Volkswagen duo Ogier and Mikkelsen lead the way in Poland

It remains a hotly-contested affair in Poland – both from a sporting and a meteorological point of view. In the hottest temperatures so far this season, Volkswagen duos Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) and Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (N/N) were embroiled in a thrilling duel for the lead, which could ultimately come down to fractions of seconds. Double world champion Ogier’s lead over youngster Mikkelsen currently stands at 5.6 seconds – that puts him the equivalent of 187.98 metres ahead, but still within reach of the Norwegian. The pace of the rally remains phenomenally high: ahead of Sunday’s final leg, with just 29.20 kilometres of special stage remaining, the average speed is 120.84 km/h. For comparison: the fastest rally in the history of the World Rally Championship was in Finland in 2012, with an average speed of 122.9 kilometres per hour.

The third Volkswagen duo, Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN), also remains on the road to success. The runner-up from 2014 was also involved in an exciting battle over the day’s seven special stages – this time for third place with Ott Tanak/Raigo Mölder (EST/EST, M-Sport Ford). Fourth-placed Latvala/Antilla go into Sunday’s finale trailing the Estonian by just 1.5 seconds. The two duels for first and third place have cast a spell over thousands of fans: one of the afternoon’s special stages actually had to be cancelled because there were simply too many spectators.

Quotes after day two of the Rally Poland

Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1

“That was a perfect display from Julien and me today. I am super happy with our performance. On the opening stage I benefitted from the lack of dust, which made visibility difficult for the drivers behind me. I was absolutely flat-out on for every kilometre, without making a single mistake. The stages are awesome fun to drive. It is so incredibly fast that it even takes your own breath away in the cockpit. Our lead over Andreas is wafer-thin. It is about as close as it was in Sweden. The spectators can look forward to an exciting finale. And I am sure that Andreas will be determined to get his first win here.”

Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #2

“I was just lacking the right balance today. Sometimes I pushed too hard, others not hard enough. Although the car ran flawlessly, unfortunately I could not find my rhythm. The times I was setting in the morning just could not match those of the afternoon. As such, I was unable to hold Tanak at bay. Third place after day three would not be a bad result at the Rally Poland. I will try to rectify that on the final two special stages. The goal remains to stand on the podium tomorrow.”

Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9

“We got the absolute maximum out of today. It was all-out attack. This morning we lost a little time on our team-mate Sébastien Ogier, partly because we made small mistakes. However, we then made up ground again in the afternoon. My tyre selection was not the worst. We packed four hard tyres and one soft in the boot for the second run, and used the soft tyre on the closing spectator stage. In contrast, Seb was predominantly on softs. Just over five seconds with the final 30-kilometre sprint still to come is not much, and I will continue to fight like a lion for my first victory in the World Rally Championship. For that to happen, everything will have to come together tomorrow – after all, we are up against the two-time world champion here. One thing is certain: we will do our very best again.”

Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director

“Anyone who wasn’t already a WRC fan must be after today. It doesn’t get much more exciting than the battle between Sébastien Ogier and Andreas Mikkelsen. We can hardly wait to see how it ends. They both deserve a huge compliment, but particularly Andreas: he is pushing the two-time world champion all the way. However, Jari-Matti Latvala is also having to push himself to the very limit in his duel with Ott Tanak, and this could also go either way. The World Rally Championship is once again providing spectacular images in Poland, with high speeds, perfect drifts, and beautiful scenery. There is only one thing to do: stick with it!“