Photo Credit: Hyundai Motorsport The 2016 FIA World Rally Championship was one of the most competitive in recent memory with 6 different winners from 13 events. However, despite him not exerting the same kind of dominance we saw in 2013 and 15, the man at the top refused to surrender his position as king of world rallying, grabbing his fourth consecutive world title. Who else am I talking about but Sebastien Ogier? The season will probably be remembered as the end of Volkswagen's short stay in the WRC, with the German manufacturer announcing they'd leave in the wake of the company's emission scandal just after the penultimate round of the season. The WRC will be poorer without them, and they really have brought another level of professionalism to the sport, winning four straight drivers and manufacturers titles and only failing to win 9 rallies they started. Truly nuts. I'm going to be careful not to pour out my admiration for Volkswagen Motorsport as I've done that plenty over previous pieces on this page, so I'll switch the focus to this particular piece: the WRC 2016 Season Review. I was in two minds as to whether to do a review of each rally or to review the season of each driver and rank their performance out of 10, but I think the latter is probably more interesting to read and allows more opinion from me, so that's what I shall proceed to do. Disagree with what I'm saying or have something you want to add? Feel free to comment on my Facebook page or tweet me @lukebarry97. 1. Sebastien Ogier: 10Photo Credit: Volkswagen Motorsport Could I possibly give this man any less than a 10? On paper, Ogier's season may not seem as impressive as his others, but he has still had an incredible year and the main reason he has won the frankly pathetic total of 6 rallies (speed up mate!) is because he has been hampered by road sweeping issues. The Frenchman led the championship from start to finish, once again winning on the snow of Sweden, continuing to dominate Power Stages and defied basically all the odds. The only blip came in Finland where his Polo got sucked into a bank on the inside of a slow hairpin and was stuck fast. A win in Germany, his first in 6 months, was the perfect response and a win in Spain ensured him of title number 4. Now it remains to be seen where Seb will be driving as he hunts down a fifth straight championship. Right now my head is in agreement with my heart, with M-Sport the likely destination. Results: Monte Carlo: 1st Sweden: 1st Mexico: 2nd Argentina: 2nd Portugal: 3rd Sardinia: 3rd Poland: 6th Finland: 24th Germany: 1st Corsica: 1st Spain: 1st Wales: 1st Australia: 2nd Points: 268 2. Thierry Neuville: 9Photo Credit: Hyundai Motorsport The Belgian bullet gets a 9 from me, and I would argue that it's hard to argue with that. 2016 was a crucial year for Neuville, after what was a drab, underwhelming and in many ways shocking back end of 2015. Thierry seemed to lose motivation with the up-rise of team mate Hayden Paddon. But his 2016 season proves Malcolm Wilson claimed he's the man he'd most like to sign besides Ogier. A third on the Monte was a solid start on an event that hasn't been kind to Neuville on the past, before a strong of disappointing results, mostly down to car errors, saw him bag just 8 points from 4 rallies. Many were questioning the Belgian once more, but I had confidence he'd bounce back as the issues weren't really his fault. And bounce back he did, with his second career victory on the rocky terrain of Sardinia, and the resurgent run after that was remarkable. A fourth place in Poland and Finland was followed by a streak of five consecutive podiums in the final five rounds. One to seriously consider for the 2017 title. Results: Monte-Carlo: 3rd Sweden: 14th Mexico: Retired Argentina: 6th Portugal: 29th Sardinia: 1st Poland: 4th Finland: 4th Germany: 3rd Corsica: 2nd Spain: 3rd Wales: 3rd Australia: 3rd Points: 160 3. Andreas Mikkelsen: 8.5Photo Credit: Volkswagen Motorsport It's a shame we didn't see more of the Mikkelsen we saw in Australia throughout 2016, but his championship-headed approach deserves a lot of merit. Andreas spent much of the year behind Ogier in second place in the championship, before losing it to the consistently quick Neuville with a driveshaft issue in Wales and crash in Spain coming at the worst possile time. I think that particular battle went the correct way with Neuville edging Mikkelsen due to greater consistency, hence Andreas gets an 8.5. The Norwegian won 2 rallies in 2016 though, becoming only the third repeat winner of the year after victory in Poland, where he benefited from Ott Tanak's misfortune, and a domineering and world-class performance down-under. Mikkelsen was desperate for second in the championship and was driving for his career with VW's withdrawal, and his Australian performance was truly special. It came at just the right time. I'd have liked to have seen that more from him this year, but there was a touch of Richard Burns to Andreas' method. In being consistent, he will learn how to win a championship which is the ultimate goal. Remember in 2001 Burns took the spoils but only won 1 rally all year. Mikkelsen's future is unknown, but if he is around in a competitive package, count him out at your peril. Results: Monte-Carlo: 2nd Sweden: 4th Mexico: Retired Argentina: 3rd Portugal: 2nd Sardinia: 13th Poland: 1st Finland: 7th Germany: 4th Corsica: 3rd Spain: Retired Wales: 12th Australia: 1st Points: 154 4. Hayden Paddon: 8Photo Credit: Hyundai Motorsport I was struggling what rating to give the Kiwi. He would probably tell you 8 is too generous as he is his own worst critic and there have been some low points, but there have also been some incredible highs and eye-catching performances, particularly at the start of the season. Especially when you bear in mind this was Paddon's first full season in the WRC. The year kicked off with an accident in Monte-Carlo in the 2015 i20, before an emphatic second place in Sweden in the 2016 car. Hayden continued that momentum with fifth in Mexico before an emphatic maiden win on Rally Argentina. Ogier was rapidly trimming Hayden's lead on day 3, entering the final stage El Condor just a handful of seconds behind. The writing appeared to be on the wall but Paddon proved us all wrong and beat the World Champion by over 10 seconds. It was supreme driving and preparation in equal measure, as he revealed he paid extra attention on the recce of El Condor in case it made a difference. Paddon claimed a further podium in Poland, before a consistent end to the season with three fourth place finishes which were very close to being podiums, particularly in Australia. Tarmac remains the area for progression while Portugal and Sardinia were the low-points, with the Kiwi crashing out of two consecutive rallies for the first time in his career. His exit to Rally Portugal was somewhat more dramatic, with his i20 burnt to a crisp, which in many ways made his Sardinian exit all the more painful after the hard work of his mechanics to prepare him an i20. Results: Monte-Carlo: 25th Sweden: 2nd Mexico: 5th Argentina: 1st Portugal: Retired Sardinia: Retired Poland: 3rd Finland: 5th Germany: 5th Corsica: 6th Spain: 4th Wales: 4th Australia: 4th Points: 138 5. Dani Sordo: 7.5Photo Credit: Hyundai Motorsport Dani Sordo had a strong 2016 World Rally Championship season, but we kind of expect that from the Spaniard given his vast experience and he was edged out, only just to be fair, by his team mates which all mean I rank his year as a 7.5. Sordo was incredibly consistent in 2016, but wasn't always startling quick, with the exception of day 1 in particular of his home event and Rally Germany where he beat Neuville by 0.1 seconds to second overall. His championship was somewhat hampered by having to miss Finland due to injury, but if he was to miss a rally this was a good one to skip as it hasn't traditionally been Dani's strongest, and he can count himself unlucky after a post-rally penalty robbed him of third in Mexico. Sordo achieved a string of four consecutive fourth place finishes as the championship hit the gravel, and made few mistakes all year, but will be disappointed not to be one of the 6 different winners this year. Hopefully we can see a more serious front-running challenge from him next year. Results: Monte-Carlo: 6th Sweden: 6th Mexico: 4th Argentina: 4th Portugal: 4th Sardinia: 4th Poland: Retired Finland: Withdrew Germany: 2nd Corsica: 7th Spain: 2nd Wales: 6th Australia: 5th Points: 130 6. Jari-Matti Latvala: 4Photo Credit: Volkswagen Motorsport What actually went right for Latvala in 2016? The season started catastrophically for the talented Finn, with 0 points from the first 2 rallies meaning he lay 50 points adrift of the championship lead as early as February. A win in Mexico looked as if it was going to kick-start Jari-Matti's campaign but a catalogue of driver errors, mechanical gremlins and damn-right misfortune makes 2016 a season to forget for Volkswagen's number 2, who hasn't finished as low as 6th in the championship since 2007 when he was 8th. Argentina will stand as the biggest disappointment, where he was leading and on a charge only for his Polo's suspension to break as he drove over a rock, making the car uncontrollable and ending in a high speed roll. From then on in he struggled to recapture his scintillating speed, with only 2 more podiums all year in Sardinia and Finland, where anything but a win is a failure for Latvala. Latvala's future, like Ogier and Mikkelsen's, is up in the air at the moment. If and where he ends up, let's hope to see the Jari of old back behind the wheel. Results: Monte-Carlo: Retired Sweden: 26th Mexico: 1st Argentina: 16th Portugal: 6th Sardinia: 2nd Poland: 5th Finland: 2nd Germany: 48th Corsica: 4th Spain: 14th Wales: 7th Australia: 9th Points: 112 7. Mads Ostberg: 5Photo Credit: M-Sport Mads Ostberg's return to M-Sport was not the success many thought it may be, and in a similar style to many others and opposite fashion to Thiery Neuville, his season curtailed rapidly after seeming to promise so much more. A fourth in Monte-Carlo, a third in Sweden and a third in Mexico saw the Norwegian second in the championship after three rallies, which was what we had become used to seeing from Ostberg. But then it all started to go pear-shaped. The consistency was still there, but the speed wasn't, meaning he was producing fifths, sixths and sevenths instead of thirds and fourths. There was a flicker of light in Sardinia, but he misjudged a right hander, hit a wall and put paid to a strong result. For a man that has finished in the top six of the championship the past four seasons, seventh is a huge disappointment. He looked like a 2013 Mikko Hirvonen, bereft of any confidence or speed. Is there life within Mads? 2017 will provide answers. Results: Monte-Carlo: 4th Sweden: 3rd Mexico: 3rd Argentina: 5th Portugal: 7th Sardinia: Retired Poland: 8th Finland: 6th Germany: 6th Corsica: 9th Spain: 5th Wales: 8th Australia: 6th Points: 102 8. Ott Tanak: 8Photo Credit: M-Sport Eighth place in the championship, but voted for as the Driver of the Year by fans of the WRC. And awarded an 8 from a journalism student in Edinburgh, surely there is more to the Estonian's season than meets the eye? Well you're right, because there is. 2016 was a coming of age for Tanak. For the first time in his career, he had the sense to not push absolutely to the maximum when the conditions weren't playing to him or his DMACK rubber, so he opted to reign it in and drive to the finish. But his pace had not disappeared, oh no. It was there alright. Nobody has ever been unluckier than Tanak was in Poland. He was so deserving of the win, pushing his Fiesta RS WRC to the absolute limit on the frighteningly quick Polish gravel. Ott was in complete control, only for a puncture to lose him half a minute and his maiden WRC victory. There were beautiful scenes at the end as Ogier, who finished sixth, lifted Tanak upon his shoulders to the applause of onlookers. Tanak wouldn't come as close until Wales, where he kept the pressure on Ogier all rally and put in a fantastic charge on day 3 to finish just 10 seconds behind. An M-Sport seat is all but confirmed, and it is thoroughly deserved. That debut win can't be too far away... Results: Monte-Carlo: 7th Sweden: 5th Mexico: 6th Argentina: 15th Portugal: Retired Sardinia: 5th Poland: 2nd Finland: Retired Germany: 23rd Corsica: 10th Spain: 6th Wales: 2nd Australia: 7th Points: 88 9. Kris Meeke: 9Photo Credit: Citroen Racing Another man to follow the pattern of receiving the rating of his championship position: Kris Meeke. On paper it seems a bit high for such a lowly championship position, but Meeke only contested half the rounds and took 2 wins, underlying his credentials as one of the fastest men in the world. It could so easily have been more too. The Ulsterman was running a brilliant second on the Monte before a stone burst his DS3's sump-guard, before when challenging for the lead his Citroen would suffer a similar fate on the snow of Sweden. After missing Mexico and Argentina, Meeke started far down the order in Portugal which ultimately aided him to WRC win number 2. There would be no debate about his third victory however. Kris Meeke now holds the record of winning the fastest rally in WRC history, after grabbing Finland by the scruff of its neck. He sensationally held off home hero Jari-Matti Latvala throughout the course of the rally, with particularly stunning times from Ouninpohja, and became the sixth non-Scandinavian and first Brit to win the Rally of 1000 Lakes. Meeke is back full time in 2017 in the C3 WRC, and is a serious favourite to be at the very least in the mix for the 2017 championship. Would you bet against him? If he can keep it on the road, I certainly wouldn't... Results: Monte-Carlo: Retired Sweden: 23rd Mexico: - Argentina: - Portugal: 1st Sardinia: - Poland: - Finland: 1st Germany: - Corsica: 16th Spain: Retired Wales: 5th Australia: - 10. Craig Breen: 8Photo Credit: Citroen Racing Like Meeke, Breen didn't do the full 2016 season as Citroen focused on the development of the new C3 World Rally Car, but what a year Craig had. Breen proved in his 6 appearances in a DS3 WRC that he is both consistent and blindingly quick, and earned himself a factory drive next year, 5 years after winning the WRC Academy title in 2011, meaning this is nothing less than he deserves. Wales Rally GB was the low point when a day 1 crash after showing good speed ending his weekend prematurely, while on the reverse Finland was an almighty high, clinching an incredible third overall in just his third rally in the car. It was an incredible achievement, only overshadowed by team mate Meeke's win, and saw Breen in floods of tears at the end of the final stage. It's hard not to want Breen to succeed after everything he has been through, and I personally hope he can have a fantastic season next year. He certainly has the ability to do just that. Results: Monte-Carlo: - Sweden: 8th Mexico: - Argentina: - Portugal: - Sardinia: - Poland: 7th Finland: 3rd Germany: - Corsica: 5th Spain: 10th Wales: Retired Australia: - Points: 36 11. Eric Camilli: 6Photo Credit: M-Sport Eric Camilli was well and truly thrown into the deep end in 2016 with a factory drive with the M-Sport squad, given his lack of experience with four wheel drive and the WRC calendar. Taking on many of the WRC rallies for your first time in a World Rally Car isn't exactly the easiest of tasks. It was a learning year then, but there's no escaping that it was also a disappointing year. It's unfair to expect heroics, but we hardly if ever saw this great potential or speed that Malcolm Wilson promised the Frenchman could deliver. Rally Portugal was definitely the highlight where he managed to get through the rally mistake free and at a good pace to take his career best result of 5th, but the Frenchman ultimately made too many mistakes throughout 2016 to deserve anything higher than a rating of 6. I considered dropping him lower but he was learning under a lot of pressure. Maybe it was too much too soon? Who knows. I'm sure we will see improvement but Camilli's inclusion in the team is under all the more scrutiny given the purple patch of form of last year's driver Elfyn Evans, who I thought at the time and still think that now is more deserving of the M-Sport drive.7 Results: Monte-Carlo: Retired Sweden: Retired Mexico: 16th Argentina: 8th Portugal: 5th Sardinia: 6th Poland: 10th Finland: Retired Germany: 50th Corsica: 8th Spain: 19th Wales: 10th Australia: Retired Points: 28 13. Stephane Lefebvre: 6.5Photo Credit: Citroen Racing Much like Craig Breen, 2016 was all about securing a factory drive with Citroen in 2017, and on that basis the year was a success for the young Frenchman. However, for me, it was a little disappointing. His rival and team mate in Poland, Breen, was the more impressive of the two drivers across the season in my opinion, and Lefebvre didn't really achieve any stand-out results. He showed good consistency and maturity beyond his years, so is definitely a good ploy for the future. The low point was definitely Germany where having found the funding to run his car, he crashed his car at high speed into a hinkelstein, injuring he and co-driver Gabin Moreau, with Lefebvre returning to action in Wales and Moreau on the Rallye du Var last weekend, won by Kevin Abbring in the R5 i20 who became the second non-French driver and first man in an R5 to win the French event. Let's see what Lefebvre can produce in 2017. Results: Monte-Carlo: 5th Sweden: - Mexico: - Argentina: - Portugal: 35th Sardinia: - Poland: 9th Finland: - Germany: Retired Corsica: - Spain: - Wales: 9th Australia: - Points: 14 Photo Credit: Hyundai Motorsport So there you have it, my ratings and rankings of the 2016 WRC drivers. 2016 has been a great year in the WRC, but I have every confidence that with the new technical regulations, the arrival of Toyota and the departure of Volkswagen theoretically making the series more competitive, 2017 shall be even better. If this sound isn't enough to make you excited, then I'm afraid you're reading about the wrong sport...
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Photo Credit: M-Sport Nothing stays still in the World Rally Championship... apart from the German hinkelsteins that is. Since the championship's induction in 1973, we have seen a large number of manufacturers across a vast array of eras battling it out on the stages in search of supremacy. The World Rally Car era is hitting the magic 20 year milestone next year in 2017, and somewhat fittingly we are seeing a fresh take on the formula with more dramatic aero packages and increased power from the top category of rally cars. To commemorate this and because frankly I love nostalgia, here is a little profile of each and every manufacturer to compete in the World Rally Car era from 1997-2017. I hope you enjoy it because this took a lot more effort than my usual reviews and previews! If you're a stats buff, you can thank me in advance. CitroenRallies started: 203 Rallies won: 94 Drivers Championships: 9 (2004-2012) Manufacturers Championships: 8 (2003-2006 / 2009-2012 Years active: 2001- Drivers: Philippe Bugalski, Jesus Puras, Thomas Radstrom, Sebastien Loeb, Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz, Francois Duval, Xavier Pons, Dani Sordo, Sebastien Ogier, Mikko Hirvonen, Kris Meeke, Khalid Al-Qassimi, Mads Ostberg, Craig Breen, Stephane Lefebvre (plus private entries from the likes of Petter Solberg & Thierry Neuville) The most successful team in the history of the World Rally Championship, Citroen first entered the sport with a fully fledged World Rally Car back in 2001 having competed formerly with their F2 Xsara Kit Car. It didn't take long for the French marque to make their mark on the top tier of rallying, with Jesus Puras winning in the car's first bit-part year. Sebastien Loeb took the Xsara WRC's second ever win on Rally Germany, and went on to claim 9 drivers championships and 78 of the brand's 94 World Rally wins. Carlos Sainz, Francois Duval, Sebastien Ogier, Mikko Hirvonen, Dani Sordo and most recently Kris Meeke have all won for Citroen in the Xsara, C4 WRC and DS3 WRC repectively, with the make bringing the C3 WRC to the 2017 championship. In both 2006 and 2016, Citroen weren't present as a manufacturer supported outfit, but still competed under private teams. Kris Meeke, Craig Breen and Stephane Lefebvre are responsible for keeping up the marque's success in next season's championship. But for many, Citroen will be revered as the manufacturer that associated with the all conquering Sebastien Loeb, the most complete rally driver of our time with the possible exception of 2011 team mate Sebastien Ogier. Ford (M-Sport)Rallies started: 279 Rallies won: 52 Drivers Championships: 0 Manufacturers Championships: 2 (2007-2008) Years active: 1997 - Drivers: Carlos Sainz, Armin Schwarz, Juha Kankkunen, Bruno Thiry, Ari Vatanen, Colin McRae, Thomas Radstrom, Simon Jean-Joseph, Petter Solberg, Piero Liatti, Francois Delecour, Markko Martin, Francois Duval, Janne Tuohino, Toni Gardemeister, Roman Kresta, Mikko Hirvonen, Jari-Matti Latvala, Khalid Al-Qassimi, Mads Ostberg, Evgeny Novikov, Thierry Neuville, Ott Tanak, Elfyn Evans, Eric Camilli (plus a whole host of private entries) Ford: a name synonymous with rallying. The blue oval and Malcolm Wilson's M-Sport firm are the only team to have been present in the World Rally Car era since its inception, even if Ford withdrew its manufacturer support after the 2012 season. Beginning with the Escort WRC before the Focus and then Fiesta WRC models, Ford have enjoyed great success employing great champions such as Carlos Sainz, Colin McRae, Juha Kankkunen and Marcus Gronholm, but incredibly have failed to win the worlds drivers crown with M-Sport. If you believe the rumours though, this could all be about to change if Sebastien Ogier chooses M-Sport for 2017... HyundaiRallies started: 87 Rallies won: 3 Drivers Championships: 0 Manufacturers Championships: 0 Years active: 2000-2003 / 2014 - Drivers: Kenneth Eriksson, Alister McRae, Piero Liatti, Juha Kankkunen, Armin Schwarz, Freddy Loix, Thierry Neuville, Dani Sordo, Hayden Paddon, Chris Atkinson, Juho Hanninen, Bryan Bouffier, Kevin Abbring After a successful campaign with their F2 Kit car the Hyundai Coupe, Hyundai joined the WRC in 2000 with the Accent WRC, bringing Alister McRae and Kenneth Eriksson with them. Despite securing the services of Juha Kankkunen, they were ultimately a decade too late, and that kind of summed up their WRC campaign. They suddenly and unexpectedly withdrew in the middle of the 2003 season. 11 years later they were back, and far more promising. Thierry Neuville grabbed the marque's first WRC victory in Germany 2014, before an equally solid 2015 season with Dani Sordo and Hayden Paddon also at the team. 2016 has been their most competitive to date, with the new-generation i20 taking 2 wins courtesy of Neuville and Paddon. Next year, they are expected to be one of the teams to beat after running the now departed VW close in 2016. MiniRallies started: 13 Rallies won: 0 Drivers Championships: 0 Manufacturers Championships: 0 Years active: 2011-2012 Drivers: Dani Sordo, Kris Meeke, Pierre Campana For something that promised so much, the return of the Mini name to rallying was nothing short of a disaster. The promise was there too, with Prodrive onboard, the rapid Kris Meeke and proven podium finisher Dani Sordo behind the wheel of the John Cooper Works World Rally Cars. Their debut season in 2011 wasn't too bad, with some strong pace from the cars in the hands of both drivers, but it soon went downhill very quickly. The team only registered as a manufacturer for Monte-Carlo in 2012 despite Sordo competing on a further 6 rallies, but after that the team was gone, but the car still cropped up courtesy of privateer entries. The worst WRC manufacturer campaign ever? Not quite, as you'll discover later... MitsubishiRallies started: 115 Rallies won: 19 Drivers Championships: 3 (1997-1999) Manufacturers Championships: 1 (1998) Years active: 1997-2002 / 2004-2005 Drivers: Tommi Makinen, Uwe Nittel, Richard Burns, Freddy Loix, Marcus Gronholm, Thomas Radstrom, Toni Gardemeister, Francois Delecour, Alister McRae, Jani Passonen, Gilles Panizzi, Gigi Galli, Dani Sola, Kristian Sohlberg, Harri Rovanpera The World Rally Car era began in the midst of Tommi Makinen and Mitsubishi's stranglehold on the World Rally Championship. And they continued to win at the end of the '90s despite still running a Group A specification Lancer Evolution. The WRC version never came until mid-way through 2001 but it never really achieved anything, before a sabbatical in 2003 saw them back in 2004 with an all new model. Gigi Galli came close to notching up a win but never did, and after 2005 the famous Japanese marque was gone. But they left a huge mark in the history of the WRC with Tommi Makinen. The car and team was moulded very much around the Finn, with Richard Burns the only other man to win a round of the WRC for Mitsubishi other than Makinen. PeugeotRallies started: 94 Rallies won: 26 Drivers Championships: 2 (2000, 2002) Manufacturers Championships: 3 (2000-2002) Years active: 1999-2004 Drivers: Francois Delecour, Gilles Panizzi, Marcus Gronholm, Harri Rovanpera, Richard Burns, Freddy Loix, Markko Martin, Cedric Robert, Daniel Carlsson Peugeot dominated the 21st century at what was arguably the peak of the WRC's powers with a whole host of manufacturers battling it out in the sport. The 206 was something of the unknown when it debuted in 1999, but come its first full season in 2000 it was untouchable as Marcus Gronholm wrapped up the world drivers crown, a feat he repeated in 2002. The 206 brought the French marque the manufacturers championship three years in a row from 2000-2002, with Gronholm and tarmac ace Gilles Panizzi taking crucial wins with the car. 2001 champ Burns contributed to 1-2-3 finishes but a maiden Peugeot win eluded him. Peugeot were of course highly successful in the Group B era with the 205 T16, and the 206 was arguably even more successful, but the 307 which was introduced in 2004 was not so great. Gronholm was very vocal of his disliking of the car that only brought him 3 wins. After 2005, with PSA stable mates Citroen creating their own history, Peugeot were gone. SeatRallies started: 38 Rallies won: 0 Drivers Championships: 0 Manufacturers Championships: 0 Years active: 1998-2001 Drivers: Harri Rovanpera, Marc Duez, Gwyndaf Evans, Piero Liatti, Marcus Gronholm, Toni Gardemeister, Didier Auriol, Marc Blazquez Another to spawn from the Formula 2 kit car generation with their Ibiza, Seat's first rally as a WRC team came at the back end of 1998 with the Cordoba WRC. They had some highly talented, up and coming drivers on their wage bill, including Harri Rovanpera and Toni Gardemeister and Didier Auriol in 2000 when they released the Evo 2 Cordoba WRC. They achieved the odd success but nothing to get overly excited about, but in my opinion produced one of the best looking rally cars of all time. Just look at that Cordoba in the wet! (third picture) SkodaRallies started: 88 Rallies won: 0 Drivers Championships: 0 Manufacturers Championships: 0 Years active: 1999-2006 Drivers: Armin Schwarz, Emil Triner, Bruno Thiry, Luis Climent, Roman Kresta, Stig Blomqvist, Kenneth Eriksson, Didier Auriol, Jan Kopecky, Jani Paasonen, Janne Tuohino, Mattias Ekstrom, Mikko Hirvonen, Colin McRae, Gilles Panizzi, Andreas Aigner, Harri Rovanpera The Czech manufacturer first entered the WRC in 1999, around the same time as Seat and Peugeot as the World Rally Car began to pull in the entries. Initially running the Octavia WRC, Skoda were a part of the WRC for a good few years, running the Octavia until mid-way through 2003 before the introduction of the Fabia WRC. The team's final year was sponsored by Red Bull, in 2006, and over their stay in the sport's premier category they employed the likes of Armin Schwarz, Toni Gardemeister and Didier Auriol. The marque will probably be best known for its success in the tier below with the Fabia S2000 and Fabia R5, but nevertheless they were still a big part of the WRC at the start of the century. SubaruRallies started: 166 Rallies won: 35 Drivers Championship: 2 (2001, 2003) Manufacturers Championship: 1 (1997) Years active: 1997-2008 Drivers: Colin McRae, Piero Liatti, Kenneth Eriksson, Richard Burns, Juha Kankkunen, Bruno Thiry, Possum Bourne, Simon Jean-Joseph, Petter Solberg, Markko Martin, Toshi Arai, Tommi Makinen, Mikko Hirvonen, Chris Atkinson, Stephane Sarrazin, Xavier Pons That famous blue and yellow paintwork. The Subaru Impreza is arguably the most iconic rally car of all time, and began in a new guise in 1997 with the new WRC rules with Colin McRae at the helm. The car was instantly successful, and it took Richard Burns and Petter Solberg to their WRC championships. Over the course of their time in the WRC, they won the manufactures championship in their first year and the drivers championship in 2001 and 2003, employing great champions in McRae, Kankkunen and Makinen as well as promising youngsters. The 2006 model and 2008 model never really replicated the success of the earlier cars, and after 2008 the world of rallying was dealt a huge blow when Subaru pulled out of the sport. The sound of the Impreza WRC... need I say anymore. SuzukiRallies started: 15 Rallies won: 0 Drivers Championship: 0 Manufactures Championship: 0 Years active: 2008 Drivers: Toni Gardemeister, Per-Gunnar Andersson The lack of a slideshow here kind of sums up Suzuki's WRC adventure. The firm were incredibly successful in the JWRC with the Swift S1600 employing the likes of Guy Wilks and P-G Andersson, and brought the Swede into the top flight with Finn Toni Gardemeister coming in to pilot the SX4 WRC. The team only lasted one season however, and it's hard to think of a motorsport programme let alone a WRC campaign that was more tragic than Suzuki's efforts. So much so you've probably forgotten that they even competed. ToyotaRallies started: 31 Rallies won: 4 Drivers Championships: 0 Manufacturers Championships: 1 (1999) Years active: 1997-1999 / 2017 - Drivers: Didier Auriol, Neal Bates, Marcus Gronholm, Bruno Thiry, Carlos Sainz / Juho Hanninen, Espaekka Lappi, ??? Toyota are a hotly discussed manufacturer surrounding the WRC with their impending return to the championship in 2017. They achieved a lot of success in the Group A era with the Celica, but came just 500m away from a drivers title with Carlos Sainz in 1998 and took the 1999 manufactures crown with Sainz and Didier Auriol as they bowed out of the sport. The Corolla WRC continued to feature in the WRC and other regional championships, and proved to be a very quick and mostly reliable fighter in the WRC. Next year is likely to be a development year for the team, now run by four time world champion Tommi Makinen. Juho Hanninen has been confirmed as lead driver, with Esapekka Lappi hotly tipped to join along with either Jari-Matti Latvala or Andreas Mikkelsen. Hopefully they can continue Toyota's prestigious past in the World Rally Championship. VolkswagenRallies started: 52 Rallies won: 43 Drivers Championships: 4 (2013-2016) Manufacturers Championships: (2013-2016) Years active: 2013-2016 Drivers: Sebastien Ogier, Jari-Matti Latvala, Andreas Mikkelsen Volkswagen brought a level of dominance to the World Rally Championship that is hard to comprehend, and are most definitely the most dominant team in history. Eight of eight championships won, 43 wins from 52 starts, multiple 1-2-3 finishes and a record 12 long winning streak achieved on two occasions; the numbers speak for themselves.
They never altered their driver line up since entering the WRC in 2013, where Ogier gave the Polo its first stage win on its first ever stage and its first rally win on just its second outing, beating Citroen and Sebastien Loeb who had been on top the past nine years. VW were simply incredible, the real tragedy is we won't see if they could continue their level of performance into the new era of the championship. But either way, 2017 is a fitting new chapter in what has been an incredibly intriguing and exciting era of the WRC. Long may it continue. Photo Credit: World Rally Championship / Facebook The Kennards Hire Rally Australia marked the thirteenth and final round of the 2016 World Rally Championship season, the 78th and final event for the current generation of World Rally Cars which debuted back in 2011, and also the final ever world rally for the sport's most successful team ever: Volkswagen Motorsport. There was subsequently a lot at stake, especially for the VW drivers, as the WRC headed down under for its Australian adventure. And nobody responded to that pressure better than Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jaeger. Heading to Oceania, Mikkelsen was locked in a tussle with Thierry Neuville to claim second place in this year's drivers championship behind World Champion Sebastien Ogier. Realistically, the Norwegian had to win to real the place he has held for much of the season back off of the Belgian after losing it in Wales, and with his current employers bowing out of the championship, he needed to impress the WRC's other teams and show them what he can do. Driving with the bit between his teeth instead of adopting a consistent, championship frame of mind, Andreas was near untouchable on the dusty, farmland tracks of Rally Australia. He held the lead for practically every stage of the rally, and not even a sticking clutch and brake pedal or a rampant Mr Ogier could stop Mikkelsen taking his third and most impressive WRC win to date. The win could not have come at a more important time either. If Mikkelsen finds himself without a drive in 2017 it will be incredible. There were emotional scenes at the end as Mikkelsen and second placed Sebastien Ogier brought the curtain down on an incredible and dominant sporting story that has seen Volkswagen Motorsport take 43 wins from 52 WRC starts and win every single world title available to them. Even Ogier was holding back the tears in Coffs Harbour. The champions will be sorely missed. The Drivers World Champion for the last four years, Sebastien Ogier, all but wrote himself off this weekend with his road sweeping duties on Friday and Saturday expected to heavily hinder the Frenchman. But Ogier found himself well in the fight, second overnight on Friday and Saturday, just 2 seconds behind heading into the final stage. He and team mate Mikkelsen were both in maximum attack mode, but it was Sebastien who blinked first with a costly spin denying him a seventh victory of the season. Behind the Volkswagens heading the field, all three Hyundais were once again very close to each other on the overall leaderboard in what has been the most successful WRC season ever for the marque. Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul were the beneficiaries of late drama for team mates Hayden Paddon and John Kennard to take their fifth podium finish in as many rallies, and with it the coveted second place in the championship by 6 points from Mikkelsen and Jaeger. The Belgian has by all accounts had a great season, but wasn't quite on the front running pace in Australia and rode his luck on Sunday with a high speed spin but is fully deserving of that second in the championship. Hayden Paddon was effectively competing on his home rally this weekend, with an army of Kiwi fans travelling across "the pond" to Australia to cheer their man on. And it worked for the most part, with the Hyundai man briefly holding the lead on Friday and setting a stunning time through the 51km Nambucca test, but despite sitting just 10 seconds off the lead heading into the final stage, his challenge faltered after he ran wide and punctured the rear left tyre fitted to his i20. A disappointing result but a fantastic season. One to watch next year. Dani Sordo and Marc Marti finished a whisker behind their Kiwi team mates, in what was another typical Sordo performance in many ways. The Spaniard kept his nose clean and showed impressive pace particularly on the season closing Power Stage, but was ultimately hampered by a road section blunder on Friday that saw him get lost, which resulted in a 20 second penalty. If it wasn't for that, Sordo would have claimed his third podium of the season. Both Paddon and Sordo finished Rally Australia in the same positions they ended the year in the championship: 4th and 5th respectively. And Mads Ostberg completed the set by winding up sixth in the championship and sixth overall after a promising adventure down under. The Norwegian has been the victim of some heavy criticism on This Is Rally, but there were signs the Ostberg of old was alive and well this weekend as Mads looks to have ended his second tenure at M-Sport. Ostberg and co-driver Ola Floene were consistent as they always are, but were able to properly fight with those around and ahead of them, something we haven't seen Rally Sardinia way back in June. Rumour has it that Ostberg will return to running his own team next year, and I think that will be a fantastic thing for him. 2012, when he ran his own car, was his most successful and impressive season in the WRC to date. Seventh place was a lacklustre result for Estonian duo Ott Tanak and Raigo Molder after such a startling Wales Rally GB last month. A spin on Friday seemed to derail his rhythm and confidence, and it is possible that his DMACKs were holding him back a touch in the searing heat. But the future looks good after a 2016 that has seen Tanak grow a lot in maturity. A factory M-Sport beckons for the third time in his career. WRC2 winner and newly crowned champion Esapekka Lappi finished Rally Australia eighth overall and comfortably ahead of his category competition in his Skoda Fabia R5. With championship rivals Teemu Suninen and Elfyn Evans absent, Lappi had to finish either first or second to take his and the Skoda factory team's first WRC2 titles and the Finn duly delivered. After a difficult start to the year, Lappi won the final four rallies of the year to take the title by 12 points from Suninen and Evans who tied overall. A seat at Toyota has been heavily rumoured to have had Esapekka's name on it, and after impressive years in the ERC and the APRC as well as WRC2 it's nothing short of what the talented youngster deserves. Ninth overall went to Lorenzo Bertelli who struggled on Sunday, ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala whose season of misery continued after the Finn damaged his Polo's suspension on the very first stage. The clever money was on Jari to take his second win of the season in Australia with a lower starting position, but it wasn't to be. The Finn was back on it on Saturday though, and claimed the old Jari-Matti had returned for the first time in 6 months. A message to future employers perhaps? The only major WRC retirement was Eric Camilli, who was running just behind his more experienced team mate Mads Ostberg as he looked to bring his rookie season to a close with a seventh points scoring finish of the season. It wasn't to be however, with the first running through Wedding Bells and an inside bank proving to be his downfall. His Fiesta RS WRC ended up on its side after a roll, and his face left bright red on what was a live TV stage. So after 13 rallies, the 2016 World Rally Championship season is over. It was a cracking season, with 6 different winners and will ultimately now be remembered as the end of Volkswagen's utter domination of the world's most exciting sport. Keep an eye on This Is Rally as over the next 2 months (and yes, it's only 2 months!) before Rallye Monte-Carlo and the new era of the sport bursts into life, I'll bring you my take on the latest driver deals, review the 2016 season and build the hype up for next year's adventure. The final word must go to Volkswagen Motorsport though. We will all miss you VW, the sport will not be the same without you. Photo Credit: Volkswagen Motorsport
Photo Credit: Volkswagen Motorsport Such has been the hype, speculation and discussion about 2017 in the wake of Volkswagen's sudden departure from the World Rally Championship, you may have forgotten there is still one round to go in the 2016 championship, and that round sees the WRC circus head down under for Rally Australia.
Traditionally held in Perth, the rally has moved to Coffs Harbour and has run there since 2011 where Mikko Hirvonen took victory. But never before has the Coffs Harbour event been held as the curtain closer for the WRC, so the crews will have to deal with searing heat that will not only be demanding to drive in but will be punishing for the tyres. Running first on the road is expected to be a disadvantage in Australia, which is bad news for four time world champion Sebastien Ogier. Ogier always wants to win, but he doesn't really have anything to prove. He has won the last four rallies on the bounce after a long spell that saw him away from the top step, and will have offers pouring left, right and centre for a 2017 drive. But if you think Ogier will just cruise in the Australian summer, you clearly haven't been watching the World Rally Championship the past few years. With the drivers and constructors championships wrapped up, the focus this weekend is firmly on the runner-up spot behind Ogier in the championship. That position is currently being held by Hyundai's Thierry Neuville, who hasn't been off the podium since his third place in Germany. His biggest rival is the man that has held second in the championship for much of the year: Andreas Mikkelsen. Following the driveshaft failure that basically wrote off his entire Wales Rally GB, Australia was already a crucial event for Andreas as he looked to claw back the second place his Belgian friend has stolen from him. But with VW's departure and the ever-turning rumour mill linking Ogier and Latvala with seats, the final round of the 2016 WRC season has become even more important for the Norwegian as he looks to prove his worth to future employers. A win would be the perfect way to do that. Hayden Paddon is an outside bet for that second place but he should not be discounted, especially not on the stages so close to his native New Zealand. Paddon has finished fourth on the last two events so will be desperate to get back onto that podium and build momentum ahead of 2017. The fourth and final contender for second in the 2016 championship is the third and final Hyundai Motorsport i20 WRC of Spaniard Dani Sordo. Sordo has had a very consistent and impressive season, but holds a very slim chance of taking second, realistically needing his rivals to suffer severe issues to grab the place. But a new two year contract, impressive pace once more on tarmac and even on gravel in Spain, I suspect Sordo will be fairly happy with his lot and will be in the top 5 on the season's final round. One man who could do with a pick-me-up is Jari-Matti Latvala, who has by all accounts had a pretty disastrous 2016 season, taking just the one win in Mexico with other mechanical issues and occasional driver errors or lack of confidence seeing the experienced campaigner languishing sixth in the championship. It couldn't really have come at a worse time for the Finn with him now being forced to look for employment, but I suspect his raw speed and experience mean he won't have a problem slotting in somewhere next year, with Toyota looking increasingly likely. But for this weekend, a return to the stunning pace we haven't properly seen since 2014 will be the target. Mads Ostberg lies seventh in the championship and will probably end up somewhere like seventh on Rally Australia. The Norwegian still has one more chance to impress me before the season is out, where he will potentially return to running his Adapta Motorsport private outfit in 2017. Driving the sister M-Sport machine is Eric Camilli, as he brings an end to his learning year in the sport's top flight. Some promising pace and no mistakes will be high on the Frenchman's agenda. Ott Tanak's DMACK Fiesta RS is certainly a car to keep an eye on this weekend as the WRC 2016 season comes to a close. The Estonian can count himself extremely unlucky not to have won a rally this year, with the puncture in Poland and intercom issues in Wales preventing him from taking that maiden win. But when he and his car are on-song, there aren't many faster packages out there, so we shall wait and see how the DMACK tyres cope with the sandy Australian gravel and monitor Tanak's progress with intrigue. Prediction time I heard somebody call from nowhere. You're going to get it if you like it or not! A win for Jari-Matti Latvala, with Mikkelsen pushing him hard in second and Ogier recovering to third after road sweeping issues. If that were true, it would be perfect way for the World Rally Championship's most dominant team in history to bow out of the sport. Photo Credit: Skoda Motorsport Make no bones about it, the WRC has been hotly discussed the past week, not least by me on Twitter and on This Is Rally, but one of the topics to be mentioned in the aftermath of Volkswagen's decision to pull out of the sport is the R5 category, and whether it should ultimately be the top category in our sport. It is very relevant, given Volkswagen's decision to develop an R5 specification Polo and considering the sport is entering a brand new era in 2017. Currently, R5 models are very similar to their WRC cousins, but have around 80 less brake horse power and less aerodynamic efficiency, but are still purpose built, four wheel drive, turbo charged earth munchers. However, next year with the new WR cars, that gap is set to widen, with cars closer to what we saw back in the 1980's. I find this exciting, but other such as Jimmy McRae aren't so enthusiastic. Either way, the new cars are coming but that hasn't stopped talk of the even broader future, and whether the R5 beasts will eventually make their way to the top of the pile, with the cars currently competing in the World Championship's second tier WRC2 series. One of the biggest argument in favour of R5 is the cost. The performance gap (2016) isn't ridiculous yet an R5 car costs £190,000, compared with the WRC price of roughly £445,000 (half a million Euros). Also, there are more different R5 cars then there are WRC cars, a problem only heightened by VW's withdrawal. As it stands, there are 4 different WRC cars from Volkswagen, Citroen, Ford and Hyundai with Toyota to replace VW next year, while you can pick up an R5 model from Ford, Skoda, Citroen, Peugeot, Mitsubishi* and Hyundai, with VW soon to join that fold. However, I don't think the R5 formula should become the top category in the world of rallying, especially considering the thrill, buzz and expense surrounding the new generation WRC cars. But let's get one thing clear, I am not against R5. Not one little bit. I think the platform is fantastic, and acts as the perfect support category. The R5 formula was first adopted by M-Sport (Ford) and Peugeot, who developed a Fiesta R5 and 208 T16 R5 respectively. The first real public appearance of the cars was the Ypres Rally back in 2013, where Thierry Neuville (M-Sport) and Kris Meeke (Peugeot) ran the cars as course cars on the event. Once homologated, the cars proved a lot quicker than the old S2000 and even RRC counterparts, and the category soon saw models from Citroen, Skoda (who were top of the S2000 tree) and just recently Hyundai Motorsport developed an R5 version of the i20. They give young and aspiring drivers the perfect platform for learning the four wheel drive game, and in general homing their rallying skills before graduating into the more powerful and faster World Rally Cars at the very top of the sport. R5 cars are at the top of several championships across the rallying world, including WRC2, the European Rally Championship (ERC), British Rally Championship, Irish Tarmac Championship, Belgian Rally Championship and are eligible for many more, including the Scottish Rally Championship. The MSA British Rally Championship is a perfect case study as to the success and appeal of R5. The series was well and truly down in the dumps after the move to two wheel drive R3 cars in 2012. With the Citroen DS3 being the only realistically competitive car, it effectively became a one make series and after 2014, the championship took a sabbatical in 2015. In 2016 the series was back with a bang, with a large array of top drivers in top but different cars: R5 cars. And this is crucially why I don't see the benefit in installing these machines as the top cars in rallying. What would happen to the support championships? There would be no real obvious progression. Yes you would be in the World Rally Championship with a professional team and contract battling against the world's very best, but you could be World Rally Champion and competing in the same car as a semi-retired builder is using on a local one day forest event. This to me would not be right. The platform for next year's WRC promises to be fantastic, and the R5 support series is only going to get stronger too with Volkswagen's inclusion. Despite all that has gone on, I think the future of rallying looks bright, and the R5 category is playing a major part in that. Photo Credit: Karel Hollinck Rally Photography [M-Sport]
There has been much made of Volkswagen's decision to leave the World Rally Championship after this year, with tributes pouring in to the team for their professionalism, dedication to the sport and the driver market has been heavily discussed with drivers Seb Ogier, Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen being left without a drive for the 2017 season.
But I thought it right to pay tribute to the car that has won every single championship it was eligible to win between 2013-16 with Ogier and Julien Ingrassia in the cockpit: the Volkswagen Polo R WRC. Four consecutive World Drivers titles, four consecutive Manufacturers titles, 42 rally wins from a possible 51 (82%) including at least one victory on every rally of the WRC calendar, and incredibly it never went an event without securing a stage win, including a stage win on its very first stage in the hands of Sebastien Ogier. Quite some machine, and I must say I am very glad that last weekend I got a chance to see it in action on what turned out to be its penultimate appearance in the World Rally Championship (pictured above). VW joined the WRC at a time when the sport needed them most, with a pretty rubbish television package, only two manufacturers and one of them, Ford, decided to withdraw its works support. It leaves the championship in a much stronger position, having extensively injected money and prominently used social media to give us a great television package, a series with four manufacturers and crucially having re-written the history books. Comparing the Polo R to other World Rally cars makes for grim reading for previous greats, with icons like the Subaru Impreza and the Audi Quattro and Citroen Xsara WRCleft well in its wake. The VW is not the only car to have won four drivers titles. The Lancia Delta Integrale, the Toyota Celica, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and the Citroen C4 WRC have all matched that feet, but crucially the Polo is the only one to have taken the manufacturers crown each and every year. Whether or not it will be seen as the greatest ever is a huge matter of debate, especially considering the influence nostaligia can have on such opinions, but there can be little argument that the German machine has been one of if not the most dominant car in the 43 year history of the World Rally Championship. A shame then, that we won't be able to see the car's evil cousin, the 2017 spec Polo, take the start of the Monte-Carlo Rally in January. Who knows how capable that car could have been... Photo Credit: Volkswagen Motorsport The scares were meant to be for Hallowe'en last night, but the world of rallying has been hit with a scare of its own with the announcement that Volkswagen Motorsport will withdraw from the World Rally Championship (WRC) after Rally Australia, despite developing an all new car for 2017. It is in response to the emissions scandal which hit the Volkswagen Audi Group hard, costing the firm $16bn. Audi's World Endurance Championship programme has also been pulled. This means that despite spending the best part of two years researching and developing the Polo R to the 2017 WRC regulations, the project will be scrapped and not run in next year's championship. Thankfully however, all the jobs within the rally team have been secured within the company. Intriguingly, the company who have won the Drivers and Manufacturers Championship the last four years, will develop an R5 rally car based on the next generation Polo which is targeted to be sold to customer teams in 2018. For me, this is an absolute travesty that Volkswagen are leaving our sport, and in some ways despite the obvious savings the company has to make, I'm not sure if it actually makes all that much sense. Volkswagen have said the move is about their public image, that it would be bad for VW to be seen participating in something so expensive. But I see it as such a waste of money and man hours to develop an all new car for next year and then just to scrap two months away from its competitive debut. My heart goes out to all the engineers who worked on that project. Who am I to comment on something I don't really know that much about in reality, and of course I'm chewing on sour grapes at my desk here. I don't want the WRC to lose its stalwart team. Volkswagen have not only provided entertainment, they practically saved the WRC at a time the future looked rather bleak. They boosted numbers, poured in investment and promoted it superbly, so we have them to thank for the WRC edging back to its very best. But the World Rally Championship will cope without Volkswagen, let's not get too concerned. We will still have four manufacturers in the service park in 2017, with Citroen returning full time to join Hyundai, M-Sport (Ford) and the new Toyota team. Of course it would have been great to have that fifth manufacturer, but you never know the German marque's rallying future may not be completely dead, considering they are to develop an R5. What is really fascinating in all of this though is the imminent explosion it is going to cause in the driver market. Although not everything has been officially announced, the driver market was widely suspected to have been filled with Ott Tanak joining Eric Camilli at M-Sport and Esapekka Lappi and Teemu Suninen heading to Toyota. But now we have three world class drivers in the frame for next year. Where will they go? Sebastien Ogier is of course the most intriguing, given his pedigree everybody will want to have him. Hyundai remains extremely unlikely, Citroen is possible, although we don't know the contract situation with Breen and Lefebvre, but M-Sport seems the most likely. He has very recently stated one of his biggest regrets is not having worked with Malcolm Wilson, so that has got the wheel of rumours well and truly turning. But that is of course if he stays in the WRC. The Frenchman may feel he has done well and might not want to risk going somewhere he won't win. He has recently tested a World RX Supercar, but having had a taste of the 2017 WRC cars, I would be surprised if he leaves the sport. I have a suspicion he will want to emulate and surpass the achievements of his compatriot Sebastien Loeb, and to do that with more than one team would earn him extra kudos. Jari-Matti Latvala could end up back at M-Sport, but the deep Finnish connections at Toyota make them a reasonable option for the 16 time rally winner. Andreas Mikkelsen is the real spanner in the works, as there is no real intelligent money on where he will go. The Norwegian would be an asset to any of the four teams however. Other drivers will be affected by the Volkswagen announcement as well let's not forget, as anybody in the fringes has been pushed back in the queue by the availability of VW's 2016 drivers. Mads Ostberg is almost certain to run his own private Adapta team like he did in 2012, where he was actually the most successful, while Elfyn Evans might be spared by the DMACK World Rally Team, where he is suspected to now end up. Volkswagen's loss is a great shame, but it certainly has spiced up the driver speculation. Let's hope we see them back one day, as despite their occasionally boring dominance they were a truly great asset for the World Rally Championship. Photo Credit: Volkswagen Motorsport Read the statement from Volkswagen Motorsport this morning here:
The Volkswagen brand is to realign its motorsport programme. From 2017, Volkswagen will focus on new technologies and customer sport. The commitment to the FIA World Rally Championship is coming to an end after four historically successful years, in which Volkswagen won WRC titles in the driver, co-driver and manufacturer rankings in a row with the Polo R. “The Volkswagen brand is facing enormous challenges. With the upcoming expansion in electrification of our vehicle range we must focus all our efforts on important future technologies. We far exceeded our sporting goals in the WRC, now we are realigning Volkswagen Motorsport and moving the vehicle technology of the future more starkly into focus,” said Frank Welsch, Member of the Board of Management responsible for Technical Development, to about 200 motorsport employees in Hannover. “At the same time, Volkswagen is going to focus more on customer racing. As well as the Golf GTI TCR on the circuit track and the Beetle GRC in rallycross, we also want to offer customers top products and will develop a new Polo according to R5 regulations.” Started with the 2016 season, the Golf GTI TCR prepared by Volkswagen Motorsport offers a production-derived customer sport vehicle for ambitious drivers and teams committed on global and national levels in the fast growing TCR touring car category. In the USA, Volkswagen of America has successfully entered two Beetle vehicles, developed by Volkswagen Motorsport in Hannover, into the Global Rallycross series and has already prepared them for the 2017 season. Scott Speed won the drivers’ title in the popular US series in both 2015 and 2016, and this season the manufacturer’s title also went to Volkswagen. The brand will investigate the expansion of these activities on the strength of their existing experience in rallycross. Moreover, in 2017 Volkswagen will begin development of a new rally vehicle in the R5-category based on the next generation Polo and will offer the car to customers to buy from 2018 onwards. The new vehicle, the Polo, will reap the benefit of the entire experience from the successful WRC commitment, where the factory teams of Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia, Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila and Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jæger competed in 51 rallies with 42 wins and 621 best times in the special stages – no other car in the history of the World Rally Championship has a better success rate. Last weekend, Volkswagen won their fourth manufacturer’s title* in a row in the UK World Rally Championship. “I want to give our heartfelt thanks to our drivers and co-drivers for their outstanding achievements. They are not only unbelievably quick, but also extremely effective ambassadors for the Volkswagen brand. The whole team built around Motorsport Director Sven Smeets has created the basis for this success with the enormous commitment of each individual. We want to continue working with this excellent team and bring about the realignment. In the same way, we will expand the close cooperation between production development and motorsport, which has always shown benefits to both sides in recent years. There is a guarantee of employment for the Volkswagen Motorsport employees,” said Frank Welsch. Volkswagen Motorsport Director Sven Smeets explained: “Of course, we regret the departure from the WRC very much – as this was the most successful chapter in the Volkswagen brand’s motorsport history. The team has done great things. At the same time, our vision is firmly ahead, because we are aware of the great challenges facing the entire company. We want our realignment to contribute to the success of the Volkswagen brand. From now on, the focus is on upcoming technologies in motorsport and on our customer sports range, where we will position ourselves more broadly and attractively.” * Subject to ratification of the results by the FIA |
WRCArticles covering the World Rally Championship Archives
January 2018
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