Skip to main content

WRC: Bright Start for Volkswagen in Spain



  • Grand backdrop for opener: Barcelona gives rally elite a worthy reception

  • Andreas Mikkelsen first, Sébastien Ogier second, Jari-Matti Latvala fourth


Short, sweet, skilful: Volkswagen made a good start to the Rally Spain. At the foot of the famous Montjuïc hill in Barcelona, Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (N/N) clocked the fastest time on the only special stage laid out on the narrow terraces. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) were second fastest, with Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) fourth on the opening stage. With world-famous architecture lining the route through the heart of Barcelona, the rally stars were given a rapturous welcome from an enthusiastic crowd who had turned out to watch stage one of the twelfth round of this season’s FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). The World Rally Cars, including the three Polo R WRC, passed the Barcelona Pavilion, which was designed by Mies van der Rohe and built for the 1929 International Exposition, crossed the famous Plaça de Carles Buïgas with its fountain, and drifted beneath the National Art Museum.



With the short but spectacular 3.2-kilometre opener behind them, the teams really get stuck into the Rally Spain on Friday, when they will face 138.54 kilometres on gravel. The Rally Spain is the only round of the WRC held on both gravel and asphalt. The eyes of rally fans around the world will be on the all-Volkswagen duel between Ogier and Latvala: should Latvala finish ahead of Ogier, the title race will go down to the final rally in Great Britain. If Ogier beats Latvala, he will be crowned World Rally Champion with one event remaining.


Quotes after the opening stage of the Rally Spain


Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1

“We made it through the opening special stage cleanly. The Rally Spain really gets going tomorrow. There were an incredible number of spectators on the Montjuïc, and it was great to get the weekend started against this backdrop. From tomorrow we will focus on the duel with my team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala and, if possible, wrapping up the Driver and Co-Drivers’ title here in Spain. I don’t think we will be the ones under the greatest pressure.”


Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #2

“The opening stage was short but demanding. The Polo was superb. I reckoned on losing a little time today, and fit just one soft and three hard tyres on the car. I think having used fewer soft tyres will pay dividends from tomorrow, when the battle with Sébastien Ogier really begins.”


Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9

“We decided to attack right from the first special stage and are counting on gaining more time on softs here than we might end up losing on old tyres tomorrow. Part one of the plan went well: we opened about a two-second gap and lead going into the first real day of rallying tomorrow. Let’s see whether part two of the plan works out.”


Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director

“A successful start to the Rally Spain on a remarkable special stage. It provided a magnificent backdrop. The sporting action really gets underway tomorrow, when the cars head onto the gravel stages. We have an extremely exciting Rally Spain ahead of us. Sébastien Ogier wants to win the title here, because he knows: anything is possible in Great Britain. Jari-Matti Latvala wants to keep the title race in the Driver and Co-Drivers’ Championship alive, because he also knows: anything is possible in Great Britain. And then we also have Andreas Mikkelsen, who is hungry for his first win. This Rally Spain will be anything but boring.”





















































FIA World Rally Championship (WRC),

Rally Spain – Results
Thursday,

23 October 2014
km#1

Ogier/

Ingrassia
#2

Latvala/

Anttila
#9

Mikkelsen/

Fløene
SS 01Barcelona03.20P02

(+ 1.8s)
P04

(+ 3.1s)
P01
Overall classificationP02

(+ 1.8s)
P04

(+ 3.1s)
P01














































































FIA World Rally Championship (WRC),

Rally Spain – TV broadcast
Western Europe
Andorra (Canal +); Austria (LAOLA1.tv, ORF, RTL, ServusTV, Sport 1); Belgium (Canal +, RTBF); Denmark (TV3 Sport, VIASAT); Finland (MTV3, YLE Sport); France (Canal +, France TV, Léquipe 21, TF1); Germany (Sport1, RTL, n-tv, LAOLA1.tv, ServusTV); Greece (OTE); Ireland (Setanta); Italy (RAI, Canale Italia, Sportitalia); Liechtenstein (RTL, ServusTV, Sport 1); Luxembourg (Canal +, RTL, ServusTV, Sport 1); Monaco (Canal +, France TV, Léquipe 21, TF1); Netherlands (RTL 7); Norway (VIASAT, Viasat Sport); Portugal (Sport TV, RTP); Spain (Canal +); Sweden (SVT); Switzerland (Canal +, RTL, ServusTV, Sport 1); United Kingdom (ITV 4); Wales (S4C)
Eastern Europe
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan (Auto Plus); Croatia (SPTV); Czech Republic, Slovakia (Czech TV, Sport 5); Poland (TV 4, TVP); Romania (Dolce Sport); Ukraine (First Automotive Channel, Auto Plus)
Middle East and Africa
Angola, Mozambique (Canal +, Sport TV, SuperSport); Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, São Tomé, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe (Canal +, SuperSport); Lesotho, Liberia, Mayotte, Reunion, Socotra, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, St Helena & Ascension, Sudan, Swaziland (SuperSport)
Asia Pacific
Malaysia (Astro); Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Caledonia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam (ESPN Star); Japan (J Sports); New Zealand (Sky Sports); Australia (Speed TV); Thailand (Truevision)
North and Latin America
Argentina (Channel 12, Fox Sports); Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, USA (MAV TV); Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Latin America, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela (Fox Sports); Brazil (ESPN); Paraguay (Fox Sports, Telefuturo)
International
Worldwide (Reuters, SNTV)

The post WRC: Bright Start for Volkswagen in Spain appeared first on VWVortex.






from VWVortex http://ift.tt/1zoAYid

via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...

Watch: The Zerouno Cruis’n USA

ItalDesign is drumming up excitement for its new supercar based around the same 5.2-liter Audi V10 that powers the R8. Naturally, it hit the road for a cruise around California last week to celebrate Monterey Car Week. There isn’t much in the way of V10 noise—which is a real shame given the sound it makes—but you do at least get a good look at the car inside and out in this video. With a body made entirely of carbon fiber and designed to be as aerodynamic and light as possible, ItalDesign figures that it will be good for a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds. “We put it our best skills into the production of the first car,” said Massimo Bovi, head of pre-series production, when the Zerouno was first unveiled in Geneva earlier this year. “Using some of the finest productions methods and engaging our high-skilled workers.” The car features clever aero tricks gleaned from single-seat racing, like a y-duct up front to improve downforce and turn-in. Available in a number of trim levels, the...