Volkswagen quotes after day three of the Rally Great Britain 30.10.2016: Sven Smeets, Volkswagen Motorsport Director “A performance worthy of world champions from Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, and a fantasti

Sven Smeets, Volkswagen Motorsport Director




“A performance worthy of world champions from Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, and a fantastic day for Volkswagen. To win all three titles in the World Rally Championship for the fourth time in a row is anything but a matter of course.



It takes a lot of work from the entire team to be so successful. I am extremely proud of the whole team. Drivers, co-drivers, engineers, mechanics, logisticians, the medical department and catering team, meteo and weather crew, and team management - everyone has played an important role.



 The dedication they show Volkswagen, and their team spirit, cannot be beaten.”






Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1





“This victory is fantastic. I am so delighted that we have wrapped up the Manufacturers’ title for our fantastic team. It was hard work hanging onto our lead in these extremely slippery conditions here in Wales.



Ott Tänak put us under a lot of pressure, so Julien and I had to push ourselves to the limit all weekend. But we did it. Looking back, we have all been on an incredible journey over the past four years.


To have such a run of success is definitely something very special - particularly in motorsport, where so many different factors come into play. I am very happy that I opted for Volkswagen before anyone knew where this WRC adventure would take us.”




Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #2


“Looking at today on its own, we did our job: we overtook Østberg and ended the rally in seventh place. On the whole, we were obviously hoping for a lot more from the weekend and are not happy with this result.




 On the other hand, Volkswagen claimed its fourth Manufacturers’ title in a row thanks to our team-mate Sébastien Ogier’s win. T



hat is obviously a fantastic success for the entire team here and at the headquarters in Hannover. We will still push hard again in Australia and look to improve our record for this season.”




Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9


“I am very pleased for our Volkswagen team that we have once again been crowned world champions in the Manufacturers’ Championship. That is no less than we deserve, and I am pleased to have contributed a little here and there.



From a personal point of view, I am obviously disappointed with the outcome of the Rally Great Britain in general. We wanted to battle with Thierry Neuville for second place in the championship here, but unfortunately that was not to be.



A drive shaft was damaged on Friday and we consequently lost many minutes. That is a real shame, but that is motorsport. These things can happen. We then focused fully on the Power Stage and really gave it our all.






We could not have done any more and came away with two points. We will now have to do our very best in Australia to finish second in the world championship. That is exactly what we plan to do.”





And then there was ...


... “Bertie the Beetle”. Bob Beales, Mark Murphy, Mark Walters and Co. run a 58-year-old Volkswagen classic in the national championship, which is held at the same time as round 12 of the world championship in Great Britain.



However, “Bertie”, as the Beetle is affectionately known by his team, suffered a technical issue on Saturday evening.



A ball joint on the track rod had broken. Volkswagen Motorsport did not have the right spare part for “Team Colorado”, but Gerard Jan de Jongh and Richard Browne, whose regular positions are race engineer for Sébastien Ogier and Andreas Mikkelsen, were able to help out with their engineering know-how and the right tool.



 “Bertie” returned to action at the Rally Great Britain on Sunday.






Andre Dietzel, Ingo Roersch,  photos Willy Weyens