WRC – Manufacturers’ title within reach for VW

After celebrating the Drivers' title with Sébastien Ogier au Rally of France-Alsace, Volkswagen Motorsport is preparing to do the same this weekend at the Rally of Spain, aiming for the coronation of the Manufacturers' Championship. Following Citroën Racing's poor performance at home, the German team has an 80-point lead with two events remaining in the season. To secure first place this weekend, the Wolfsburg brand only needs to score six points, which represents a 7th place from Sébastien Ogier or Jari-Matti Latvala. As a reminder, Power Stage points do not count in the Constructors' Championship and Andreas Mikkelsen is entered in the second team. “If everything goes well, we will win the title in Spain”, recognizes Jost Capito, director of Volkswagen Motorsport. “It would be the icing on the cake if we achieve this goal in our first season. We would never have dared to dream of such a feat at the start of the year. There is no weak point in our team and that makes me proud. »

With the Manufacturers' Championship almost over, the Volkswagen drivers will be able to drive without excessive pressure. “It goes without saying that it’s fantastic to start as a world champion now.”, comments Sébastien Ogier. “This will perhaps allow me to be a little more relaxed behind the wheel and therefore a little faster. In any case, I plan to take advantage of it even if it is important for us to win the Manufacturers' title in Spain. Winning both trophies would represent a perfect season for Volkswagen. I really like Rally Spain. It is very demanding because you have to drive on two different surfaces. » His Finnish teammate shares the same motivation with the additional objective of resuming Thierry Neuville which is ahead of him by 18 points. “I would be happy to help secure this title with a good result. But I also have a personal goal: to fight for 2nd place in the Drivers' Championship. I will face strong competition: Dani Sordo has been very successful recently and he will be a rival to watch this weekend. He is one of the best drivers on asphalt. But we will be riding on dirt in the final stage and that should make things interesting. »