Skip to main content

WRC: Volkswagen Motorsport Prepared for Rally Italy

  • Fourth, fifth and eighth for the three Polo R WRC in the Shakedown
  • Ogier/Ingrassia and Latvala/Anttila fastest Volkswagen duos with identical times

It is going to be a sizzler on Sardinia – Volkswagen’s preparations for the start of the Rally Italy ran smoothly in Thursday’s “free practice”. Ahead of round six of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) and Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) set identical times to finish fourth and fifth on the 4.33-kilometre shakedown. Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (N/N) were eighth fastest in the third Polo R WRC.

The Rally Italy on Sardinia is one of the hottest WRC races of the year, with outside temperatures of over 30 degrees sending temperatures inside the World Rally Cars through the roof. As well as tackling some narrow, winding special stages, the drivers must also keep one eye on their material: one of the crucial factors at the sixth round of the World Rally Championship could be the way the drivers look after their tyres and brakes. The Rally Italy kicks off with the opening special stage in Cagliari on Thursday evening.

Quotes after the Shakedown at the Rally Italy

Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1
“The Shakedown went well for us. The Polo R WRC is in great shape ahead of the Rally Italy. Julien and I are also perfectly prepared for one of the toughest rallies of the year. With temperatures currently over 30 degrees in the shade, it will certainly be extremely hot in the cockpit here on Sardinia. This means we will have to push ourselves to the limit physically. However, the route conditions are also very technical this time and far more challenging than last year. As always we will do our best and see how things turn out at the end.”

Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #2
“I am looking forward to the rally here on Sardinia and will try to take a relaxed approach, whilst at the same time focussing fully on the job in hand. I like the flair and the atmosphere. The temperatures are very summery. However, that is not the only reason it will be a hot affair. We prepared well for the Rally Italy in the Shakedown. It is very technical this year – even more than last year. There are a few really beautiful and challenging special stages. We found a good rhythm right from the start today – I am ready!”

Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9
“The shakedown was a mixture of many special stages that are typical of the rally on Sardinia. It was very dusty, which made it harder to see where we were going. There was a lot of loose gravel, which was swept off the road with each car that passed, thus improving grip. The times clearly illustrate the difference between the first, second and third runs. With this in mind, we will face an additional challenge as one of the first cars onto the route tomorrow and on Saturday. Furthermore, a lot of the scheduled stages are very tough on the car – some of them even more so than in Argentina. It will be anything but an easy rally for everyone. However, this certainly does not mean that I am not really looking forward to it.“

Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director
“The Shakedown always provides the final opportunity to judge where you stand before a rally really gets going. We are very happy with the result here in Italy, as two of our Volkswagen drivers – Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala – clocked the same time and were only slightly behind our direct rivals. Andreas Mikkelsen was also in touch with the leaders and wasted no time in finding his rhythm. All three drivers and co-drivers adapted well to the very unique conditions they face at the rally on Sardinia. The long days on Friday and Saturday will show how valuable that is.”

FIA World Rally Championship (WRC),
Rally Italy – TV broadcast
Western Europe
Andorra (Canal +); Austria (ORF, Servus TV, Sport1, N-TV, LAOLA1.tv); Belgium (Canal +, RTBF); Denmark (Viasat); Europe (MOTORS TV); Finland (YLE, Nelonen); France (Canal +, France TV, Léquipe 21); Germany (Sport1, N-TV, Servus TV, LAOLA1.tv, Sky); Greece (OTE); Italy (RAI, Fox Sports, Dinamica); Ireland (BT Sport); Lichtenstein (N-TV, Sport1, Servus TV); Luxembourg (Canal +, N-TV, Servus TV, Sport1); Israel (Charlton); Monaco (Canal +, France TV, Léquipe 21); Netherlands (RTL7); Norway (VIASAT); Portugal (Sport TV, RTP); Slovakia (Sport 5); Spain (Canal +, TVE, TV3); Sweden (SVT); Switzerland (Canal +, N-TV, Sport1, Servus TV); Turkey (NTV); UK (BT Sport, itv4); Wales (S4C)
Eastern Europe
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan (Auto Plus); Bosnia and Herzigovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia (Arena TV); Czech Republic (Czech TV, Sport 5); Hungary (Sport1); Lithuania (Auto Plus, BTV, LNK); Poland (TVP); Romania (Dolce Sport); Ukraine (First Automotive Channel, Auto Plus)
Middle East and Africa
Angola, Cap Verde, Mozambique (Canal +, Sport TV, SuperSport); Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, São Tomé, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe (Canal +, SuperSport); Ethopia, Mauritania, Seychelles (Canal +); Lesotho, Liberia, Mayotte, Reunion, Socotra, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, St Helena & Ascension, Sudan, Swaziland (SuperSport)
Asia Pacific
Australia (Fox Sports); American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Islands, Jarvis Island, Kingman Reef, Micronesia, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Norther Marianas, Palau, U.S. Virgin Islands, Wake Islands (MAV TV); China (PPTV); Indonesia (MNC); Japan (J Sports); Malaysia (Astro); New Zealand (Sky Sports, TV 3); Thailand (Truevision)
North and Latin America
Argentina, Uruguay (Channel 12, Fox Sports); Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago (MAV TV); Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Venezuela (Fox Sports); Mexico (Fox Sports, TV4); Paraguay (Fox Sports, Telefuturo), USA (MAV TV, Fox Sports)

The post WRC: Volkswagen Motorsport Prepared for Rally Italy appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/1FV8kT4
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Waterfest Moves to Atco Dragway

Waterfest 24 will be held at Atco Dragway, in Atco, New Jersey. The summer event will take place at its new venue on July 21 and 22. Long held in Englishtown, New Jersey, the festival has been such a large part of the VW scene that the latest iteration of the Golf even comes with optional “Englishtown” wheels . The new venue, however, is an NHRA drag track a scant 52 miles southwest of Englishtown. The ¼ mile drag track opened in 1960, which makes it the oldest drag strip in New Jersey. The announcement came today on a social media post that announced the new location. Waterfest is North America’s largest VW/Audi show. As many 20,000 people show up for the annual show, making the second largest show in the world—with Worthersee being number one. 2018 will be Waterfest’s 24 th year in existence. The post Waterfest Moves to Atco Dragway appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2GQjkuc via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more

Macau Gets Messy with 16-Car Pileup

The Macau Grand Prix is always good for an accident or two or 16— you may remember Audi’s race ending crash last year —and this year’s event didn’t disappoint. It didn’t take long for things to get messy on the tight road circuit. On the opening lap of the qualifying race a 16-car pileup caused the race to be suspended. Things kicked off when Daniel Juncadella hit a wall on the exit of Police bend, one of the tightest parts of the already tight circuit. The following car of Raffaele Marciello was able to avoid the carnage, but Laurens Vanthoor, who was in the upside-down Audi that ended the race last year, could not avoid Juncadella and together they blocked up the road pretty much completely. “I couldn’t see him [Juncadella] at first. Then I saw the car standing still,” Vanthoor told Motorsport. “I tried to brake but it was just understeering and I couldn’t do anything. There’s room for one car there and you’re blind.” Fourteen more cars would eventually crash into the corner c
Post a Comment
Read more

The First of its Kind: Integrated Engineering Releases Highly-Anticipated IE450T MK6 Golf R Turbo Kit

After two long years of development, the team at Integrated Engineering has finally announced the release of their IE450T kit for the MK6 Golf R. With their turbo kit bolted on right out of the box, the sport AWD hatch is transformed into a 450bhp monster, with hardly any noticeable increase in spool time. In fact, 435 ft-lbs of torque are achieved at all four wheels, at a mere 3300rpm! By now you are probably asking yourself how this is even possible on a 2.0L engine that made nearly half that power from the factory. By employing true twin-scroll technology into the cast turbo manifold and pairing it with a state-of-the-art BorgWarner EFR turbocharger, IE was able to keep spool time at a minimum and bring the fastest-spooling big turbo setup to the market. “We wanted to offer a kit that would dramatically increase the power output without making the car lose its amazing street-friendly drivability,” mentioned one of the IE engineers. We are told the IE450T leaves the car driving jus
Post a Comment
Read more