Monday 31st October 2016

VW completes WRC clean sweep

Fourth consecutive Wales Rally GB win for Ogier/Ingrassia/Polo R dream team seal's VW's hold on WRC

---

You'll be hearing more about the PH attendance and Friday Service at Wales Rally GB shortly but, before we get to that, let's just reflect on yet another victory for Volkswagen's dominant combination of Polo R WRC and its driver/co-driver team of Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia.

Mud, wind, rain, rallying!

With 42 wins out of 51 WRC rounds entered since its debut in 2013 VW is claiming the Polo as the most successful WRC car ever, the team having wrapped up its fourth consecutive manufacturer title already after winning eight of the last 12 rounds. It's also a fourth consecutive Wales Rally GB win for Ogier/Ingrassia too, the pair having led every single competitive kilometre of the event since 2013. Combine Loeb's efforts and the last time anyone named anything other than Sebastien won the overall WRC title was Petter Solberg back in 2003. Looking for a WRC seat for 2017? A name change and French citizenship should probably be first priorities!

Dominant or not, Ogier was pushed hard to the line by the M-Sport Fiesta RS WRC of Estonians Ott Tanak and Raigo Molder, who took over 20 seconds out of Ogier's 33.8-second lead, won all six stages on the final day and ended up just 10.2 seconds adrift by the end of the event having made up ground after an earlier puncture. An impressive effort by the ostensibly independent M-Sport team, given they're up against full manufacturer outfits like VW Motorsport and Hyundai, the latter's Thierry Neuville completing the podium. Special mention to the eighth placed M-Sport pairing of Mads Ostberg and Ola Floene, the latter nursing a swollen hand and muzzy head after suffering a snake bite. Wales Rally GB is known for being a challenging event but that's a new one to add to the list of potential hazards... 

With faster cars and more manufacturers joining the WRC fray next year - Toyota included - VW will have to fight harder than ever to maintain this dominance into 2017. They've probably earned the right for a bit of a party and ability to treat the final round in Australia in November as the rallying equivalent of a lap of honour though.  

[VW and Citroen pic: LAT]

 

[Muzzer79]

Oh, was the rallying on?

[Oddball RS]

I must have missed it.

[firebird350]

Wales Rally GB is nothing more these days than three-day rallycross, I'm afraid - sad, but true.

[AnotherClarkey]

Aaaaaaaand - it looks like VW are abandoning WRC.

[Alex Langheck]

firebird350 said:

Wales Rally GB is nothing more these days than three-day rallycross, I'm afraid - sad, but true.

It's not quite that bad - Yet. But sadly, that's how I see the future of WRC. Unless someone at the FiA or the Promoter grows some balls.

[CrutyRammers]

firebird350 said:

Wales Rally GB is nothing more these days than three-day rallycross, I'm afraid - sad, but true.

Except that rallycross is more interesting. Shame, I used to love the WRC.

[MG CHRIS]

Apart from a couple of mins of news coverage on this mainly about suzie wolf push for getting young girls into motorsport that was about as much that was shown on the welsh news. Rallying is so dull or the tv coverage makes it so dull and now vw have decided to quit apparently.

[ArnageWRC]

If you are a sponsor, or Manufacturer - you would wonder why on earth the UK still has a WRC round. It generates virtually no mainstream attention; a media vacuum.