PoloDriver

Volkswagen has actively started to look for drivers for its 2013 Polo R WRC rally car, by launching a testing programme using Škoda Fabia SWRC works rally cars. The new talent assessment tests will be run throughout 2011 at selected rallies, in the hope that Volkswagen Motorsport can find new star rally drivers who have the potential to go on to be world champions. Two Scandinavian teams (one Norwegian, one Finnish) will contest the Finland Rally from 28-31 July. Established WRC drivers are also not being rules out. The Polo R WRC is expected to make its competitive debut on the 2013 Monte Carlo Rally. The full Volkswagen Motorsport press release follows.

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It’s undergone a name change since we last reported on it, but the Polo R Cup India 2011 (formerly the Volkswagen Polo Cup India 2011) is still essentially the same formula as before. While the name may owe something to the 300bhp Polo R WRC world rally championship car announced back in May (and possibly lend even more credence to the Polo R road car rumours), the Polo R Cup India racers are essentially unchanged from the 2010 cars. That means 130bhp, 1.6-litre TDI engines, and a low 1090kg weight, in addition to body styling modifications and racing technical upgrades.

The first rounds of the 2011 championship kicked off the season on 19 June at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore. It was a perfect weekend for Vishnu Prasad, winning both races. The first victory was straightforward enough, taking the chequered flag from pole position, while the 19 year-old Chennai driver took the podium in the second race starting from eighth position and worked his way up the 20-strong grid. Mihir Dharkar and Saif Mir took second and third places respectively in the first round.

A reverse grid for the second race gave Alisha Abdullah – the only female driver – a pole position which she held on to for 10 laps. Pressure from her charging rivals Prasad and Mihir Dharkar ousted her from the top spot, but a third place and a step on the podium was reward enough. It was also the first podium finish for a female driver on the Volkswagen Polo R Cup India. Prasad goes to the next rounds (once again at the Kari Motor Speedway at Coimbatore) on 15 July with a six-point lead over Dharkar.

Prithviraj Siddappa, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport India, said of the second race: ‘It was one of the most exciting races I have experienced as we kick off the second season of Polo R Cup. It was a spectacular race and I am very happy to see Alisha on the podium. The driving witnessed today is proof that we have the crème of the young Indian motorsport talent as part of our programme. I am really thrilled to be a part of their journey as they develop as drivers over the course of the Polo R Cup 2011.’

A grueling Toyota Dealer Gauteng Rally over 10-11 June produced solid if not spectacular results for the BP Volkswagen rally team. Championship defenders Enzo Kuun/Guy Hodgson finished third on the fourth round of the 2011 South African National Rally Championship, posting a second fastest time in the last stage of the event. Another safe performance was driven by Hergen Fekken/Pierre Aries, who came in fourth, after starting five places further down the field. Meanwhile, Jan Habig and Robert Paisley’s rally only lasted three stages. A control arm bolt in their rear suspension failed and the right wheel of their Volkswagen Polo Vivo S2000 was dragged behind the car. Continuing with just three wheels for as long as they could, they had to call it a day after posting just two stage times.

The news was better for the team of Giniel de Villiers/Ralph Pitchford. Delivering an outstanding performance on the Gauteng event, they sprinted from the start, and finished second overall at the end of day one. Gearbox problems brought their dynamite pace to a halt, though, and the the BP Volkswagen team of technicians replaced the ‘box after stage 13, during the routine service. A small lateness penalty didn’t stop the duo from completing the final stage of the event, but then an engine mounting broke, and engine damage from the slipping timing belt forced them out of the event. Gugu Zulu/Carl Peskin campaigned their S1600 Polo Vivo through ten stages, before forced to bow out with a sheared control arm bolt. S1400 runners Megan Verlaque/Lirene du Plessis claimed victory in the smaller-cc class.

Other top ten Volkswagen Polo finishers included the pairs of Nicholas Ryan/Armand du Toit in seventh, and Japie van Niekerk/Simon Vacy-Lyle in ninth, both teams in Polo Vivo S2000s. Christoff Snyders/Celeste Snyders took 20th place in their Polo Vivo S1600, while S1400 Polo pilots Henk Lategan/Pierre Jordaan finished one place below. The BP Volkswagen Polo rally team will now prepare for their traditional home event, the Volkswagen Rally, to be held on Friday and Saturday, the 15-16 July in Port Elizabeth.

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The fourth race weekend of the 2011 Engen Volkswagen Cup was ultra-competitive. In the first round at the Phakisa circuit in Welkom, Lee Thompson clinched a commanding victory in front of Devin Robertson. The second race meanwhile was won by Robertson, who celebrated revenge and beat Thompson by a razor-thin margin of 0.234 seconds. Third place on the winners’ podium for both races went to Kosie Weyers.

The 2011 Engen Volkswagen Cup series is similar to the other racing VW Polo Cup single-series championships run in both Europe and India. Just as in those series, the one-make format particularly highlights a wealth of new young driving talent. In the Engen championship, as many as thirty drivers regularly take to the track in technically-identical, 2.0-litre, 234bhp Volkswagen Polo Vivo racers. The next rounds of the 2011 Engen Volkswagen Cup are scheduled for 6 August at Scribante in Port Elizabeth.

[Source: Volkswagen South Africa // Images: keino@quickpic]

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Following Volkswagen’s sensational announcement of the Polo R WRC on 5 May 2011, we’ve recently created a new section on PoloDriver.com all about the car with which VW will contest the World Rally Championship from 2013. With image galleries of both the Sardinia presentation on the eve of the Rally d’Italia Sardegna, as well as the set of official publicity shots, our dedicated Polo R WRC section on PoloDriver.com also includes the numerous approved press releases that Volkswagen Motorsport has released.

Since that first set of press releases, we’ve since learned that the 1.6T 300bhp Polo R WRC will begin testing at the end of 2011 – even if as reported, it initially appears as a pair of Škoda Fabia S2000 mules – and continue in 2012. A fully-fledged multi-car campaign will then start in 2013, with Volkswagen offically committing to 2015. Head over to our special Polo R WRC pages (navigation can also be found at the top of the page) to find out all about this latest exciting chapter in the Polo’s motorport career. We’ll be updating the section as more details are released before and after the car’s competitive debut.