Polo R WRC and Volkswagen rally drivers celebrated with end of season awards
The Volkswagen Polo R WRC and its pace-setting drivers have been collecting pre-Christmas presents in the form of awards that celebrate the third and most profitable Volkswagen Motorsport World Rally Championship year to date.
2015 FIA Prize-giving Gala
First, the Volkswagen Motorsport team and Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia received their trophies for their 2015 World Rally Championship manufacturer and drivers’ titles at the FIA Prize-giving Gala in Paris. Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila as well as and Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene also picked up their awards for finishing second and third overall respectively in the 2015 drivers’ and co-drivers’ championships.
Overall, the Volkswagen WRC team had 12 wins and 26 podium finishes in 2015, with each driver pairing taking at least one win (Mikkelsen and Fløene scored their first at Rally Spain) and stepping on to the podium at least seven times.
2015 Autosport Awards
Ogier and the Polo R WRC were also recognised at the 2015 Autosport Awards, collecting the Rally Driver and Rally Car of the Year titles respectively. The statistics are truly impressive. Sebastian Ogier (who collected the Autosport award for the third consecutive time since 2013) amassed 263 championship points in 2015, won eight events and was 80 points ahead of his nearest rival, team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala.
The Polo R WRC meanwhile (again, a third Autosport award winner) has won 34 out of 39 events, scored 12 back-to-back wins, and taken the same number of victories in both 2014 and 2015. The three Polo R WRCs notched up a total distance of 11,832 kilometres at high speed in 2015, while Volkswagen Motorsport drivers won 159 out of 231 fastest stage times in addition to 12 out of 13 power stage victories.
Just after the ceremonies, in a shock announcement, it was made public that Ola Fløene will leave Volkswagen Motorsport in 2016 to join M-Sport Ford and be co-driver for Mads Østberg.
The 46 year-old has co-driven for Andreas Mikkelsen for a number of years off and on, the the pair won the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) in both 2011 and 2012. The partnership also achieved 13 podium finishes and 21 rallies in 2014 and 2015.
Sitting beside Mikkelsen in 2016 will be Anders Jæger, who moves up from the Junior WRC category where he was in charge of pace notes for Polo RX driver Ole Christian Veiby. The
26 year-old not only shares his age with Mikkelsen but also his Norwegian nationality and has form with his compatriot, acting as co-driver on Volkswagen Motorsport test drive events in Sweden.
2016 Rally Monte Carlo
As with the previous seasons, we at PoloDriver have enjoyed watching the many battles, stages and moments of drama within the 2015 FIA World Rally Championship. Our highlights include the Polo finally winning Rally Germany as well as Andreas Mikkelsen’s first WRC event win on the Spanish round of the series – it was a long time coming!
We wish the Volkswagen Motorsport team all the best of the season and also for 2016, when the first event, Rally Monte Carlo, kicks off on 22-24 January.
