PoloDriver

We’d heard rumblings (and we bet folk in the vicinity of this forest did, too) that the Polo R WRC had turned a wheel in anger recently, and here’s the proof. Breaking last night and causing a flurry of WRC love on the internet last night, this two-minute video shows Volkswagen’s near-300bhp WRC weapon undergoing its first shakedown test through the German countryside in Veldenz. Tearing through the forest at full chat, the four-wheel drive Polo R WRC sounds sensational, and somehow better than we’d hoped. After what seems like an eternity – but in reality has only been six months – after its reveal at Rally d’Italia Sardegna, the wait has been worthwhile. Roll on 2013!

[Source: Rallye-Mad.com]

Continue Reading

After an unfortunate season, the BP Volkswagen Polo Vivo S2000 South African rally team clinched a podium spot on the last event of the season, the MTN Polokwane Rally (21-23 October). Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries took third place at the event, after two days of tough competition. Reigning champions Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson recorded a third place finish overall for the year, meaning their Polo rally car will wear the number three in 2012. ‘We’ve reached a successful end to a very difficult year,’ said Mike Rowe, head of Volkswagen Racing South Africa. ‘We’ve had to stretch the performance of our cars against the newest technology available from Europe, but the team rose to the challenge.’

‘The Junior and Privateer Volkswagen competitors did us proud this season, with Christoff and Celeste Snyders winning the Junior Championship, the Two-Wheel Drive Championship and the S1600 Championship (finishing in 13th place on the Polokwane stages), while Megan Verlaque and Hilton Auffray won the S1400 championship,’ says Rowe. ‘We’re looking forward to a very exciting season in 2012 with a new car in the mix.’ Verlaque and Auffray also took the S1400 class on the Polokwane event. Other Polo finishers included Nicholas Ryan and Armand du Toit in seventh.

The Polos of Giniel de Villiers and Ralph Pitchford, Jan Habig and Robert Paisley, Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson, and Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin did not finish. Overall victors of the Limpopo event were Leeroy Pouter and Elvene Coetzee in their Castrol and Innovation Group-backed Toyota Auris S2000. Finishing second, Team Sasol’s Mark Cronje and Robin Houghton won the 2011 South African Driver’s and Co-Driver’s Rally Championships in their Ford Fiesta S2000 – the first privateers in 45 years to do so. Volkswagen Racing South Africa are thought to be preparing a Polo 6R-based machine for the 2012 championship.

PausePlayPlayPrev|Next

MTN Polokwane Rally: Kuun/Hodgson

MTN Polokwane Rally: Fekken/Arries

MTN Polokwane Rally: de Villiers/Pitchford

MTN Polokwane Rally: Zulu/Peskin

MTN Polokwane Rally: Verlaque/Auffray

MTN Polokwane Rally: Snyders/Snyders

MTN Polokwane Rally: Ryan/du Toit

Continue Reading

Volkswagen Motorsport’s Polo R WRC campaign became a little more prepped at the weekend, as a successful Rally de Espagna test was enjoyed by the factory team who plan to run Polo R WRCs in 2013. Once again, Škoda Fabia S2000s were used to gain experience in top flight rallying. Two teams took part – Germans Christian Riedemann and Michael Wenzel and Spaniards Yeray Lemes and Rogelio Peñate. Lemes and Peñate claimed fourth place in class and 14th overall, while Riedemann and Wenzel crossed the finish ramp in Salou eighth in class and 20th in the overall rankings. Volkswagen will continue its WRC preparations at the Wales Rally GB from 10-13 November. German Sepp Wiegand will drive with Dakar Rally-winning co-driver Timo Gottschalk while the Dutchman Kevin Abbring will line-up with co-driver Lara Vanneste. The full Volkswagen Motorsport press release follows.

> Read More

Continue Reading

South African Engen Volkswagen Cup drivers Kosie Weyers and Devin Robertson were victorious at the latest rounds of the series at the fast Killarney circuit in Cape Town on 1 October. Weyers won ahead of both Lee Thompson and Robertson in the first race, while in the second, championship leader Robertson was the front runner. Weyers had to settle for the second spot on the podium ahead of Kyle Barnes.

The 2011 Engen Volkswagen Cup series is similar to the other racing VW Polo Cup single-series championships run in both Europe and India. Just as in those series, the one-make format particularly highlights a wealth of new young driving talent. In the Engen championship, as many as thirty drivers regularly take to the track in technically-identical, 2.0-litre, 234bhp Volkswagen Polo Vivo racing cars. The next two rounds of the 2011 Engen Volkswagen Cup are scheduled for 5 November at the Zwartkops circuit, Pretoria.

PausePlayPlayPrev|Next

2011 Engen Volkswagen Cup: Lee Thompson and Kosie Weyers, Killarney

2011 Engen Volkswagen Cup: Lee Thompson, Killarney

2011 Engen Volkswagen Cup: Devin Robertson and Kosie Weyers, Killarney

2011 Engen Volkswagen Cup: Robin Kruger, Killarney

Continue Reading

The Polo R WRC is being shown at the Johannesburg International Motor Show – which runs from 6-16 October – by Volkswagen South Africa, which is celebrating its 60th birthday in 2011. The 2013 rally challenger being displayed at the Johannesburg Expo Centre event is the styling mock-up, unveiled by Volkswagen Motorsport on the eve of the Rally d’Italia Sardegna back in May. And, excitingly, it has been revealed that the new Polo S2000 rally car will debut in 2012, and will share most of its visual cues with the Polo R WRC. From 2013, Volkswagen will contest the World Rally Championship with the Polo R WRC.

‘The new technical regulations of the World Rally Championship (WRC) perfectly suits Volkswagen’s philosophy with respect to the development of production vehicles,’ said Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Management Board of the Volkswagen Brand, Development Division. The new set of rules determines 1.6-litre turbo engines with direct injection. This is in line with Volkswagen’s strategy of downsizing engines – a philosophy that has been pioneered with small-volume, turbocharged but highly efficient powertrains. ‘The timing of the WRC debut is ideal for Volkswagen. The task of engineering a vehicle that is competitive and capable of winning at a large number of challenges holds great appeal,’ Dr Hackenberg continued.

The centrepiece of the Volkswagen Polo R WRC will be a 1.6-litre TSI engine with direct injection and turbo-charging that will achieve a power output of 220kW (295bhp) with a maximum torque of 350Nm (258lb ft). In accordance with the regulations, the four-cylinder powerplant will have its air intake reduced by a 33-millimetre air restrictor. To transmit the engine’s power to the wheels a sequential gearbox is planned, but substantial driving assistance systems are prohibited by WRC rules. The aim is to reasonably cap development costs.

The Polo R WRC will be fitted with a safety cage, four-wheel drive and an aerodynamically-optimised exterior. According to the regulations the minimum dry weight will be 1200kg. In the World Rally Championship the technical concept of a world rally car has to be based on the body shell of a production vehicle. At Volkswagen, ‘R’ is associated with models with superior dynamics, compelling performance data and sportiness. The entire ‘R’ model package is offered at outstanding value for money. Other new VWs being displayed in Johannesburg include the eco BlueMotion range, which has a Polo-based variant.

PausePlayPlayPrev|Next

2011 Johannesburg International Motor Show: Polo R WRC

2011 Johannesburg International Motor Show: Polo R WRC

2011 Johannesburg International Motor Show: Polo R WRC

2011 Johannesburg International Motor Show: Polo R WRC

Continue Reading