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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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A very tense and exciting Rally Sweden handed Volkswagen Motorsport’s Sébastien Ogier his second FIA 2015 World Rally Championship victory in as many events last weekend. The Frenchman fought off rally leader and team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen in a tense and dramatic final stage of a rally which was full of spectacle and where the battle between the two Volkswagen drivers was down to the wire.

In the end, a possible loss of concentration saw Mikkelsen suffer an off during the final Power Stage, handing Ogier the win. Mikkelsen hit a snow bank with the rear of his Polo, forcing the front into the snow, whereupon the car just dug in further, costing the Norwegian time. The world champion’s win meanwhile made it the 20th time in 27 Power Stages that a Volkswagen driver has collected the maximum haul of three points up for grabs at the crucial final stage.

Fast and furious pace
It all started at Shakedown, with Ogier declared the fastest driver. Mikkelsen set out his stall from the very beginning, setting the fifth quickest time. Finnish team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala was one place behind in sixth. After day one, Mikkelsen and co-driver Ola Fløene topped the overall placings, 19.1 seconds clear of Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville. The Norwegians had undoubtedly set the fast and furious pace among the metre-high snow banks lining the icy tracks.

The second loop saw Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia gain on the front runners, though, with the French pair taking the lead on stage two. However, a rare slip saw them hit a snow bank near on the ‘Torsby’ stage the end of the first day. A deficit of 24.7 seconds behind Mikkelsen saw them down the field, but still within reach of the top-scoring teams.

Latvala and Miikka Anttila also came to grief on the very same stage. Moving into the virtual lead, the Finns left the road and had to call on the event’s spectators for help to get them going once more. Dropping a total of nine minutes, Latvala slipped down the points table, eventually finishing the event in 12th place.

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Volkswagen has continued where it left off at the end of the 2014 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), and taken victory at the 2015 Rally Monte Carlo. The opening event of the 2015 season last weekend actually saw a Volkswagen podium lock-out, with Sébastien Ogier taking first place, Jari-Matti Latvala finishing in second, while Andreas Mikkelsen rounded out the third step of winners’ rostrum.

The second-generation Polo R WRC was unveiled a week prior to the legendary ‘Monte’, and with tweaks including a paddle-shift gearbox and 3bhp more powerful engine, powered Volkswagen to become only the fifth manufacturer ever to claim a one-two-three at one of the world’s most iconic motorsport events. Ogier and Latvala took control of the new-for-2015 Polo R WRC in Monte Carlo, while Mikkelsen and his co-driver Ola Fløene were piloting the 2014 championship-winning car.

23rd Polo R WRC victory
The Rally Monte Carlo 1-2-3 was Volkswagen Motorsport’s 23rd victory with the Polo R WRC, as well as the 11th time it has had more than one crew on the podium since it joined the WRC in 2013. It was Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia’s 25th podium in Monte Carlo, the second consecutive year the pair have done so. Other manufacturers to have scored a Monte Carlo ‘triple’ finish are Audi, Citroën, Lancia and Renault-Alpine.

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Ahead of the 2015 Monte Carlo Rally next week, Volkswagen Motorsport pulled the covers off the second-generation Polo R WRC today in Wolfsburg. The car will contest the 2015 World Rally Championship. While full technical details will be released next week, the new 318bhp Polo R WRC has a paddle-operated hydraulically activated gearbox among its technological highlights.

The most striking difference between VW’s new rally weapon and the 2014 car is the external livery. Still keeping the blue and white colours of Volkswagen Motorsport, the new Polo R WRC’s livery also centres on its sponsors.

The dark blue of Red Bull dominates the front end, while paler blue bars fade into a white rear end, visually referencing the outgoing car. A new larger rear wing dominates the area above the rear window. Mysteriously, there are no ‘R’ badges on the car at all.

Volkswagen Motorsport states that around 75 per cent of the components used in the 2014 Polo R WRC have been further optimised for the new car, with the aim of making everything ‘simpler, lighter, and stronger’.

Volkswagen Board Member for Technical Development Dr Heinz-Jakob Neußer said: ‘The new Polo R WRC has undergone intense further development, both on the inside and the outside. Not only does it look even more dynamic and sporty than it did before, but our engineers have also been working meticulously on technical innovations under the bonnet.

‘We have improved many detailed aspects of the package that has been so successful for the past two years. The focus of this further development was on efficiency, reliability and performance.’

World rally champion Sébastien Ogier was excited with his new steed: ‘I am very optimistic that the new car will get off to just as good a start as its predecessor. We have done a lot of testing and we drivers have worked very closely with the engineers. We put a lot of effort into developing the new shift paddle, which represents real progress.’

Volkswagen number two driver Jari-Matti Latvala was equally revved up: ‘The new car feels really good, and we are ready for the new season – at last. We will be using the shift paddle on the steering wheel to change gear this year, and I really like it. On the whole, the new Polo is faster and even better than the 2014 car.’

Ogier and Latvala will line up at the start in Monte Carlo with the new-for-2015 car, while VW’s number three driver Andreas Mikkelsen will field the new and improved Polo R WRC from Rally Portugal, the fourth round of the 2015 World Rally Championship.

It’s been another busy and exciting year for the Volkswagen Polo. Of course, the big news of 2014 has been the worldwide launch of a comprehensively revised version of the fifth-generation Polo. New engines, safety technology, interior refinements and a gently restyled exterior update it against refreshed competition.

On the asphalt and gravel stages of the World Rally Championship, the Polo has, like 2013, once again come out on top. Taking 12 event wins out of 13, the 300bhp four-wheel drive Polo R WRC has claimed the Manufacturers’ Championship title for Volkswagen Motorsport, and also carried Frenchmen Sébastien Ogier the Julien Ingrassia to their second consecutive Drivers’ Championship prize.

Other Polo-based motorsport series have also continued around the globe, with Wolfsburg’s small car competing as a rally, rallycross and also a track machine. Here, we round up the Polo’s biggest achievements in 2014. (Bold entries are illustrated by the picture above that particular month.)

January

– Refreshed fifth-generation Polo (known as ‘6C’) presented in Wolfsburg
– Polo ends 2013 as the eighth best-selling car in the UK
– 2014-specification Polo R WRC rally car unveiled

– Sébastien Ogier wins 2014 Rallye Monte Carlo with Polo R WRC

– Polo Vivo and is the best-selling car in South Africa for 2013; Polo 6R is runner-up

– Polo is the fifth best-selling car in the UK.

February

– Jari-Matti Latavala takes Polo R WRC to victory in Rally Sweden
– New Polo MY2015 production starts at Volkswagen Navarra factory
– New Polo BlueMotion, BlueGT and CrossPolo revealed ahead of Geneva motor show
– Volkswagen Motorsport signs rallycross partnership with Marklund Motorsport
– Polo is the sixth best-selling car in the UK.

March
– Mathew Hodges and Daniel Rowe take wins at 2014 Engen Volkswagen Cup opener
– Sébastien Ogier wins Rally Mexico, with Jari-Matti Latvala in second place
– Polo hatchback and saloon prices reduced in Brazil
– Volkswagen Sasolracing Polo S2000 triumph at 2014 Tour Natal Rally
– New Polo released for UK ordering – prices and full specifications announced
– Dewald Brummer and Tasmin Pepper take Engen Volkswagen Cup spoils at Killarney
– Polo is the seventh best-selling car in the UK.

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