Volkswagen drivers quotes ahead of the Rally Sweden 05.02.2016: WRC Rallyes - Rally Sweden 2016 Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1

WRC Rallyes - Rally Sweden 2016



Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1

“It is obviously fantastic to travel to Sweden on the back of a dream start to the season and with 28 points to our name. The conditions there are unique, and unlike anything anywhere else in the rallying world.


Thanks to the special spiked tyres, we have perfect grip on the ice and snow and can position the car precisely at high speed. I am expecting a close Rally Sweden. I am certainly looking forward to the next rally.


Last year it was a tough struggle with the Nordic drivers. They are the ones to beat in Sweden.”






Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #2

“The Rally Sweden is like a home rally for me. I love driving on snow. No question, it is tougher travelling to Sweden with no points than after a good result in Monte Carlo. However, I cannot do anything about that now. The positive to come out of the situation is that I will have a better starting position.


A good starting position means you have much better conditions and do not need to take as many risks. I must take advantage of that, in order to get back in the race for the title.





However, it is also clear that I have two team-mates, in Sébastien Ogier and Andreas Mikkelsen, who have not only both shown that they are capable of winning in Sweden, but are also particularly motivated. Not to mention the opposition from the other teams.”



Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9

“Firstly, I am not travelling to the Rally Sweden to finish second. It is my home rally, as part of the route is in my native Norway. Many of my friends and my entire family will be there, and it has always been my dream to win there. I came so damned close last year.


I had the win in my hands – but ultimately came up just short in the final few metres. The conditions at the Rally Sweden are extreme. We drive on 6.5-millimetre long ‘Sweden spikes’, which generate a huge amount of grip. Furthermore, you can ‘lean’ against the walls of snow to the left and right of the road, in order to maintain your speed.


This means you can really put your foot down without taking too many risks. We have made a good start to the season, and I will do everything in my power to win in Sweden for the first time.”


 
Did you know …


... the “Sweden spikes” offer more grip on ice and snow than gravel tyres do on typical gravel? In Argentina, it takes an average 124.87 metres to accelerate from zero to 100 kilometres per hour. In Sweden, this figure is just 107.32 metres.


... Anders Jæger is the only current co-driver to have won a special stage at his very first rally in the top category of the WRC – in this case the 2016 Rally Monte Carlo? And that is not all: none of the current crop of WRC co-drivers, except Jæger, can point to a podium finish on his WRC debut.


Andreas Mikkelsen’s 26-year-old co-driver could now go one better in Sweden: victory at only their second rally is another feat that none of the current WRC co-drivers has achieved. That would be the case for Jæger, were he to win the Rally Sweden.


... there have only been three years since 1950, in which the Rally Sweden has not formed part of the World Rally Championship? In 1974, it was cancelled due to the energy crisis. In 1990, the weather was too mild to stage the rally. In 2009, the FIA rotation system meant that the Rally Sweden was not held as a round of the World Rally Championship.


... the longest jump over the legendary “Colin’s Crest” was achieved in 2015 by Thierry Neuville (Hyundai), with a distance of 44 metres? The second longest ‘flight’ on that particular Saturday in February 2015: Andreas Mikkelsen with 41 metres.


The organisers of the Rally Sweden present a prize for the furthest and, therefore, most courageous jump, in honour of the fearless and legendary Colin McRae.         





Andre Dietzel, Ingo Roersch, photos Volkswagen