Volkswagen Motorsport
Full nameVolkswagen Motorsport
BaseGermany Hannover, Germany
Team principal(s)Germany Jost Capito
Technical directorGermany Willy Rampf
DriversFinland Jari-Matti Latvala
France Sébastien Ogier
Norway Andreas Mikkelsen
Co-driversFinland Miikka Anttila
France Julien Ingrassia
Norway Anders Jæger
ChassisVolkswagen Polo R WRC
TyresM Michelin
World Rally Championship history
Debut2013 Monte Carlo Rally
Last event2016 Rally Australia
Manufacturers' Championships4 (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
Drivers' Championships4 (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
Rally wins44

The Volkswagen Motorsport was a works rally team of the German car manufacturer Volkswagen, who competed in the World Rally Championship (WRC) and Dakar Rally.

The team started competing in WRC in 1978 and used different specs of Volkswagen Golfs before leaving the sport in 1990. Volkswagen competed at the Dakar Rally from 2003 to 2011, claiming three overall wins. The team made its WRC comeback in 2011 Rally Finland with a pair of Škoda Fabia S2000s, and competed with the Volkswagen Polo R WRC from the start of the 2013 World Rally Championship season to the end of the 2016 World Rally Championship season.

At the end of the 2016 season, Volkswagen Motorsport decided to withdraw from the FIA World Rally Championship.[1]

History

Dakar (2003–2011)

In 2003, Volkswagen entered the Tarek 2WD buggy at the Dakar Rally, with Stéphane Henrard placing 6th outright. The Race Touareg 1 was introduced in 2004, when Bruno Saby finished 6th. In 2005, Jutta Kleinschmidt finished in 3rd overall. With the Race Touareg 2, Giniel de Villiers finished in 2nd place overall in 2006. In 2007, Mark Miller finished 4th overall. Volkswagen won the 2009, 2010 and 2011 Dakar Rally, the latter with the Race Touareg 3, with drivers De Villiers, Carlos Sainz and Nasser Al-Attiyah.

2011–2012

In 2011 Volkswagen competed with seven different drivers in four rallies (Rally Finland, Rallye Deutschland, Rally Catalunya and Wales Rally GB). German Christian Riedemann was the only driver competing in two rallies.

In November 2011, the team revealed they have made a multi-year contract with the French rally star Sébastien Ogier and his co-driver Julien Ingrassia.

For 2012 season, Volkswagen Motorsport continued developing their Polo R World Rally Car and they also completed a full WRC-campaign (except New Zealand) with a pair of Škoda Fabias. Sébastien Ogier drove it in every round of the campaign, while the second car was shared between Andreas Mikkelsen and Kevin Abbring. The team had a third car in their home rally Germany driven by Sepp Wiegand.

The season included some highlights, including Sébastien Ogier's unexpected special stage win in Sardinia. Ogier's fifth place in Sardinia also remains the best ever overall finish for a S2000 car in World Rally Championship.[2] Also important to mention that Mikkelsen was the first ever S2000 driver to score Power Stage points, which he did during 2012 Rallye Deutschland by finishing 3rd on the penultimate stage.

In October, Volkswagen Motorsport announced that they have signed Jari-Matti Latvala with his co-driver Miikka Anttila to join Ogier and Ingrassia to drive Volkswagen Polo R WRC for 2013 season.[3]

2013

Volkswagen Motorsport entered as a fully-fledged manufacturer team in 2013. Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala started the season, whilst Andreas Mikkelsen joined the championship at the fourth round in Portugal. Mikkelsen and his new co-driver Mikko Markkula were registered under a second manufacturer team, known as “Volkswagen Motorsport II” so as to give them as much time as possible testing the Polo R WRC.[4]

The 2013 season started with Rallye Monte-Carlo. Volkswagen entered the rally with two cars, Latvala/Anttila and Ogier/Ingrassia. Ogier started their campaign with a dream start by winning the very first stage of the season, and the first of Volkswagen Polo R WRC.[5] Ogier won one more stage and finished the rally in second place, nearly two minutes behind the winner Sébastien Loeb. Jari-Matti Latvala's rally ended in last evening of the rally when he hit the wall in slippery conditions.

The team took its first WRC victory in their second rally with the World Rally Car, when Sébastien Ogier dominated the Rally Sweden being fastest in half of the stages of the rally.[6] Jari-Matti Latvala finished fourth, and also scored his first stage win with the team.

Ogier continued his dominance at the next event in Rally Mexico, giving the team its second victory in a row. Ogier won 16 out of 23 stages and lead the rally from the second stage till the finish. Latvala hit a rock in SS2 and after restarting in Day 2 he eventually finished outside of the points. That meant Volkswagen was still 6 points behind Citroën in Manufacturers' standings before moving on to Rally de Portugal.[7]

2014

2015

2016

2016 would turn out to be another successful year for the team; as they collected their fourth consecutive manufacturers’ championship, and Sébastien Ogier claimed his fourth consecutive drivers’ championship.

Just days after the 2016 Wales Rally GB, Volkswagen announced that they would be pulling out of the WRC at the end of the 2016 season. This came as a surprise to many fans and journalists, as the team and their drivers had already been conducting major development and testing work on the new 2017 Polo, based on the new generation WRC cars. Although no direct reason was given for the teams’ withdrawal, it was widely speculated to be a result of Volkswagen’s recent emissions scandal.

2018

Volkswagen Motorsport is scheduled to make a return to the World Rally Championship with an R5 version of the Volkswagen Polo GTI. The car will make its debut at the 2018 Rally Catalunya, with entries for both Petter Solberg and Eric Camilli.[8]

2019

In November 2019, Volkswagen announced that, consistent with its shift in focus to emphasize the manufacturing of electric vehicles, it would end all motorsport programmes that do not involve electric vehicles.[9]

Complete WRC results

WRC victories

No. Season Rally Driver Co-driver Car
1 1987 Ivory Coast 19ème Rallye Côte d'Ivoire Sweden Kenneth Eriksson West Germany Peter Diekmann Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V
2 2013 Sweden 61st Rally Sweden France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
3 Mexico 27º Rally México France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
4 Portugal 47º Rally de Portugal France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
5 Greece 59th Acropolis Rally Finland Jari-Matti Latvala Finland Miikka Anttila Volkswagen Polo R WRC
6 Italy 10º Rally Italia Sardegna France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
7 Finland 63rd Rally Finland France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
8 Australia 22nd Rally Australia France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
9 France Rallye de France – Alsace 2013 France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
10 Spain 49º Rally Catalunya France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
11 United Kingdom 69th Wales Rally GB France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
12 2014 Monaco 82ème Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
13 Sweden 62nd Rally Sweden Finland Jari-Matti Latvala Finland Miikka Anttila Volkswagen Polo R WRC
14 Mexico 28º Rally México France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
15 Portugal 48º Rally de Portugal France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
16 Argentina 34° Rally Argentina Finland Jari-Matti Latvala Finland Miikka Anttila Volkswagen Polo R WRC
17 Italy 11º Rally Italia Sardegna France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
18 Poland 71st Rally Poland France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
19 Finland 64th Rally Finland Finland Jari-Matti Latvala Finland Miikka Anttila Volkswagen Polo R WRC
20 Australia 23rd Rally Australia France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
21 France Rallye de France – Alsace 2014 Finland Jari-Matti Latvala Finland Miikka Anttila Volkswagen Polo R WRC
22 Spain 50º Rally Catalunya France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
23 United Kingdom 70th Wales Rally GB France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
24 2015 Monaco 83ème Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
25 Sweden 63rd Rally Sweden France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
26 Mexico 29° Rally Guanajuato México France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
27 Portugal 49° Vodafone Rally de Portugal Finland Jari-Matti Latvala Finland Miikka Anttila Volkswagen Polo R WRC
28 Italy 12° Rally d'italia Sardegna France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
29 Poland 72nd LOTOS Rally Poland France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
30 Finland 65th Rally Finland Finland Jari-Matti Latvala Finland Miikka Anttila Volkswagen Polo R WRC
31 Germany 33. ADAC Rallye Deutschland France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
32 Australia 24th Coates Hire Rally Australia France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
33 France 58ème Tour de Corse – Rallye de France Finland Jari-Matti Latvala Finland Miikka Anttila Volkswagen Polo R WRC
34 Spain 51º Rally Catalunya Norway Andreas Mikkelsen Norway Ola Fløene Volkswagen Polo R WRC
35 United Kingdom 71st Wales Rally GB France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
36 2016 Monaco 84ème Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
37 Sweden 64th Rally Sweden France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
38 Mexico 30º Rally Guanajuato México Finland Jari-Matti Latvala Finland Miikka Anttila Volkswagen Polo R WRC
39 Poland 73rd Rally Poland Norway Andreas Mikkelsen Norway Anders Jæger Volkswagen Polo R WRC
40 Germany 34. ADAC Rallye Deutschland France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
41 France 59ème Tour de Corse – Rallye de France France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
42 Spain 52º Rally RACC Catalunya – Costa Daurada France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
43 United Kingdom 72nd Wales Rally GB France Sébastien Ogier France Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
44 Australia 25th Rally Australia Norway Andreas Mikkelsen Norway Anders Jæger Volkswagen Polo R WRC

Dakar Rally results

Year Class No Driver Co-Driver Position Stages won
2003 Cars 215 Belgium Stéphane Henrard United Kingdom Bobby Willis 6th 1
203 Germany Jutta Kleinschmidt Italy Fabrizia Pons 8th 0
2004 204 Germany Jutta Kleinschmidt Italy Fabrizia Pons 21st 1
224 France Bruno Saby United Kingdom Matthew Stevenson 6th 0
2005 307 France Bruno Saby France Michel Périn 5th 2
310 Germany Jutta Kleinschmidt Italy Fabrizia Pons 3rd 1
313 Finland Juha Kankkunen Finland Juha Repo DNF 0
317 United States Robby Gordon Germany Dirk von Zitzewitz 12th 2
2006 301 France Bruno Saby France Michel Périn 8th 0
303 Germany Jutta Kleinschmidt Italy Fabrizia Pons DNF 0
305 South Africa Giniel de Villiers Sweden Tina Thörner 2nd 1
307 Spain Carlos Sainz Germany Andreas Schulz 11th 4
309 United States Mark Miller Germany Dirk von Zitzewitz 5th 0
2007 301 South Africa Giniel de Villiers Germany Dirk von Zitzewitz 11th 4
303 Spain Carlos Sainz France Michel Périn 9th 5
305 United States Mark Miller South Africa Ralph Pitchford 4th 0
308 Finland Ari Vatanen Italy Fabrizia Pons DNF 0
2008 Event cancelled – replaced by the 2008 Central Europe Rally
2009 Cars 301 Spain Carlos Sainz France Michel Périn DNF 6
305 South Africa Giniel de Villiers Germany Dirk von Zitzewitz 1st 4
307 Germany Dieter Depping Germany Timo Gottschalk 6th 0
308 United States Mark Miller South Africa Ralph Pitchford 2nd 0
2010 300 South Africa Giniel de Villiers Germany Dirk von Zitzewitz 7th 0
303 Spain Carlos Sainz France Michel Périn 1st 2
305 United States Mark Miller South Africa Ralph Pitchford 3rd 4
306 Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah Germany Timo Gottschalk 2nd 4
2011 300 Spain Carlos Sainz Spain Lucas Cruz 3rd 7
302 Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah Germany Timo Gottschalk 1st 4
304 United States Mark Miller South Africa Ralph Pitchford 6th 0
308 South Africa Giniel de Villiers Germany Dirk von Zitzewitz 2nd 1

See also

References

  1. WRC. "VOLKSWAGEN IS TO WITHDRAW FROM THE FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP AT THE END OF THE CURRENT SEASON AND TURN ITS RALLYING FOCUS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A POLO R5 CAR FOR CUSTOMER USE". Retrieved 2 Nov 2016.
  2. "Volkswagen driver Sébastien Ogier surprises WRC rivals". vw-motorsport.de. 21 October 2012. Archived from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  3. "Volkswagen signs Jari-Matti Latvala". vw-motorsport.de. 17 October 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  4. "Volkswagen registers second team for Mikkelsen". WRC.com. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  5. "SS1: Ogier claims maiden stage win for Volkswagen". WRC.com. 16 January 2013. Archived from the original on 19 January 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  6. "WRC wrap: Ogier triumphs on snow". WRC.com. 10 February 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  7. "WRC wrap: Ogier reigns supreme". WRC.com. 10 March 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  8. "Solberg joins VW line-up for debut of WRC2 Polo GTI R5 car in Spain". autosport.com. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  9. "Volkswagen to cease all non-electric motorsport programmes". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
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