Skip to main content

WRC: Volkswagen Completes Tests Ahead of Opening Round in Monte Carlo

  • Ogier/Ingrassia, Latvala/Anttila and Mikkelsen/Jæger ready for the 2016 season
  • Just short of 1000 kilometres of testing with the proven Volkswagen Polo R WRC
  • 2016 WRC season kicks off with the Rally Monte Carlo in mid-January

Wolfsburg. Prepared as in the previous two years: Volkswagen has been hard at work preparing for its outing at the Rally Monte Carlo with the world championship-winning Polo R WRC and its three driver/co-driver pairings. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) and Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger (N/N) completed roughly 1000 test kilometres in total over the course of the six-day test on the outskirts of Gap, in the French Maritime Alps. The tests focussed on set-up work and tyre tests with the Polo R WRC, which boasts the highest win ratio in the history of the World Rally Championship. The World Rally Car from Wolfsburg kicks off its fourth WRC season with the Rally Monte Carlo from 21 to 24 January. Since 2013, Volkswagen has won all nine possible World Championship titles, and has emerged triumphant at 34 of the 39 rallies. In 2014 and 2015, the three Volkswagen duos also monopolised the top three positions in the World Championship standings.

“The Rally Monte Carlo is truly legendary, for many different reasons,” said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito. “The ever-changing weather conditions, which fluctuate between ice, snow, rain and dry conditions, make the rally precisely what Monaco is renowned for: a gamble. Furthermore, it is the first rally on the WRC calendar, meaning all the drivers, co-drivers and manufacturers start with zero points. Everyone wants to make the best possible start to the new season and take as much momentum as possible into the coming rallies. As such, tests are of great importance, in order to prepare for the tough tasks ahead. For the third time in a row, we go into the season as the team to beat, and we will be up against stronger opponents than before: Hyundai has a new car, while M-Sport-Ford has strengthened its squad of drivers and co-drivers. As such, we go into the season with heightened senses – and, thanks to the tests, with sufficient experience for the Monte.”

Taste of things to come at the ever-unpredictable “Monte” – Tests on the outskirts of Gap

Ice and snow on the one hand, freezing rain, black ice or even shiny, dry asphalt on the other – conditions at the Rally Monte Carlo are always anything but predictable. Despite a lack of snow, the tests on and around the Col de Perty near the town of Laborel were worth their weight in gold, as the team looked to adapt to at least a few of the conditions to be expected in January. The three driver/co-driver duos trialled set-up variants for the Polo R WRC and tested various combinations of the Michelin tyres to be used next year. The tests took place about 70 kilometres outside Gap, where the Rally Monte Carlo will be held from 21 to 24 January.

Three pairs of test days for Ogier, Latvala, Mikkelsen and their co-drivers

Two test days for Sébastien Ogier, two for Jari-Matti Latvala and two for Andreas Mikkelsen – the men who finished first, second and third in the 2014 and 2015 world championships. And at their side, their co-drivers for the 2016 season: Julien Ingrassia, who forms his usual partnership with Sébastien Ogier, Miikka Anttila as Jari-Matti Latvala’s trusty navigator, and Anders Jæger, who will make his competitive debut in the Polo R WRC alongside Andreas Mikkelsen at the Monte. This was Jæger’s second outing, following the tests for the Rally Sweden at the end of November.

The post WRC: Volkswagen Completes Tests Ahead of Opening Round in Monte Carlo appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/1mgoN2u
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster Review

“Supercars just don’t excite me anymore.” These words, spoken to me over a month ago by another journalist, friend, and (so-called) enthusiast were echoing in my head for far too long, but they’ve finally been drowned out. Drowned out by the wail of a naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 engine mounted in the middle of the new Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster. My friend’s point is that back in the good old days, there was a crop of supercars that captured the imagination with amazing style, sounds, performance, and more. Today, it seems like everything is capable of supercar performance, with large luxury sedans outdoing some of the best and most dedicated teams of car nuts, while former pillars of automotive excellence are suddenly pumping out family-friendly SUVs. Beyond that, another league of supercars, dubbed hypercars have cropped up with hybrid gas-electric powertrains that make magical things happen quickly, but at the cost of the acoustic drama, visual flair, and engag...
Post a Comment
Read more

Project SportWagen: Going Stage 2 with APR

    When we last left you, the humble little SportWagen was fresh from the development process with our friends at AWE Tuning, sporting a new downpipe, exhaust and intake, allowing things to breathe a bit easier.  The car sounded great, but there was no getting around the fact that our wagon was still quite, well, slow.   While we realize that nothing we do to the Golf SportWagen at this point will make it a race car, we still felt compelled to do something .  To put it bluntly, we had a fever, and the only cure was more power. Flash forward a few hours, and we found ourselves at Waterfest, staring down APR’s palatial spread and the numerous tuned vehicles surrounding it.  Earlier in the year, APR had hinted to us that their 1.8 TSI files would be quite impressive, and based on what they were able to do with the 2.0 TSI found in the new GTI and our time in their Golf R, we knew it’d be worth the wait.  So with this in mind, we lined our G...
Post a Comment
Read more

Event Report: Southern Worthersee 2015

There’s been much ado about this year’s SoWo since this past Saturday night, when Instagram, Facebook and other Social Media channels exploded with images and commentary focusing on the event’s bad eggs.  But first, let’s chat a bit about the event itself. Our journey started early Thursday morning as part of the Orchid Euro/Coolwater cruise to the event.  What should have taken about 12-13 hours ended up taking much more, as we stopped to help any Volkswagen that needed our assistance.  And while the extended commute time wasn’t ideal, it proved to highlight the ‘no person left behind’ spirit of the Volkswagen community- arguably one of the scene’s best qualities. On Friday and Saturday, the town was flooded with enthusiasts, making this year’s event without a doubt the largest yet.  Attendees came from as far as California, Mexico City, and event a few straight from the original Wörthersee in Austria, and for most it was well worth the trip.  The quality o...
Post a Comment
Read more