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Last week Volkswagen Motorsport filled the last hole in the Polo R WRC’s rally testing programme, by testing the car in Spain on gravel. The rally challenger has now been driven on all surfaces that feature on the World Rally Championship, and the 700 kilometres driven near Almería in the south of Spain were the last pieces of the puzzle. Now using a custom-built car rather than the ‘0’ development car, the pairing of Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia put the car through its paces.

‘For us, it was mainly about driving this car on as many kilometres as possible on very hard ground. In parallel, we made a few minor changes to the setup in order to pick up speed step by step,’ explained Ogier. Former World Rally champion Carlos Sainz was also on hand to give his opinion, and sat alongside Ogier, taking the wheel before the end of the test session, co-driven by by Timo Gottschalk. Covering twice the distance of a WRC round, there where no problems reported with the car.

‘Around 70% of the WRC consists of gravel tracks, about 20% of asphalt, and roughly 10% of ice and snow. The gravel test served to simulate the roughest WRC sections and to take the car to its load and stress limits. Particularly chassis components such as the hub carriers, dampers and suspension components were successfully tested in the limit range,’ said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen.‘

‘Carlos Sainz – who with two title wins and 26 rally victories is one of the most successful drivers in WRC history – and Sébastien Ogier are working together extremely well – the two are forming a very good combination. They respect each other without any rivalry and are purposefully driving the project forwards. Our next step will be to run further tests on tarmac to complete our specifications book.’

Sainz was equally enthusiastic. ‘During my active days, I drove thousands of test kilometres and hope to be able to support Volkswagen with my experience,’ said the ex-Dakar Rally driver. ‘I have a lot of confidence in the squad and the Polo R WRC will no doubt be a big hit. But we mustn’t forget that 2013 will be the Polo’s first year in WRC, whereas the competition have been active for many years.’

Fresh from its recent class victory at Rally Sweden, Volkswagen Motorsport gave the much-awaited Polo R WRC rally car its first official public outing at the weekend. The ‘reveal’ took place at winter sports resort Ellmau in Austria at Volkswagen’s Winter Night event, with driver Sébastien Ogier piloting the near-300bhp four-wheel drive Polo around the ice and snow-covered track. Carlos Sainz, who has also had a hand in developing Volkswagen’s 2013 rally challenger, appeared in a Race Touareg.

In related Polo R WRC news, wrc.com reports that the first tests of the ‘proper’ car were completed last week. Volkswagen Motorsport ran the car in Norway, with Ogier and Dieter Depping sharing the driving, close to the Rally Sweden stages, where Ogier had competed only a few days earlier. Completing the 1000km test programme with no reported faults, the team focused on transmission and suspension components, and compared the results to the Škoda Fabia S2000 cars, VW currently runs in the 2012 World Rally Championship (WRC). The official WRC website states that the Volkswagen Motorsport testing circus moves to Spain later this week, with the focus on gravel.

[Source: German Car Scene]

With more than 200,000 spectators watching, the Volkswagen Motorsport factory team successfully took a class victory on the Rally Sweden over last weekend. The French pairing of Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia clinched the S2000 class win at the second round of the 2012 World Rally Championship (WRC) with their Škoda Fabia S2000 rally car. Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene, their junior teammates, came in third place, while the two teams were placed 11th and 14th overall. Volkswagen Motorsport’s two Czech cars also ran reliably on the 350-kilometre, 24-stage event.

Ogier took the S2000 class lead on the event’s opening stage, and not even a puncture on the 12th stage or a fuel filter change on the 18th could stop him. With eight top-ten results he repeatedly moved into the leading group of the more powerful WRC cars. ‘That was a very good rally for us. I’m very happy with our class win. The conditions on the stages were better than expected and it was great fun to drive here. Our pace was very good and because our team mates were also very fast,’ said the 28-year old Frenchman.

‘The Rally Sweden is one of the real highlights of the World Championship season since it is only here that spiked tyres are used on snow and ice throughout the entire event. The character is unique and it was equally important for our team to collect experience in order to be as well prepared as possible next year with the Polo R WRC. Sébastien Ogier and Andreas Mikkelsen effectively controlled the Super 2000 class and were not only fast in the process, but also drove very reliably and within their limits – our two Fabias ran without problems’ explained Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen.

The second round of the 2012 World Rally Championship (WRC) in Sweden will once again see Volkswagen Motorsport run a team of two Škoda Fabia S2000s in the SWRC class. The Rally Sweden which runs from today until 12 February will hold a new challenge for the factory VW team, as it gets to grip (quite literally) with the snow-covered woods of the Scandinavian country. Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia will be joined by Škoda driver and 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Andreas Mikkelsen, who with co-driver Ola Fløene will be running the junior car. Volkswagen Motorsport’s WRC commitments serve as preparation for the 2013 season in which Volkswagen will compete with the Polo R WRC.

‘Sweden is a special rally. It’s the only WRC event on ice and snow and provides the best opportunity to gather valuable experiences in crisp cold. It’s an important run for us in preparation for our WRC entry with the Polo R WRC,’ said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. The drivers will battle it out in 24 special stages over 349 kilometres, using studded tyres. ‘I really like the Rally Sweden. Because of its unique character, it’s important to finish in order to give the team the opportunity to thoroughly get to know this rally,’ commented Ogier. In 2011, the French pairing finished the Rally Sweden in fourth place.

It was a mixed start to the 2012 WRC season for the Volkswagen Motorsport team at the 2012 Rallye Monte Carlo from 18-22 January. After a storming start, new factory drivers Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassa suffered a spectacular accident on the 10th special stage, the biggest of Ogier’s career. The pairing’s Škoda S2000 left the rally course at 160kph, and miraculously neither were badly injured. Luckier with the younger team of driver Kevin Abbring and Lara Vanneste, Volkswagen Motorsport claimed a 12th place finish overall and top-of the-S2000 class title. Abbring isn’t registered in the Super 2000 World Rally Championship, though, so the points went to Irishman Craig Breen. The full Volkswagen Motorsport press release follows.

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