PoloDriver

Heading to Rally Mexico (6-9 March) leading the 2014 World Rally Championship, Volkswagen Motorsport stayed on top with a one-two finish for Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala. The fourth Volkswagen one-two in WRC history, it all started on Thursday night with a 1km Super Special stage in the town of Guanajuato. The Volkswagen top two finished the fast and furious action around the UNESCO World Heritage site first and third, while the young Volkswagen pilot Andreas Mikkeslen came in fifth.

Rally Mexico is renowned for its tough, dusty and high-altitude conditions, and Ogier and Latvala faced a bigger challenge – being first and second on the stages due to their overall championship positions. After the opening Super Special stage, the second day delivered more flawless action from the Frenchman and the Finn, who opened up a substantial lead over the competition. The final day saw the pace controlled and the Volkswagen stars claimed a fourth one-two for the German outfit.

Sébastien Ogier was rightly ecstatic: ‘Mexico really is a fantastic country for us! I like the rally, and it seems to like me. Our entire team did a sensational job all weekend, and the Polo R WRC was once again super reliable and super quick in extreme conditions. I was hungry for this win after my mistake in Sweden! And although we will now have to act as street sweepers for the opposition at the next round in Portugal, the World Championship points are more important than anything else.’

With dust and loose gravel to contend with, the leading Polo R WRCs were effectively street sweepers, but mighty ones at that: Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia were 5:28.6 minutes ahead of the best-placed non-Volkswagen driver at the end of the event on Sunday. The French pair are now back in the lead at the top of the championship points table, nosing ahead of Latvala and his co-driver Miikka Anttila.

Latvala was reflective, but happy: ‘I am really very happy with second place. Having been first onto the route on day one, which meant we were quite a long way off the lead, we set our sights on a place on the podium. Rally Mexico was hard work and also very demanding on the cars. The Polo coped admirably with the stresses and strains of the high altitude and soaring temperatures, and our team also did a perfect job.’

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It wasn’t plain sailing for the young Norwegian, though. On Friday the pair suffered damaged suspension when they hit a rock exiting a corner on the ‘El Chocolate’ stage, forcing retirement from second position. Saturday meanwhile saw Polo R WRC #9 roll, when a mistake in the pace notes saw a corner cut and the car hit a hole in the road, flipping it over.

But, as ever, the super-competent Volkswagen Motorsport mechanics worked miracles, and the battered Polo was back as good as new for the final day’s action on Sunday. Repairing the rolled car took just under three hours, the time limit specified in the WRC regulations. As it was Mikkelsen and Markkula’s first time at Rally Mexico, they used the final day of the event to gather experience rather than championship points.

Mikkelsen acknowledged his errors. ‘A tough rally for us. Retiring twice is not exactly what we had in mind. I just made too many mistakes. Thanks to the great job done by my mechanics, I was still able to gain a few kilometres of experience at Rally Mexico on Sunday, which will allow us to push hard again next year. All in all, we learned an awful lot here – unfortunately we did it the hard way.’

The Polo R WRC proved faultless as usual, dealing unflappably with Rally Mexico’s difficult conditions. With the special stages taking teams from 1800 to 2800 metres above sea level, rally cars can suffer. The higher they go, the cooling efficiency of the engine decreases due to the lower air pressure and oxygen content in the air, but the Polo R WRC was prepared well with software intelligence, minimising performance losses.

Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director was more than happy with his team’s results. ‘A one-two in these difficult conditions and given the new regulations regarding the starting order is more than we had expected coming into Rally Mexico. I take my hat off to Sébastien Ogier, Jari-Matti Latvala and our engineers, who made this success possible. The performance of the two drivers was undoubtedly outstanding.

‘However, the one-two is also a team success. Whether the chassis department or the engine department, the Polo R WRC was perfectly prepared for the difficult conditions. The champagne tastes particularly good today, as success in Mexico is always a bit special. It is the first gravel event of the year, and virtually a home event for Volkswagen. After all, our models are part of the scenery here. Everything came together here in Mexico, and we are very proud of what we have achieved.’

2014 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP,
RALLY MEXICO: FINAL RESULTS

1 Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), Volkswagen: 4h 27m 41.8s
2 Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN), Volkswagen: + 1m 12.6s
3 Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (B/B), Hyundai: + 5m 28.6s
4 Elfyn Evans/Daniel Barritt (GB/GB), Ford: + 6m 49.3s
5 Martin Prokop/Jan Tománek (CZ/CZ): Ford + 9m 54.4s

2014 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP,

DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 Sébastien Ogier, 63
2 Jari-Matti Latvala, 60
3 Mads Østberg, 32
4 Andreas Mikkelsen, 24
5 Elfyn Evans, 20

2014 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP,
MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 Volkswagen Motorsport, 115
2 Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT, 60
3 M-Sport, 40
4 Hyundai Motorsport, 31
5 Volkswagen Motorsport II, 28

Mathew Hodges and Daniel Rowe emerged as winners of the opening rounds of the Engen Volkswagen Cup circuit racing series at the 2014 championship at Zwartkops Raceway, Pretoria on 1 March. As is often the case, the drivers delivered an exciting first pair of races, with a few surprises thrown in for good measure.

Dewald Brummer and Rowe set the early pace in qualifying in their Volkswagen Polo Vivo race cars, with Hodges coming in behind them. For 2014, Hodges is competing in the ‘Masters’ category for drivers over the age of 27, and he hasn’t slowed down. Starting on pole position, he won the first race and came fifth in race two. Hodges is third in the championship standings.

An on-track battle with Brummer saw Rowe defeated, finishing third, handing second place in race one to his foe. But, he soon emerged victorious, taking the chequered flag in a very wet race two, from a sixth place starting position on the grid. Brummer suffered bad luck – a fuel pump problem saw him fall down the order to finish 17th from a pole position start.

Zwartkops was a baptism of fire for 14 year-old Sheldon van der Linde (brother of 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup champion Kelvin van der Linde), who put in good qualifying performance, ending the second race in second place and even taking the lead during proceedings. Van der Linde didn’t escape unharmed, though, as a close battle with Shaun La Resérvée shattered the driver’s side window of the number 16 Polo Vivo.

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RACE RESULTS
Race 1
1 Mathew Hodges (M3: ITR Africa / 959 Panelbeaters / Dickron Motors)
2 Dewald Brummer (2: MAD Racing / GPM)
3 Daniel Rowe (11: Ferodo Racing)

Race 2
1 Daniel Rowe (11: Ferodo Racing)
2 Sheldon van der Linde (16: Ferodo Racing)
3 Jano van der Westhuizen (15: Kwikfix)

Overall
1 Daniel Rowe (11: Ferodo Racing)
2 Sheldon van der Linde (16: Ferodo Racing)
3 Jano van der Westhuizen (15: Kwikfix)

Masters
1 Mathew Hodges (M3: ITR Africa / 959 Panelbeaters / Dickron Motors)
2 Juan Gerber (M8: Carfind.co.za)
3 Trevor Bland (M6: PG Glass)

Following Marklund Motorsport’s announcement of the signing of Global Rallycross Championship winner Toomas ‘Topi’ Heikkinen, the Swedish outfit has teamed up with Volkswagen Motorsport to mount a factory-approved assault on the 2014 FIA Global Rallycross Championship.

The start of a three-year partnership, Heikkinen and current Marklund Motorsport driver Anton Marklund will drive newly-developed Polo RX Supercars. The series kicks off in Montalegre, Portugal on 3 May.

‘Rallycross is attracting ever-increasing levels of attention in Europe and overseas and is one of the fastest growing motorsport disciplines,’ said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito.

‘The races are short and sweet, the cars are spectacular and look like factory models. Marklund Motorsport ranks among the most ambitious independent teams and has single-handedly developed the Polo RX Supercar for the 2014 FIA RallyCross World Championship.

‘Jan Marklund’s professional approach was our condition before embarking on this collaboration, in which Volkswagen Motorsport provides the team experience and expertise from rally sport,’ he continued.

Jan Marklund, Marklund Motorsport team owner, added: ‘Volkswagen’s pedigree in motorsport is there for everyone to see, there is no better manufacturer for us to be partnered with than the current WRC champions.

‘Volkswagen is looking to make an immediate global impact in the world of rallycross and I’m happy that Marklund Motorsport is their chosen partner for the FIA World Rallycross Championship.

‘We will now continue the hard work we have put in so far this pre-season and with the support of Volkswagen we are very much looking forward to delivering results from the first race of the new season.’

The Polo has proved its motorsport pedigree, winning the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship and with this announcement, its race-winning credentials cannot be denied.

It looks to be another exciting year for the Polo in motorsport, and we look forward to bringing all the Polo action from motorsport events around the world.

Fresh from its debut season running Volkswagen Polo Supercars, rallycross team Marklund Motorsport has announced that Global Rallycross and double X Games champion Toomas ‘Topi’ Heikkinen has signed with the Swedish outfit.

For 2014, the FIA European Rallycross Championship has become a global series, and Heikkinen will join Anton Marklund in a 500+bhp rallycross-prepared Polo.

The 22 year-old Finn will lead Marklund’s charge for the upcoming season and he and Marklund will debut new for 2014 Volkswagen Polo RX Supercars which are currently being built in the team’s workshops.

Heikkinen helped test and develop the car last season. After investment, team manager Jan Marklund believes Heikkinen will allow Marklund Motorsport to enter the new world championship as immediate title contenders.

‘Signing Topi shows the sort of progress that Marklund Motorsport is making going into the new season. His results speak for themselves and we are incredibly happy to have a champion leading our driver lineup,’ Marklund commented.

‘It’s a very exciting period in our project and shows the hard work and planning that we have put in is really paying off.’

Heikkinen agreed. ‘After a successful year winning the 2013 Global Rallycross Championship, my goal now is to win the new FIA World Rallycross Championship with Marklund Motorsport, and nothing less.

‘I’m confident that together we can develop a winning car and team. I want to thank Jan Marklund for this great opportunity to join Marklund Motorsport. I’m pumped for the season ahead.’

Existing Polo driver Anton Marklund battled against Topi in last year’s GRC and at each Global X Games and is fully aware of the talent and fighting spirit his new teammate possesses.

‘Topi is a great driver and a real competitor – I’m looking forward to working with him and seeing what this season brings.

‘We have been working extremely hard over the last 12 months and securing a driver as talented as Topi is testament to the incredible development the team has made. We want to win and be the best team in Rallycross,’ he said.

Marklund Motorsport has recently announced that it is helping develop Polo RX Supercars for the new Andretti Autosports team until its pair of Volkswagen Beetle Supercars are ready later in the season.

With just a month until the South African National Rally Championship gets underway, Volkswagen Sasolracing is looking forward to the challenges 2014 may bring.

The first event is in KwaZulu-Natal and there will be three Polo S2000s fielded by the German carmaker, who last week announced a new driver line-up.

Henk Lategan will pair with Pierre Arries for 2014, and will drive a Polo S2000, building on his first year in the series during 2013. Lategan’s previous co-driver, Barry White, takes on a non-competitive role for Volkswagen Sasolracing in 2014.

Joining Lategan are longstanding pairing Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin. Moving up to the premier S2000 class, they trade in their Polo Vivo S2000 Challenge car for a full-fat fifth-generation-based Polo rally car.

The final combination of drivers, Hans Weijs Jnr and Björn Degandt, saw Volkswagen Sasolracing action during 2012. Now they join the team for the duration of 2014, and will travel to South Africa for each round of the championship.

Previous Polo S2000 drivers Hergen Fekken, Enzo Kuun and Douglass Judd departed the Volkswagen Sasolracing team at the end of 2013.

‘For the Volkswagen Sasolracing team the competitor line-up this season has been carefully selected to create a strong and balanced challenge for the national championship,’ said Mike Rowe, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport.

‘We have made a careful selection of talent and experience to create a team that is young, energetic and holds significant promise for the future.

‘Hans’ and Björn’s presence during the 2012 season gained the local rally championship a lot of attention from Europe. Returning to the field should provide another boost for our local profile and they will add diversity and interest.’

Rowe continued: ‘I can confirm at this stage is the inclusion of a number of exciting, young privateer teams who will be competing on the national stage in Volkswagen Polo rally cars.’

The newcomers will be led by Thilo Himmel and Armand du Toit who will tackle the S2000 Challenge category.

In the S1600 class Paulus Franken, Marco Himmel, Chad van Beurden and AC Potgieter, along with each of their navigators will keep this category highly competitive.