Even
the fog and mud could not stop Volkswagen in Wales. Nine special
stages, seven stage wins, and two Polo R WRCs out in front: the
Manufacturers' World Champions* remain on track to bring the FIA World
Rally Championship (WRC) to a successful conclusion. Sébastien
Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) extended their overall lead on day two of
the Rally Great Britain, with team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka
Anttila (FIN/FIN) their closest rivals. The World Champions* take a lead
of 20.1 seconds into the third day on Saturday. With 160.81 of the
311.15 kilometres of special stage behind them, Andreas Mikkelsen/Mikko
Markkula (N/FIN) find themselves well placed in sixth overall in the
third World Rally Car from Wolfsburg.Day two of the Rally
Great Britain could best be described as 'typically Welsh'. The
'Hafren', 'Sweet Lamb' and 'Myherin' stages, each of which was run twice
on Friday, were characterised by deep puddles, a whole lot of mud and
temperatures approaching freezing point. The Volkswagen drivers were on
top form in these testing conditions: Ogier/Ingrassia won four of the
six stages, with Latvala/Anttila adding a fifth. Volkswagen even
completed a clean sweep the second time the drivers tackled the 'Hafren'
stage, with the three works duos finishing first, second and third.
Quotes after day two of the Rally Great BritainJari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #7
'It
was not very easy to judge the surface conditions. Some places we
thought would be slippery actually offered good levels of grip, while
quite the opposite was true of other spots. As the first car out onto
the route, we did not have any braking marks to use as orientation. As
such, it was difficult to find a good rhythm right from the word go. I
lost a little time here and there, but hope to be able to push hard
again tomorrow morning. We are only halfway through, so a lot can still
happen.
'Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #8
'It
is another typical Rally Great Britain, that much is certain. You can
easily make a mistake and find yourself flying off the road. I have
experienced that often enough in the past. The conditions are difficult,
particularly on the 'Myherin' stage, where the grip level changed so
often. For this reason, we did not risk everything all the time. Even I
was surprised by my time this morning – fortunately it was a nice
surprise. There was a great atmosphere on 'Sweet Lamb', and I'm sure the
many spectators there were having great fun. You can see almost the
entire route, which features a lot of spectacular jumps and the water
crossing.
'Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9'
All
in all it was a good day for us. The conditions were not easy today, as
the special stages were very slippery. I struggled with understeer and
had to work really hard with the handbrake to keep the car on track.
That obviously cost time here and there. However, we couldn't quite
match the absolute best times – even on those stages, on which we were
clean, quick and error-free. Messieurs Latvala and Ogier are quite
simply doing a fantastic and impressive job at the moment. Respect.'
Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director
'A
fantastic day for Volkswagen. To be first, second and sixth about
halfway through such a demanding rally as the one here in Wales is a
stunning team result. Sébastien Ogier was once again outstanding today,
and produced another master class. However, Jari-Matti Latvala was right
up there with his team-mate and also consistently clocked really quick
times. And Andreas Mikkelsen is also well placed. All in all, I am proud
of our guys. We are looking forward to the next couple of days, during
which the new start order – based on the overall standings – will add a
bit of extra spice, with the best drivers starting at the back of the
WRC field tomorrow.'
And then there was ......
the first heavy braking manoeuvre of the day. At 05:57 on Friday
morning, the Volkswagen van transferring the Volkswagen drivers and
co-drivers from the hotel to the Service Park was forced to make an
unscheduled stop. World Champion* co-driver Julien Ingrassia had
suddenly realised he was minus a very important piece of equipment: his
pace notes for day two of the rally. Having woken at the crack of dawn,
'Juju' had mistakenly packed the pace notes for one of the other days.
Without further ado, Ingrassia climbed into the second car, carrying the
medical team, and headed back to pick up the correct pace notes while
his team-mates continued on to the Service Park. It goes without saying
that all three Volkswagen pairings were ready and waiting come start
time.
* Subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA.
Source: Conceptcarz.com
