With this year’s World Rally Championship drawing to a close this weekend with the Wales Rally GB, Volkswagen has started testing the new Polo R WRC.
Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, member of the Volkswagen board of management for technology, and the two-time World Rally Champion and Dakar winner Carlos Sainz completed the first test kilometres in the vineyards of Veldenz near Trier, the location that normally plays host to the ADAC Rallye Deutschland. Prior to competing in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) from 2013 onward, Volkswagen will intensively test and continue to develop the four-wheel drive vehicle that delivers an output of about 300 bhp.
“The first test with the new Polo R WRC is a special moment and marks an important milestone in the preparations for our entry in the WRC,” comments Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, “We’re well on schedule and are now able to start testing our concepts and developments in reality.
“The first Polo represents a preliminary stage of the subsequent rally car and during the coming months will serve as a test vehicle for the engine, gearbox and suspension. The findings will be directly fed into the first thoroughbred Polo R WRC,” explains Volkswagen Motorsport director Kris Nissen. “Next year we’ll be running an extensive testing program on tarmac, gravel, mud and snow in order to prepare ourselves for the 2013 season as best we can.”
On the first test day Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg and Carlos Sainz, both with co-driver Timo Gottschalk, drove some 62 miles on the 1.7 mile tarmac circuit. An initial functional test was followed by tuning and set-up work on the engine and the suspension, all of which was performed without any problems.
Said Carlos Sainz, “The car is still in an early stage but already feels very good. For the whole team, whether engineers, mechanics or drivers, it’s very important to get to know the first real car as early as possible and to test and continue to develop it.”
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