PoloDriver

Volkswagen Motorsport world rally championship drivers Sébastien Ogier and Andreas Mikkelsen both managed a top 10 finish at the outfit’s home round, the ADAC Rallye Deutschland, on 25-26 August. Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia finished the event sixth overall, while Mikkelsen, partnered with Ola Fløene, completed the event around Trier one place behind. It was a particularly sweet victory for Ogier and Ingrassia, taking the best result for an S2000 car in WRC history, with their Škoda Fabia S2000. But the following Norwegians did well too: in the closing ‘Power Stage’, Mikkelsen and Fløene took third place and became the first Super 2000 car ever to claim an additional point.

At the wheel of his Škoda Fabia S2000, Ogier once again dominated the less powerful S2000 class over the 15 special stages covering 1110 kilometres in total. The Frenchman clinched eleven class-best times and was quicker than many other more powerful World Rally Cars. ‘I’m totally happy with the result because the Deutschland rally is one of the most difficult tarmac events on the calendar,’ said the delighted Frenchman. ‘In the vineyards and on the Panzerplatte stage, Julien and I found an almost perfect rhythm. More power would be nice – I can’t wait to return here next year with the Polo R WRC.’

Mikkelsen was also satisfied with his seventh place, marking his best result in an S2000 car in the World Rally Championship. ‘A fantastic weekend for our team. I tried not to lose too much on Ogier and I think my pace was good this weekend. The Michelin tyres for the asphalt stages of the WRC were new for me,’ remarked the defending champion and points’ leader of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). A brilliant performance at the final stage around the Porta Nigra helped, where the Norwegian pairing were the first Super 2000 pilots ever to achieve a top three stage result and pocket that vital extra point.

German driver Sepp Wiegand, who was piloting the third Volkswagen car with Timo Gottschalk, was lying in eleventh position on his home rally, but was unlucky and was forced to retire with suspension failure on the 13th special stage. ‘An exceptional effort from our entire team and the three crews – all the boys have performed very well this weekend,’ said a very satisfied Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito. ‘We may have profited from the retirement of some prominent competitors in the WRC field, but that doesn’t take anything away from our performance. Ogier and Mikkelsen drove at a consistently high pace, and Sepp Wiegand also did a great job up until his unfortunate retirement.’

The seventh round of the 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup at Zwartkops Raceway on 25-26 August saw Devin Robertson and Kyle Barnes take victories at another action-packed race weekend. Jordan Pepper took the runner-up place in both races, while championship leader Kelvin van der Linde was third in race one. Richie Napier took the last podium place in race two. The two races saw 33 motorsport-prepared Polo Vivos take to the track, fighting for every inch of the circuit. The safety car was deployed after just a single lap in race one, bunching the large field of Polos together for a further two laps, following a body panel-swapping set-to by Graham Press and Leon Odendaal.

Safety car back in the pits, defending champion Robertson made his move, creating a lead, with the herding pack behind. Pepper and van der Linde led Mark Silverwood, Kyle Barnes and Robyn Kruger, who eventually lost her position to her two battling comrades. For race two, Dewald Brummer qualified on pole position, but it didn’t last long – an engine failure on lap three saw him withdraw from the race. Barnes then held the lead, with Pepper and Napier chasing close behind, while Robertson followed them in fourth. The Engen Volkswagen Cup action moves to Killarney for the penultimate round of the 2012 WesBank Super Series championship on 22-23 September.

The 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup series is similar to the other racing Volkswagen Polo Cup single-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 racers.

RACE RESULTS
Race 1
1 Devin Robertson (1: Big Boss Auto/Sparco)
2 Jordan Pepper (46: PG Glass/Blue Label Telecoms)
3 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)

Race 2
1 Kyle Barnes (4: Gold Liberations/Conti Partner)
2 Jordan Pepper (46: PG Glass/Blue Label Telecoms)
3 Richie Napier (12: Supa Fuel/Design Water)

Overall standings
1 Devin Robertson (1: Big Boss Auto/Sparco)
2 Jordan Pepper (46: PG Glass/Blue Label Telecoms)
3 Kyle Barnes (4: Gold Liberations/Conti Partner)

On 23 August, we spent the day pootling around lanes in the Chilterns, driving the latest additions to Volkswagen’s UK range. While more ‘exciting’ cars were available, we took the start-at-the-bottom-and-move-up-the-range approach and started with the newest addition to the VW stable, the five-door Up. Building on the success of the award-winning three-door version, the five-door Up is literally that – an Up with an extra pair of doors at the rear. It looks the same as the less-doored car, but there are subtle differences if you look hard. The profile glasshouse is more conventional, sloping down at the rearmost edge, losing the three-door’s upward kink, but it doesn’t matter – the Up five-door still looks neat and modern.

A similar specification to the Škoda Citigo Elegance GreenTech we tested back in May (and fitted with the same emissions-busting technology) ‘our’ High Up BlueMotion Technology test car was the top-spec model of the current range – special ‘White’ and ‘Black’ editions notwithstanding – and it certainly looked it. Resplendent in traditional VW Tornado Red, the little car really looked smart (although a white version looked arguably even better), the 15-inch ‘Spoke’ alloy wheels, setting it off perfectly. We tested a mid-spec Move Up in July, and the interior of the High Up was much more luxurious. Fitted with a light dashboard and door trims, the interior was light and very airy, made all the more fun with the fitment of a body-coloured red full-width panel. The cabin’s very well trimmed, too; the heated ‘Polka’ Grey/Salsa Red front seats look great, while the ‘Maps & More’ infotainment device adds a dash of clever big-car functionality.

And that’s the overall impression the Up gives, especially in this range-topping guise. It might be a cliché, but it really does give big-car comforts. The ride is astonishing for one so small. Small cars can be choppy when pressing on, but the Up smooths out any difficult surfaces, it’s buzzy 74bhp three-cylinder engine feeling just slightly more relaxed than the 59bhp version which powers the lower-spec models, but there’s not a lot it it (maxiumum torque of 70lb ft @3000-4300rpm is the same for both units). Add in steering which makes it eminently chuckable, and you have a small car that’s a lot more fun than the bland and cheap-feeling Fox, which the Up replaces. Yes, there are signs of cost-cutting – all-plastic door trims and pop-out rather than winding rear windows – but the High Up still feels luxurious. It can also fit four adults at a pinch, is more practical with the £365 extra pair of doors, and still looks stylish. Volkswagen’s ‘Cleverly Compact’ advertising campaign was never more so apt.

VOLKSWAGEN HIGH UP BLUEMOTION TECHNOLOGY
Price: £11,240
Engine: 1.0-litre three cylinder
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Power/torque: 74bhp/70lb ft @ 3000-4300rpm
0-62mph: 13.2 seconds
Top speed: 106mph
Economy/CO2: 67.3mpg/98g/km
Equipment: 15” ‘Spoke’ alloy wheels, PID, heated front seats, front fog lights
On sale: Now
Find out more: www.volkswagen.co.uk/new/up-nf/home

Volkswagen Polo R Cup India 2012 championship leader Ameya Walavalkar had a good start to the round three race weekend on 25-26 August. Taking the race one victory, he finished ahead of Sailesh Bolisetti and Sandeep Kumar at the MMRT in Chennai. Walavalkar started on pole and led into the first corner, followed by Kumar and Avdumber Hede. A two-driver collision meant a restart after a red flag, and once again Walavalkar was out in front. Pulling ahead to extend his lead, he crossed the finish line to win his second race of the season. Ex-Polo R-Cup India champion Bolisetti said: ‘I was 1.394 seconds behind in qualifying and knew I had to go faster in the race to challenge for the lead. I managed to set similar times to Walavalkar but could not come close enough. It took me some time to get used the new TSI Race Polo but the more I drove it the more comfortable I was.’

Race two was equally as action-packed. Race leader Ajay Kini received a 20-second time penalty after colliding with Donovan Vaz on the last lap, therefore handing the win to Mihir Dharkar, with Walavalkar and Bolisetti also rising up the final results, placing second and third respectively. Dharkar said: ‘I am happy with my performance today. My plan was to stay behind Ajay and attack at the end of the race. Every time I tried to overtake Ajay, I felt Ameya try to overtake me but there was clean racing between all of us. It is unfortunate but I am happy to inherit the win from Ajay.” Round four of the Volkswagen Polo R Cup India 2012 is at the MMRT, Chennai, on 15-16 September.

Overall standings
1 Ameya Walavalkar: 182 points
2 Mihir Dharkar: 168 points
3 A Sandeep Kumar: 160 points

The BP Volkswagen rally team saw a tough and demanding two days of competition on the Rally South Africa event in Kwa-Zulu Natal on 17-18 August. By the end of the eight fast stages, the multi-car crew was fighting for for the finish in Durban. Top-ranked Volkswagen Polo S2000 was the car of Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson, who placed fourth overall, producing some of their most spectacular 2012 season moments.

After the first day, the pair was third in the leadership table, ahead of teammates Hans Weijs Jnr and Björn Degandt. Bad luck befell Weijs and Degandt, though, with a technical problem at the start of day two preventing them from continuing the event. This left the door open for Kuun and Hodgson, who raced to the finish line with unfaltering commitment and a fourth place. ‘It was a strong weekend in the car, we worked hard,’ said Kuun. ‘The BP Volkswagen Polo S2000 is capable and we did reasonably well. We just need to add more speed to the performance now.’

Fellow Polo S2000 drivers Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries suffered a mechanical problem on the first day, and while this allowed them to compete, it incurred them additional time. Rallying hard to rectify the deficit saw them claim victory on stage eight, a full 1.2 seconds ahead of their nearest rivals.

The Polo Vivo pairing of Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin has been campaigning very hard in the S2000 Challenge class during 2012, and the Rally South Africa was no exception. Crossing the line after the ninth stage, the duo discovered they had posted many of the fastest stage times for their category and were 15th overall and second in their class. Two places behind Zulu and Peskin on the overall finishing list was Megan Verlaque and Hilton Auffray in their Polo Vivo S1600. Verlaque and Auffray rallied hard on day two to make up for their slower times from day one and the pair finished sixth overall in their class.