VW and Sébastien Ogier ready for 2014

The defense of the titles obtained in 2013. This is the objective of Volkswagen and the duo Sébastien Ogier – Julien Ingrassia who won both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ titles last year. At a small ceremony organized yesterday in Wolfsburg, the Chairman of the Board of Directors Dr. Martin Winterkorn and the Head of Technical Development within the Board of Directors, Dr. Heinz-Jakob Neußer gave the start of the campaign WRC from the German team.

For Sébastien Ogier, who will make his home debut at the Monte-Carlo organized this year around Gap, the support of the brand's management bodies is important. “The event of today (Tuesday) has symbolic value: this fictitious departure from Wolfsburg shows that the entire house is behind us. » believes the Frenchman. “As far as we are concerned, my teammate Julien Ingrassia, the entire Team and myself, we are ready for the 2014 World Championship. There were only 61 days between the final special of last season and the premiere of the next Monte-Carlo! No other World Championship has such a short break. The tests and preparations have been running at full speed since last November, and we are very well prepared to defend our titles. »

Jost Capito, Director of Volkswagen Motorsport, believes his team is ready, but does not underestimate the competition. »It goes without saying that the preparation for this WRC season did not wait until today. We are as well prepared as possible for the Rally Monte Carlo, we have developed many details on the Polo R WRC. We look forward to taking on new challenges. This year, the World Championship presents several new aspects, which will not make it easier to defend our title. We have a new competitor with the arrival of Hyundai, while Ford and Citroën present themselves with reshuffled teams. We can't wait to get to grips with it. »

Capito also insists “the team spirit that allowed us to achieve such great things in 2013. Let’s continue like this in 2014.”

Volkswagen will be the favorite on the roads of Monaco for the opening of the season from January 14, against the Hyundai i20 WRCs of Neuville and Sordo, to the Citroën DS3 of Meeke and Ostberg or the Ford Fiesta RS of Hirvonen, Kubica and Evans.