Skip to main content

Rally de Portugal Kicks Off with Hotly Contested Early Stages

After a nearly month-long break, Volkswagen Motorsports’ three Polo R WRCs are back in action at the famous Vodafone Rally de Portugal. Although they have big hopes, they’ve started with a disadvantage.

With the activities starting last night, Volkswagen has looked quick, but not dominant. After the opening stage, Sebastien Ogier led the rally, but his time on top didn’t last long.

This morning, he was overtaken by Citroen’s Kris Meeke (who you might remember from his two appearances on Top Gear). As we go to press, eight stages have been run and Meeke leads the rally from Ogier by about 30 seconds, and he’s followed by Sordo and Mikkelsen, the next Volkswagen driver.

Despite not being on top, Volkswagen still have high hopes for this rally. Portugal is the course on which Ogier has won the most, and last year his teammate Latvala (currently in 9th) won the rally. That win started Volkswagen Motorsport on the their record-setting 12 win streak.

The Portuguese rally is the fifth stop on the WRC calendar, and the first European gravel rally. It’s also a somewhat special rally, because of its long history. Deep ruts, sandy roads, and a massive jump make finding grip difficult here, so tire selection will be important this weekend.

The festivities started last night, with a super special stage at the Lousada rallycross circuit. That’s followed by 19 regular stages, until the last one on Sunday.

The post Rally de Portugal Kicks Off with Hotly Contested Early Stages appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/1WH3DKJ
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Saying Goodbye to the CC V6

For all its size and its global reach, Volkswagen is still, in many ways, a deeply human company. There was, for instance, the Bugatti Veyron an ego project if ever there was one. Then the purchase of Ducati, a move most called folly. And then there was the Phaeton, the Volkswagen that most folks can’t afford. Not only were these moves all strange, I’m sure that they made VW’s accountants furious. None of them made good business sense, but they were all deeply interesting and they all are evidence of the heart that beats at the center of VW. Among these follies is the CC, a car that everyone agrees is rakishly handsome, but that no one really wanted to buy. The car couldn’t last, but the world is brighter for its having been in it. With the approach debut of the Arteon, it seems like a good time to look back on its sadly departing predecessor. The version I drove, because I live in Canada, is a V6 Wolfsburg Edition, which apparently isn’t available in the States. Nor is the V6, not as...
Post a Comment
Read more

WRC: Volkswagen Motorsport Still Lead the Way Despite Luckless Rally Argentina

Volkswagen’s winning run ends after seven victories and 20 podiums in a row Power Stage victory: “El Cóndor” goes to Sébastien Ogier Eight of twelve stage wins – Polo R WRC sets the pace at the Rally Argentina Volkswagen Motorsport suffered a disappointing result at the fourth round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), but still goes into the coming rally in Portugal leading the Manufacturer, Driver and Co-Driver standings in the World Championship. The toughest rally of the year saw a podium bereft of a Volkswagen driver for the first time since the Rally Australia in 2013. However, the Wolfsburg-based manufacturer can look back proudly on a remarkable run of success that included 20 podiums and seven victories in a row. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) did manage to win the Power Stage on the final day to pick up three valuable points towards the World Championship. The Volkswagen duos also won eight of the twelve special stages with the Polo R WRC. Andreas Mikkel...
Post a Comment
Read more

More 3.0-Liter TDI Settlement Details Expected by January 31

Volkswagen and the TDI Plaintiff’s Steering Committee were in court today for another status conference following the agreement in principal reached earlier this week. Little new information was given at the conference held before Judge Charles Breyer today, but the court ordered the parties to develop a formal settlement agreement, class action notices, and a class notice plan by January 31, 2017. For now, though, owners still don’t know how much to expect in compensation. Elizabeth Cabraser, lead Counsel for the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee reaffirmed in a statement today that the compensation would be “substantial.” The potential cost to Volkswagen is widely reported to exceed $1 billion, though, with an additional $225 million going into an environmental trust to help offset excess emissions. Buy back offers are still only expected for the oldest 20,000 of the roughly 80,000 VW Group vehicles sold in America with the 3.0-liter TDI engine. Those vehicles are mostly SUVs, like ...
Post a Comment
Read more