Polo R WRC promotes Volkswagen rally successes with high-profile appearances
The Polo R WRC may have finished competitive duties for 2014, but a series of promotional activities has ensured Volkswagen’s World Rally Championship-winning car has remained in the public’s consciousness, no doubt increasing the visibility of the VW brand.
‘Wetten, dass..?’ parkhaus challenge
Last weekend, more than nine million viewers of German TV show ‘Wetten, dass..?’ (‘You Bet’) watched the reigning World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier compete against a climber in a timed ascent and descent of a multi-storey car park or ‘parkhaus’.
TV channel ZDF said goodbye to the long-running programme in some style as Ogier’s 300bhp Polo R WRC blared, slid, and slithered up and down the car park’s damp access ramps and rooftop.
Jakob Vöckler challenged Ogier to the duel, claiming he could climb up and down the exterior of the car park faster than the Frenchman who was driving his rally Polo inside the building.
The climber from Munich was faster in the end, Ogier not quite being able to guide the Polo through the serpentine car park fast enough. ‘Congratulations to Jakob. It was something new driving through a multi-storey car park to win a bet and was enormous fun,’ commented the Volkswagen driver.
Barcelona taxi ride
Ogier has been busy showing of the rally Polo in the mountains above Montserrat in Barcelona, too. Brazilian striker Neymar Jr, of FC Barcelona football club donned VW Motorsport overalls to be co-driver for the French rally driver.
Or at least that was the plan. Ogier’s extreme driving style quickly rendered him useless. Seeing the football player is unable to cope, Ogier instructs him to lose his ‘pace notes’ and ‘Just sit back and enjoy the ride’.
Unashamedly a promotional video for one of Volkwagen’s motorsport partners, Red Bull, it does show the Polo R WRC to dramatic and aggressive effect.
Award ceremonies
The Polo R WRC has also been to International Automobile Federation (FIA) Prize-Giving Gala in Doha where Volkswagen was presented with the trophies for the 2014 Manufacturer, Driver and Co-Driver titles in the FIA World Rally Championship.
The car and Sébastien Ogier were also among the prizewinners at the 2014 Autosport Awards in London. Readers of the UK magazine voted the Polo R WRC the ‘Rally Car of the Year’, while Ogier won the ‘International Rally Driver of the Year’ title.
