WRC: Volkswagen celebrates first victory
Sensational result: the new Volkswagen Polo R WRC, which is equipped with a twin-plate clutch as well as dampers from ZF, celebrated victory in the Rally Sweden in only its second ever WRC outing. Volkswagen factory drivers Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia took the lead on the second special stage. In an exciting fight on snow and ice they convincingly defended their leading position from record World Champion Sébastien Loeb and won by a margin of 41.8 seconds. The French duo recorded the fastest time on eleven of the 22 special stages. By winning the closing Power Stage, Ogier and Ingrassia secured another three World Championship points and thus lead the Drivers’ World Championship by three points from Sébastien Loeb.
Jari-Matti Latvala and co-driver Miikka Anttila finished fourth in the second Volkswagen Polo R WRC. The Finnish duo claimed their first fastest stage time for Volkswagen in Sweden.
Result Rally Sweden (S), round 2 FIA World Rally Championship WRC, 07.02-10.02.2013:
1. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia, Volkswagen, 3h 11m 41.9s, ZF
2. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena, Citroën, + 41.8s
3. Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson, Ford, + 1m 24.5s
4. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila, Volkswagen, + 1m 30.6s, ZF
5. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul, Ford, + 5m 06.4s
6. Juho Hänninen/Tomi Tuominen, Ford, + 5m 43.1s
7. Martin Prokop/Michał Ernst, Ford, + 11m 25.4s
8. Henning Solberg/Emil Axelsson, Ford, + 11m 42.7s
9. Evgeny Novikov/Ilka Minor, Ford, + 13m 04.7s
10. Yazeed Al Rajhi/Michael Orr, Ford, + 16m 27.0s
Drivers’ World Championship standings:
1. S. Ogier, 46 points; 2. S. Loeb, 43; 3. M. Ostberg, 24; 4. D. Sordo, 15; 5. J. Latvala, 14; 6. M. Prokop and M. Hirvonen, 12; 8. B. Bouffier and T. Neuville, 10; 10. J. Hänninen, 8.
Manufacturers’ World Championship standings:
1. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT, 57 points; 2. Volkswagen Motorsport, 55; 3. Qatar M-Sport WRT, 31; 4. Abu Dhabi Citroën Total WRT, 15; 5. Lotus WRC Team, 12; 6. Qatar WRC, 10; 7. Jipocar Czech National Team, 8.