Volkswagen seizes lead at the Rally Italy

Full speed without compromise - Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) seized the lead at the Rally Italy on the longest day of rallying in 13 years. In extremely difficult conditions, which took their toll on all of the top teams, the Volkswagen duo in the Polo R WRC staged a gripping duel with Hayden Paddon (Hyundai) for the lead. On the 17th special stage of the rally, the double world champions took the top position after increasing the pressure on the afternoon loop to the east of the Service Park in Alghero. After almost 90 percent of the overall distance on Sardinia, Ogier/Ingrassia are now 2:13.6 minutes ahead of Paddon. On the 212.83 kilometres in total of the nine special stages on Saturday - the longest day since the Safari Rally in 2002 - Ogier/Ingrassia got three best times, their Volkswagen colleagues got a further three best times.

However, Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) and Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (N/N) suffered setbacks. Latvala/Anttila started the day in third, but suffered tyre damage on the 13th special stage "Coiluna-Loelle" of all stages, and lost around 2.30 minutes when they changed the tyre. Then on the 17th special stage, they damaged their suspension on a rock on the driving line. Latvala/Anttila made provisional repairs to their World Rally Car between the stages and fought their way to the evening service in Alghero. However, they lost a total of eight minutes and dropped down into sixth place in the overall standings. Mikkelsen/Fløene also enjoyed a brief comeback under Rally 2 regulations. The 13th special stage also saw the Norwegians end their day early due to further suspension damage. However, the Volkswagen pair will go on the attack at the Rally Italy on Sunday once again under Rally 2 regulations

Quotes after day two of the Rally Italy

Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1

"It was a very long and difficult day in the cockpit, but I’m happy with how things went. I only made a minor error in the morning, when I almost stalled the car in a hairpin bend on the 13th stage, otherwise it went pretty much perfectly for Julien and me. My aim was to take the lead at the end of the day, and I’m happy that it worked out. It was hard work since Hayden Paddon gave as good as he got for a long time. The track conditions were also extremely difficult, which always threatened tyre damage. Now we are holding all the aces for the final day. And we want to defend our position to the end."

Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #2

"Today started really well - with the best time of the twelfth special stage. Unfortunately, the tyre came off the rim after a jump on the following special stage. We lost almost 2.30 minutes changing the tyre. That was a major setback in the fight for the win at the Rally Sardinia. In the afternoon, there was a stone in the middle of the driving line on the special stage ’Monti die Alà’. I wasn’t able to avoid it and damaged the rear left damper. We tried to repair the car as well as we could and were fortunate to make it back to the Service Park by ourselves. The whole thing is even more frustrating since I was doing well with the Polo R WRC throughout the rally and it was great fun chasing the drivers ahead of me. The Rally Italy still isn’t good ground for me. But we won’t give up and will do our best again tomorrow."

Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9

"It looks as if this isn’t going to be my rally. We wanted to cover as many kilometres as possible on our return today, and gain special stage experience for the coming years. But it came to nothing. On the 13th special stage of all stages, the handling of the car was strange on some of the turns. When I tried to turn into a right-hand bend, nothing happened initially and we slipped down a slope. Now we need to analyse what happened in detail. But our goal for tomorrow hasn’t changed: We want to really go for it on the Power Stage and see whether that’s enough to pick up one or two points. We don’t have an ideal starting position - but we will definitely try."

Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director

"The whole team showed incredible fighting spirit today. Sébastien Ogier increased the pressure at the right moment and seized the lead brilliantly - even if we would have liked to see his fine duel with Haydon Paddon continue on the track. Jari-Matti Latvala was extremely unlucky, and tyre damage followed by suspension damage cost him a lot of time. But he limited the loss with maximum willpower and defended sixth place fiercely. Hats off. Unfortunately, Andreas Mikkelsen was forced to give up on his plan of getting to know the stages at rally speed for next season early on, but he has the chance to fight for points on the Power Stage tomorrow. It was a long, eventful day for everyone in the Volkswagen team - now we’re looking forward to the final on Sunday and want to bring home the win."