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Evo India’s website www.thrillofdriving.com reports that Volkswagen India has confirmed it will not be running a factory team in the 2014 Indian Rallying Championship (IRC). Two R2-specification Polos had been scheduled to take part, but ‘homologation’ issues have forced the manufacturer to withdraw. The car maker even tested the R2 Polos in the last rounds of the 2013 season, one of which was TDI-powered.

However, support for customer teams – such as Slideways Industries – will continue and Volkswagen remains committed to both teams and privateers. So, Polos will seen as a major force in the IRC for 2014 – www.thrillofdriving.com reports that up to 11 cars are rumoured to be running, six of them fielded by Slideways Industries. The Group N title will be the most hotly contested.

Volkswagen has said that with more cooperation from the Federation of Motorsports Clubs of India (FMSCI), it may field official R2 Polo entries in 2015. FMCSI meanwhile confirmed that homologation for the car is complete, when talking to www.thrillofdriving.com about the situation. Read more here.

[Source: thrillofdriving.com]

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Volkswagen celebrated its fifth win in the 2014 FIA World Rally Championship at Rally Argentina (8-11 May), where Jari-Matti Latvala came home first, closely followed by current World Champion Sébastien Ogier. The third team driver, Andreas Mikkelsen, finished fourth, securing the best result yet for the German outfit in the history of the WRC. It was the record-breaking ninth consecutive win for Volkswagen.

Despite sometimes atrocious weather conditions, spectators watched a thrilling duel unfold between Ogier and Latvala over the 405km rally. The Frenchman claimed the first two Special Stages. Latvala fought back during the event’s longest stage, setting the fastest time and putting him and co-driver Miikka Anttila at the top of the leaderboard.

Before the first day’s rallying had finished, the first place had changed hands twice more between Latvala and Ogier. The Finn dominated on days two and three and gained the upper hand, winning eight stages compared to Ogier’s one. In so doing, Latvala closed the gap between him and Ogier in the WRC Drivers’ Championship points table to 24 points.

‘Of course I’m absolutely thrilled to have won the Rally Argentina. It’s been quite a few years since a Finn won this rally. Fighting it out with Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia was great. My co-driver Miikka Anttila contributed enormously to our success because his instructions safely guided us through some extremely difficult sections,’ said Latvala.

He continued: ‘Huge thanks go to the whole Volkswagen team too, because our Polo was always perfectly prepared and withstood the immense strain right until the end. This victory means a lot to me personally because we won this tricky rally on our own merit, which shows that we’re still a force to be reckoned with in the World Championship.’

Ogier’s second place means he still leads the overall championship. Extra points are awarded in the final Power Stage for the best three pairings in the Drivers’ and Co-Drivers’ Championship. Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia finished 10.5 seconds ahead of Ford Fiesta driver Mikko Hirvonen on the ‘El Condor’ stage, and a tenth of a second ahead of Latvala. Four of the six extra points went to the Wolfsburg-based team as a result.

Sébastien Ogier commented: ‘The conditions at this Rally Argentina were the most difficult ones I’ve experienced for a long time. The road conditions were incredibly tough on the drivers and the cars, so I’m very happy with second place. I’d like to congratulate Jari-Matti, who put in a strong performance and deserved to win. I’m actually pleased that people are realising it’s not as easy to win as it might sometimes look.’

Mikkelsen’s fourth place meanwhile, contributed to his third place in the Drivers’ Championship points table. Doggedly working his way up the leaderboard with co-driver Mikko Markkula, the pair suffered an alternator failure due to a loose belt on day one. A five-minute time penalty resulted in a seventh place finish, somewhat lower than the duo were expecting.

However, on day two, they overtook three of their rivals by setting the best time on one stage and claiming two other top three times. This halved the gap to second place to less than two minutes.The pair then secured fourth place overall with good results on the two classic stages ‘Mina Clavero’ and ‘El Condor’, finishing just 23.6 seconds shy of a podium place.

‘I’ve never been so delighted to finish fourth. After we failed to finish the last stage on Friday because of a technical glitch and were hit with a five-minute penalty as a result, we tried to make the best of things. We simply couldn’t have done any more and I’m really pleased with our performance. After gaining fourth place even quicker than we’d hoped on Saturday, we were a bit more cautious on Sunday. Nevertheless, we managed to make good a lot of time and shorten our gap to third place. All in all, we’re very satisfied,’ said a very pleased Mikkelsen.

The next round of the championship is Rally Italy in Sardinia on 5-8 June, where Volkswagen will go 97 points ahead of second-placed Citroën.

2014 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP,

RALLY PORTUGAL: FINAL RESULTS

1 Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikko Anttila (FIN/FIN), Volkswagen: 4h 41m 24.8s
2 Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingassia (F/F), Volkswagen: + 1m 29s

3 Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (GB/IRL), Citroën: + 5m 54.7s
4 Andreas Mikkelsen/Mikko Markkula (N/FIN), Volkswagen: + 6m 18.3s
5 Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (B/B), Hyundai: + 8m 25.8s

2014 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP,

DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Sébastien Ogier, 112

2 Jari-Matti Latvala, 88

3 Andreas Mikkelsen, 48

4 Mads Østberg, 48
5 Mikko Hirvonen, 40

2014 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP,

MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Volkswagen Motorsport, 187

2 Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT, 90

3 M-Sport, 68

4 Hyundai Motorsport, 55

5 Volkswagen Motorsport II, 52

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Over the weekend of 10-11 May, P G Andersson drove a Marklund Motorsport-prepared Polo RX Supercar in the Swedish RallyX round. Scoring a second fastest time in the first heat, he went on to place fifth in the second heat, putting him in third overall. Unfortunately, that was where his run of good luck ended.

A further good performance in the third heat made sure he qualified foe the semi-final. But, a problem with a crankshaft sensor out him in second place. Still, this enabled him to make and drive the final, but with only a maximum 5000rpm limit. His drive ended on the third lap with a front-wheel puncture, resulting in a sixth place finish.

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Former WRC winner and Belgian rally driver François Duval will drive a Polo RX Supercar at this year’s World RX of Belgium. Confirmed last week, Duval will pilot another Polo prepared by Marklund Motorsport, who currently run cars for Anton Marklund and Toomas ‘Topi’ Heikinnen in the 2014 FIA World Rallycross Championship.

Duval will compete in the World RX of Belgium on 12-13 July alongside Marklund and Heikinnen, with support from the Belgian VW Club and Gordon and Ramaekers. The Belgian driver has previous form, winning the country’s round of the European Rallycross Championship in 2010. The third 560bhp Marlund Motorsport-prepared Polo RX will wear Duval’s number 30 (rendering of possible livery pictured above).

‘I am delighted to confirm my involvement with the Swedish Marklund Motorsport team for Belgium,’ said 33-year-old Duval. ‘I’ve worked on this project with my partners for some time and I’m happy that the Belgian VW Club have now given me the extra boost needed to allow this deal to happen.’

Atte Varsta, Head of Marketing & Communications for Marklund Motorsport, added: ‘We are delighted about this opportunity to offer a Volkswagen Polo RX Supercar to François Duval for the Belgian round. Belgium is a country full of motor enthusiasts and they must be happy to see him drive on home soil. François’ wealth of experience in both rallying and rallycross will help him succeed at Mettet.’

[Image: Belgian VW Club / autosport.be]

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At the first round of the 2014 FIA World Rallycross Championship in Portugal, Toomas ‘Topi’ Heikinnen and Anton Marklund drove their Polo RX Supercars into the final, taking fourth and fifth places respectively. The Marklund Motorsport drivers are third and sixth in the overall drivers’ standings after the season’s opener at the Pista Internacional de Montalegre in Montalegre. Marklund Motorsport is second in the manufacturer points table. Former World Rally Championship ace Petter Solberg took overall victory in the Supercar class.

After the first and second heats, Team Peugeot-Hansen driver Timur Timerzyanov lead the pack in his Peugeot 208. Heikinnen finished fourth in heat one, while the no 92 Polo of Marklund was in eighth place. Solberg finished second. Heat two saw Heikinnen’s no 57 Polo in third and Marklund fifth.

In the third of the four heats, Heikinnen finished two rankings ahead of sixth-placed Marklund. In the final heat, Marklund reversed the order staying in sixth, once place higher than Heikinnen. The first semi-final saw Marklund third out of six drivers. Heikinnen meanwhile, finished second in the second sem-final, meaning both young 560bhp Polo drivers lined up on the grid for the final six laps of the 0.945-metre track.

The next round is the World Rallycross of Great Britain, at Lydden Hill Race Circuit, Kent, UK on Saturday and Sunday 24-25 May.

2014 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,
PORTUGAL: FINAL RESULTS
1 Petter Solberg, PS 100% AB, Citroën DS3: 4m 02.081s
2 Andreas Bakkerud, Olsbergs MSE AB, Ford Fiesta ST: +0:02.358s
3 Renis Nitiss, Olsbergs MSE AB, Ford Fiesta ST: +0:03.048s
4 Toomas Heikinnen, Marklund Motorsport, Volkswagen Polo: +0:05.025s
5 Anton Marklund, Marklund Motorsport, Volkswagen Polo: +0:05.901s
6 Koen Pauwels, Koen Pauwels, Ford Focus: +0:10.790s

2014 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Petter Solberg, 29
2 Renis Nitiss, 24
3 Toomas Heikinnen, 21
4 Andreas Bakkerud, 20
5 Timur Timerzyanov, 19
6 Anton Marklund, 18

[Images: www.rallycrossrx.com, Tom Banks Photography]

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