Category: WRC

That thud you can hear is the sound of Citroën’s confidence crashing to the ground as they watched Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia dominate all weekend to claim victory in Rally Sweden. It’s Ogier’s eighth WRC win but his first for Volkswagen, of course. A remarkable achievement for him and the new Volkswagen Polo R WRC.

In just two races Ogier has finished second and first and has established a 24 point championship lead over Citroën’s Mikko Hirvonen, the driver tipped to take over Loeb’s crown in 2013.

Hirvonen’s Rally Sweden aspirations were dashed early on after a relatively sedate rollover saw him embedded in a snow bank. It took over 20 minutes to dig himself out by which point any hopes of victory were gone.

Ogier, though, was calmness personified and after establishing a comfortable lead on day 1 was never seriously threatened. Sebastien Loeb piled on the pressure on the final day, but Ogier was composed and held on for a dominant win. In truth the slender 1.8 second winning margin flattered second-placed Loeb.

Rally Sweden is notoriously tricky and its record shows that Scandinavian or Finnish drivers usually win the event. Now we can add Frenchman to that list as Ogier joins Loeb as the only non-northern Europeans to taste success in Sweden.

“That is an indescribable feeling! We were screaming with joy in the car,” explained Ogier after the rally. “It is simply incredible to claim the first victory for Volkswagen and the team at only our second rally. This is probably the greatest moment of my career.

“The Polo R WRC was perfect the entire time. The guys did a fantastic job of preparing the car. So much can happen in Sweden. The conditions in the snow are so difficult – winning here, as only the second central European and ahead of the best rally driver of all time, makes me enormously proud. We had to give 100 per cent, right down to the final day, because Sébastien Loeb was really going for it right through to the finish.”

We think Sebastien Ogier could be our motorsport hero for 2013. It’s an early call and there’s still a long way to go in the WRC season. However, Ogier appears to have a calming personality that oozes charisma and makes us want him to succeed. Maybe it’s just because we’re (generally) Volkswagen fans, or perhaps it’s because we could be witnessing a serious challenge to Citroën’s recent dominance. Something the WRC desperately needs.

A huge contrast in conditions awaits the teams for the next event when they head to central Americas for Rally Mexico (7–10 March).

Around about the same time Volkswagen revealed its race-ready Polo R WRC to the world, new signing Jari-Matti Latvala was out in the snow thrashing one about in preparation for the 2013 Rallye Monte Carlo.

Thankfully, some rally nerds were out in the cold ready to catch all the action, which you can see in video form after the break.

Two-time world rally champ Carlos Sainz has been with Volkswagen Motorsport for a few years now. He won the Dakar Rally with the team in 2010 and has been heavily involved in the development of the new Polo R WRC.

Here’s what he had to say when comparing the early tests with the Touareg and the Polo: “Dakar is very different, but when we started with the Touareg we actually had quite a few little problems and we needed to work hard to find a solution. I wouldn’t say that we were competitive straight away in Dakar.

“Here, from what I can see, it should be different. You never know, but I think that the Polo will be fast from the beginning. My feeling with all the tests was very positive.”

Based on nothing other than gut feeling, we tend to agree with Sainz’s view. Through their Dakar success, Volkswagen has shown it’s got what it takes to produce race-winning machinery. And while a championship win for Volkswagen in the 2013 WRC may be bordering the realm of fantasy, we expect they might win a race or two.

[Source: wrc.com]

The long wait is almost over and the wraps have finally come off the race-ready Volkswagen Polo R WRC at a special launch event in Monaco overnight. In pictures, at least, the newest WRC weapon looks hard to beat.

Powered by a 1.6 litre turbocharged four cylinder, as the WRC specs dictate, the Polo R WRC has 232kW (315hp) and 425Nm to play with. On the right surface it will see off 100km/h in 3.9 seconds, and don’t you reckon that would be a heap of fun to experience!

Volkswagen will start the season with two cars, driven by Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia and Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila. Team bosses have clearly stated that both drivers “will start the season on equal footing.” But it won’t be long until they’ll have a junior pairing snapping at their heels.

Making their debut in round four, at Rally Portugal, will be junior pairing Andreas Mikkelsen and Mikko Markkula. They have strong ambitions, too. “Volkswagen is a very goal-oriented team, which has developed beyond measure during the preparations for the World Rally Championship,” says Mikkelsen. “The team left nothing to chance during the ‘Dakar’ project, and demonstrated the right approach to motorsport. I can learn a lot here and achieve a lot in the future.”

Meanwhile, Sebastien Ogier will be hoping his year away from the top-level hasn’t gone to waste. “After over a year and a half of preparations, I can hardly wait to pull up to the start of the ‘Monte’ with the Polo R WRC and see where we stand compared to the opposition,” he said.

Volkswagen will have tough competition in the form of Citroën, but we won’t be at all surprised if the Polo R WRC is able to sweep all before it. We think Jari-Matti Latvala agrees with us, too. “For me, Volkswagen is the best option as I strive to close in on my personal goal: the World Championship title,” said Latvala. “The team has impressed me with its determination and the pleasant way in which everyone treats each other. Every individual is absolutely committed to helping the whole team be successful. I am really excited about the Monte.”

The 2013 WRC season kicks off with Rallye Monte Carlo on 20 January.

More details on the Polo R WRC await after the break.