Although it has only been the first outing for the all-new Volkswagen Polo R WRC, all eyes and attention are now glued to them as this new rally machine manages to secure an impressive second place at the opening round of the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship at Monte Carlo.
Piloted by the 29-year-old Sebastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia, the duo managed to bring the Polo R WRC into instant fame by leaving third-place Dani Sordo almost four minutes behind, who ran in a Citroen after two seasons of rallying with MINI. And Ogier was also coming up very close to the lead Citroen driven by defending champions of Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena with only a 1 minute 38.9 second gap between them.
“I never was as happy about a second place as I was today. To reach the podium in our debut with the Polo R WRC is just great. These were probably the most difficult conditions in a Rally Monte Carlo I have ever experienced”, said Ogier.
“Especially today, during the first run to the Col de Turini, it was extremely slippery, so that speeds of more than 20kph were not possible. It was just about keeping the car on the road. The entire team worked very hard during the last year, and I am very happy to give something back to them. I am very sorry for Jari-Matti but I am sure that we will celebrate further victories for Volkswagen in the future”, he added, referring to the mishap that teammate Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila suffered in the special stage at the Col de Turini, forcing them to retire.
The next round of the 2013 World Rally Championship will be the Rally of Sweden, and defending champion Sebastien Loeb will start off with a 7-point lead over Ogier. Team VW Motorsports on the other hand trails 19 points behind of the leading Citroen Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team.