PoloDriver

We didn’t want to get our hopes up, as the cruel hand of fate has a habit of bringing them down to size, but Volkswagen Motorsport and the Polo R WRC enjoyed an impressive debut on the team’s first World Rally Championship event, the 2013 Rallye Monte Carlo from 15-20 January. French duo Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia set the pace from day one, driving the fastest time on the first stage – from then on, the pair didn’t look back. Rewarded with a second place on what was one of the most challenging ‘Montes’ in recent years, the new car performed well, and only reigning WRC champions Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena charged even harder.

The #8 car of Ogier/Ingrassia took two special stage wins in all, on snowy, icy, and wet asphalt surfaces in the French Maritime Alps. The first was on ‘Le Moulinon’, at 3.71km the longest special stage on the event, and was a milestone achievement for the Volkswagen Motorsport team after 17 months and many thousand kilometres of testing. The second day brought another best time on the fifth stage ‘La Batie D’Andaure’, cementing their runners-up position. Over the four-day event, Volkswagen Motorsport recorded top three results in 14 of the 16 special stages. Heavy rain and unpredictable weather brought the event to an early close, the organisers rightly having concerns over both the drivers’ and spectators’ safety.

Unfortunately, it was too late for Volkswagen Motorsport car #7 of Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila, who were forced to retire after sliding off in spectacular style on the legendary Col de Turini. The Finns had been consistent up to that point, and were in fifth place overall. Latvala couldn’t believe his luck: ‘I am very disappointed. There was more wet snow in the first run through the Col de Turini stage than I expected. I was too fast right at the beginning, the car did not turn as expected, and I crashed heavily. There was nothing I could do. It is bitter to end the Rallye Monte Carlo this way. I am sorry as the cars were prepared brilliantly.’

Ogier, understandably, was more upbeat with his result. ‘I never was as happy about a second place as I was today. To reach the podium in our debut with the Polo R WRC is just great. These were probably the most difficult conditions in a Rallye Monte Carlo that I have ever experienced. Especially today, during the first run to the Col de Turini, it was extremely slippery, so that speeds of more than 20 kph were not possible. It was just about keeping the car on the road. The entire team worked very hard during the past year, and I am happy to give something back to them. I am sorry for Jari-Matti but I am sure that we will celebrate further victories together for Volkswagen Motorsport in the future.’

Meanwhile, Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director praised the whole team: ‘Second place in the first rally of the new Polo R WRC is more than we could have expected. The team did an exceptional job in the last four rally days and prepared the cars perfectly. The Rallye Monte Carlo is the most complex event in the calendar and the team has here shown that they are ready for the World Rally Championship. There was no mistake, not the slightest problem. One cannot value the performance of Sébastien Ogier high enough. He drove the “Monte” for in a World Rally Car the first time. There is no other rally in which the driver’s impact on the result is bigger. That is why we will not see where we stand with the Polo R WRC until after the upcoming events.’

Overall, a fantastic start to Volkswagen’s three-year WRC campaign. Straight out of the box the 315bhp four-wheel drive Polo R WRC has proved it’s not only competitive, but a formidable rally weapon in the right hands. It’s a shame both cars didn’t finish, but thankfully Latvala and Anttila were uninjured after their fairly major accident. The next round of the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship is the Rally Sweden, from 7-10 February. We look forward to seeing Volkswagen Motorsport build on the Polo R WRC’s initial success.

2013 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP, RALLYE MONTE CARLO: FINAL RESULTS
1 Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (F/MC), Citroën: 5h 18m 57.2s
2 Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), Volkswagen: + 1m 38.9s
3 Dani Sordo/Carlos del Barrio (E/E), Citroën: + 3m 49.1s
4 Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (FIN/FIN), Citroën: + 5m 26.3s
5 Bryan Bouffier/Xavier Panseri (F/F), Citroën: + 8m 13.1s

Wednesday 16 January sees Volkswagen Motorsport’s development of the Polo R WRC take on a much more critical role – the 300bhp, four-wheel drive rally weapon finally has its competitive debut on the ‘mother of all rallies’, the Rallye Monte Carlo. With over 20,000km of testing under their belts the engineers and drivers can develop the car no more – we’ll finally see what it’s made of. First Volkswagen Motorsport signings Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia will be in car number 8, while Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila will be in car number 7.

‘I cannot wait to finally getting going. The entire team at Volkswagen is looking forward to the WRC debut of the Polo WRC,’ said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito. ‘World Championship rallies in the top WRC class are new territory for the team. Furthermore, the Polo R WRC has been developed from scratch and features a lot of innovative ideas. The “Monte” will give us our first indication of how we compare with the opposition – our rivals already have two years’ experience of the regulations that came into force in 2011. Our goal for the Rallye Monte Carlo is to gain as much experience as possible and also to finish with both cars.’

The Rallye Monte Carlo was first held in 1911 and has legendary status. Run through the narrow-tracked mountain roads in the French Maritime Alps to the north of the prinicipality of Monaco, drivers are often faced with black ice and snow on the many mountain passes they are required to negotiate. This makes it essential to select the right tyre – and makes the ‘Monte’ one of the most difficult and complex rallies on the World Championship calendar. We’ll be reporting on the event next week, so be sure to come back and read how the first event and the beginning of a new chapter in the Polo’s motorsport career unfolds.

Volkswagen India has launched a fresh assault on the supermini market this week with a new advertising campaign for its popular Polo and Vento (Polo saloon) models. The pair were mildly refreshed a few months ago, and this campaign highlights some of the gadget-led revisions that appear on the small hatchback and its saloon counterpart. These 45-second TV commercials highlights the new Bluetooth connection both 2013 models receive, and is done with Volkswagen’s trademark sense of humour. The new advertising campaign strapline is ‘The Polo. Added features. Added value.’ (The same slogan applies to the Vento).

[Source: Indian Autos Blog]

After a lengthy absence, PoloDriver.com contributor Simon Kimber updates us on the story of his 1991 Polo GT Coupé. This time he reports on his ongoing replacement suspension track control arms saga

Regular readers may recall that sometime ago I had the front track control arms on my 1991 Polo GT coupé replaced for a pair of TAS adjustable ones at C&R Enterprises. Now these arms are starting to show their age, with creaks coming from the original-type ball joints.

After much searching and with a few enquiries to companies such as Eibach at GTI International, I am seeking a little assistance and guidance to build my own as my search for replacements proved fruitless. I have been able to find gas pipe that will be plenty strong enough from a contact at Red 9 Design, who assures me it is of the required strength. The plan is to buy a pair of new arms from one of the many aftermarket suppliers, as VW are running down supplies of track arms – if I were to buy directly from my local retailer they would cost about £70 each, although there is only one single arm available with no possibility of obtaining a pair if I wanted to. And not at £140 a pair if I could anyway.

The aftermarket track arms are far cheaper, somewhere in the region of better than half price. Superspares Balham High Road suggested I go to Stockwell Motor Accessories, who said they can order a pair of TRW arms at the suggested price of £31 each. They arrived one Saturday back in August, and on comparing the new arms with the adjustable arms still fitted, they appear to be around 7mm longer. I have emailed TRW to find out if the specifications have been altered and what kind of settings I could possibly end up with once they are fitted.

When I stripped the front suspension and compared the relative lengths of the track arms, the new and unmodified arms from TRW were only 3mm longer in the crucial area between the inner mounting bush and the anti-roll bar locater outboard. This actually meant no modification was deemed necessary – I would assume to be in the region of 10’N from the original settings using the arms fitted so long ago by C&R Enterprises. I am guessing that TRW may have adjusted the design to suit the Camber specs to somewhere in the middle of 10’+ +/- 30′, which leaves me a little bit miffed by not being able to brew my own special pair of arms.

The C&R replacements have lasted well, though, as they have been subjected to regular trackday use in addition to everyday driving over the past 11 years and 90,000 miles. Their condition wasn’t brilliant, but then I have owned this 21 year-old car for a very long time and am pretty aware of what alarming noises early Polo suspension can make and what each little creak and crackle actually means. So, overall I am very satisfied with the replacements.

It won’t come as a surprise to regular readers, but the Polo Vivo and Polo 6R were announced as 2012’s top-selling cars in South Africa today. Both locally produced, the Polo Vivo topped the sales charts, with 34,873 units sold, while 28,667 fifth-generation (current) Polos found new owners. The pair accounted for a staggering 14.4 per cent of the total South African passenger car market. Volkswagen Group South Africa ended 2012 as the market leader of the passenger car segment in the country for the fourth consecutive year with the total sales of 99,106 units (Volkswagen: 82,363, Audi: 16,743) and overall market share of 22.3 per cent. Continuing its massive success story, the Polo Vivo was once again the best-selling car in South Africa for last month, with 2307 units sold.

The Polo Vivo was launched in March 2010 as an entry-level model for the South African market, replacing the Series 1 Golf-based CitiGolf, and is available as a three or five-door hatchback and four-door booted saloon with 74bhp/84bhp 1.4-litre and 103bhp 1.6-litre petrol engines. Costing from R108,300 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R154,700 for the top 1.6 Trendline Sedan, the 2012 Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo (9N3). The fifth-generation Polo (6R) is available as a three and five-door hatchback, plus the more traditionally-styled four-door Polo Sedan.