PoloDriver

In a motorsport weekend which saw Polos active in two disciplines, it was a double celebration for Volkswagen over the 7-8 June. While Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia won Rally Italy in Sardinia in their Polo R WRC, US rallycross driver Scott Speed was victorious at X Games 2014 in a Polo RX.

The Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross driver’s win was his second in as many events, as he also took the spoils in round one of the 2014 Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship in Barbados. Speed, a former F1 driver took the title in Austin, Texas ahead of Bucky Lasek and Nelson Piquet Jnr in a Marklund Motorsport-prepared, 7UP-painted 600bhp Polo RX.

‘Our plan A went perfectly,’ said Speed after his win ahead of 18 other Supercars at the Circuit of the Americas. ‘The car was so good today, just makes my job easy,’ he continued.

His team-mate, Top Gear USA presenter Tanner Foust reached the quarterfinals in his ‘Rockstar’-liveried Polo RX, winning two races before rolling the car out of contention. Speed now leads the GRC by 54 points, while Foust is in eleventh place with four points.

‘Once again, I’m super-impressed by how the Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team has prepared our team cars,’ said Foust. ‘Our Volkswagen Polos are the two best cars on the track.’

Marklund Motorsport also fielded its two drivers, who represented Volkswagen Motorsport. FIA World Rallycross Championship entrants Tomas ‘Topi’ Heikkinen and Anton Marklund both reached the quarterfinals in their Polo RX Supercars, which are all but identical to the versions piloted by Speed and Foust.

Marklund was the fastest driver on the US track on the Saturday, but suffered a bad start in his quarterfinal after a spin in the first corner. Heikinnen meanwhile suffered a broken driveshaft after contact with another driver. Both will be in action again in Norway this weekend (14-15 June) at World RX of Norway in Hell.

The next round of the Global Rallycross Championship is Volkswagen Rallycross DC on 21 and 22 June 21 at RFK Stadium, close to Volkswagen of America’s Herndon headquarters.

[Images: ESPN Images, Larry Chen]

Andretti Autosport fired the opening salvo of its 2014 Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship last weekend, with a victory for US driver Scott Speed at the Top Gear Festival in Barbados. Speed was driving a Marklund Motorsport-prepared Polo RX Supercar with over 550bhp, similar to the cars driven in the FIA World Rallycross Championship. The former F1 and Nascar driver finished ahead of Ford drivers Steve Arpin and Brian Deegan.

Speed was pleased with his result. ‘What a fantastic weekend. We had the right pace from start. The team did an amazing job right from the word go and set the car up perfectly for the race. For Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross, it’s our first event as a team. There’s a lot of new guys here, and for us to come out with a win in our first stop, it’s great, because we’re only going to get better.’

Speed’s team-mate and Top Gear USA host Tanner Foust crossed the line at the Bushy Park circuit in eleventh place in the second Polo RX. The pair are using European Polo silhouette cars before their more US-centric Beetle racers arrive later in the season. The next round of the Global Rallycross Championship takes place at the Circuit of Americas in Austin, Texas (USA), on 7 June.

2014 GRC BARBADOS RACE RESULTS
1 Scott Speed, #77 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross VW
2 Steve Arpin, #00 Royal Purple Racing/OMSE2 Ford
3 Brian Deegan, #38 Rockstar Energy Drink Ford

[Images: Alison Padron, Tanner Foust and Scott Speed]