PoloDriver

Volkswagen Sasolracing Polo S2000 crew Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries took third place at the Polokwane Rally in Limpopo, South Africa on 19 October. The duo’s second consecutive top 3 placing following their success in the Western Cape, team-mates Enzo Kuun and Douglass Judd finished fifth, bolstering the Volkswagen Sasolracing outfit’s success rate. The third Polo S2000 of Henk Lategan and Barry White suffered steering damage after the pair struck a tree stump on the first stage of the penultimate event of the 2013 South African National Rally Championship season. Returning to the event on day two and posting good stage times wasn’t enough however, and the pair had to retire.

Kuun and Judd’s fifth place was hard-earned. Following the first stage, they were in 17th place due to a puncture. But, they clawed their way back up to eighth place at the end of day one, and by the end of the event were 24 seconds off fourth position. ‘It was a strong weekend out on the rally stages for the Volkswagen Sasolracing team,’ says Mike Rowe, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa. ‘Conditions were extremely demanding with many potential hazards. The team tackled the challenge head on and produced a good result.’ The Volkswagen Polo Sasolracing rally team contest the final round of the 2013 series, the Garden Route Rally, on Friday and Saturday 15 and 16 November.

Other Polo finishers included AC Potgieter and Tommy du Toit in the Volkswagen Motorsport-coloured Polo S1600 who placed 16th; Volkswagen Sasolracing’s Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin’s Polo Vivo S2000 which finished 19th; and Megan Verlaque and Mari van der Walt’s Polo Vivo S1600 which came home 20th. Sadly, Chad van Beurden and Nico Swartz’s Polo Vivo S1600 did not complete the event, with the same fate befalling Paul Franken and Henry Kohne’s Manitou-liveried Polo S1600 6R.

Two-time World Rally Champions Carlos Sainz and Luis Moya showed the prowess of the world-beating Polo R WRC at the weekend, when they and the car were taking part in the 2013 Rallylegend San Marino. The eleventh staging of the event, the Spaniards joined such illustrious names as Markku Alén, Didier Auriol, Miki Biasion, and Per Eklund to entertain 70,000 rally fans. As well as the championship-winning Polo R WRC (going by the registration plate, the same car that was on display at the recent IAA 2013 in Frankfurt), Volkswagen presented historical vehicles from its motorsport collection. Among those having an outing in the Italian-surrounded enclave microstate included the Mk 2 Group A WRC Golf, as well as a Golf G60. Other iconic vehicles at the event included an ex-Walter Röhrl Audi S1, and several Lancia Stratos, Delta Integrales and Group B 037s.

He didn’t have much to do. Volkswagen Motorsport driver Sébastien Ogier missed out on becoming the 2013 World Rally Champion* by one point at Rally Australia. So it was an easy task to score that important mark at the start of Rally France, but Ogier and his co-driver Julien Ingrassia went one better by snatching victory on the last day of the eleventh round of the 2013 WRC in Alsace. Made all the better by being the duo’s home event, Ogier was handed the baton of World Champion from outgoing champ Sébastien Loeb, the reigning master of WRC since 2004. In a bittersweet and disappointing curtain down on his WRC career, Loeb and his co-driver Daniel Elena crashed out during the final day of the event.

Volkswagen’s milestone victory in the FIA World Rally Championship (the first team to have won the drivers’ title in its maiden year) was sealed on the first stage of the event, the running of the Power Stage, in which bonus points are awarded to the fastest three cars. Finishing third, Ogier and Ingrassia could no longer be caught by second-placed Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul of Ford, so the celebrations began, before the first proper day of Rally France, and with two events of the 2013 season to go. With the drivers’ championship won, Ogier and Ingrassia were given free reign by Volkswagen to go out and win the rally, too.

The pair adopted a cautious approach on day one, ending the first 120.63km in fifth place. On day two, though, the pair upped the ante. The Frenchman won five of the seven special stages and were just 1.5 seconds rally leaders and team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila. Going into the final day, two teams from Volkswagen and two from Citroën – including the mighty Loeb and Elena – were separated by just five seconds. Ogier and Ingrassia didn’t put a tyre wrong during the final day, upping the pace yet again, and overtaking Latvala to finish first, with the Finn completing the event on the bottom step of the podium.

‘That is definitely the most amazing rally weekend of my career: first the World Championship title and now victory at my home rally – absolutely fantastic! What an extremely difficult final day. This morning was so incredibly slippery, but my gravel crew did a fantastic job. I obviously feel for Sébastien Loeb, but he was going all out to win, and that sort of thing can happen in such difficult conditions. It could have happened to anyone today. Today is the highlight of our season, and I am overjoyed. I would like to thank my guys. We have done a great job all season. I am very proud of what we have achieved,’ said an ecstatic Ogier.

‘Congratulations to Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia. They were the best this weekend and fully deserved both their win and the World Championship title. They have proven this season that they are outstanding in all conditions and on all surfaces. I am very happy with third place. We produced a flawless display and were consistently quick. That gives me a lot of confidence for the forthcoming rallies. We achieved our goal of scoring important points in the manufacturers’ championship. The 2013 title is now within touching distance for the team,’ commented Latvala.

The two podium finishes garnered Volkswagen Motorsport 40 points towards the Manufacturers’ Championship, meaning it can now wrap up the title at the next event, Rally Spain on 27 October. Regardless of its opponents’ performance. The German outfit now leads the standings by 80 points thanks to Ogier’s seventh 2013 win and Latvala’s stellar performance in Alsace. Latvala’s brief was simple; to secure as many manufacturers’ championship points as possible. he and Anttila did just that, and led going into the final day of the event, despite torrential overnight rain. There was good news for the third Polo R WRC crew, too, as Andreas Mikkelsen and Paul Nagle finished inside the top 10, in seventh place.

Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director was more than pleased with his team’s results: ‘The Rally France was a great success. On the one hand for rallying in general, and on the other hand for Volkswagen. It does not get any more exciting than the last four days. Ahead of the final day, any one of four drivers could have won. In the end, the new World Champions* – Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia – came out on top. Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila scored valuable points towards the manufacturers’ championship. Volkswagen now has every chance of winning this title too in Spain. This weekend we claimed the title in the Drivers’ and Co-Drivers’ Championships, won the rally, and took a big step forward. There will definitely be some celebrating this evening.’

2013 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP, FRANCE: FINAL RESULTS

1 Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), Volkswagen: 2h 53m 07.6s

2 Daniel Sordo/Carlos del Barrio (E/E), Citroën: +12.2s

3 Jari-Matti Latvala/Miika Anttila (FIN/FIN), Volkswagen: +19.5s

4 Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (B/B), Ford: +1m 14.1s

5 Evgeny Novikov/Ilka Minor (RUS/A), Ford: +3m 10.9s

2013 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP,

DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Sébastien Ogier, 238

2 Thierry Neuville, 143

3 Jari-Matti Latvala, 125
4 Dani Sordo, 117

5 Mikko Hirvonen, 111

2013 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP,

MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Volkswagen Motorsport, 339

2 Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT, 259

3 Qatar WRT, 157

4 Qatar M-Sport WRT, 156

5 Abu Dhabi Citroën Total WRT, 59

*Subject to confirmation by the FIA

We could see it coming, but dared not hope. But, exceeding all its own expectations, Volkswagen has won the 2013 World Rally Championship, with Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia taking the spoils during Rally France, currently taking place in Alsace. The result is to be confirmed by the FIA, but the French dynamic duo came third in the Power Stage (stage one of the French event), meaning they can’t be caught in the championship standings, therefore taking outright series victory. There are still two more rounds of the championship, to go, too, with Rally Spain and Rally Wales GB wins still to be fought for.

The victory marks two firsts – the first time Ogier and Ingrassia have taken the World Champions title, and the first time a manufacturer has taken the title in its debut season. Volkswagen Motorsport was, it says, aiming for podium finishes in its inaugural season, but with a car two years in development and gestation, and the non-competing of the current WRC champion Sébastien Loeb, it must have secretly wished for more than that. Cynics will look at Loeb’s part-time attendance in his final WRC season as one of the factors in VW’s win, but that would be to deny what the team and Ogier and Ingrassia have achieved.

Consistently fast, and taking six wins this season out of a possible 10, the Frenchmen have set 2013’s pace and have been the pair to beat. Ever since the Polo R WRC took to the stages of the Monte Carlo Rally in January, it has been a familiar sight at the top of the leaderboards, its white, yellow, red, and blue livery flashing through the world’s toughest rally stages. Development of the car started in 2011, with the final specification of the car unveiled in December 2012. With 315bhp, four-wheel drive, a six-speed sequential gearbox, and a devastating appetite for forest tracks, asphalt roads, and gravel and mud routes, the super-Polo has provided the perfect office in which for Ogier to work.

‘I am absolutely overjoyed! I could give everyone in the world a big hug. The feeling is impossible to describe. To have won the World Championship title in France is an absolute dream come true. For the past few days I have been trying not to think too much about it. The relief now is immense. As a little boy, I used to marvel at the cars and top drivers at the Rally Monte Carlo with my father in my home town of Gap – and now Julien and I are World Rally Champions. It is crazy. However, I am also well aware that this success would never have been possible without our fantastic team at Volkswagen. I have to thank everyone,’ said an ecstatic Ogier. And we thank you, Sébastien. We’ve enjoyed watching you, Julien and the Polo R WRC this year, and it’s a genuinely exciting time to be both a rally and VW fan.

It was always going to be exciting when Volkswagen announced it was to enter the World Rally Championship, back in 2011. The icing on the cake for us was the choice of car – the thought of seeing a Polo in top-flight motorsport really was something to look forward to. Fast forward to 2013, and the team of three 300bhp+, four-wheel drive Polo R WRCs are leading both the manufacturers’ and drivers’ championships. We dared not think that far ahead when the rallying Polo was revealed, but are genuinely excited by the prospect of Volkswagen driver Sébastien Ogier taking the 2013 crown.

If you are equally excited about motorsport and rallying in particular, you can share the excitement with Volkswagen at the ‘Rally the World’ Championship 2013. Head over to Volkswagen’s Rally the World website to take part in a fast-paced interactive game, and experience what it’s like to be a top-class rally driver. Rallying is one of the most thrilling motorsports in the world, and Volkswagen’s latest competition lets you experience the highs and lows as you learn to drift like a pro in the company’s latest sports-orientated models.

As the 2013 World Rally Championship heads to Rally France this week, there’s no better time to join the adventure and share the exhilaration with Volkswagen. You could even win a VIP trip as the guest of Volkswagen to Rally Monte Carlo in January 2014. So, enter the contest as a team through the Rally the World Facebook App, and do battle in the special stages. Who knows, you could be tasting the victory champagne!

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