FIA World Rally Championship in Australia

“Wild by nature” – it is under this motto that the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) lines up at the tenth round of the season in Australia from 12th to 15th September.For Volkswagen, the rally in the land of koalas, kangaroos and crocodilescould potentially yield another sporting milestone. Volkswagen could leavedown under having already secured the World Championship titles in boththe Driver and Co-Driver competitions with races to spare – and in thePolo R WRC’s maiden season. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) comeinto the rally with a comfortable lead in the World Championship, but mustpick up maximum points and hope that the opposition does not score toomany points in order to clinch the title in Australia. They could, forexample, be grateful for the assistance of their Volkswagen team-matesJari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) and Andreas Mikkelsen/PaulNagle (N/IRL). The Rally Australia marks the return to gravel – the seventhround of the season on this surface.

“We head to Australia fullymotivated,” said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito. “After therecent disappointment at our home event, where we failed to finish on thepodium for the first time this season, we are determined to get back onthe podium. We still have a good chance of winning the World Championship.I am sure our drivers, co-drivers, mechanics and engineers do not needany more motivation than that. As always in the WRC, we will have to doa perfect job. However, we have already managed that several times thisseason. I can assure you that everyone in the team is focussed on the taskahead and desperate to do their very best in Australia. However, we sawin Germany that having a chance of winning the World Championship doesnot automatically mean you will take that opportunity. The World RallyChampionship is unpredictable – that is what makes it so interesting.”

What if? Ogier’s World Championship hopes down under

The Rally Australia provides Sébastien Ogier with his second opportunityto wrap things up. To secure the title, he must pick up nine points morethan his closest rival Thierry Neuville (Ford) and one more than Volkswagenteam-mate Jari-Matti Latvala. As far as the rest of the chasing pack areconcerned, he need only maintain the lead he already holds. Should Ogierwin both the rally and the closing Power Stage, Neuville would have tofinish second in both competitions to prolong the outcome of the Drivers’Championship. Another possibility, if not the most likely: should Volkswagenclaim its first ever one-two, with Ogier winning the rally and finishingat least second on the Power Stage, then the Frenchman would be crownedchampion.

“Wild by nature”, compact and demanding: the Rally Australia

The organisers call the Rally Australia “Wild by nature”. The driverslike the fact that it is so tremendously compact. All the special stagesare located within a radius of just 55 kilometres in the area surroundingthe rally base at the port of Coffs Harbour. And the stages have two differentfaces. They may all be on gravel, but some take the drivers on closed-offpublic roads with a fast, flowing character, while others feature narrow,winding sections through thick forest.

Despite the low population density, the Rally Australia is guaranteed toenjoy great popularity among the fans. One reason for this are the verypopular super special stages in Australia, which are staged perfectly witha major support programme, including concerts and fireworks. The “Coffs”special stage is held in the dark, right on the town’s harbour in themiddle of the service park – a stone’s throw from the Pacific Ocean.The beautiful “Shipmans” special stage then takes place in the undulatinglandscape inland of Coffs Coast. When the cars return to tackle the 29.03-kilometrestage for the second time on the Sunday, it will form both the closingstage of the rally and at the same time the Power Stage, with bonus pointsup for grabs for the top three drivers. The highlight of this special stageis undoubtedly the spectacular water crossing through Tallawudjah Creek,about 4.5 kilometres into the stage. This water splash is located behinda quick left-hander, meaning most drivers hit the water in a power slide.

Latvala/Anttila and Australia – “Nordic by nature” meets “Wild by nature”

The Finnish style of driving seems perfectly suited to the conditions thedrivers will encounter at the Rally Australia: quick, flowing gravel sections.The last three times Australia has featured on the WRC calendar – in 2011,2009 and 2006 – all three victories went to Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen,who line up for Citroën this year. And the Finnish duo of Jari-Matti Latvala/MiikkaAnttila, who joined Volkswagen as works drivers in 2013, can also lookback on some positive results at the Rally Australia: sixth in 2006, fourthin 2009, second in 2011. They will be hoping the upward trend continues.

New territory – Mikkelsen/Nagle discover Terra Australis

The Rally Australia is a voyage of discovery for Volkswagen works driverAndreas Mikkelsen. When Mikkelsen arrives in Australia ahead of the tenthrally of the season, he will not only be making his competitive debut there,but will also be stepping onto the continent for the first time. And whilstthe cockpit of the Polo R WRC represents familiar ground for Mikkelsen,here too he must adapt to some new factors. With his regular co-driverMikko Markkula (FIN) taking an injury-enforced break, Mikkelsen is joinedin the passenger seat by an experienced replacement in Paul Nagle (IRL).Like Mikkelsen, Nagle capped his time in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge(IRC) by winning the title in 2009.

Quotes ahead of the Rally Australia

Jari-Matti Latvala, Polo R WRC #7

“I enjoy travelling to Australia, as there is a very good atmosphere thereand the people are extremely friendly. The special stages require a veryquick, flowing style of driving and you have to find a good rhythm. Thegood thing is that, as a rule, I tend to do well on these quicker rallies,as they suit my driving style. After missing out on so many points in theManufacturers’ Championship in Germany recently, we must now concentrateon getting some good results and keeping Citroën at bay in the World Championship.That will be my first task. Everyone in the team knows that our car isgood, and everyone is doing their utmost to achieve the number one goal:to win the title.”

Sébastien Ogier, Polo R WRC #8

“Whereas it was only really a theoretical chance in Germany, we now havea realistic opportunity to secure the title with races to spare. In Australiait is, to a much greater degree, in our own hands. I would like to winboth the rally and the closing Power Stage. That is my goal. And the advantageis that I really like the Rally Australia. The special stages are veryquick and very demanding. We are well prepared for this challenge. I amlooking forward to this rally.”

Andreas Mikkelsen, Polo R WRC #9

“Paul Nagle will be my co-driver in Australia, as my regular co-driverMikko Markkula is still injured. I know Paul from earlier rallies. I racedagainst him at the Rally Ireland when I was 17. We also know each otherfrom the IRC, where he was Kris Meeke’s co-driver. I have no doubt thathe will do a good job. The Rally Australia will be far less familiar tome. The furthest I have ever travelled before was Thailand. The rally iscompletely new territory for me. However, the other drivers will not havea great deal more experience than me, as many of this year’s special stageswill be new. I think Paul and I will have a good rally. We will travelto Australia early, in order to become accustomed to everything and toget to know each other a bit better.”

Volkswagen in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC)

In entering the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Volkswagen is addinganother chapter to its motorsport success story. Volkswagen claimed overallvictory at the Rally Dakar with the Race Touareg in 2009, 2010 and 2011– celebrating a hat-trick of titles at the toughest marathon rally inthe world. The Polo R WRC is the first World Rally Car produced by theWolfsburg-based company, which now lines up with its own works team inthe pinnacle of rallying. The series offers Volkswagen the opportunityto prove itself on a global platform in direct sporting competition. Nomodel is more suited to the challenge than the Polo – one of Volkswagen’smost heavily produced and distributed models in the world.

Three questions for Paul Nagle

You tested with Volkswagen this week and took your place next to AndreasMikkelsen in the Polo R WRC for the first time. How was it?

Paul Nagle: “The tests were a great experience. Everything was new tome: the team, the car, the driver. However, I was very well received andthe two test days really went very well. The car is absolutely fantasticand the team is working very hard. They scrutinise every detail as theystrive to improve. Andreas is an outstanding driver, and this is a fantasticopportunity for me to compete as a co-driver for Volkswagen. Volkswagenis an extraordinary team. It is an absolute pleasure to work with thiscrew. Everyone knows exactly what they are doing and, as a newcomer, youget as much support as physically possible.”

As it stands, you will only be lining up alongside Andreas Mikkelsen thisonce at the Rally Australia. Do you feel any pressure ahead of this one-offappearance?

Paul Nagle: “There will be a certain degree of pressure, and I will definitelybe a little bit nervous. However, this is my job and I am looking forwardto the challenge and working with Andreas. My learning curve will be asteep one. After all, I don’t know the Rally Australia at all and havenever been there before. The last time the rally was on the WRC calendarwas in 2011, so only a few drivers are familiar with it. As such, everyoneis in a similar position coming into the rally. That ought to suit us.”

How well do you know Andreas Mikkelsen and how difficult will it be toadapt to his new system of pace notes?

Paul Nagle: “We drove against each other in the IRC, in which Andreaswon the title in 2011 and 2012. Chris Meeke and I were crowned championsin 2009. Andreas joined the IRC in 2010 when Chris and I were defendingour title. We all got to know each other then. Last year both Andreas andI lined up in the SWRC, today’s WRC-2. As such, we already know each otherwell enough to work together. I also adapted to Andreas’ pace notes systemquite quickly. There are obviously a few things that are a bit different.However, after a few hours of testing I had already taken them in. We willconcentrate particularly hard on them during the ‘Recce’.”

The number for the Rally Australia: 16,113.10

The distance between Wolfsburg and Coffs Harbour, the service park forthe Rally Australia, is exactly 16,113.10 kilometres as the crow flies.This is the furthest the works team from Germany must travel to any rallyon the WRC calendar. For comparison: this is greater than the sum of thedistances between Wolfsburg and all ten European service parks. In total,the team travels 12,060.98 kilometres between the Volkswagen headquartersand the rally bases in Europe

Source : Lokesh Shastri