Volkswagen Rally Team: Quotes after day three of the Rally Sweden 15.02.2015: FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) 15 February 2015 RALLY SWEDEN Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1

FIA World Rally Championship (WRC)
15 February 2015   RALLY SWEDEN




Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1

“An unbelievable finale. I am incredibly proud of this win. It is certainly one of my best. The first victory in Sweden two years ago, when I beat Sébastien Loeb, was fantastic, but this was even harder-fought.


Julien and I gave everything here, from day one right through to the Power Stage. We drove as hard as possible, and it paid off in the end. It was certainly one of the most thrilling and exciting ends to a rally – not just for the fans, but also of my career.


I obviously feel sorry for Andreas, who came so close to his first win and was involved in an extremely intense battle with us. However, I am sure that this is not the last time we will be duelling for victory. He and Thierry Neuville produced impressive performances.”



Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #2

“What a crazy week. It is a shame for my team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen that he was not quite able to get his first WRC victory under his belt. And congratulations to Sébastien Ogier. He really earned his 28 points. For me personally, I have to try to take positives out of the week.


Once I made that mistake on Friday, I was obviously not going to have a say in the outcome of the rally. This gave me time to try out a few things with the set-up, and I learned some knew and important things as a result. I now understand the new Polo even better, and that was already noticeable today.


The season is still young, and there is still everything to play for. My starting position will certainly be an advantage in Mexico, and I will attack again there.”



Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9

“We did our utmost right up until the final metre – but unfortunately lost out in the end. I never dreamed that I might one day be disappointed with a podium finish. After all, I have not won all that much yet in my career.

However, I had the chance to clinch my maiden WRC victory and came very close to doing so. But I made a slight mistake, spun, and missed out on this opportunity. That is very bitter and very disappointing at the moment, although we can be proud of what we have achieved over the course of the week.


However, I am certain that it is only a matter of time until I get my first win. Having said that, I would have loved to have come out on top in this thrilling three-way battle. We will now do our very best to put ourselves back in contention again in Mexico.”



Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director

“What an exciting rally. I am sure that the World Rally Championship has won a lot of fans around the world this week. Today, the podium positions were genuinely decided in the final metres. Andreas Mikkelsen led until the final split, and came within a whisker of his first victory in the World Championship.


He really pushed our double world champion Sébastien Ogier and his friend Thierry Neuville to the limit and can be proud of his performance. His time will come sooner or later, there is no doubting that.


Sébastien Ogier produced an incredibly impressive display, particularly from a mental point of view, and fully deserved to win in the end. I take my hat off to the drivers and co-drivers.”





And then there was ...


... probably the only co-driver to drive a World Rally Car during a WRC rally: Ola Fløene. At the Rally Sweden, Andreas Mikkelsen’s co-driver drove about 220 kilometres of liaison stage. Mikkelsen and Fløene have a tradition of swapping seats:


In 2012, having already been crowned champions in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) in the Škoda Fabia S2000, Fløene actually drove the final “Stavros”  special stage at the Rally Cyprus.


And he didn’t do a bad job of it either he completed the 16-kilometre special stage just 45.7 seconds slower than the winner of both the stage and the rally, Nasser Al-Attiyah.




Andre Dietzel, Ingo Roersch- photos Willy Weyens