PoloDriver

Remember the limited-edition Polo R WRC road car from 2013 built to commemorate the advent of Volkswagen’s World Rally Championship campaign? The 217bhp 2.0-litre Polo instantly became sought after and the most powerful to date and the 2,500-unit production run sold out quickly.

KW Automotive certainly remembers the white, grey and blue-striped small car from Wolfsburg and before the 2015 Geneva motor show announced a new coilover suspension kit for the road car version of Volkswagen’s rally Polo.

The ST X, ST XA and ST XTA kits allow continuous lowering via the front or rear damper trapezoid threads. The front of the standard Polo 6R can be lowered between 20-50mm, while a 40-65mm lower ride height can be optioned at the rear. As the R WRC is already lower from the factory, a maximum adjustment of -30mm is permitted.

The ST X coilovers have a factory-fixed damper setup, but the damping forces of the ST XA and ST XTA can be set more to be more comfortable or to give a more sporty set-up. The front axle adjustable aluminium Unibal top mounts come as standard and by changing the camber angle, the tyres get an optimum contact area when cornering.

Even though the KW kits are of the coilover type, by using shorter damper housings, the spring travel can be one centimetre more than the standard suspension, allowing for more comfort. All KW ST Polo coilover kit settings are determined from extensive road and long-term tests, the company states.

Prices start at €699 for the basic ST X coilover kit, rising to €1,099 for the ST XA version. For more information and full pricing details, visit www.st-suspensions.net/produktfinder/?typ=26482

Volkswagen Sasolracing started the 2015 South African National Rally Championship as it meant to go on with a podium placing for Henk Lategan and Barry White. The two drivers scored a third place finish at the Tour Natal Rally, which kicked off in the KwaZulu-Natal area of the country.

Lategan was second overall in the 2014 championship with his co-driver Björn Degandt, and at the first round of the 2015 season his pairing with White netted them top five finishes during every stage of the Natal event. A third place at the end of day one ensured the duo started day two third on every stage running among the fastest teams.

‘Our pace notes for the rally were really good,’ said Lategan. ‘We made perhaps two small mistakes – which is nothing over a whole rally – but we were on it right from the beginning of the event. We were pushing 100 per cent here at the Tour Natal, driving well but with the frontrunners not making any mistakes either the pace didn’t allow us to make up any time on them,’ he continued.

Good pace
Mike Rowe, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa was pleased his team’s result: ‘Two years of experience is now starting to show for Henk and Barry. They managed the rally very well and showed good pace. With our technical improvements for the Sasol Rally we will be in an even better space and expecting even better results there.’

Another new pairing, Gugu Zulu and Pierre Arries, achieved a sixth place finish in their newly-liveried Polo S2000 rally car. Zulu was reflective on the pair’s achievements: ‘A brand new car and navigator makes for a trying combination. Blind corners through the sugar cane and a slippery surface made the event difficult.

‘I’m glad we brought it home after a clean rally and gained the points. The car is fabulous and the team has worked hard during the off-season. Pierre and I need to work on a smoother rhythm in the car and we’ll be going into the Sasol Rally feeling really strong,’ he noted.

‘Gugu and Pierre’s results are very good for this event,’ said Rowe. ‘For their first rally together, and their first time in a left-hand drive car, they produced a surprising result, missing fifth place overall by just nine-tenths of a second. A solid result for the team overall.’


Out of contention
The final pieces in the Volkswagen Sasolracing, Hans Weijs Jnr and Björn Degandt weren’t so lucky. A roll on day one took them out of contention of the Tour Natal, but stoked up Weijs’ determination for the season.

‘We were getting quicker through the stages,’ he said. ‘We had good speed and I decided to push the pace a bit, but we went a little too far inside of the corner, caught the ridge at the side of the road and it pushed us over. It is disappointing, but I can tell you this – the next rally is mine!’

The next round of the 2015 South African National Rally Championship is the Sasol Rally in Mpumalanga on 17-18 April.

In a familiar story and a repeat of the previous two wins from the same number of events, Volkswagen Motorsport driver pairing Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia emerged victorious at the third round of the 2015 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Rally Mexico. The South American group of stages which ran from 6-9 March was the 25th time the Polo R WRC has come out on top in the 29 WRC events it has started since 2013.

‘Perfect rally’
Described as a ‘perfect rally’ for the French pairing, Rally Mexico saw Ogier and Ingrassia finish in the top three driver pairings in 20 of the 21 special stages, taking the fastest time in nine of them. Leading from 5.61km in, the double world champions set the pace and never looked back. With new rules legislating that the championship leader starts the stages first, Ogier selected hard and soft tyres, turning his ‘sweeping’ disadvantage into a positive opportunity.

From then on, the duo displayed a truly flawless example of driving and navigating on the first of six consecutive gravel rallies. Run at over 1,800 metres above sea level, the WRC cars can be affected by the air at high altitudes, but this didn’t stop Ogier and Ingrassia, who promised a blistering pace by setting the fastest time at Shakedown before the rally around the Guanajuato area of the country got properly underway.

Ogier and Ingrassia didn’t relent and collected the three bonus points for the fastest time on the final run through the ‘El Brinco’ Power Stage, known for its popular and spectacular jump. The French drivers’ team-mates Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene picked up two extra points as they tamed El Brinco and finished second.

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With a name which could have been taken from a magician in a faraway fairy tale, the new Vento Magnific has been launched by Volkswagen India. Based on the Comfortline and Highline versions of the Polo 6R-based saloon, the Magnific special edition costs no more than the standard models it is based on.

In a nod to 1980s and 1990s VWs, the Vento Magnific Highline serves up a Blaupunkt touchscreen infotainment system with 3G internet connectivity in the centre console, as well as an Android-based tablet also made by the German entertainment company.

The Comfortline version receives alloy wheels, a Garmin-made satellite navigation system, ‘Vento’-embossed scuff plates as well as special ‘Magnific’ badging. Standard equipment from the regular cars includes twin front airbags and a multifunction steering wheel.

The mechanical package which underpins the magical new model is carried over from the donor cars. That means a choice of 104bhp 1.6-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engines, both with five-speed manual transmissions.

Available from Volkswagen’s Indian retailers today, 10 March, the Vento Magnific is just the latest model to offer enhanced value, according to Michael Mayer, Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Group Sales India Pvt Ltd.

‘We always strive to go the extra mile and provide more value to our customers. The Special Edition Vento Magnific is a step in that direction. Along with high standards of safety and impeccable build quality, the Vento Magnific is also equipped with high-end extras,’ he said.

Manitou Group SA Rally team co-driver Henry Kohne recalls how the 2015 South African National Rally Championship (SANRC) got off to a bang for the Vredenburg-based crew

The opening round of the South African National Rally Championship was on the weekend of 27-28 February in the KwaZulu-Natal, Scottburgh area and the Manitou Group SA Rally team managed to score a win in class S1600 with its Polo S1600 rally car.

Being the first event of the 2015 season, the Tour Natal Rally saw the top eight seeded teams have draw starting positions. Paul Franken and Henry Kohne drew number one, putting them first on the road.

‘Being the first front-wheel drive car on the road was a big challenge to me, with slippery road conditions we were very cautious on day one. We managed to pick up our pace throughout the event and at the end, our cautious approach seems to have worked for us as many teams were caught out by the slippery roads of Natal,’ said Paul Franken.

The Manitou Group team won three out of the eleven special stages in the S1600 class. This gave confidence at the beginning of the season to compete for more podium positions in the S1600 class.

‘We are pleased with our result on the Tour Natal Rally. To score maximum points at the beginning of the season will help a lot towards the Championship,’ added Franken.

The next event is the SASOL Rally in Sabie on the weekend of 17-18 April. The Manitou Group SA Rally team is supported by Manitou Group, Supa Quick Birchleigh, Volkswagen Motorsport and SASOL Racing.

[Image: Sue Vacy-lyle]