World Champions’ story:
Volkswagen has won the manufacturers’ title in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with an outstanding one-two victory at the Rally Spain. That means all the WRC titles* for 2013 will go to the car maker from Wolfsburg. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) claimed the Drivers’ and Co-Drivers’ crown three weeks ago at the Rally France. The French duo went on to score an impressive win – their eighth this season – ahead of their team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) at the “Rally de Espana”. As a result, Volkswagen has an unassailable lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship with one round still to go this season. Winning three titles in its debut year with the Polo R WRC is Volkswagen’s greatest motorsport achievement to date.
Title wins that will go down in history – Volkswagen’s debut
Volkswagen’s achievements in the 2013 WRC season are unparalleled. The German team clinched all of the titles in the top category of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) in its debut year – the Drivers’ and Co-Drivers’ Championship and the manufacturers’ trophy. No other manufacturer has managed to win a World Championship in its first year since the World Rally Championship began. Even in the history of Formula 1, no car maker has yet taken the title in its opening season through their own efforts. Volkswagen’s performance has exceeded all expectations. Originally, it was considered to have set itself ambitious goals by aiming for podium finishes in year one, round wins in the second year and championship titles in its third year.
Volkswagen drivers shine in extreme conditions
On its last day, the Rally Spain turned into a real showdown between the Volkswagen pairings Ogier/Ingrassia and Latvala/Anttila. Following a puncture on day two, Ogier started the final 138.54 kilometres on gravel fourth overall, with Latvala in the lead. On the third and final day, the Volkswagen duos rose to the different challenges they faced. While Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila opened the road on the concluding gravel stages of the Rally Spain, forcing them to clean the optimum line for the cars behind them, Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia faced another problem. The new World Rally Champions* tackled the course fourth in a cloud of dust thrown up by their toughest rivals as they fought to win the round. This obviously didn’t slow down the season’s dominant duo too much: Ogier/Ingrassia put in best times on four of the six Special Stages on Sunday alone, plus two more top-three times. Only one other driver/co-driver pairing really shone on Sunday: Andreas Mikkelsen/Mikko Markkula recorded two best times in the third Polo R WRC.
An extra pair of eyes in the dust: co-drivers play a crucial role on Sunday
Clouds of dust thrown up by the car in front, low morning sun – the conditions on Sunday posed a huge challenge for drivers and co-drivers alike. Thanks to a precise reading of the pace notes, pairings like Ogier/Ingrassia were able to gain up to 20 seconds on their direct competitors in the dust, despite poor visibility. Trust between the driver and co-driver is
absolutely crucial in situations like this. When reading the pace notes, the co-drivers have to rely completely on their instincts – there are no clues to fall back on in zero visibility. “It was really tough going for us co-drivers,” said Julien Ingrassia, Sébastien Ogier’s righthand man.
The all-rounder: 13 of 15 best stage times go to the Polo R WRC
The Rally Spain was the only round in this season’s WRC series to cover both asphalt and gravel. The Volkswagen Polo R WRC proved to be a great all-rounder in these unique conditions: 13 of 15 best stage times and 26 of 45 possible top-three times went to the World Rally Car from Wolfsburg. The all-wheel-drive triumphed seven times on the nine asphalt stages and on all six gravel sections. Since the Polo R WRC first lined up in the WRC at the Rally Monte Carlo, it has racked up 132 of the 215 possible best stage times – that’s 61.4 per cent. Sébastien Ogier has put in 101 best stage times single-handedly so far this year.
* Subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA.
FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), points standings**
Drivers’ classification
1. Sébastien Ogier, 265 points; 2. Thierry Neuville, 158; 3. Jari-Matti Latvala, 144; 4. Mikko Hirvonen, 126; 5. Daniel Sordo, 117; 6. Mads Ostberg, 89; 7. Sébastien Loeb, 68; 8. Evgeny Novikov, 67; 9. Martin Prokop, 55; 10. Andreas Mikkelsen, 40.
Manufacturers’ classification
1. Volkswagen Motorsport, 382 points, 2. Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT, 274 Punkte; 3. Qatar M-Sport WRT, 174; 4. Qatar WRT, 169; 5. Abu Dhabi Citroën Total WRT, 63; 6. Jipocar Czech National Team, 57; 7. Volkswagen Motorsport II, 40; 8. Lotos WRC Team, 20.
** Provisional.
VOLKSWAGEN CELEBRATES WRC TITLE WITH SPECIAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN
New spot tells the ‘story of glory’Brand-new feature: Logo becomes part of campaign messagePrint ads, billboards and special stuntsNot only have Volkswagen rally driver Sebastian Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia won the World Rally Championship*; the Volkswagen brand has also clinched early victory in the WRC manufacturers’ title*. To celebrate this success, numerous marketing actions are being launched as part of the ongoing “Rally the World” campaign.
In the “story of glory” spot, Volkswagen looks back on the great moments of the first WRC season. The 60-second film is available from https://www.rallytheworld.com/en. There are also new ad motifs, online banners and out-of-home formats.
For the very first time Volkswagen is also including the brand logo in the campaign: A stylized logo medal will become an integral part of WRC communications and will sometimes also be used in print formats. Three special advertising actions, called “special stunts”, at Group headquarters in Wolfsburg celebrate the early WRC victory in claiming the manufacturers’ title: All town signs bear a yellow plate that reads “City of the World Rally Champion*”. In addition, the Volkswagen logo on the power station has been decorated with a blue-and-white medal ribbon. There is also a special installation on Wolfsburg’s “Mittellandkanal” consisting of a “champagne” fountain set up on the canal bank with an XXL poster of the victory ceremony in the background.
The new campaign content is part of numerous marketing activities initiated by Volkswagen since the start of the WRC: In addition to Facebook apps, a sophisticated website, social media activities, online ads and various promotion activities, the brand has also launched an unusual join-in action: 3,999 fans could upload their profile photos via the rally website which will then be used to decorate the Polo R WRC driven by Andreas Mikkelsen at the Wales Rally in November.
The WRC campaign has been rolled out in Germany, Italy, France, UK, Spain and Australia. The creative strategy agency Greenkern is responsible for the campaign budget.
* Subject to the official publication of the results by FIA.
