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WRC: Volkswagen Sets Pace at Rally Poland Shakedown

  • Ogier fastest, Latvala and Mikkelsen second with identical times
  • Average speed of almost 120 km/h on gravel whets appetite for festival of speed

Wolfsburg. A real taste of things to come at the Rally Poland: Volkswagen started the seventh round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) at full throttle with a dominant display in the Shakedown. At an average speed of almost 120 km/h, Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) set the fastest time in the Volkswagen Polo R WRC. In doing so, they defeated team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) and Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (N/N) by just five tenths of a second. Local favourites Robert Kubica/Maciej Szczepaniak (PL/PL, Ford) completed the 3.30-kilometre Shakedown stage in exactly the same time. Just one second separated the top six, which also included Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (B/B, Hyundai) and Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (GB/IRL, Citroën).

The Shakedown reflects the real essence of the Rally Poland: Ogier/Ingrassia clocked an average speed of 119.88 km/h on their fastest run on the Shakedown stage. The Rally Poland is dominated by fast country lanes and rural roads on gravel across open ground. A wide, flowing route guarantees high speed and is only interrupted by the occasional junction. In 2014, roughly two thirds of the total distance in Poland was taken flat-out.

The Rally Poland kicks off on Thursday evening with the 2.50-kilometre “Mikolajki Arena 1” special stage, which is held within walking distance of the Service Park and will again attract big crowds. Friday is the first long day of rallying in Poland, with eight special stages scheduled. In total, the drivers face 137.79 kilometres against the clock on Friday.

Quotes after the Shakedown at the Rally Poland

Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1
“The Shakedown went well for Julien and me. The route was superfast from the word go, with hardly any corners. It will be a similar story on the weekend too. The fans can look forward to some extremely fast stages, particularly on Friday. It might be even faster than last year. I like fast and flowing routes like the one in Poland. Furthermore, the majority of stages are new to the drivers, which means everyone faces the same challenge. We are in great form and I can hardly wait to get started.”

Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #2
“I used today’s Shakedown to fine-tune the set-up of my Polo. Together with Finland, Poland is one of the fastest rallies of the year. You really have to put your foot down to do well here – but without coming off the road. It will be important to start well from the onset. The special stages look good, the Polo is ready, and the sun is shining: the conditions are definitely good. And I still have a score to settle after last year.”

Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9
“The Rally Poland is all about three things: speed, speed and speed. And that plays right into my hands, as I like it quick. The Shakedown is important to find your rhythm, which you need to do from the first second on Friday. I am happy with the Shakedown, although I did make one or two mistakes and did not have a perfect run. Although there were two slower bends, the average speed was up at about 120 – that shows just how fast the rest of the stage was. All in all, it was good preparation for what lies ahead of us.”

Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director
“It is no coincidence that the Rally Poland is one of the favourite rallies of our drivers. You really need to concentrate hard at high speed – the adrenalin levels are very high. The Shakedown has already shown how fast it will be again this year – perhaps even faster than before. And it also showed that our guys are wide awake and have immediately found the new rhythm.”

FIA World Rally Championship (WRC),
Rally Poland – TV broadcast
Western Europe
Andorra (Canal +), Austria (ORF, Servus TV, Sport1, LAOLA1.tv, RTL), Belgium (Canal +, RTBF), Cyprus (Cyta Vision), Europe (MOTORS TV), Finland (YLE, Nelonen), France (Canal +, France TV, Léquipe 21), Germany (Sport1, Servus TV, LAOLA1.tv, Sky, RTL), Greece (OTE), Italy (RAI, Fox Sports), Ireland (BT Sport, itv4), Liechtenstein (Sport1, Servus TV, RTL), Luxembourg (Canal +, Servus TV, Sport1, RTL), Monaco (Canal +, France TV, Léquipe 21), Norway (TV2), Portugal (Sport TV, RTP), Spain (Canal +, TV3), Sweden (SVT), Switzerland (Canal +, Sport1, Servus TV, RTL), UK (BT Sport, itv4), Wales (S4C)
Eastern Europe
Belarus (Auto Plus), Bosnia and Herzigovina (Arena TV), Bulgaria (BNT), Croatia (Arena TV), Czech Republic (Czech TV, O2, Sport 5), Estonia (Estonia TV, Auto Plus), Kososvo (Arena TV), Latvia (Auto Plus), Lithuania (Auto Plus), Macedonia (Arena TV), Moldova (Auto Plus), Montenegro (Arena TV), Poland (Polsat, TVP, tvn), Romania (Dolce Sport), Russia (Auto Plus), Serbia (Arena TV), Slovakia (Sport5), Slovenia (Arena TV), Turkey (NTV), Ukraine (First Automotive Channel, Auto Plus)
Middle East and Africa
Algeria (Dubai Sports Channel), Angola (Canal +, Sport TV), Bahrain (Dubai Sports Channel), Benin (Canal +), Botswana (Canal +), Burkina Faso (Canal +), Burundi (Canal +), Cameroon (Canal +), Cape Verde (Canal +, Sport TV), Djibouti (Dubai Sports Channel), Egypt (Dubai Sports Channel), Equatorial Guinea (Canal +), Eritrea (Dubai Sports Channel), Ethopia (Canal +), Gabon (Canal +), Gambia (Canal +), Guinea (Canal +), Guinea-Bissau (Canal +), Iran (Dubai Sports Channel), Iraq (Dubai Sports Channel), Israel (Charlton), Ivory Coast (Canal +), Jordan (Dubai Sports Channel), Kenya (Canal +), Kuwait (Dubai Sports Channel), Lebanon (Dubai Sports Channel), Libya (Dubai Sports Channel), Madagascar (Canal +), Malawi (Canal +), Mali (Canal +), Mauritania (Canal +, Dubai Sports Channel), Mauritius (Canal +), Morocco (Dubai Sports Channel), Mozambique (Canal +, Sport TV), Namibia (Canal +), Nigeria (Canal +), Niger (Canal +), Oman (Dubai Sports Channel), Pakistan (Neo Sports), Palestine (Dubai Sports Channel), Qatar (Dubai Sports Channel), Sao Tome (Canal +), Saudi Arabia (Dubai Sports Channel), Senegal (Canal +), Seychelles (Canal +), Sierra Leone (Canal +), Somalia (Dubai Sports Channel), Sudan (Dubai Sports Channel), Syria (Dubai Sports Channel), Tanzania (Canal +), Togo (Canal +), Tunisia (Dubai Sports Channel), Uganda (Canal +), United Arab Emirates (Dubai Sports Channel), Yemen (Dubai Sports Channel), Zambia (Canal +), Zimbabwe (Canal +)
Asia Pacific
Armenia (Auto Plus), Australia (Fox Sports), American Samoa (MAV TV), Azerbeijan (Auto Plus), Baker Island (MAV TV), Bangladesh (NEO Sports), Bhutan (NEO Sports), China (CCTV 5, PPTV), Guam (MAV TV), Georgia (Auto Plus), Howland Islands (MAV TV), India (NEO Sports), Kazakhstan (Auto Plus), Kyrgyzstan (Auto Plus), Japan (J-Sport), Jarvis Island (MAV TV), Kingman Reef (MAV TV), Malaysia (Astro), Micronesia (MAV TV), Midway Islands (MAV TV), Navassa Island (MAV TV), Nepal (NEO Sports), New Zealand (Sky Sports), Norther Marianas (MAV TV), Palau (MAV TV), South Korea (SBS Sport), Sri Lanka (NEO Sports), Tajikistan (Auto Plus), Thailand (Truevision), Turkmenistan (Auto Plus), U.S. Virgin Islands (MAV TV), Uzbekistan (Auto Plus), Wake Islands (MAV TV)
North and Latin America
Argentina (Channel 12, Fox Sports), Bahamas (MAV TV), Barbados (MAV TV), Belize (MAV TV), Bolivia (Fox Sports), Brazil (Fox Sports), Chile (Fox Sports), Colombia (Fox Sports), Costa Rica (Fox Sports), Cuba (Fox Sports), Dominican Republic (Fox Sports), Ecuador (Fox Sports), El Salvador (Fox Sports), Guatemala (Fox Sports), Haiti (MAV TV), Honduras (Fox Sports), Jamaica (MAV TV), Mexico (Fox Sports, TV4), Nicaragua (Fox Sports), Panama (Fox Sports), Paraguay (Fox Sports, Telefuturo), Peru (Fox Sports), Puerto Rico (MAV TV), Trinidad & Tobago (MAV TV, Channel 12), Uruguay (Channel 12), USA (MAV TV, Fox Sports), Venezuela (Fox Sports)

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