PoloDriver

A ‘perfect performance’: that’s how PSRX Volkswagen Sweden described its double podium at the fourth round of the 2017 FIA World RX of Belgium, held at the Circuit Jules Tachney in Mettet. From the very start of the race weekend on 13-14 May, the 570bhp Polo GTI Supercars were at the top of the timesheets, just as at the last round, the World RX of Hockenheim in Germany.

Maiden victory
Johan Kristoffersson celebrated with the Torsby squad’s maiden victory, which was also the young Swede’s third World RX podium from just four races. ‘This is special,’ Kristoffersson said. ‘What an incredible feeling. I know Petter and I have talked about this a few times, but I think we are both so happy with the way the team is working with Volkswagen Motorsport and the speed we have had this weekend has shown that. The car has been perfect for me. From when we started the first practice, I have been driving with a huge smile on my face.

‘The final was really good. It was a shame not to be on the front row alongside Petter (Solberg)for the start, but the semi was a tough race and – in the end – it’s only the final that matters,’ he continued. The Swedish driver’s win moves him to within three points of the Drivers’ Championship lead. ‘I’m very, very happy with the start of the season,’ he said.

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Belgium: Kristoffersson

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Belgium: Kristoffersson

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Belgium: Kristoffersson

‘We all know that this is a new team with new people working together. It couldn’t have gone better – it’s the perfect relationship and we are getting faster and faster all the time. The teams’ championship is really a good place for PSRX Volkswagen Sweden, and Petter and I closed the gap to Mattias Ekström this weekend, which is fantastic as well,’ the 28 year-old enthused. Kristoffersson was also top qualifier after the event’s four qualifying sessions.

‘Strong partnership’
Veteran racer, ex-World Rally and Rallycross champion and team owner Petter Solberg placed third in Belgium, not helped by three punctures. The 42 year-old echoed his young team-mate’s sentiments: ‘What a weekend! We have seen this kind of speed coming for a while.

‘I’m so pleased for Johan, but I’m even more pleased for the whole team. The guys in Hannover at Volkswagen Motorsport and in our factory in Torsby have really come together for this result; the guys from Volkswagen brought the knowledge of the Polo and we have matched them with the knowledge of the sport. It’s made for a very strong partnership.’

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Belgium: Solberg

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Belgium: Solberg

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Belgium: Kristoffersson and Solberg

The Norwegian, who was fastest in free practice, continued: ‘There was maybe a little bit of frustration when we had the speed but not the results earlier in the year, but here we have really put it all together. It was some tough racing out there this weekend, sometimes I felt a little bit like the meat – or maybe the ham and cheese – in the middle of the sandwich; I was being pushed from the back and from the side, from every direction.

‘But, you have to deal with that and you have to race with that pressure. It was intense, but we did it. On a personal level, three punctures this weekend really compromised my tyre strategy and for the final we really didn’t have much left to choose from – but we made it. Both cars in the final for the fourth consecutive race, a pair of cars on the podium and the first victory for PSRX Volkswagen Sweden!’

The next – and fifth – round of the 2017 FIA World Rallycross Championship is the World RX of Great Britain on 27-28 May at the home of rallycross, the legendary Lydden Hill circuit in Kent. The British round is the last which will be held at the track near Canterbury for now: the series moves to Silverstone in 2018.

https://youtu.be/nUaznb-hBg4

2017 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 Mattias Ekström, Audi S1: 101
2 Johan Kristoffersson, Volkswagen Polo GTI: 98
3 Petter Solberg, Volkswagen Polo GTI: 87
4 Timmy Hansen, Peugeot 208: 72
5 Sebastian Loeb, Peugeot 208: 62

2017 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden: 180
2 EKS: 143
3 Team Peugeot-Hansen: 133

[Images: FIAWorldRallycross.com / PSRX Volkswagen Sweden]

Boosting his second place in the overall standings, Johan Kristoffersson took his Polo GTI Supercar to a second consecutive podium at the World RX of Hockenheim last weekend, the third round of the 2017 FIA World Rallycross Championship. Team-mate and PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team boss Petter Solberg finished fourth in Germany.

‘Exceptionally difficult weekend’
The two-Polo appearance in the Supercar Final maintained the Torsby-based squad’s 100 per cent record of both its cars in the last race. It wasn’t all plain-sailing, though: Solberg suffered an ‘exceptionally difficult weekend’. Fastest in free practice, the Norwegian was under attack in the qualifying rounds, but won the third qualifying session, and was runner-up in the fourth, elevating him from 14th overnight to fifth.

Overall, though, Solberg was pleased with his German result: ‘The first part of qualifying was really tough, but that’s when you have to dig deep. I’m going to be honest now, it was absolutely terrifying when I was hit by another car. I have had some big crashes in my career, but that one really scared me. When I came out of that race, I didn’t know what would happen.

‘As a team, we were a little bit in crisis. We talked about the technical and sporting side of what had happened and what we thought we could achieve with the rest of the weekend. At that time, just making the cut looked like it could be tough. But I wouldn’t want any other team around me at a time like this,’ Solberg enthused.

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Hockenheim: Solberg

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Hockenheim: Solberg

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Hockenheim: Solberg

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Hockenheim: Solberg

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Hockenheim: Solberg

‘Experience, knowledge and determination’
‘PSRX Volkswagen Sweden showed what it’s all about this weekend; we used all of our experience, knowledge, and determination to put this weekend back together. Making the final was like winning the final. This one really was unbelievable,’ a thankful Solberg reported. The 42 year-old’s heroic fightback resulted in a second place in the semi-final and a fourth in the final, which means Solberg hangs on to his third spot in the overall drivers’ points table.

Kristoffersson on the other hand, enjoyed a weekend which was as calm as Solberg’s was traumatic. The young Swede won his semi-final and finished runner-up in the final itself, and was on sublime form. The winner at the Hockenheimring was current World RX champ Mattias Ekström.

‘PSRX Volkswagen Sweden did an amazing job this weekend,’ said Kristoffersson. ‘This team is still really new, but in round one the team was fourth in the final, last time we were third, this time we are second… in Belgium we will continue this progression and hopefully make first! Petter had a tough one, but for me things were a bit more straightforward.

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Hockenheim: Kristoffersson

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Hockenheim: Kristoffersson

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Hockenheim: Kristoffersson

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Hockenheim: Kristoffersson

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Hockenheim: Kristoffersson

‘Amazing speed’
‘The Polo GTI Supercar is showing amazing speed. The other big thing for me, for Petter and the team is what we are doing in the teams’ championship; 17 points clear is very, very impressive for this new team. We’re still learning, we’re still developing and we’re still getting faster – but this weekend we showed how to work as a team. I’m proud to be part of PSRX Volkswagen Sweden,’ said a jubilant Kristoffersson.

The fourth round of the 2017 FIA World Rallycross Championship series is the World RX of Belgium, which takes place on 13-14 May at the Circuit Jules Tacheny in Mettet, 20 kilometres south east of Charleroi. As neither PSRX Volkswagen Sweden driver has won the final at the Belgian circuit before, both will be determined and keen for success!

2017 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 Mattias Ekström, Audi S1: 85
2 Johan Kristoffersson, Volkswagen Polo GTI: 69
3 Petter Solberg, Volkswagen Polo GTI: 62
4 Sebastian Loeb, Peugeot 208: 48
5 Timmy Hansen, Peugeot 208: 47

2017 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden: 131
2 EKS: 114
3 Team Peugeot-Hansen: 95
4 Hoonigan Racing Division: 60
5 MJP Racing Team Austria: 59

[Images: FIAWorldRallycross.com / PSRX Volkswagen Sweden]

Once again, the Volkswagen Polo was one of the UK’s top 10 most popular cars last month, according to the latest registration figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). In ninth place, 2,800 Polos found new homes in April 2017: with 18,253 registrations, the small Volkswagen sits in eighth place for the year so far.

In a repeat of past months, the Ford Fiesta once again was top of both charts in April, the Ford hatchback boasted 4,957 registrations for the month, and 43,162 for the year-to-date. Overall, when compared to the same period last year, new car registrations fell almost 20 per cent, with the new Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) bands expected to answer for the slump.

A total of 152,076 cars were registered in April, but the SMMT still states that the year-to-date performance for 2017 is still at record levels, with new car volumes up 1.1 per cent with 972,092 units recorded. The UK’s top 10 most popular passenger cars during April 2017 and the year overall (sales figure and position in brackets) were as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 4,957 (43,162, 1st)
2 Nissan Qashqai: 4,430 (23,501, 4th)
3 Mercedes-Benz C Class: 3,777 (19,238, 7th)
4 Mercedes-Benz A Class: 3,608 (15,855, 9th)
5 Ford Focus: 3,421 (27,307, 2nd)
6 Vauxhall Astra: 3,346 (21,261, 6th)
7 Volkswagen Golf: 3,223 (22,446, 5th)
8 Audi A3: 3,000
9 Volkswagen Polo: 2,800 (18,253, 8th)
10 BMW 1 Series: 2,740

(The 2017 year-to-date top 10 most popular cars absent from April 2017’s registration figures were the third-placed Vauxhall Corsa, and the tenth-placed Mini with 23,765 and 15,417 cars registered respectively.)

As if GTI and GT TSI and TDI versions weren’t enough, Volkswagen India has announced the new Polo GT Sport, a limited edition ‘warm’ model. A ‘combination of power and efficiency’ is what the Polo GT Sport is all about, and like the standard GT model on which it is based, the new car is available with both TSI petrol and TDI diesel engines.

Exterior and interior updates
A host of exterior and interior updates differentiate the GT Sport from its lesser limited sibling. Outside, a gloss black spoiler, roof foil, ‘GT Sport’ side decals and 16-inch ‘Portago’ alloy wheels mark out the Polo GT Sport, while inside there are leatherette ‘GT Sport’-embossed seat covers. As limited as the – non-specified – production run is the choice of colours, with only Candy White and Flash Red the finishes available.

2017 Volkswagen Polo GT Sport (India)

2017 Volkswagen Polo GT Sport (India)

2017 Volkswagen Polo GT Sport (India)

Mechanically, the Polo GT Sport is unchanged from the standard Indian-market Polo GT. That means an option of 1.2-litre 103bhp TSI turbocharged petrol or 1.5-litre 107bhp TDI diesel engines mated to either seven-speed DSG (GT TSI) or five-speed manual (GT TDI) transmissions. Standard Polo GT features such as aluminium pedals and electrically-folding mirrors remain.

‘The first choice for buyers’
Speaking at the launch, Thierry Lespiaucq, Managing Director, Volkswagen Group Sales India, said: ‘Polo GT has been the first choice for buyers who seek strong power delivery and class-leading efficiency both combined a single carline. The GT badge has always instilled the pride of owning the best, and the Polo GT Sport takes it a notch higher.’

2017 Volkswagen Polo GT Sport (India)

2017 Volkswagen Polo GT Sport (India)

2017 Volkswagen Polo GT Sport (India)

The 2017 Volkswagen Polo GT TSI Sport is priced at INR 9.11 lakh, while the Polo GT TDI Sport costs INR 9.21 lakh (both ex-showroom Delhi). Find out more details about the limited edition Polo GT Sport on the special Volkswagen India website, while learn about the standard features of the Polo GT by clicking this link.

After a promising first outing in Barcelona, the PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team had reason to celebrate at the second round of the 2017 FIA World Rallycross Championship, the 22-23 April World RX of Portugal. Johan Kristoffersson took his Polo GTI Supercar to third place in the final in Montalnegre, behind current World RX champion Mattias Ekström and multi-World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb.

Fastest time
Setting a quick pace from the off, the 570bhp PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTIs were in fine form, and for the first time, sported different coloured roof panels for ease of being seen more clearly when in the thick of the action: Kristoffersson’s car now has a white panel, while Petter Solberg’s Polo is capped in black. The PSRX Volkswagen Sweden machines were even quick in practice, scoring a Kristoffersson-Solberg 1-2, with Kristofferrson setting a new lap record.

The weekend’s races started well for Kristoffersson, as the Swede recorded the fastest time on day one, and lead the fourth race in the first qualifying session. Ex-World RX champion Solberg finished in second, ahead of Loeb. But in the third qualifying session, while Kristoffersson finished first, he forgot to take his Joker lap, and incurred a 30-second time penalty. However, Solberg set the fastest time during the same session and led the intermediate classifications going into the second day of action with Kristoffersson second overall.

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Portugal: Kristoffersson

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Portugal: Kristoffersson

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Portugal: Kristoffersson

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Portugal: Kristoffersson

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Portugal: Kristoffersson

‘A simple mistake’
Kristoffersson said: ‘Yesterday was about as good as it could get, but in Q3 we missed the Joker and that was really frustrating and maybe that cost me the chance of a better position in the final, but these things can happen. It was a simple mistake, nothing more. In Q4 we lost out because the track wasn’t as dry. In the final, I had a plan to stay behind Petter but unfortunately he had a slow puncture on the left rear and was losing a lot of time.

‘I managed to get past him on lap three which meant I had three laps to drive as fast as I could and I successfully closed on Timmy Hansen. We’ve made some good improvements with the car since Barcelona, especially with the launch and it feels great to give Volkswagen its first podium of the season,’ said the elated Swedish rallycross star.

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Portugal: Solberg

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Portugal: Solberg

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Portugal: Solberg

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Portugal: Solberg

2017 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI Supercar, World RX of Portugal: Solberg

Slow puncture
That slow puncture put paid to Solberg’s chances, but the Norwegian still managed a sixth place result: ‘My plan was to get away from the line as quickly as possible. We had the speed all weekend and the plan was for Johan to stay behind me in the beginning of the race. But I picked up a slow puncture on the left-rear and I wanted to get out on the straight to let Johan past me. It came at the worst possible moment; I slowed him down and there was nothing I could do.

‘That’s tough, but these things can happen – punctures are part of our sport. Putting that behind us, I’m so happy with the way things are moving forward with the team and to be leading the championship is fantastic when you consider where we were just before the start of the year! It’s very good for me to have Johan alongside me in the team – he did a great job of safeguarding our position today (Sunday),’ enthused Solberg.

As in Barcelona, EKS’ Mattias Ekström took the overall spoils in Portugal, his second consecutive 2017 victory. He leads Kristoffersson – now in second place – by 14 points. With 42 points, sixth-placed Montalnegre finisher Solberg is two points behind Kristoffersson. PSRX Volkswagen Sweden’s consistent run in Portugal sees the team lead the overall team standings, with a nine-point lead over EKS.

The third round of the 2017 FIA World Rallycross Championship is the World RX of Hockenheim at the Hockenheimring in Germany on 6-7 May, where the rallycross series supports a weekend of German Touring Car (DTM) circuit action.

https://youtu.be/oN6jp__z2GY

2017 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 Mattias Ekström, Audi S1: 58
2 Johan Kristoffersson, Volkswagen Polo GTI: 44
3 Petter Solberg, Volkswagen Polo GTI: 42
4 Andreas Bakkerud, Ford Focus RS: 30
5 Timo Scheider, Ford Fiesta RXS: 28

2017 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden: 86
2 EKS: 77
3 Hoonigan Racing Division: 49
5 Team Peugeot-Hansen: 49
5 MJP Racing Team Austria: 35

[Images: FIAWorldRallycross.com / PSRX Volkswagen Sweden]