PoloDriver

Lead Volkswagen Motorsport Polo R WRC driver Sébastien Ogier will be joined by his regular co-driver Julien Ingrassia, following the all-clear by doctors after a recent shoulder operation. The Frenchman injured his collarbone while riding a mountain bike and has been recuperating, missing out on recent testing sessions with the Polo R WRC in Finland, ahead of Rally Finland, which starts on Thursday 1 August. Ogier has blasting through the Finnish forests with team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen, carrying out tests ahead of the eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, 60kms away from the event’s base at Jyväskylä. In total, the 315bhp Polo R WRCs spend five days pounding the jump-heavy gravel tracks.

Ingrassia returns following a successful outing in the aggressive rallying Polo at the weekend, and replaces Ogier’s stand-in co-driver Nicolas Klinger. ‘I am so relieved that I have managed to get back to full health in time for the Rally Finland. My thanks go out to the doctors for the great job they have done on me and the whole Volkswagen team, who have always supported me and sent me their best wishes. Now, I cannot wait to get back out on the road with Sébastien,’ said a please Ingrassia. Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito said: ‘The whole team is very happy that Julien is back to full health. Our main priority is always the well-being of our drivers. I would like to thank Nicolas for the great levels of commitment he demonstrated in the most recent test runs and for his willingness to step in for Julien in Finland if he was needed.’

Team Slideways Industries scored three podium positions at round three of the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship, the Rally Rally of Coimbatore on 20-21 July. Supported by Volkswagen Motorsport India and JK Tyres, the Pune-based squad saw victories in the both the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) and Junior Indian National Rally Championship (JINRC) classes. Former PWRC champion and multiple APRC champion Karamjit Singh put in a flawless run with his co-driver Jagdev Singh over the weekend to secure his second consecutive win in the IRC class with an overall time of 1 hour, 42 minutes and 12.1 seconds.

In the Group N 1600cc class, Byram Godrej and co-driver Prajwal Pai experienced brake issues early on Saturday and ended the day in second place. He was back in stunning form on Sunday morning, though, and enjoyed a terrific run in the rally’s two special stages. Making up over a minute, the pair overhauled their overnight lead, sealing their first win in the 1600cc class with an overall time of 1 hour, 47 minutes, and 44.9 seconds. ‘It is hard to believe that the Volkswagen Polo is only three rallies old given the amount of performance it offers,’ said Byram.

Vikram Mathias and R Chandramouli meanwhile, driving their first rally for Slideways Industries, were in a comfortable lead of the class on day one but went off on the penultimate stage. Sirish Chandran and co-driver Nikhil Pai who scored the Polo’s first victory in the INRC earlier in the year suffered a forgettable weekend with a mechanical problem putting them out of contention on the very first special stage of the event.

It was better news for Team Principal Rohan Pawar and his co-driver Arjun Mehta, who secured another podium finish in the JINRC class, with an overall time of 1 hour, 56 minutes, and 29.2 seconds. Pawar fought with fellow Team Slideways Industries driver Aniruddha Rangnekar, but ultimately went faster that Rangnekar on the second day of the event to clinch first place. ‘I am extremely happy with the team’s and my own performance. Having veteran drivers like Karamjit Singh and Vikram Mathias in the team have bolstered everyone’s spirits and of course our Technical Director Byram Godrej has done an excellent job in preparing and setting up the cars,’ said an elated Pawar.

The Rally of Coimbatore was held alongside the first rounds of the Volkswagen Polo R-Cup India 2013. With the Kari Motor Speedway being the base for both, enthusiasts and spectators were treated to witnessing India’s best racing and rally drivers in action together at the same time. The rally Polos of Team Slideways Industries – which have performed excellently in the Volkswagen Polo R-Cup India on track for the past three years – had no trouble negotiating the tight corners of the track-based special stage after sliding around the gravel stages of the rally.

Team Slideways Industries now heads back to Pune to develop the squad of Polos further with support from Volkswagen Motorsport India, ahead of round four of the championship, the K1000 Rally at Bangalore.

South African Driver Jeffrey Kruger made a string start to his championship hopes in the first round of the 2013 Volkswagen Polo R-Cup India, which took place at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore last weekend. Taking first and second places in the two races which made up the first round of the season, the guest driver took victory in race two from seventh on the grid, ahead of rookie Karthik Tharani and Polo R-Cup India regular Rahil Noorani. In race one, Kruger couldn’t get past Noorani and had to settle for second place. Prashanth Tharani came in behind the pair in third place.

With four race weekends still to come, Kruger is top of the overall standings. Now into its fourth season, the Volkswagen Polo R-Cup India has fourteen new racers for 2013, along with seven drivers from the 2012 season. Each round is scheduled as a double-header event, with a pair of races run over the duration of the weekend. Other venues include the Madras Motor Sports Track in Chennai and the Buddh International Circuit near Delhi. The next round is in Chennai at MMST on 9-11 August.

In related news, the third round of the 2013 Volkswagen Polo R-Cup India, scheduled for 6-8 September, could be held in Srinagar on a street circuit. Pending essential safety clearances from FIA-appointed stewards, the race would be similar to 2012’s street race at the Balewadi Sports complex near Pune, and the night-time event in Colombo. 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.

[Images: VW Motorsport India]

Round four of the South African National Rally Championship was a tough outing for the Volkswagen Sasolracing team. The Volkswagen Rally, the squad’s home event, was a challenging two-day drive. A glut of punctures on day one caused problems, slowing the Polo S2000 teams down, increasing stage times. Enzo Kuun and Douglass Judd scored the highest result of the weekend with a fifth place at the event, also taking the first stage win of the rally, having had a good start from the off. The pair also won three of the final four stages, while team-mates Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries came in one place behind them in sixth.

Henk Lategan and Barry White claimed two stage wins, taking the team’s total to nearly half of all the victories available. Lategan and White competed under Super Rally regulations on the second day, though, after getting stuck after a flying finish on day one. The recovery time needed to get them back on the road necessitated running in Super Rally. Meanwhile, defending S2000 Challenge champions Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin were forced into retirement for the first time in two seasons. Gearbox problems sidelined them with four stages to go.

‘It has been a tough weekend for the whole team in Port Elizabeth,’ said Mike Rowe, head of Volkswagen Motorsport. ‘We didn’t achieve the results we were aiming for, but made very good use of the opportunity to do some extended testing with Lategan and White competing in Super Rally on Saturday. The stage wins are a clear indication that we have the pace, the focus now is on tying all those together to clinch the results the pace should be providing,’ Rowe added.

A strong contingent of Polos made up the rest of the field. The older-specification S2000 Challenge class was led by the Team Total Toyota Auris of Jean-Pierre Damseaux and Hilton Auffray, but Morne Janse van Rensburg and Rikus Fourie out up a good fight in the matt black GC Diesel Racing Polo which wore its PoloDriver.com sticker once again with pride. The GC Diesel Racing four-wheel drive Polo Vivo finished the event in eighth place. The two-wheel drive S1600 Polos of Chad van Beurden and Henry Dearlove, and Paul Franken and Henry Kohne started well, but sadly dropped down the event rankings on day two.

Volkswagen South Africa also took the opportunity to unveil the Polo Rally Cup in Port Elizabeth, and while official details are yet to be confirmed, PoloDriver.com believes it to be an FIA-approved R2 class one-make series, using S1600 cars. More details as they are announced. The next round of the 2013 South African National Rally Championship is on 16-17 August, and will see the Volkswagen Sasolracing crews competing in Gauteng.

[Images: ledbitter@quickpic]

After just two weeks behind the wheel of Marklund Motorsport’s guest driver rallycross Polo R, Mattias Ekström took second place at his home track of Höljes in round six of the FIA European Rallycross Championship last weekend. The three-times Race of Champions winner and DTM star placed fourth at the X Games Munich in the Red Bull-liveried Polo the weekend before Sweden, and the Swede was first in heats three and four, with the fastest times of the meeting. In the semi-final, Ekström started third, played his joker on the first lap, chasing down the rest of the pack from last place. As every other driver played their jokers, the Swede crept ahead, stealing the lead from Timmy Hansen, and finishing one second ahead.

Ekström started from third in the final, behind Andreas Bakkerud and Petter Solberg, dropping to fourth behind Hansen as he played his joker. Ekström stayed close behind, keeping tight to Hansen as they both moved forward a position when Solberg pulled out on lap three. Shortly after Bakkerud took his joker, Ekström flew past Hansen, continuing to hold him back for the remaining two laps, awarding the DTM regular a well-deserved second place in only his first RallycrossRX competition. ‘The whole experience of this weekend has really been 10 of 10 – the way the event is run, the spirit of the spectators, and the passion and commitment of the Marklund Motorsport team is incredible. I’ve said it before but the way the car handles is amazing, I’ve never felt the way I have this weekend in my entire career, and I really hope I’ll be back on a rallycross track soon,’ enthused Ekström.

As in Munich, it was a more disappointing weekend for Marklund Motorsport’s lead driver Anton Marklund. A knock with Kristoffersen lead to a puncture on the first lap, putting Marklund in 28th place after heat one and then 32nd overall as he was driven off the track by a race-ending crash with Valle in heat two. Although he set fast times on day two of the meeting – winning his third heat and placing second in his fourth – Marklund was unable to reach the semi-finals in Höljes. ‘What a great result for the team – Mattias had amazing pace, he’s an incredible driver and really showed how awesome the Polo R Supercar can be! I had a tough weekend, and was knocked out of the running in my first two heats, but even though I had a better day today it just wasn’t enough to get me any further,’ commented Marklund.

[Imnages: Johnny Loix, QBA/Qnigan.com]