Match point "down under": Volkswagen on brink of successful World Championship title defence

Wolfsburg (04 September 2015). Following the successful Rally Germany on home soil, the
Volkswagen Team now heads to the other side of the planet. It does so with three clear
goals: the Rally Australia presents the Wolfsburg-based manufacturer with its first
opportunity to wrap up all three titles in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with the
Polo R WRC with races still to come. Should they defend the lead they have established in the
Drivers’, Co-Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ championships over the first nine rounds of the
season, they would secure victory in all three competitions. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia
(F/F), Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) and Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (N/N),
who claimed a magnificent one-two-three at their recent home event in Germany, could
once again make history “Down Under” – never before would the title championship have
been decided at such an early point in the season. The recent one-two-three in Germany is
not the only reason that Volkswagen goes into the event brimming with confidence: in 2014,
Australia was the scene of Volkswagen’s first ever one-two-three with the Polo R WRC. The
crews will be familiar with roughly three quarters of the challenging gravel routes around
Coffs Harbour in the state of New South Wales from last year’s event. In total, they must
complete 311.36 kilometres against the clock, spread over 17 special stages.

“We obviously want to take the momentum our home win has given us to Australia, although
the conditions will be completely different Down Under,” said Volkswagen Motorsport
Director Jost Capito. “For this reason, we will once again be fully focussed as we pursue our
goals at the Rally Australia, for which we have prepared meticulously again: we would like to
wrap up all three titles with races to come – and we have a realistic chance of doing just that.
In each competition, we must defend the lead we have established so far. However, that is
not as simple as it sounds. We will have to do another flawless job in order to emerge
successful. If we do produce another flawless performance, then there is a good chance we
will have something special to celebrate in Australia.”

The lead currently stands at 93 points – Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia hold their
destiny in their own hands as they aim for their third WRC title in a row in the Drivers’ and
Co-Drivers’ Championship. For this dream to come true in Australia, they must maintain a
lead of at least 84 points over Latvala/Anttila and Mikkelsen/Fløene. Only the three
Volkswagen driver/co-driver pairings can still mathematically be crowned champions in 2015.They can afford to lose no more than nine points to Latvala/Anttila – should Latvala win,
second place and a bonus point from the Power Stage would suffice for Ogier. Should they
finish ahead of Latvala/Anttila, the title is theirs. Given the fact that they currently trail the
leaders by 109 points, the chances of Mikkelsen/Fløene winning the title are more
mathematical than realistic.

Of the 139-point lead going into the Rally Australia, 129 must still be intact after the event
for Volkswagen to wrap up its third Manufacturers’ title in the FIA World Rally Championship
(WRC) in a row. Victory for either Jari-Matti Latvala or Sébastien Ogier would be sufficient to
defend this lead – or, should closest rivals Hyundai win in Australia, second and fourth place
for the two cars would also be good enough.

“Newry”, “Nambucca” and “Wedding Bells” – the Australian stages are a unique feature on
the World Rally Championship calendar. “Wild by nature” is the slogan selected by the
organisers of this season’s tenth rally. The character of the stages change from expansive,
flowing high-speed passages on open terrain to narrow, winding sections through thick
forest. The hard surface is also covered by a loose layer of fine sand. As such, the set-up for
the cars will be somewhere between those used in Mexico and Finland.
However, this is not the only thing that makes the Rally Australia so special. The “Valla”
special stage at the end of Saturday’s racing is a 7.94-kilometre night stage and will be
broadcast live on TV and plus.wrc.com. “Wedding Bells” will also be shown live and forms the
closing Power Stage, which could play a key role in the race for the Drivers’ and Co-Drivers’
titles. 28.6 per cent of the special stages are new territory for the drivers in 2015, with the
Friday in particular requiring them to adapt to new routes in the form of “Utungun”,
“Northbank” and “Bakers Creek”.

There are just three weeks between the Rally Germany and the Rally Australia – a tight
schedule, given that one WRC round is right on the doorstep and the other demands the
longest trip on the World Championship calendar. The three Polo R WRC for Ogier, Latvala
and Mikkelsen needed to be ready to commence their journey to the fifth continent by air on
the Wednesday after their home rally. That left only a few days to prepare the chassis, which
were most recently in action at the Rally Finland. The logistics team completed an important
part of the preparations back at the Rally Argentina. From there, the recce cars and
equipment headed directly to Australia as ocean freight – cleaned and dusted thoroughly, as
Australian import regulations are particularly strict. In total, roughly 100 tons were packed off
on a voyage around the world, of which 18 tons were air freight.

“I love the Rally Australia. It is a very special event. As it is an overseas rally, there is a little
less hustle and bustle than at Volkswagen’s home race in Germany, for example. It is a bit
more intimate, and I like that. Furthermore, the special stages in Australia are very nice to
drive. Always have a lot of fun in the car. Last year it was a great duel between Jari-Matti
Latvala and me, and we were ultimately separated by just 6.8 seconds. I expect more thrilling
battles with my team-mates again this year. We head Down Under on the back of a perfect
team result. The Rally Germany was absolutely fantastic and definitely one of the highlights
of the season. We obviously want to follow that with the next highlight. The main goal for
the season is obviously to defend our titles. We have another match point in Australia. As well
as the Manufacturers’ Championship with Volkswagen, we can also wrap up the titles in the
Drivers’ and Co-Drivers’ championships with races still to come. We will do our best to
achieve this – ideally with a perfect team result.”

“The Rally Australia is unique. The forests, the harbour, and the whole atmosphere. It is more
reminiscent of a vacation – but it obviously won’t be a holiday for the team and me. Sure, we
will acclimatise a bit in Coffs Harbour and the surrounding area ahead of the rally. However,
when we get down to the serious business we have to be, and will be, wide-awake and fully
focussed. I like the fast, flowing special stages in Australia – particularly the combination of
wide and narrow roads through the forest and on open ground. It is a bit like the Rally Finland
and, as is well-known, that really suits me. On other sections, you are flat-out close to large
trees. I really like that too. But you have to be careful: the surface is different to in the
European forests. The car must have the perfect set-up. In Australia, you need a car set-up
somewhere between the Rally Mexico and the Rally Finland. We have good reference values,
which we will use. I am very confident about Australia. Last year it was very tight between
Sébastien Ogier and me, and my goal for this year is to be up there challenging for the win
again.”

“After the successful Rally Germany, we are back on gravel with the Polo – and I am really
looking forward to it. The Rally Australia is one of my favourite rallies. I like the special stages
and the different challenges. For example, there are a lot of blind corners in the forests. They
demand a lot of feel for the car on the one hand, and a big portion of courage on the other. It
is far from easy, and even a small mistake can ruin your entire rally. Last year, Australia
produced the first one-two-three for Volkswagen. That was a fantastic team result and
showed just how competitive we are Down Under. I was very happy with third place. Ola and
I set some very good times, so I am definitely confident. I have a good chance of winning my
first WRC Rally in Australia. That remains a goal, which I would like to achieve sooner rather
than later. So, bring it on!”

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