Argentina effort delights Nissen

Volkswagen Motorsport chief Kris Nissen was full of praise for his team and drivers following Philips Rally Argentina, round five of the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia.

Sebastien Ogier scored points for a third event in a row in seventh overall in a Super 2000-specification Skoda Fabia following a thrilling battle with team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen.

They were evenly matched for much of the rally until Mikkelsen was forced to retire with front-right suspension failure on the final day.

Despite Mikkelsen’s exit, Nissen said Volkswagen’s performance matched up to its trio of triumphs on the Dakar Rally in Argentina in the past.

“Our good experiences continue in Argentina: not just three victories in the Dakar Rally, but this test event in the WRC will also remain in our memories for a long time,” he said. “It was the longest WRC rally held for years and because of its character one of the hardest for man and machine. The thrilling head-to-head duel between Ogier and Mikkelsen impressed the spectators and provided us with a great deal of data and knowledge at the same time. The team did a perfect job to match in preparing and entering the cars and also the overseas logistic. We were well equipped and are already looking forward to 2013 when we will roll across the start ramp in Argentina with Polo R WRC.”

Ogier added: “The team richly deserves the world championship points, since the engineers and mechanics did a flawless job throughout the four days. Participating in the rally was very valuable for the whole team because we know much more about the entire rally and can now prepare meticulously for next year.”