PoloDriver

South African Engen Volkswagen Cup driver Jeffrey Kruger took victory at the second round of the Volkswagen Polo R-Cup India 2013 on 11 August. During the first race of the double-header, the championship leader and guest driver couldn’t get past pole-sitter Prasanth Tharani and had to settle for second place. Rahil Nooranj completed the podium positions. Nooranj then crossed the line first in the second race, but was awarded a 20-second time penalty for a jump start. This meant Kruger was handed his second win of the season, finishing ahead of Tharani and Yatin Magu. ‘I’ve made the podium in every Volkswagen Polo R-Cup India race so far. That’s given me the motivation to win even more races,’ said Kruger.

The races at Coimbatore also saw the debut of the support championship the Volkswagen Vento Cup. With a field of eight cars, the 10-lap race marked, as far as we know, the first time the Polo’s booted sister has taken to the race track. Details on the cars themselves are scant, but they may be the same as the Tiger Sports 180bhp 900kg racing Vento unveiled last month. Volkswagen India Motorsport runs the five-round Volkswagen Polo R-Cup India 2013 series in conjunction with JK Tyres. The field of young, largely Indian racers drive identical and centrally prepared 1.4-litre TSI-engined, 178bhp Polo R-Cup cars. Round 3 of the championship is due to take place on 27-29 September at Greater Noida.

It is with sadness that PoloDriver.com reports that Team GC Diesel is withdrawing from rallying with immediate effect. The outfit has competed in the South African National Rally Championship, and the team’s last event was the Volkswagen Rally, held in the Eastern Cape on 3-4 August. PoloDriver was following the fortunes of the team closely, not least because because the matt black Polo was wearing its PoloDriver.com stickers with pride, spreading the word through the South African rallying fraternity.

Team GC Diesel states that the decision was not an easy one to make, but in essence boils down to business commitments. Driver Morne Janse vans Rensburg with his simplistic website design ideas recently received a wonderful opportunity to expand his business which could lead Mo’s Bosch Diesel Service Centre into a world class leader in the diesel and auto electrical field, while still based in the the Eastern Cape. Vans Rensburg recently took his Polo S2000 to an eighth place finish and second in the class on the recent Volkswagen Rally.

‘This was hard for me to make a decision at this time of my sporting career, but ultimately I have to look at my business career first to be able to enjoy my sport. There are many people who I would like to thank in getting me this far and high up in my sport. Fortunately, there were many who believed in me from a young age and invested a lot of resources. I would like to thank my recent investors, my biggest believers (my family), Christo from GC Diesel, Mike Rowe and Andre van der Watt from Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa. Also a big thank you to my team for their efforts and to Rikus Fourie my co-driver, who stayed onboard from the lower 1400 and 1600 classes to S2000,’ said van Rensburg.

He concluded that the announcement does not exclude further future endeavours in rallying, but that the short term goal now is to kick start his business ‘into a higher gear’. Further acknowledgements went to GC Diesel Pumps, Mo’s Bosch Diesel Service Centre (prepares and maintains the rally car on events), SASOL (fuels and lubricants), Capri Spares (a reputable local after market parts supplier and supporter of Eastern Cape motorsport), and also PoloDriver.com (thanks to Richard for his valuable support to all things VW Polo). A sad time, but we hope to see Morne and Rikus back on stages in the future.

Tasmin Pepper became the first female winner of the Engen Volkswagen Cup on 4 August, when she stormed the field at the Phaksia Freeway, South Africa. The 23 year-old delivered a winning drive in her Polo Vivo from fourth place on the grid. She took race one’s chequered flag ahead of Kosie Weyers and Mathew Hodges. In the second race, Dewald Brummer emerged victorious, with Durban-based Shaun la Reservee coming in second. Luck was out for Pepper, though – a gearbox problem meant she finished fourth. The next round of the championship is in Zwartkops, Pretoria on 31 August.

The 2013 Engen Volkswagen Cup series is similar to the other racing Volkswagen Polo Cup single-make racing series championships run in China, Europe and India. Just as in those official Volkswagen series, the South African one-make format highlights new driving talent. In the Engen series, as many as 35 drivers regularly race in technically identical, 2.0-litre 234bhp Volkswagen Polo Vivo racing cars. For 2013, the Engen Volkswagen Cup cars are powered by the new Engen Primax fuel.

RACE RESULTS
Race 1
1 Tasmin Pepper (31: PG Glass)
2 Kosie Weyers (5: Engen Primax)
3 Mathew Hodges (12: ITR)

Race 2
1 Dewald Brummer (22: UMP/Horne Hydraulics/MAD Racing)
2 Shaun la Reservee (15: Alpine Motors)

Despite a faltering start, Volkswagen Motorsport and Sébastien Ogier won Rally Finland, which took place from 2-4 August. It was Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia’s fifth win of the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship, and the first time the French pair have emerged victorious at the Finnish event. They have extended their lead at the top of the drivers’ championship leaderboard by 90 points. Luck wasn’t quite so forthcoming for Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila on their home event, as their Polo R WRC suffered suspension damage on the first day. Starting day two running to Rally 2 regulations due to their retirement the day before, the pairing finished the event in 17th place. Their team-mates Andreas Mikkelsen and Mikko Markkula finished tenth. The win in Jyväskylä was the sixth triumph for a Polo R WRC in eight rallies.

Qualifying started well, with Ogier and Ingrassia posting the second fastest times. The 324km-long Rally Finland opened with a three-way battle between Ogier and Ingrassia, and Ford drivers Thierry Neuville and Mads Østberg. The Frenchmen were 5.2 seconds behind Neuville, while Mikkelsen and Markkula were six places behind their team-mates. Latvala and Anttila unfortunately hit a rock at the side of the road, damaging the rear left suspension of their 315bhp Polo R WRC. Managing to limp through two stages, they had to call it day. The Volkswagen Motorsport service team worked though the night however, so the Finnish duo restarted the forest event on Friday morning under Rally 2 regulations.

Day two saw Ogier and Ingrassia take the lead, winning seven of the day’s nine special stages and leading Neuville by 38.1 seconds. Mikkelsen and Markkula were forced to retire after a duel for fifth place with Citroën’s Kris Meeke, again due to suspension damage. Latvala’s and Markkula’s Rally Finland got progressively better, though, with the no 7 Polo R WRC being one of the fastest cars on the event. The Finns finished in the top three on six of the day’s nine stages. On the final day, Ogier and Latvala scored three bonus World Championship points, courtesy of second and third positions on the Power Stage. Prior to the Rally Finland, Volkswagen had won every Power Stage held this season.

Ogier also put in good times on the incredible “Ouninpohja” stage. With jumps of up to 60 metres in length, the classic stage on the fastest rally in the WRC, Ogier clinched the first run, with a lead of 2.6 seconds, which was stretched to 4.6 seconds. The 130km/h-fast Frenchman now holds the stage record, too, with a time of 15 minutes and 8.9 seconds. Ogier and Ingrassia will now go into Volkswagen’s home event at Rally Germany (22–25 August) with a purely mathematical chance of winning both the driver and co-driver competitions: should they increase their lead over their rivals by 22 points to 112, they would be out of reach of the chasing pack and guaranteed the titles. Since its debut at the Rally Monte Carlo in January 2013, the Polo R WRC has amassed 81 out of a possible 143 stage wins.

Ogier was justifiably pleased with his result: ‘It is impossible to describe how I feel! This win here in Finland is a dream come true for me. And to win in Sweden as well this year – it is a great feeling to win these two rallies this year ahead of the Nordic guys like Mads Østberg, Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala. With a lead of over 30 seconds from the first two days, I did not want to take too many risks today. Only on the “Ouninpohja” special stage did I really push myself to the limit, as that stage is simply fantastic. For me, it was the first time in a World Rally Car and the speed with the Polo R WRC left me speechless. You pulse starts to race, you are full of adrenalin, and you enjoy every jump and every metre. My lead in the World Rally Championship has increased, but I am not concentrating on that today – I just want to enjoy the win with my team now. Without our well-oiled team, I would not be on the top step.’

2013 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP, FINLAND: FINAL RESULTS

1 Sébastien Ogier/Julian Ingrassia (F/F), Volkswagen: 2h 43m 10.4s

2 Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (B/B), Ford: + 36.6s
3 Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson (N/S), Ford: +57.6s
4 Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (FIN/FIN), Citroën: +1m 21.6s

5 Daniel Sordo/Carlos del Barrio (E/E), Citroën: + 6m 06.5s

2013 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP,
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Sébastien Ogier: 181

2 Jari-Matti Latvala: 91

3 Thierry Neuville: 91

4 Mikko Hirvonen: 73

5 Daniel Sordo: 69

2013 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP,
MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Volkswagen Motorsport: 251

2 Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT: 196

3 Qatar M-Sport WRT: 112
4 Qatar WRT: 107

5 Jipocar Czech National Team: 39

We’d seen pictures from the recent reveal, but our friends at Indian Autos Blog have confirmed that the Tiger Sports Volkswagen Vento is ready to hit the tracks in the Indian Touring Car Championship. Created by the Indian racing team, the race-tuned Polo saloon is based on a standard Polo 6R-based Vento, on sale in India (and South Africa and Russia as the Polo Sedan). The car still has four doors, and is powered by a modified twin-cam 1.6-litre engine. Power is up to 180bhp from the standard car’s 106, thanks to a remapped ECU and data logger. An advanced lambda sensor is also fitted for an accurate air-fuel mix.

A close-ratio six-speed manual gearbox replaces the standard five-speeder, while a limited-slip differential helps put the power down to the track. Weight is down to 900kg, 220kg lighter than a customer-specification Vento, partly due to three doors, the wings, bonnet and boot lid being made from aerospace-type composite. Moving onto the chassis, KW Suspensions have fettled with the Tiger Sports Vento’s set-up, while uprated brakes also feature, along with an all-disc operation at the rear. Finally, the racing Vento also confirms to FIA safety standards. At the time of writing, there is no word on when the car will see its competitive debut.

[Source: Indian Autos Blog]