Volkswagen Motorsport International Newsletter

With Volkswagen participating in so many forms of Motorsport around the world, it’s often difficult to keep track of their performance. Luckily for us, Volkswagen Motorsport goes through the trouble of rounding up all of the key information from their various race series, and puts it all in one press release. Let’s get started.

FIA World Rallycross Championship

Heikkinen wins in Belgium, fourth place for Andersson

Finland’s Toomas “Toopi” Heikkinen won round three of the FIA World Rallycross Championship in Mettet, Belgium. The Polo driver from the Marklund Motorsport team won the final on Sunday afternoon in a time of 4:02.117 minutes, ahead of Petter Solberg, Reinis Nitiss and his team-mate Per-Gunnar “P-G” Andersson (S). Johan Kristoffersson (S) of Volkswagen Team Sweden, who won the season opener in Montalegre (P), reached the semi-final. Kristoffersson’s team-mate Tord Linnerud (N) also went out in the semi-final. Victory in Belgium sees Heikkinen third in the overall standings with 57 points. Team-mate Andersson is currently seventh with 43 points to his name, while Kristoffersson is second on 60 points. The next race will be held in Lydden Hill (GB) this coming weekend.

FIA Formula 3 European Championship

Giovinazzi wins in Pau to extend his overall lead

Sunday was Antonio Giovinazzi’s day. The Italian won the third race of the weekend in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in Pau (F). The win came after Giovanni had previously finished third in the race two and second in the opening race, meaning he has now finished in a podium position in all nine races so far in this season’s Formula 3 European Championship. Charles Leclerc (Van Amersfoort Racing) also enjoyed a successful weekend “powered by Volkswagen”. The man from Monaco finished runner-up once (race two) and third twice (races one and three). The safety car made an appearance in all three races in Pau’s “concrete jungle” – but this failed to knock Giovinazzi out of his stride as he set about extending his lead in the overall standings. Now with 164 points to his name, Giovinazzi holds a 15-point lead over Leclerc (149). The famous Grand Prix circuit in Monza, Italy, will host the next race weekend from 29 to 31 May.

GTI meeting at Wörthersee

Volkswagen presents the Golf GTE Sport, Ogier puts on a show

Those at the 34th GTI meeting at Wörthersee were given a glimpse of the future: On Thursday, Dr. Heinz-Jakob Neußer, Volkswagen Board Member for Technical Development, and Sébastien Ogier presented the latest car trends, including the Golf GTE Sport Concept. World Rally Champion Ogier drove the car, complete with gull-wing doors, onto the stage in front of thrilled fans in Kärnten, Austria. The 400-hp plug-in hybrid drive, a petrol engine and two electric engines, combined with four-wheel drive, allow this concept car to accelerate to a top speed of 280 km/h. Following the presentation, Ogier put on a show in his World Championship winning car for the many fans, laying a few donuts and letting his tyres smoulder. The Frenchman and Sidney Hoffmann, presenter on the TV show “PS-Profis”, then assisted parallel parking world champion Ronny Wechselberger with his spectacular manoeuvres.

South African Rally Championship

Two podiums for Volkswagen at the “Secunda Motor Rally”

Two Volkswagen duos finished on the podium at the third round of the South African Rally Championship, the “Secunda Motor Rally” in Nelspruit (ZA). On Saturday, Gugulethu Zulu and Hilton Auffrey finished third in the Volkswagen Polo. Henk Lategan and Barry White had previously finished second in the province of Mpumalanga on Friday. Victory on both occasions went to the Ford duo of Mark Cronje/Robin Houghton. The next rally – the “Bela Bela Rally” – will take place in Limpopo (ZA) from 19 to 20 June.

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