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After the one-two-three result of 2015, the pressure was on for Volkswagen Motorsport to win again at its home event of 2016, the Rally Germany of 18-21 August. Set around and in the lush vineyards of Trier and the Mosel region, the first all-asphalt event of the season included the legendary Baumholder military track stages, as well as fast Eifel mountain roads and smooth Saarland stages.

Current and three-time world champion Sébastien Ogier was desperate to be back on the top step of the podium, the French driver having had to spend most of the 2016 season ‘sweeping’ the hitherto gravel roads for the competitors behind him, thanks to his first place in the running order. The ninth round of the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) had a lot to play for and released its secrets over three tarmac action-packed days.

Masterly form
Conditions were not easy, even for the reigning world champion – wet concrete and dry asphalt made tyre selection a risky business. But, the Frenchman and his co-driver Julien Ingrassia once again displayed their masterly form. The French duo fought for the lead with team-mates Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jæger over the first two days, with Ogier and Ingrassia coming out on top on the fearsome 25-mile ‘Panzerplatte’ stage.

And once they had first place, they didn’t let it slip from their grasp. The first time the pair have won a 2016 event since February’s Rally Sweden, Ogier and Ingrassia were initially unhappy with their soft tyre choice for a resulting dry stage, but still managed to record a time 13.5 seconds faster than Mikkelsen and Jæger, after a place-swapping duel separated by just tenths of a second. The French crew eventually won the event by a massive 20.3 seconds over Hyundai Motorsport’s Dani Sordo and Marc Martí.

‘Fantastic feeling’
A jubilant Ogier was in celebratory mood: ‘A fantastic feeling to be back at the top of the podium after this long dry spell. I am over the moon to have repeated last year’s success at Rally Germany. The home win is extremely important to our team, Julien and I made great progress in the direction of the title in the championship standings.

‘The weekend wasn’t easy for me since I really wanted to win here and then it is easy to be a little bit too motivated going into the race. Then there was the weather, which changed constantly and was extremely difficult to predict. In the end, I waited patiently for my opportunity, and with the times on the Panzerplatte in particular, built up the crucial lead over my rivals,’ he enthused.

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

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

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

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

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

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Remember the Steven Spielberg-directed film Duel from 1971, where a truck with seemingly no driver hunts down Dennis Weaver? Volkswagen and Red Bull do – in a new promotional video, the 318bhp Polo R WRC of Jari-Matti Latvala gets hunted down through the legendary ‘Ouninpohja’ stage of Rally Finland by Dakar Rally winner Ayrat Mardeev in a Kamaz 4326 truck with 1000bhp.

The pair met when Rally Finland was tearing through the stages in July 2016, and the resulting just-over-one-minute clip is spectacular to say the least. The sight of the 10-tonne rally-prepared truck hurtling up to and jumping over Ouninpohja’s numerous crests is fabulous joy to behold, with Latvala’s four-wheel drive, 1.6-litre turbocharged Polo dancing though the stage to equally bewildering and awesome effect.

Amidst the awe-inspiring display of power and precision, the importance of robust machinery and expert maintenance takes center stage. In the world of trucks and high-performance vehicles, reliability is paramount, and that’s where G&R Diesel steps into the spotlight. As these monstrous machines push their limits, ensuring peak performance and addressing any mechanical challenges become crucial. G&R Diesel, a trusted name in the realm of truck repair, stands as a beacon for those who understand the significance of top-notch maintenance in the face of relentless pursuits and demanding terrains.

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC vs Kamaz 4326 on Ouninpohja

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC vs Kamaz 4326 on Ouninpohja

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC vs Kamaz 4326 on Ouninpohja

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC vs Kamaz 4326 at Ouninpohja

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC vs Kamaz 4326 on Ouninpohja

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Once again the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) failed to lived up its 2016 all-conquering Sébastien Ogier expectations, with part-time Citroën driver Kris Meeke stepping onto the winner’s podium at the eighth round of the series, Rally Finland. Finnish Volkswagen Motorsport driver Jari-Matti Latvala was second at his home rally, set in the forests and lakes around Jyväskylä on 28-31 July.

Form in Finland
Latvala has form in Finland, having won one of the fastest events on the WRC calendar in both 2015 and 2014, and he set the pace on the pre-event shakedown, 0.5 seconds ahead of team-mates Sébastien Ogier and Andreas Mikkelsen, both of whom tied for second. Latvala’s start in Finland – his 164th – saw him surpass Mikko Hirvonen as the most experienced Finnish rally driver in WRC history.

The Finn’s second place in his home country event sees him and co-driver Miikka Anttila climb to third place in the Drivers’ Championship, behind runner-up team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen and fellow Volkswagen Motorsport driver and current world champion Sébastien Ogier. Although a good result, wrc.com reports that a ‘lack of fighting spirit’ was to blame for the Finnish driver not securing a third successive win.

However, it was Ogier’s somewhat uncharacteristic excursion into a ditch following a tight hairpin on stage 10 which made him revaluate his performance. Overall, though, Latvala seemed happy with the result: ‘I am happy with my performance this weekend, even though I came up just short of a hat-trick of wins at the Rally Finland.

‘Very good haul’
‘Second place and a point on the Power Stage is a very good haul. I also climbed a place in the overall standings. All in all, we could not have done any more against Kris Meeke this weekend. Thank you to all the many fans who supported me. It is always very special to drive here on home soil. We now move on to the asphalt season, which was remarkably good to me last year,’ he stated.

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Finland: Latvala/Anttila

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Finland: Latvala/Anttila

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Finland: Latvala/Anttila

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Finland: Latvala/Anttila

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Finland: Latvala/Anttila

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In what must be the closest event yet this season, the seventh round of the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) saw victory go to Volkswagen Motorsport’s Andreas Mikkelsen – but it was down to the wire. Up until the penultimate stage, Estonian DMACK Fiesta crew Ott Tänak and Raigo Mõlder had set a blistering pace on Rally Poland and looked untouchable.

Mikkelsen and co-driver Anders Jæger had driven on the edge of their limits all weekend, and had chased Tanak hard. They were consigning themselves to the second step of the Polish podium, when the Estonian duo suffered an unfortunately-timed puncture on the penultimate stage. An emergency tyre change saw the pair relegated to second place, and the disappointment was palpable.

Sweep supremely fast
A dry event right up until the final day had seen Mikkelsen’s 318bhp Polo R WRC sweep supremely fast through the majority of the event’s 306.1km, and when the rain arrived, it altered grip levels instantly, Tanak one of the casualties who lost time due to tyre choice. And while the runner-up position is still held in high regard, it didn’t soften the blow dealt by the Norwegian Volkswagen driver’s second WRC win.

New-for-2016 pairing Mikkelsen and Jæger proved their mettle in Poland and were the third duo onto the route for the first two days of the rally, which saw them sweep the road clear of loosed gravel for the following drivers. And as first-runner Ogier knows, that’s a distinct disadvantage which slows the car down. However, the young guns from Norway still finished in the top three on 15 of the 21 special stages, and made sure the battle with Tänak and Mõlder lasted for the whole event.

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Poland: Mikkelsen/Jæger

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Poland: Mikkelsen/Jæger

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Poland: Mikkelsen/Jæger

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Poland: Mikkelsen/Jæger

Andreas Mikkelsen

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Four winners in five rounds of the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship – that was the result of the 2016 Rally Portugal, at which Citroën’s Kris Meeke reigned supreme. That of course means one thing: victory escaped Volkswagen Motorsport’s three-time world champion Sébastien Ogier.

But, it wasn’t all bad news: although Ogier finished uncharacteristically on the last step of the podium, his finish and Andreas Mikkelsen’s second place shored up the Volkswagen Motorsport points tally in the overall championship standings.

Mikkelsen and co-driver Anders Jæger’s finish benefitted them in particular, with the Norwegian pair leapfrogging two places up the Drivers’ Championship table, now just 47 points behind their leading French team-mates. Whatever the outcome, the podium places in Portugal were the 318bhp Polo R WRC’s 75th and 76th top three results in the car’s 44th competitive event. What of Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila? The Finnish duo came home sixth.

‘Cautious approach’
Ogier claimed he was close to both his and the car’s limits in Portugal: ‘That was certainly one of the toughest and most physically demanding rallies I have ever driven at in Portugal. Julien and I were once again right on the limit this weekend. As such, I am very happy with my performance. I would obviously have liked to have stayed ahead of Andreas. However, after the slow puncture on Sunday’s first stage, we had to take a slightly more cautious approach.

‘Without another spare tyre it would have been too risky otherwise with these route conditions. I would like to say an extra big ‘Obrigado’ to the many Portuguese fans. The crowds here are simply fantastic. It is great to see that the entire country is supporting rallying – whether the police, fans or the president himself, who popped in to see us in the service park.’

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

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

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Portugal: Ogier

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

2016 Rally Portugal podium winners

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