Ogier fulfils his dream of winning in Finland

THE KING OF THE FORESTS

Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) claimed their fifth win of the season with Volkswagen in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC)and took a big step towards the World Championship title in the process. 180 km/h through the Finnish forests, jumps of up to 60 metres in length, and all between the ubiquitous trees: the WRC put on a thrilling show for hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic fans in Finland, who saw the overall lead constantly change hands on the first two days of the rally.A sixth triumph for the Polo R WRC in only its eighth rally outing saw Ogier and Ingrassia extend their lead in both the driver and co-driver standings to 90 points. Volkswagen also increased its advantage in the Manufacturers Championship. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) finished 17th in the Polo R WRC and contributed six points to the total. Their team-mates Andreas Mikkelsen/Mikko Markkula (N/FIN) ended their home rally in tenth place, earning them one World Championship point.King at the rally of all ralliesOgier fulfils his dream of winning in FinlandThe Rally Finland has been taking place since 1951, and Sbastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia this year became only the fifth duo from outside of Scandinavia and Finland to win the rally. 2013 marked the eleventh time that a non-Nordic driver had won this iconic event in the World Rally Championship: in 1990 it was current Volkswagen Motorsport consultant Carlos Sainz (E) and his co-driver Luis Moya who broke the stranglehold of the Finns and Swedes for the first time.For Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, the fifth win of the 2013 season also marked a long-awaited first. The Rally Finland is a legend in itself: while the average speed at other rallies is around 80 kilometres per hour, it was exactly 120.91 km/h at the 2013 Rally Finland. The event, which every year attracts hundreds of thousands of fans to the forests and banks of the many lakes, is renowned for its ideal route conditions and quick sections lined by a thick wall of trees. Many blind crests and jumps of around 60 metres round off the unmistakable character of the rally.Polo R WRC Powerimpressive record at the full-throttle bonanzaTop-class results for the Polo R WRC at the Rally Finland: the World Rally Car from Wolfsburg claimed twelve stage wins and a total of 24 top-three times, making it the most successful car at Formula One in the Forest. Since its debut at the Rally Monte Carlo in January 2013, the Polo has now amassed an incredible 81 of a possible 143 stage wins. Furthermore, six of the eight World Championship rounds so far have gone to Volkswagenan impressive record for a car making its debut in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).Three bonus points on the Power StageAnother three bonus World Championship points went the way of Volkswagen at the Rally Finland: Volkswagen drivers Sebastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala finished second and third on the Power Stage. This allowed Jari-Matti Latvala to defend his second place in the Drivers Championship: he is now level on points with Thierry Neuville, but holds the upper hand courtesy of his win at the Rally Greece and the resulting better individual result. Prior to the Rally Finland, Volkswagen had won every Power Stage held this season.The incredible OuninpohjaOgier shows his class on the rally classicTwo stage wins were particularly special: winning the mother of all stages at the fastest rally in the world, Ouninpohja is seen as a real accolade. Even on the eve of the stage, the mere thought of the classic brought a broad grin onto the face of Sebastien Ogier. On the final day, the World Championship leader demonstrated his class on this extremely challenging stage, which features jumps approaching the 60-metre mark. Ogier clinched the first run with a 2.6 second lead, and then finished 4.6 seconds clear of the rest of the field on when they tackled it for the second time. The icing on the cake: with a time of 15 minutes and 8.9 seconds, Ogier now holds the stage record on Ouninpohja. His average speed as he tore through the forests: 130.75 kilometres per hour.Impressive fighting performance: Latvala bags points for the Manufacturers ChampionshipGreat personal disappointment on the one hand, but even greater team spirit on the other: at their home event, Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) secured valuable points for Volkswagen in the battle for the title in the Manufacturers Championship. The Finnish duo, who had come into its home rally on the back of four consecutive podiums as the most consistent pair in the World Rally Championship, hit a rock at the side of the road on the second special stage and consequently had to retire with a damaged suspension. When they rejoined the action on day two, under Rally2 regulations, Latvala/Anttila battled their way to nine top-three times for Volkswagen and six World Championship points. Volkswagen Motorsport was thus able to extend its lead over Citroen in the Manufacturers Championship by a further nine points to 55.A show of maturity: Mikkelsen impresses with consistent resultsOn course for a top-five result, a technical problem prevented Andreas Mikkelsen/Mikko Markkula (N/FIN) from picking up another impressive result. The duo consistently clocked top-ten times before they were stopped in their tracks by a damaged suspension that was none of their fault. After their return under Rally2 regulations on the final day, they confirmed their arrival in the field of established WRC drivers with yet more fine displaysincluding on the legendary Ouninpohja special stage. In the end, their efforts were rewarded: Mikkelsen worked his way back up to tenth place to finish in the points.Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia will go into Volkswagens home event at the Rally Germany (2225 August) with a purely mathematical chance of winning both the driver and co-driver competitions: should they increase their lead over their rivals by 22 points to 112, they would be out of reach of the chasing pack and guaranteed the titles.Statements, day three, Rally FinlandJari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #7Generally speaking I am not happy, as I had come into the event with high hopes. My rally started with a mistake, which cost me any chance of a podium finish. However, I was able to increase my pace by the time we reached the Power Stage at the end of the rally, and my co-driver Miikka Anttila and I still managed to score six points towards the Manufacturers Championship. We also used the rally to try out different set-ups, in order to prepare for the coming rallies. We now move on to Volkswagens home rally in Germany and I really hope to be back on the podium there.Sebastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #8It is impossible to describe how I feel! This win here in Finland is a dream come true for me. And to win in Sweden as well this yearit is a great feeling to win these two rallies this year ahead of the Nordic guys like Mads Ostberg, Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala. With a lead of over 30 from the first two days, I did not want to take too many risks today. Only on the Ouninpohja special stage did I really push myself to the limit, as that stage is simply fantastic. For me, it was the first time in a World Rally Car and the speed with the Polo R WRC left me speechless. Your pulse starts to race, you are full of adrenalin, and you enjoy every jump and every metre. My lead in the World Rally Championship has increased, but I am not concentrating on that todayI just want to enjoy the win with my team now. Without our well-oiled team, I would not be on the top step here.Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9We learned a lot here at the Rally Finland. We gained more experience again today. The Ouninpohja special stage was simply unbelievable. I remember what it was like driving that stage in the S2000 Skoda last year. But you have so much more grip in the Polo R WRC that you could take many passages in sixth gear and at the rev limit. The goal was to learn as much as possible on both runs, in order to be able to attack next year. On this stage, and todays other stages, we concentrated fully on finding the right line and not taking any risks. Despite the suspension damage we suffered yesterday, which unfortunately dashed any hopes we had of a top-five finish, we are happy with what we achieved.Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport DirectorThe Rally Finland is a true legend, and winning it is very special. We have a great team which made all this possible. From the Engine and Transmission departments to team management, mechanics and designersI am proud of everyone. This time, however, you have to highlight the driving performance of Sebastien Ogier. The Rally Finland showed that Ford, Citroon and Volkswagen are operating on a par with each other. Sebastien was the difference this time. This win sees him deservedly take a big step towards the World Championship title. Jari-Matti Latvala definitely did not have a happy weekend. We must learn as a team from his retirement on day one. Our engineers will analyse the incident in detail and further improve the Polo R WRC. Andreas Mikkelsen performed well throughout the entire rally and was on a par with the top drivers in the World Championship. That is impressive.And then there was ...... rally legend Markku Alen. The four-time World Rally Champion was in front of the camera as a presenter and expert for Finnish TV station MTV3. Volkswagen will soon be reunited with Mr. Maximum Attack: Aln lines up in the Legends competition when the Scirocco R-Cup heads to the Nrburgring (August) for its fourth race weekend.FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Rally Finland final results

1.  Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), Volkswagen 2h 43m 10,4s2.  Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (B/B), Ford + 36.6s

3.  Mads Ostberg/Jonas Andersson (N/S), Ford + 57.6s.4.  Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (FIN/FIN), Citroen + 1m 21.6s5.  Daniel Sordo/Carlos Del Barrio (E/E), Citroen+ 6m 08,5s6.  Evgeny Novikov/Ilka Minor (RUS/A), Ford+ 8m 39.7s7.  Jari Ketomaa/Marko Sallinen (FIN/FIN), Ford+ 11m 19.28.  Per-Gunnar Andersson/Emil Axelsson (S/S), Ford + 11m 41.5s9.  Robert Kubica/Maciek Baran (PL/PL), Citroen + 12m 48.1s10. Andreas Mikkelsen/Mikko Markkula (N/FIN), Volkswagen + 13m 42.0s

FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Rally FinlandPower Stage results1.  Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (B/B), Ford  3m 46.6s2.  Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), Volkswagen + 0.3s3.  Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN), Volkswagen + 0.8s

FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), standings*Drivers Championship1.  Sebastien Ogier, 181 points;  2.  Jari-Matti Latvala, 91;  3.  Thierry Neuville, 91;  4.  Mikko Hirvonen, 73;  5.  Dani Sordo, 69;  6.  Sebastien Loeb, 68;  7.  Mads Ostberg, 65;  8. Evgeny Novikov, 39;  9.  Martin Prokop, 37;  10.  Nasser Al-Attiyah, 30;  11.  Andreas Mikkelsen, 26.Manufacturers' championship1.  Volkswagen Motorsport, 251 points;  2.  Citroen Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, 196;  3.  Qatar World Rally Team, 115;  4.  Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team, 104;  5.  Jipocar Czech National Team, 39;  6.  Abu Dhabi Citroen Total World Rally Team, 33;  7.  Volkswagen Motorsport II, 26;  8.  Lotos WRC Team, 20.* Provisional.


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