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Newly-crowned World Rally Champions* Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia ensured Volkswagen Motorsport claimed its twelfth FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) title in four years, as the pair clinched victory at the 2016 Rally Great Britain. Round 12 of the 13-event 2016 series took place in Wales, the 330.21kms run from 28-30 October. The win in and around the muddy forest tracks means that Volkswagen Motorsport has lifted the Drivers’, Co-drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championship trophies in every year it has taken part in the WRC since 2013.

Fourth consecutive win
The Welsh victory was the fourth consecutive win for Ogier and Ingrassia – and their sixth of the season – and gives Volkswagen an unassailable lead in the 2016 Manufacturers’ Championship, with one round still to play out in Australia next month. The German outfit now joins Citroën as only the second manufacturer to win all three titles four years in a row. Only Peugeot, Citroën and Lancia have more titles to their name, with five, eight and ten wins respectively. Even all-conquering Audi only won two.

Ogier and Ingrassia continued their Rally Great Britain winning streak which they demonstrated in 2013, 2014 and 2015, and came hot on the heels of wins in Germany, Franc and Spain. It also marked the first time the Frenchmen have won the same event four consecutive times. Held two weeks earlier than usual, the typical Rally Great Britain fog, rain and mud appeared to prove little challenge for Ogier and Ingrassia, who slid into the lead from the opening stage.

For once, running first – thanks to drivers’ standings starting positions – on the stages played into the French duo’s favour, but from then on, the pair were embroiled in a close battle with DMACK’s Ott Tänak and Raigo Mōlder, who put up the toughest fight to win the British stages. By the end of the first day, Ogier and Ingrassia had won five of the eight stages and set a lead of 37.3 seconds. By the end of day three, Tänak and Mōlder had narrowed it down to 10.2s.

‘An incredible journey’
Ogier was excited about the British win: ‘This victory is fantastic. I am so delighted that we have wrapped up the manufacturers’ title for our fantastic team. It was hard work hanging onto our lead in the extremely slippery conditions. Ott Tänak put us under a lot of pressure, so Julien and I had to push ourselves to the limit all weekend. But we did it.

‘Looking back, we have all been on an incredible journey over the past four years. To have such a run of success is definitely something very special – particularly in motorsport, where so many different factors come into play. I am very happy that I opted for Volkswagen before anyone knew where this WRC adventure would take us,’ the champion-elect* enthused.

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Great Britain: Ogier/Ingrassia

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Great Britain: Ogier/Ingrassia

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Great Britain: Ogier/Ingrassia

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Great Britain: Ogier/Ingrassia

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Great Britain: Ogier/Ingrassia

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Volkswagen Motorsport’s Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia have been crowned 2016 World Rally Championship (WRC) drivers’ champions*, after taking victory at Rally Spain. The Polo R WRC-driving duo were awarded their fourth Drivers’ Championship after just 11 events from the 2016 series, with two rounds still to go. The 321.08km-long Rally Spain took place around Barcelona and the Costa Daurada region of the country from 14-16 October.

Quartet of titles
The Spanish podium was Ogier’s and Ingrassia’s fifth win of the season, and their ninth in 11 events. The quartet of titles lifts the French pair alongside other multiple champions Juha Kankkunen and Tommi Mäkinen, with only compatriot Sébastien Loeb having more wins to his name. Ogier has spent a total of 952 days at the top of the drivers’ standings, and with each title the dominant Frenchman has gained the championship with events to spare.

The 2016 Rally Spain win was the gallic duo’s 37th victory and their 30th with Volkswagen Motorsport since the German manufacturer’s WRC campaign began in 2013. However, the mixed surface gravel and asphalt event wasn’t an easy fight. Local driver Dani Sordo led the way in his Hyundai Motorsport i20 WRC, with Ogier and Ingrassia losing 17 seconds on day one to the Spaniard thanks to wet weather and mud-covered routes.

https://youtu.be/oDS_rB9Y1nY

Cool determination
Day two saw the French pair claw back precious time, though. The rest of the stages were run on asphalt, and Ogier turned his time deficit into a 5.8-second lead, and won five of the eight special stages. On Sunday, day three, that lead was extended still further thanks to the Gap-born driver’s cool determination and he and Ingrassia finished a whole 15.6 seconds ahead of Sordo and Marc Marti, while Belgian Hyundai Motorsport i20 WRC crew Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul were behind their team-mates in third.

Ogier was enthusiastically upbeat: ’I feel fantastic! The fourth world championship title for Julien and me, it is impossible to describe how this feels. It is an honour to be mentioned in the same breath as such big names as Kankkunen and Mäkinen. I would like to say a huge thank you to our team at Volkswagen. Without them, Julien and I would not be here today. They do a fantastic job all year and we have had a perfect car all season. I had great fun at the wheel of the Polo R WRC once again this weekend.

‘The tension ahead of the closing Power Stage was obviously greater than usual, given the fact that we were within touching distance of the title, and bearing in mind the mistake we made last year. But we’ve done it. Despite the more difficult regulations, and despite the strong opposition. I am extremely proud of this title. It is now time to celebrate in style with my team and my wife – and when I get home I can show my young son Tim the trophy that daddy won. I dedicate this world championship title to him.’

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Spain: Ogier/Ingrassia

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Spain: Ogier/Ingrassia

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Spain: Ogier/Ingrassia

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Spain: Ogier/Ingrassia

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It was another firm finish for Volkswagen RX Sweden and Johan Kristoffersson at the World RX of Germany (14-16 October), which saw the young driver end up in sixth position overall. The penultimate round of the 2016 FIA World Rallycross Championship was held at the Entering circuit in Germany, and Kristoffersson’s final placing keeps him in contention for second place overall in the Drivers’ Championship ahead of the final round next month in Argentina.

As the weekend started, Kristoffersson’s consistent pace netted him fifth fastest place in the first qualifying heats, while he ended day one in sixth place. A slow start in the second semi-final race saw Kristoffersson fight back to qualify for the final. Sadly, after a strong early start, a puncture to his rear left tyre on the third lap put an end to his podium position hopes.

‘We had to fight hard’
Kristoffersson was mostly pleased with his finish, as well as his potential championship rise over the 2105 World RX season: ‘It felt like we were fighting from the back a little bit this weekend. I didn’t have any luck getting good start positions in the qualifying races. I think my best position out of the first corner was third all weekend, so we had to fight hard.

‘We had great speed to make it into the semi-final and we had a good grid position. I felt we would be able to show what we could do, but then I stalled at the start. That was very annoying and I just fought hard to get into the final.

‘We had the quickest lap of the day in the semi-final, and we were fighting for a podium in the final but I got a puncture and that was that. It’s really good we scored a lot of points and we will push hard to be fast in Argentina,’ he said.

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Germany: Kristoffersson

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Germany: Kristoffersson

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Germany: Kristoffersson

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Germany: Kristoffersson

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Germany: Kristoffersson

Elsewhere, the 600bhp Polo RXs of Anton Marklund and ‘wildcard’ driver and regular rallycross Polo pilot Tanner Foust experienced more challenging weekends, with both cars suffering from traffic issues which stopped them turning good lap times into semi-final qualifications.

It was the second event of the 2016 World RX season for Foust, and it was hampered by minor problems on day one and racing in the slowest track conditions on Sunday morning didn’t help the Top Gear US host’s cause.

‘Tough weekend’
Marklund was happy with both the set-up and performance of his Polo RX Supercar at Estering, but disappointed he wasn’t in the semi-finals, finishing in 15th place. ‘It was a tough weekend for sure. The team did an amazing job running three cars, and especially with changing from dry to wet setup several times,’ he commented.

‘We have struggled with the starts a bit and bad starts don’t give you the best opportunities. Unfortunately I got stuck in traffic and lost a lot of time, but the pace was there. I’m really looking forward to Argentina, the car is perfect and I really believe we can have a good result.’

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Germany: Foust

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Germany: Foust

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Germany: Marklund, Kristoffersson and Foust

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Germany: Marklund

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Germany: Marklund

Eighteenth-position Foust meanwhile enjoyed racing the Volkswagen Polo RX at the German circuit: ‘This is a track that’s very fun to drive and challenging to set the car up for, but yesterday we had some problems. This morning we had great power in the car and Q3 felt really good.

‘It’s difficult to come in and just do one event. It used to be that I could come in and do one event once in a while and win. It’s not like that anymore, the level is really high which is awesome for the sport and it just makes me hungry to drive in World RX more often,’ he reported.

Former Swedish Rallycross Champion Peter Hedström also joined the 30-strong Supercar fray and raced a Polo RX at the German track 30 miles south of Hamburg, where he finished in sixteenth position overall.

The winner of the 2016 World RX of Germany was Olsbergs MSE driver Kevin Eriksson, while Mattias Ekström of EKS was crowned 2016 World RX Champion, even though he finished fifth – one place ahead of Kristoffersson – having amassed enough points for a commanding lead after only 11 rounds. The final event of the 2016 FIA World Rallycross Championship, the World RX of Argentina, takes place at Rosario on 26-27 November.

2016 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 Mattias Ekström, Audi S1: 251
2 Petter Solberg, Citroën DS3: 221
3 Johan Kristoffersson, Volkswagen Polo: 217
4 Andreas Bakkerud, Ford Focus RS: 210
5 Sébastien Loeb, Peugeot 208: 194

2016 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 EKS: 385
2 Team Peugeot Hansen: 368
3 Volkswagen RX Sweden: 283
4 Hoonigan Racing Division: 271
5 World RX Team Austria: 206

[Images: FIAWorldRallycross.com / Volkswagen RX Sweden]

After a disappointing result at the World RX of Spain, Volkswagen RX Sweden travelled to the inaugural World RX of Latvia with one clear objective: to achieve a strong result. Round 10 of the 2016 FIA World Rallycross Championship took place at the 1.29km-long Bikernieki National Sports Base on 30 September to 2 October, and the event saw Volkswagen RX Sweden’s Johan Kristoffersson finish fifth overall. The result doesn’t tell the whole story, though: the Swedish star is now second in the series’ Drivers’ Championship points.

Fastest time
Kristoffersson set the fastest time in the second qualifying heat on day one and also claimed the top spot in the third round, despite changeable weather conditions and torrential rain. With a time almost six seconds faster than any rival, the 600bhp Polo RX proved its capability and rewarded the Swedish driver with a first place at the end of the Intermediate Classification sessions. The rallycross and circuit star also started on pole position for the first semi-final, before crossing the line fifth in the final race.

The points boost saw Kristoffersson leap-frog over ex-WRC champion and reigning World RX leader Petter Holberg to take second place in the drivers’ standings, 27 points shy of leader Mattias Ekström. Kristoffersson was pleased with the improvement in his performance: ‘I was able do one very quick run in the dry and one in the wet this weekend, so that was good, and to be top after the qualifying races and move to P2 in the championship is great.

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Latvia: Kristoffersson

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Latvia: Kristoffersson

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Latvia: Kristoffersson

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Latvia: Kristoffersson

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Latvia: Kristoffersson

‘Lot of progress’
‘I have to thank the whole team because now we are scoring a lot of points at every race. We just have to keep pushing, to continue to try and fight for this championship. We missed a bit of pace in the semi-final and final, so it has not been an easy day for sure. We have made a lot of progress in the last few events and I’m looking forward to Germany in two weeks,’ he continued. A total of sixty points are available over the next and final two rounds of the season.

Kristofersson’s team-mate Anton Marklund endured a more challenging event in Riga. However, the former FIA European Rallycross Touring Car Champion also improved on his points tally in the championship standings at the Latvian event. A spin in the torrentially wet conditions of the third qualifying session cost Marklund time, without which he would have made the semi-finals. As it was he finished 15th in Latvia.

‘Very tough’
The young Swede conceded his result was not what he expected: ‘This weekend has been very tough for me. I got a brand new chassis for this round and the mechanics have done an amazing job. It looks like a show car, it’s stunning and I was really looking forward to racing it here. We set some good lap times but I didn’t have the feeling on the first day.

‘I had really good pace in the wet on the morning of dat two, but hit some water and had a 360-degree spin, which cost me a lot of time. If you take away the time I lost, I would have been P4 in Q3 and that would have got me into the semi-finals. It’s disappointing, but I’m testing here in Latvia all day on Monday to find improvements in myself and the car, so I can show what I can do in Germany,’ he added.

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Latvia: Marklund

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Latvia: Kristoffersson

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Latvia: Kristoffersson

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Latvia: Marklund and Kristoffersson

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Latvia: Marklund

‘Huge effort’
Michael Schneider, Volkswagen RX Sweden Team Principal is pleased with the progress made in both wet and dry conditions, and says the team will do all it can to help Kristoffersson fight for the 2016 World RX Drivers’ Championship title. ‘Johan had a very good weekend. To be top qualifier takes a huge effort from the team and driver, and it proves again that we have the pace to run at the front,’ said Schneider. ‘We will work hard to do everything we can to finish in the best possible place after the last round in Argentina. Nothing is over until after the final round.’

Volkswagen RX Sweden remains third in the World Rallycross Teams’ Championship points. The next round the series will take place in two weeks’ time at the Estering in Germany on 15-16 October, where US TV star and rallycross driver Tanner Foust will join the Swedish outfit in a third Volkswagen Polo RX Supercar.

2016 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 Mattias Ekström, Audi S1: 228
2 Johan Kristoffersson, Volkswagen Polo: 201
2 Petter Solberg, Citroën DS3: 194
4 Andreas Bakkerud, Ford Focus RS: 192
5 Sébastien Loeb, Peugeot 208: 180

2016 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 EKS: 333
2 Team Peugeot Hansen: 345
3 Volkswagen RX Sweden: 265
4 Hoonigan Racing Division: 247
5 World RX Team Austria: 187

[Images: FIAWorldRallycross.com / Volkswagen RX Sweden]

Three-time world rally champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia are one step nearer to claiming a fourth consecutive drivers’ title in the World Rally Championship (WRC) after claiming a debut victory at Rally France, held on the island of Corsica from 29 September to 2 October.

Fortieth Polo R WRC win
The French duo awarded the 318bhp all-wheel drive Polo R WRC its 40th victory on the asphalt roads through the mountains and the 390.92kms of stages on the event known as the ‘Rally of 10,000 Corners’ (there are in fact just 659 ‘real turns’). They themselves scored the 36th win of their career and dominated the Corsican stages from the word go.

The reigning champions won half of the ten special stages, and set all the best times of the first day – a first since Volkswagen Motorsport entered the WRC in 2013. Ogier and Ingrassia were back on home turf and back on an asphalt surface, and they took full advantage. The smooth surface needed no ‘sweeping’ unlike the gravel tracks of the mid-season events where the pair have posted slower stage times, due to their first place starting positions.

Early dominance
Ogier and Ingrassia’s early dominance showed world champion skills and through a blend of a powerful performance, the right tyre choices for the mixed dry and damp stage conditions, and a cool determination, the Frenchmen set the pace and kept it there, right until the end of the event. Team-mates Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jæger were chasing hard, along with Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul in their i20 WRC.

Coincidentally, the French pair’s leading chasers were also the crews which could deny them a fourth consecutive WRC title. Ogier and Ingrassia’s win meant that their lead in the Drivers’ Championship is now 68 points: a third place and a point on the Power Stage at Rally Spain would see them crowned champions for the fourth time.

That’s regardless of other results, with only Mikkelsen/Jæger and Neuville/Gilsoul able to stop the current champions taking another trophy: the other Volkswagen Motorsport crew of Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila finished fourth in France and are sadly now out of title contention.

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally France: Ogier/Ingrassia

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally France: Ogier/Ingrassia

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally France: Ogier/Ingrassia

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally France: Ogier/Ingrassia

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally France: Ogier/Ingrassia

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