PoloDriver

It was inevitable really. As if the limited edition 217bhp Polo R WRC Street wasn’t fast enough, B&B Automobiltechnik has applied a set of mechanical upgrades to the car, which sees it become more powerful than the Polo R WRC rally car it’s been designed to promote. The tuning specialists in Siegen offer several stages of performance upgrades to the R WRC Street, but this, the ultimate stage three option (pictured) results in 362bhp and 376lb ft (510Nm) of torque, up from 258lb ft (349Nm)!

The 0-62mph time falls to 5.2 seconds from 6.4, with 124mph (200km/h) coming up in 17.1 seconds, a seven-second improvement on the standard car. Top speed is now 168mph, compared to the factory car’s 150mph. The Stage Three upgrade consists of remapped ECU software, an enlarged intercooler, and uprated oil cooler, a high-pressure fuel pump, a modified air intake, and upgraded exhaust system, with metal catalytic converter.

The B&B Polo R WRC Street also features sports springs or an adjustable coilover suspension kit, thicker anti-roll bars, a ‘big brake’ upgrade with the option of four- or six-piston calipers, as well as lightweight 8J x 18 alloy wheels with 225/35 tyres. The cost of all this power and dynacism? You too can make your rare Polo R WRC Street stand out from the other 2499 cars by spending €7,950 on top of the €33,900 price of the standard car. B&B Automobiltechnik have a history of tuning Polos, with the Mk 2 B&B Paris and B&B Carat models from the 1980s being the most remembered.

Volkswagen Motorsport celebrated the perfect end to a perfect World Rally Championship (WRC) season at Wales Rally GB from 14-17 November. The last round of the 2013 series saw Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia victors once more, their tenth win from 13 rounds. Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila followed the Frenchmen on the podium, while the third Polo R WRC crew, Andreas Mikkelsen and Mikko Markkula came in fifth. The three-Polo team achieved the best team result of the season so far, winning 16 of the 22 special stages and claiming 41 of a possible 66 top-three spots. It rounded off a perfect debut season for the German manufacturer, with Ogier and Ingrassia having been crowned World Champions* in the driver and co-driver category at Rally France. Volkswagen Motorsport also won the manufacturers’ title in Spain with help from Latvala and Antitila.

The Rally GB result was Volkswagen’s best since entering the championship at the start of the year. Ogier and Ingrassia came out in top on nine stages, while Latvala and Anttila triumphed five times. Mikkelsen and Markkula meanwhile took two stage wins. Rally GB outs tough demands on both man and machine, and the mechanics were only allowed to service the cars each morning and after the final stage in the evening. Mud, deep water crossings and the notoriously tricky Welsh forests made the stages live up to their fearsome reputation, with 10 of the 22 specials making their return. Only two stages – ‘Chirk Castle’ and ‘Great Orme’ – were held on asphalt.

It really was a fairy-tale debut season for Volkswagen Motorsport. The 315bhp four-wheel drive Polo R WRC was in development for a year, and officially unveiled in 2013 trim in December 2012 in Monaco. Volkswagen Motorsport scored victories in Sweden, Mexico, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Finland, Australia, France, Spain and Great Britain – not bad for a team which had only predicted podiums at the start of the season! In Wales, Ogier clocked the fastest qualifying time, with Latvala and Mikkelsen fourth and ninth quickest respectively. After the dark opening stages on Thursday night, Ogier led the event, with Latvala in third place. Mikkelsen and co-driver Markkula were three places further down the field in sixth position.

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The final round of the 2013 South African National Rally Championship was dramatically cut short on 17 November, as bad weather stopped play at the Garden Route Rally. Only six of the planned 12 stages could be completed by rally crews before the inclement conditions proved insurmountable. Five stages were run on day one, while just one – the Montague Pass – proved drivable on the second day. At the point of finish, the field were given positions relating to their standings at that particular point on round eight of the championship.

For Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa’s Enzo Kuun and Douglas Judd, that meant just missing out on a podium place. The Polo S2000 pair come in fourth behind the Team Castrol Toyota Yaris of Leeroy Poulter and Elvene Coetzee. A consistent performance up until that point would have heralded a good finish. Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries brought their Polo S2000 home four places further down the field, but it was a good recovery, as the car was damaged by a rock on the final stage of day one.

A smooth performance saw Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin end the rally sixth in their Polo Vivo S2000 and second overall in the S2000 Challenge class. ‘The 2013 season has been incredibly demanding,’ said Mike Rowe, head of Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa. ‘A lot has been expected of man and machine, and the final round just served to underscore how extreme the year has been.’ The highest-placed Volkswagen Sasolracing Polo S2000 driver was Fekken in seventh, with Kuun 10th, and Henk Lategan 11th. Zulu came in eighth.

The final round of the 2013 Engen Volkswagen Cup in South Africa saw Kosie Weyers named as the season’s champion, after clinching the title at the penultimate round in the Western Cape. Weyers had no-pressure races at Kyalami last weekend, while second place in the championship was fought hard by Dewald Brummer and Mathew Hodges, with Brummer emerging on top following a runner-up position in race two. Hodges took 2013’s third.

In race one, Mark Silverwood took the spoils, with Weyers finishing close behind, with Jordan Pepper taking the final spot on the podium. Race two meanwhile saw Lee Thompson cross the line ahead of the chasing pack, followed by Brummer and Trevor Bland. The final round also featured a battle for podium standings in the Masters category. Ettiene du Toit lead the Masters going in the final round and it seemed he would lift the title ahead of Eddie Rodrigues.

In race one Du Toit was unable to complete the event while Rodrigues managed to just make it to the end, completing enough of the laps to claim points and draw level. This put both on an even footing for the final race. Rodrigues was in a commanding position throughout the race when oil on the track and running on the last scraps of grip saw him slow down rather than risk not finishing – while an oil leak on Du Toit’s gearbox saw his car fill with smoke, forcing him to slow, allowing Rodrigues to finish the day unchallenged. Rodrigues managed to limp his car across the finish line, claiming the 2013 Masters title by one point.

Guest driver Thomas Falkiner is a member of the motoring media and he contested the final three rounds of this season. While his first outing in the series at Zwartkops proved a tough introduction to the series, Falkiner progressed to a better performance at Killarney, improving to the point of winning the first race in the Masters category at Kyalami. ‘This was a real eye-opener, I always thought the Polo Vivos were easy to drive and anyone could just hop in and do well,’ said Falkiner. ‘As a V8 driver, I thought I would do well off the bat and I didn’t so it was character-building. I was ready to throw in the towel after that first event, but I’m glad I didn’t. It was a fun way to experience a formula I didn’t know too much about, I learned how hard the cars are to drive and what skill it takes to squeeze the most out of them.’

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 Mark Silverwood (32: RTT Logistix)
2 Kosie Weyers (5: Engen Primax)
3 Jordan Pepper (3: Hollard)



Race 2

1 Lee Thompson (M10: Lee Thompson Racing)
2 Dewald Brummer (22: MAD Racing/UMP/Horne Hydraulics)
3 Trevor Bland (15: PG Glass)


SEASON RESULTS
1 Kosie Weyers (5: Engen Primax)
2 Dewald Brummer (22: MAD Racing/UMP/Horne Hydraulics)
3 Mathew Hodges (12: ITR Africa/959 Panelbeaters)

Masters
1 Eddie Rodrigues (M7: SEW Eurodrive)
2 Ettiene du Toit (M4: Zenith Product Design)
3 Juan Gerber (M8: Carfind.co.za)

Reports are coming in that Volkswagen Motorsport India are to start testing an R2 rally version of the Polo 6R. The car will be evaluated at the IMS K-1000 Rally in Bangalore, driven by Karamjit Singh. It is believed that the first prototype has been built, with Volkswagen Motorsport India aiming to promote its association with the country’s rallying series. The new car will compete in a new R2 category, which is to be introduced by the FMSCI in IRC. The car’s first full competitive event will be the Chikmanglur Rally next month.

The mechanical specification of the Indian Polo R2 will be similar to that of cars running in the South African National Rally Championship. A 1.6-litre engine will develop 130bhp and will be driven through a five-speed manual gearbox. Other modifications include Reiger suspension, 285mm front- and 255mm rear-disc brakes, 15-inch alloy wheels and JK rally tyres. An aerodynamic body kit, rear spoiler and roof vent mark out the exterior, while an FIA-specification roll cage, fire extinguisher and OMP rally-spec seats with six-point safety harnesses protect the driver and co-driver.

Singh, a driver for Slideways Industries – who already rally Polo 6Rs – will campaign the Indian Polo R2 in the 2014 Indian Rally Championship. ‘The Volkswagen Polo is a perfect example of German engineering. And when the engineering is right, it is always possible to extract more out of the car. Pushing the performance of the car to the limits and putting it through extreme driving will only bring out the Polo’s real potential. I believe that the 2014 Polo R2 is our next step in showcasing the real capabilities of the car,’ said Mahesh Kodumudi, President and Managing Director of Volkswagen India Private Limited.

[Source: CarWale.com]