Rally Australia (10 to 13 September) provides Volkswagen with an early opportunity to wrap up all three FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) titles with the Polo R WRC. The three Volkswagen drivers are all preparing for this challenge in their own fashion, one week before the rally begins Down Under. Currently in second place in the WRC standings, Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) chose to pay a visit to the “Polo Rally Weekend” in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (MAL). Latvala made an appearance opposite the Malaysian drift queen Leona Chin. The thousands of spectators enjoyed the top-quality competition, which ended in Latvala’s favour as the Finn enjoyed a hard-earned victory. Sébastien Ogier (F) had already arrived in Australia and the championship leader took the time to fulfil TV and newspaper interview commitments. These were followed by a photo shooting in the Australian sunshine for partner Red Bull. The third driver – Andreas Mikkelsen (N) – is going to see how he fares on a surfboard. On Monday, the Norwegian will get some expert tuition in Coffs Harbour from surf star Courtney Hancock. The Australian is the only woman to have won all major Ironwoman titles in the same year.
FIA World Rallycross ChampionshipKristoffersson in fourth place, Heikkinen just misses out on the final
Johan Kristoffersson (S) was the best Volkswagen driver at the ninth round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship in Lohéac (F). Driving for Volkswagen Team Sweden, the Swede reached the final in his Polo WRX and claimed fourth place. As in Norway, victory here went to Timmy Hansen (S, Peugeot). In front of 75,000 spectators, Toomas “Topi“ Heikkinen in the Volkswagen Polo RX Supercar missed out on the final by just one place: the Finn from Team Marklund Motorsport could only finish fourth in his semi-final. Swedish team-mate Per-Gunnar “P-G“ Andersson did not make it past the fourth heat, a driver error ensuring he finished in 15th position. Kristoffersson’s team-mate Tord Linnerud (N) also got no further than the fourth heat, reaching 13th place. Kristoffersson (156 points) is now in third place in the overall standings. The Swedish driver is 63 points behind leader Petter Solberg (N, Citroën, 219) and remains the best-placed Volkswagen driver. Heikkinen (109) is in eighth position, Andersson (67) eleventh and Linnerud (26) in fourteenth overall. The next race is scheduled for 18 to 20 September in Barcelona (E).
FIA Formula 3 European ChampionshipVolkswagen driver Albon on the podium
Alexander Albon (Signature) recorded the best result for Volkswagen in Portimão. The Thai driver finished second in race one at the ninth race weekend of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. Albon was unlucky to be deprived of pole position for race two: after second qualifying, the tank of his Dallara did not contain the one kilogram of fuel specified in the rulebook. Consequently, Albon’s result was expunged and he had to start races two and three from the back of the grid. The two championship contenders Antonio Giovinazzi (I, Jagonya Ayam with Carlin) and Charles Leclerc (MC, Van Amersfoort Racing) spent an unsatisfying weekend on the Algarve. Giovinazzi finished race one in ninth position, and only improved slightly on this to finish eighth in races two and three. Leclerc finished sixth in race one, and came in seventh in races two and three. As Felix Rosenqvist (Dallara-Mercedes) won two races, he was able to replace Giovinazzi at the head of the championship standings. With six races to go before the end of the season, Rosenqvist (378 points) is in first place, and Giovinazzi (343.5) is 34.5 points back in second. Leclerc (324.5) is in third position, Russell (186) fifth and Albon (168) sixth.
Volkswagen Vento Cup IndiaSingh rockets to victory, Reddy Konda celebrates a start-finish win
There were two winners at the second race weekend in the Volkswagen Vento Cup India. Karminder Singh (IND) and Anindith Reddy Konda (IND) both celebrated victory at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatora, southern India. In race two on Sunday, Singh started from sixth on the grid and moved to the front in the first lap. The man from New Delhi extended his lead steadily, finishing almost five seconds ahead of second-placed Ishaan Dodhiwala (IND). Reddy Konda finished this race in third place. In race one, he had celebrated a start-finish win, pushing Dodhiwala (+ 0.860 seconds) into second place. Singh was the third driver to pass the chequered flag. The next two races will take place from 16 to 18 October at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida (IND).
Volkswagen Polo Cup RussiaUnchallenged: Vavilin/Pimanov victorious at Rally St. Petersburg
Andrey Vavilin and co-driver Denis Pimanov were victorious at the sixth race weekend of the Volkswagen Polo Cup Russia. The Russian pair won Rally St. Petersburg after ten special stages over a total distance of 85.80 kilometres. The challenging gravel tracks in Russia’s second city took their toll on the other competitors, as only Vavilin/Pimanov reached the finish line on Saturday.
Volkswagen Slotcar FestivalSecond and fifth place for the Polo R WRC with an electric motor
Small cars, big event: the Volkswagen Polo R WRC is renowned for high speed racing, even with an electric motor. At the Volkswagen Slotcar Festival in Hanover, Daniel Bäumler (D) claimed second place in the colours of Volkswagen Motorsport. Team-mate Stefan Waschow (D), 2014 winner of the 24-hour race in Hamburg, finished in fifth place in the ‘home’ event of the miniature Polo. TV editor Bäumler and student Waschow are both taking part in the Rallye Racing Carrera Cup with a 1:24 scale version of the Polo R WRC. Jan Hennen (D) was victorious at this event held in the Volkswagen Motorsport GmbH buildings. The journalist from Kandel secured a first RCCO win for the new Audi R8 LMS. Third place went to the Audi S1 EKS RX with Michael Niemas (D) at the controls. Jürgen Stüdemann (D, Porsche 962C) protected his position at the head of the standings with a fourth-place finish.
Next up:
10/09–13/09/2015FIA World Rally Championship, Australia
12/09–13/09/2015Global Rallycross, Los Angeles I + II (USA)
12/09–13/09/2015Volkswagen Racing Cup UK, Donington Park (GB)
12/09–13/09/2015Volkswagen Fun Cup France, Le Castellet (F)
