Volkswagen presents its WRC line-up

The next chapter in the successful history of Volkswagen Motorsport is culminating in a new, adrenalin-fuelled challenge. This season, Volkswagen will make its debut in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). Gravel, asphalt, ice and snow – the World Rally Championship is the most demanding test of technology and driving ability in motorsport, and one the Wolfsburg-based automobile manufacturer will face for the first time with the Polo R WRC and a strong team at the Rally Monte Carlo from 15 to 20 January. About one month before the start of the 2013 season, Volkswagen presents the fully-developed Polo R WRC in Monaco – together with its production counterpart, the Polo R WRC of the same name.

“We are making our debut in the World Rally Championship with the Polo R WRC in 2013, while our rivals already have two year’s experience with the regulations that came into force in 2011,” said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito. “Volkswagen made a conscious decision to take on this new challenge with a squad bolstered in specific areas. WRC rallies are new territory for the team, while the Polo R WRC has basically been redeveloped from scratch and features many innovative ideas. Our goal is to achieve podium finishes in our first year.”

Strong driver/co-driver partnerships for the World Rally Championship

A select driving line-up: Sébastien Ogier – together with co-driver Julien Ingrassia (both France) – and Jari-Matti Latvala and his co-driver Miikka Anttila (both Finland) will line up with the Polo R WRC for Volkswagen in the 2013 World Rally Championship.

Ogier/Ingrassia and Latvala/Anttila start the season on equal footing. Both have seven World Rally Championship victories to their name. As of the Rally Portugal, the fourth round on the World Championship calendar, Volkswagen plans to hand outings in a third Polo R WRC to its junior driver Andreas Mikkelsen (Norway, co-driver: Mikko Markkula, Finland), who won the title in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) in 2011 and 2012. As such, Volkswagen has assembled a squad of drivers that boasts both experience and youth. At 28, 27 and 23 years of age, Ogier, Latvala and Mikkelsen are among the best drivers of the rally scene.