally rules on Saturday, claiming three stage victories in the process. Stages 10, 12 and 13 fell to their determined attack at an event the pair regard as a favourite amongst South African rallies.

The rally’s location in Mpumalanga, in the Nelspruit, White River and Sabie areas means a combination of gravel and tar stages. ‘I like these stages a lot,’ said Weijs. ‘Our times were good and it proves we are going in the right direction. I like this event, especially with the conditions. It is a big challenge and a nice event.’

Mike Rowe, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport was happy with his team’s result: ‘All of the Volkswagen Sasolracing Polo S2000s were there at the finish, racking up four stage victories in the process. We knew, and were expecting, extremely tough conditions at the Sasol Rally, it is one of the events where experience counts – and I believe that shows, we brought all of our cars home where not every team can claim that achievement.’

Other Sasol Rally Polo finishers included Thilo Himmel and Armand du Toit in their S2000 Challenge car (fifth overall and winner of the class), and Chad van Beurden and Nico Swartz in their S1600. Paulus Franken and Henry Kohne brought the Manitou Polo S1600 home 26th.

AC Potgieter and Tommy du Toit finished 28th in the number 72 Polo S1600, while the Polo S1600 of JemSport’s Marko Himmel and Francois Schoonbee was unable to complete the event.

The next round of the 2014 South African National Rally Championship is the PMC Rally, which takes place on 23-24 May in Gauteng.