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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 Rally Championship
wrc-spain
Maiden victory for Mikkelsen and Fløene, Latvala runner-up

Andreas Mikkelsen (N) and Ola Fløene (N) won the Rally Spain with Volkswagen to take their place on the illustrious list of winners in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) for the first time. Their first win helped Volkswagen to a remarkable one-two – the seventh of the season. The Norwegians clinched victory in the dying seconds of the rally, on the closing Power Stage. Mikkelsen/Fløene won the final stage, defeating their team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) by 3.1 seconds, before benefitting from a rare mistake from fellow Volkswagen duo Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F). The three-time world champions strayed from the racing line and touched a crash barrier, causing such severe damage to their car that they were forced to retire. After twelve podiums with the Polo R WRC, this was the first appearance on the top step of the rostrum for Mikkelsen and Fløene – in their 64th start at the pinnacle of rally. This was the eleventh win of the season for the Polo R WRC, and the car’s 33rd victory since making its debut in January 2013. One round of this year’s World Rally Championship remains: the Rally Great Britain will take place in Wales from 12 to 15 November.

Touringcar Racer International Series
TCR-INTER
Tomas Engström finishes in the points twice

Thomas Engström claimed two points finishes at the penultimate round of the Touringcar Racer International Series (TCR). The Swede, at the wheel of the new Volkswagen Golf for the racetrack, finished eighth and sixth in the two races at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram (T). Engström was rewarded with twelve points for his efforts. In contrast, Mikhail Grachev endured a miserable weekend in the second Volkswagen Golf, scoring no points. The two races were won by the two main title contenders, Stefano Comini (CH) and Pepe Oriola (E). The Seat drivers are separated by just two points, with Comini in front on 299 points. The final round of the TCR will take place on Monaco’s iconic street circuit on 22 November.

Engen Volkswagen Cup South Africa
engen-cup-sa
Pepper bags a brace, van der Linde on cusp of winning second title

Tasmin Pepper (ZA) bagged a brace of wins on the penultimate race weekend of the Engen Volkswagen Cup South Africa. The flying lady from South Africa won two of the three races at the Killarney Motor Racing Circuit. Victory in race one went to Sheldon van der Linde. The South African came home ahead of Pepper and Daniel Rowe (ZA) on the 3.267-kilometre racetrack in the South African province of Western Cape on Saturday morning. Race two saw Pepper cross the finish line first, ahead of Chris Shorter (ZA) and Mathew Hodges (ZA). She then finished ahead of van der Linde and Shorter to take victory in race three. Van der Linder is in pole position in the overall standings. The 16-year-old South African now has 360 points to his name and travels to the finale in the South African province of Gauteng with a 44-point lead over Matthew Hodges (316). Van der Linde, who was crowned the youngest champion in the history of the Engen Volkswagen Cup last year, is well-placed to win his second championship in a row at the Kyalami Racing Circuit (ZA) on 7 November. Away from the title race, Shaun La Reservee (ZA) was busy setting course for next season: he used the races in Western Cape to test the Volkswagen Polo for 2016 under competitive conditions.

Volkswagen Fun Cup Belgium
fun-cup-belgium
Allure Team 2 wins the title in Mettet

Champions in Mettet: Allure Team 2 won the title at the final round of the season in the Volkswagen Fun Cup Belgium. Second place at the ten-hour race at the Circuit Jules Tacheny was to prove good enough for the team, consisting of Cédric Bollen, Frédéric Caprasse, Guillaume Mondron and Edouard Mondron. Victory in the Belgian province of Namur went to Claudio Cappelli and Federico Sordini (8Ks Corse team). The Italian duo came home one lap ahead of the new champions after 455 laps of racing. Third place went to Jac Motors 1, with drivers Laurent Jaspers, Stéphane Henry de Frahan and Nicolas Nulens. Socardenne ended the 2015 season in second place. The team of Christophe Nivarlet, Kevin Balthazar, Renaud Martin and François Verbist finished sixth in Mettet. With 411 points to their name, they came up 34 points short of Allure Team 2 (445). The two teams will meet again on 17 December, only this time it will not be on the racetrack: the drivers and teams will be presented with their trophies in Brussels.

Next up:

29/10–31/10/2015
Int. ADMV Lausitz Rally (D)

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