PoloDriver

We could see it coming, but dared not hope. But, exceeding all its own expectations, Volkswagen has won the 2013 World Rally Championship, with Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia taking the spoils during Rally France, currently taking place in Alsace. The result is to be confirmed by the FIA, but the French dynamic duo came third in the Power Stage (stage one of the French event), meaning they can’t be caught in the championship standings, therefore taking outright series victory. There are still two more rounds of the championship, to go, too, with Rally Spain and Rally Wales GB wins still to be fought for.

The victory marks two firsts – the first time Ogier and Ingrassia have taken the World Champions title, and the first time a manufacturer has taken the title in its debut season. Volkswagen Motorsport was, it says, aiming for podium finishes in its inaugural season, but with a car two years in development and gestation, and the non-competing of the current WRC champion Sébastien Loeb, it must have secretly wished for more than that. Cynics will look at Loeb’s part-time attendance in his final WRC season as one of the factors in VW’s win, but that would be to deny what the team and Ogier and Ingrassia have achieved.

Consistently fast, and taking six wins this season out of a possible 10, the Frenchmen have set 2013’s pace and have been the pair to beat. Ever since the Polo R WRC took to the stages of the Monte Carlo Rally in January, it has been a familiar sight at the top of the leaderboards, its white, yellow, red, and blue livery flashing through the world’s toughest rally stages. Development of the car started in 2011, with the final specification of the car unveiled in December 2012. With 315bhp, four-wheel drive, a six-speed sequential gearbox, and a devastating appetite for forest tracks, asphalt roads, and gravel and mud routes, the super-Polo has provided the perfect office in which for Ogier to work.

‘I am absolutely overjoyed! I could give everyone in the world a big hug. The feeling is impossible to describe. To have won the World Championship title in France is an absolute dream come true. For the past few days I have been trying not to think too much about it. The relief now is immense. As a little boy, I used to marvel at the cars and top drivers at the Rally Monte Carlo with my father in my home town of Gap – and now Julien and I are World Rally Champions. It is crazy. However, I am also well aware that this success would never have been possible without our fantastic team at Volkswagen. I have to thank everyone,’ said an ecstatic Ogier. And we thank you, Sébastien. We’ve enjoyed watching you, Julien and the Polo R WRC this year, and it’s a genuinely exciting time to be both a rally and VW fan.

It was always going to be exciting when Volkswagen announced it was to enter the World Rally Championship, back in 2011. The icing on the cake for us was the choice of car – the thought of seeing a Polo in top-flight motorsport really was something to look forward to. Fast forward to 2013, and the team of three 300bhp+, four-wheel drive Polo R WRCs are leading both the manufacturers’ and drivers’ championships. We dared not think that far ahead when the rallying Polo was revealed, but are genuinely excited by the prospect of Volkswagen driver Sébastien Ogier taking the 2013 crown.

If you are equally excited about motorsport and rallying in particular, you can share the excitement with Volkswagen at the ‘Rally the World’ Championship 2013. Head over to Volkswagen’s Rally the World website to take part in a fast-paced interactive game, and experience what it’s like to be a top-class rally driver. Rallying is one of the most thrilling motorsports in the world, and Volkswagen’s latest competition lets you experience the highs and lows as you learn to drift like a pro in the company’s latest sports-orientated models.

As the 2013 World Rally Championship heads to Rally France this week, there’s no better time to join the adventure and share the exhilaration with Volkswagen. You could even win a VIP trip as the guest of Volkswagen to Rally Monte Carlo in January 2014. So, enter the contest as a team through the Rally the World Facebook App, and do battle in the special stages. Who knows, you could be tasting the victory champagne!

Sponsored Post

He’s done it again. Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia took victory at the Rally Australia over the weekend. The Frenchmen scored maximum points, won 19 Special Stages, and came within in reach of the World Championship title. The sixth rally win of the season wasn’t without incident though; two of the pair’s competitors had punctures in the last 15km of the Power Stage, preventing the duo from claiming the championship title. One point away from taking the 2013 crown, Ogier and Ingrassia head into the next round, Rally France, 83 points ahead of their nearest rival, Belgian Thierry Neuville.

Impressively, given their supersonic pace at other rounds this year, Ogier and Ingrassia put in their best performance of the season so far in Australia, with only three best Special Stage times denied them. ‘Of course I’m pleased to have won here in Australia, but it’s disappointing to be on course to win the World Championship title and then lose it in the last kilometre. Apart from that, it was a fantastic rally for us. We won 19 of the 22 Special Stages and collected three points in the Power Stage, too. The Polo R WRC worked perfectly throughout the weekend, and the VW Motorsport team did a great job,’ said an elated Ogier.

Cars and drivers faced wide-ranging conditions in the southern hemisphere, with technical and narrow winding sections marking day one, while day two’s stages passed through open countryside. Day three was made up of fast sections through the rainforest. In Polo R WRC #8, Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila notched up important points for Volkswagen in the Manufacturers’ Championship by coming fourth, while Andreas Mikkelsen and replacement co-driver Paul Nagle finished sixth overall, after leading the event at the end of day one. Several small mistakes meant that the duo fell behind on day two, though, before they fought their way back in the overall standings on day three. On the final day Mikkelsen and Nagle cleverly defended their position.

‘We were aiming to collect as many points as possible for the Manufacturers’ Championship, and we succeeded. However, things didn’t go quite as smoothly as we would have liked – the car span and we had a puncture during the final stage. But all that matters ultimately is the result, and it was a good one for Volkswagen Motorsport. On another positive note, I found my Polo R WRC’s perfect set-up for fast gravel rallies in Australia, which will come in very handy for other rallies,’ enthused Latvala.

‘The Rally Australia became really dramatic in the last few kilometres. From the point of view of the Manufacturers’ Championship, everything that happened in the Power Stage was good for Volkswagen. Unfortunately, it also meant that Sébastien Ogier was unable to clinch the title early. He did a fantastic job, won more convincingly than at any other event this season, and did everything right. He would’ve deserved to go away as World Rally Champion today, but the decider will have to wait. The battle for the WRC Manufacturers’ Championship will enter its next phase in France. Thanks to Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen, we’re in a better position than we were before the Rally Australia. We’re really happy – even though the icing on the cake is missing,’ explained Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director.

2013 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP, AUSTRALIA: FINAL RESULTS

1 Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), Volkswagen: 3h 19m 55.0s

2 Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (B/B), Ford: +1m 32.1s

3 Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (FIN/FIN), Citroën: +2m 02.1s

4 Jari-Matti Latvala/Miika Anttila (FIN/FIN), Volkswagen: +2m 57.4s

5 Mäds Østberg/Jonas Andersson (N/S), Ford: +3m 17.2s

2013 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP,


DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS


1 Sébastien Ogier, 212

2 Thierry Neuville, 129

3 Jari-Matti Latvala, 110

4 Mikko Hirvonen, 103
5 Dani Sordo, 96


2013 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP,

MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Volkswagen Motorsport, 299

2 Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT, 251
3 Qatar WRT, 145

4 Qatar M-Sport WRT, 142

5 Jipocar Czech National Team, 51

Despite a faltering start, Volkswagen Motorsport and Sébastien Ogier won Rally Finland, which took place from 2-4 August. It was Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia’s fifth win of the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship, and the first time the French pair have emerged victorious at the Finnish event. They have extended their lead at the top of the drivers’ championship leaderboard by 90 points. Luck wasn’t quite so forthcoming for Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila on their home event, as their Polo R WRC suffered suspension damage on the first day. Starting day two running to Rally 2 regulations due to their retirement the day before, the pairing finished the event in 17th place. Their team-mates Andreas Mikkelsen and Mikko Markkula finished tenth. The win in Jyväskylä was the sixth triumph for a Polo R WRC in eight rallies.

Qualifying started well, with Ogier and Ingrassia posting the second fastest times. The 324km-long Rally Finland opened with a three-way battle between Ogier and Ingrassia, and Ford drivers Thierry Neuville and Mads Østberg. The Frenchmen were 5.2 seconds behind Neuville, while Mikkelsen and Markkula were six places behind their team-mates. Latvala and Anttila unfortunately hit a rock at the side of the road, damaging the rear left suspension of their 315bhp Polo R WRC. Managing to limp through two stages, they had to call it day. The Volkswagen Motorsport service team worked though the night however, so the Finnish duo restarted the forest event on Friday morning under Rally 2 regulations.

Day two saw Ogier and Ingrassia take the lead, winning seven of the day’s nine special stages and leading Neuville by 38.1 seconds. Mikkelsen and Markkula were forced to retire after a duel for fifth place with Citroën’s Kris Meeke, again due to suspension damage. Latvala’s and Markkula’s Rally Finland got progressively better, though, with the no 7 Polo R WRC being one of the fastest cars on the event. The Finns finished in the top three on six of the day’s nine stages. On the final day, Ogier and Latvala scored three bonus World Championship points, courtesy of second and third positions on the Power Stage. Prior to the Rally Finland, Volkswagen had won every Power Stage held this season.

Ogier also put in good times on the incredible “Ouninpohja” stage. With jumps of up to 60 metres in length, the classic stage on the fastest rally in the WRC, Ogier clinched the first run, with a lead of 2.6 seconds, which was stretched to 4.6 seconds. The 130km/h-fast Frenchman now holds the stage record, too, with a time of 15 minutes and 8.9 seconds. Ogier and Ingrassia will now go into Volkswagen’s home event at Rally Germany (22–25 August) with a purely mathematical chance of winning both the driver and co-driver competitions: should they increase their lead over their rivals by 22 points to 112, they would be out of reach of the chasing pack and guaranteed the titles. Since its debut at the Rally Monte Carlo in January 2013, the Polo R WRC has amassed 81 out of a possible 143 stage wins.

Ogier was justifiably pleased with his result: ‘It is impossible to describe how I feel! This win here in Finland is a dream come true for me. And to win in Sweden as well this year – it is a great feeling to win these two rallies this year ahead of the Nordic guys like Mads Østberg, Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala. With a lead of over 30 seconds from the first two days, I did not want to take too many risks today. Only on the “Ouninpohja” special stage did I really push myself to the limit, as that stage is simply fantastic. For me, it was the first time in a World Rally Car and the speed with the Polo R WRC left me speechless. You pulse starts to race, you are full of adrenalin, and you enjoy every jump and every metre. My lead in the World Rally Championship has increased, but I am not concentrating on that today – I just want to enjoy the win with my team now. Without our well-oiled team, I would not be on the top step.’

2013 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP, FINLAND: FINAL RESULTS

1 Sébastien Ogier/Julian Ingrassia (F/F), Volkswagen: 2h 43m 10.4s

2 Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (B/B), Ford: + 36.6s
3 Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson (N/S), Ford: +57.6s
4 Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (FIN/FIN), Citroën: +1m 21.6s

5 Daniel Sordo/Carlos del Barrio (E/E), Citroën: + 6m 06.5s

2013 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP,
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Sébastien Ogier: 181

2 Jari-Matti Latvala: 91

3 Thierry Neuville: 91

4 Mikko Hirvonen: 73

5 Daniel Sordo: 69

2013 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP,
MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Volkswagen Motorsport: 251

2 Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT: 196

3 Qatar M-Sport WRT: 112
4 Qatar WRT: 107

5 Jipocar Czech National Team: 39

Lead Volkswagen Motorsport Polo R WRC driver Sébastien Ogier will be joined by his regular co-driver Julien Ingrassia, following the all-clear by doctors after a recent shoulder operation. The Frenchman injured his collarbone while riding a mountain bike and has been recuperating, missing out on recent testing sessions with the Polo R WRC in Finland, ahead of Rally Finland, which starts on Thursday 1 August. Ogier has blasting through the Finnish forests with team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen, carrying out tests ahead of the eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, 60kms away from the event’s base at Jyväskylä. In total, the 315bhp Polo R WRCs spend five days pounding the jump-heavy gravel tracks.

Ingrassia returns following a successful outing in the aggressive rallying Polo at the weekend, and replaces Ogier’s stand-in co-driver Nicolas Klinger. ‘I am so relieved that I have managed to get back to full health in time for the Rally Finland. My thanks go out to the doctors for the great job they have done on me and the whole Volkswagen team, who have always supported me and sent me their best wishes. Now, I cannot wait to get back out on the road with Sébastien,’ said a please Ingrassia. Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito said: ‘The whole team is very happy that Julien is back to full health. Our main priority is always the well-being of our drivers. I would like to thank Nicolas for the great levels of commitment he demonstrated in the most recent test runs and for his willingness to step in for Julien in Finland if he was needed.’