ONE, TWO, FOUR: VOLKSWAGEN AS STRONG AS AN OX IN ARGENTINA
May 12, 2014 by Volkswagen
◾Latvala and Ogier significantly extend Volkswagen's one-two lead
◾Impressive pursuit sees Mikkelsen move up from seventh to fourth
Two World Championship leaders battle it out, a strong pursuit: Volkswagen stay on course for success in Argentina. At the halfway point in the fifth round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) in the Polo R WRC with number two are in the lead. Their team-mates and defending World Champions Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) are in second and still within reach of victory. Andreas Mikkelsen/Mikko Markkula (N/FIN) also made a lasting impression on Saturday morning in the third World Rally Car from Wolfsburg. They went from being one and a half minutes behind position four to being six seconds ahead. The duo fell back into seventh place on Friday after the alternator belt slipped off, but moved back up through the field to position four on the first two of the five special stages on Saturday. The morning's special stages will be repeated once again in the afternoon before the spectators' special stage takes place this evening in Villa Carlos Paz.
Quotes at the lunchtime service on day two of the Rally Argentina
Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1'We might not have got off to the best start today, but at least the gap hasn't increased considerably. There were a lot of stones on the morning's stages once again so we had to reduce the speed here and there. We're halfway through the rally now so there is no need to take any big risks. I want to fight for victory, but not by taking any unnecessary risks.'
Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #2
'The morning was great fun. I really enjoyed the special stages, I particularly like the 'Amboy-Yacanto' stage. The track is really difficult in places, but these are the sections where you can increase your lead over competitors. We concentrated on what we were doing and it's very positive that we extended our lead further on both stages. I'm interested to see what the track looks like the second time around, after the entire field of almost 100 cars has driven over it.'
Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9
Our aim this morning was to finish fourth by the end of the rally. We didn't think we would have already achieved this after the first two stages today. We went on the attack, but didn't take any unnecessary risks. We made sure that we always left enough room to react. This proved invaluable in one situation: In one of the water splashes our Polo drifted slightly to the left, but the bend curved to the right. Apart from that we had two perfect special stages.'
Trending News• Driving Impressions: 2024 Nissan Leaf SV Plus
• American Honda Continues Strong Start to 2024 with April Auto Sales Up 12.4% Year-to-Date
• Kia bringing wide variety of electrified utility vehicles to Electrify Expo Phoenix, May 4-5
• Honda plants 85,000 trees to capture carbon and enhance biodiversity near its Ohio operations
• Hyundai America Technical Center Receives 2024 Economic Impact Award by SPARK
Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director'What a start to the day. All three Polo R WRCs at the top of the time sheets twice – things couldn't be better. The fact that we have secured all of the best times in Argentina so far is a testament to our careful preparation and to the fact that we have got the best rally drivers in the world. Jari-Matti Latvala and Sébastien Ogier are fighting hard for the lead. Andreas Mikkelsen pulled off a strong pursuit race. I'm proud of all three of them.'
posted on conceptcarz.com
