IRC: Skoda battles through Corsica Rally for podium spots

Posted: 17 May 2011 01:22 PM PDT

Rally Tour de Corse 2011

The third event of the IRC championship offered a thrilling spectacle from the first kilometer to the last. For the first time in history, the series moved to Corsica to take the drivers to 321 kilometers of a narrow track and a mix of bends and difficult uphill and downhill stretches. Jan Kopecky & Petr Stary of Skoda Motorsport (factory team) had an impressive finish but, despite two fastest times on the final day, came second, 16 seconds behind Thierry Neuville in a Peugeot. Driving another Fabia Super 2000, Freddy Loix finished third and tops the IRC rankings. Kopecky shares second place.

One of the longest IRC rallies saw a fierce fight till the last kilometer
Loix leads the IRC championship rankings, Kopecky shares second place
Skoda remains top in the Manufacturers competition

Appearing in the IRC Championship calendar for the first time in history, the Corsica Rally got back to its roots in terms of program composition – three competition days, three service zones, tiring transfers for both the crews and their whole teams and the route scattered all over the island. On top of that, a mix of new asphalt, broken roads and stones fallen down from Corsica’s typical rocks indeed required maximum concentration and commitment from all team members.

Rally Tour de Corse 2011

The rally started on Thursday with the first 55 kilometers in the surroundings of Calvi. After Day 1, Neuville was top, nine seconds ahead of Kopecky, Andreas Mikkelsen of Skoda UK Motorsport was fourth and Freddy Loix of BFO Skoda Belgie fifth. On Day 2 the field of drivers moved inland to Corte to do six stages in total. However, one of them was cancelled in the end due to a forerunner’s accident, which affected the overall rhythm of the rally and the drivers’ performance, too. Neuville stayed top, 23 seconds ahead of Kopecky, Loix moved up to third place, a further four seconds behind Kopecky, Mikkelsen remained fourth.

The final part on Saturday took the drivers to Ajaccio, the capital of Corsica. Kopecky started very aggressively, knocked nine seconds off Neuville’s lead in the first stage and kept reducing the gap in the following stages. An excellent set-up of Kopecky’s car and his brilliant performance earned him the runner-up position in the end, Loix (supported by the factory team) came third. After a tyre puncture in Stage 12, Mikkelsen of Skoda UK Motorsport finished sixth overall.

Commenting on this highly challenging rally, Head of Skoda Motorsport Michal Hrabanek says: “It’s been a great rally, extremely difficult in terms of logistics but thrilling till the last kilometer. Our second and third places are certainly a good contribution towards the overall championship result. Freddy Loix has fought his way up to the top of IRC, which motivates us to carry on working hard. IRC is still a thrilling spectacle, with fierce battles for every second. Now we are going to prepare for the Ukraine Rally. Taking place in the Ukraine for the first time in history, this rally will certainly be a big motivation for all the drivers.”

Rally Tour de Corse 2011

Jan Kopecky:

“We wanted to win, of course, but the rally was long and difficult and we did not know the local roads really well. We did not perform at our best over the first two days, but we found the right rhythm on the last day. Two second places in a row are not bad, and the championship is nowhere near its end.”

Freddy Loix:

“We kept looking for the right rhythm all over this rally, but the guys ahead of us were simply better this time. Leading the overall championship rankings is fine, but it also makes us even more committed to working really hard in the rallies to come.”

The IRC series continues with a rally to take place in the surroundings of Jalta, Ukraine on the first weekend of June. The line-up of Skoda Motorsport will be specified within a few days.

- Skoda Motorsport

IRC: Skoda succeeds in an extremely difficult Rally Monte Carlo

Volkswagen Group records 13.9 percent rise in global vehicle deliveries after four months

Posted: 13 May 2011 01:26 PM PDT

The Volkswagen Group reported a further rise in global vehicle deliveries for the first four months of this year. Europe’s largest automaker delivered 2.66 (January – April 2010: 2.34; +13.9 percent)* million units during this period, once again clearly outperforming the world market (+7.7 percent). The company also reported a rise for the month of April, when 690,900 (April 2010: 603,500; +14.5 percent)* vehicles were sold. “As expected, deliveries by our Group brands developed well in April, too,” Group Board member for Sales Christian Klingler said in Wolfsburg on Friday. “As a result, we have made a good start to the second quarter. We aim to maintain this momentum over the coming months.”

All Group brands report growth
14.5 percent increase in April
Group Board member for Sales Christian Klingler: “The Group has made a good start to the second quarter. We aim to maintain this momentum over the coming months.”

Overall, the Group brands delivered 1.23 (1.13; +8.4 percent) million vehicles throughout Europe from January to April. In Western Europe (excluding Germany), 703,000 (665,100; +5.7 percent) customers took delivery of a new vehicle. The Group brands reported a marked increase in Central and Eastern Europe, delivering 155,400 (119,500; +30.0 percent) units in the first four months. On its home market of Germany, the Volkswagen Group achieved 6.2 percent growth, delivering 367,000 (345,500) units.

Deliveries on the American continent also developed well, growing 17.9 percent to 201,700 (171,000) units in the North America region, of which 131,500 (112,600; +16.8 percent) vehicles were delivered on the US market. The Volkswagen Group handed over 295,300 (276,100; +6.9 percent) vehicles to customers in the South America region during the same period.

The Group reported strong growth in deliveries in the Asia / Pacific region, where 837,300 (683,400; +22.5 percent) vehicles were handed over to customers in the period to April, of which 741,200 (620,500; +19.5 percent) units were delivered in China, the region’s largest single market. The company also reported strong growth in India, where 37,200 (10,400; +256.6 percent) units were delivered.

All Group brands with stable delivery growth

The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 1.66 (1.49) million vehicles worldwide in the period from January to April, representing growth of 11.2 percent. The brand developed particularly well in China, handing over 578,200 (494,000; +17.0 percent) units to customers there. In the North America region, Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered 17.1 percent more vehicles (149,400; 127,600) during the same period, in the Central and Eastern Europe region the brand reported a 37.7 percent rise to 53,900 (39,200) units.

Audi also continued on its growth path of recent months, delivering 422,000 (360,700; +17.0 percent) vehicles worldwide in the first four months. The premium brand from Ingolstadt performed particularly well in South America (+26.8 percent) and Asia / Pacific (+23.3 percent). Audi also continued to grow deliveries in Europe, where 250,100 (220,300; +13.6 percent) units were handed over to customers in the period to April.

The Czech automaker Skoda delivered 295,300 (242,100; +22.0 percent) vehicles worldwide from January to April. Skoda developed particularly well in Central and Eastern Europe, where 71,600 (56,900; +25.8 percent) vehicles were delivered to customers, and in the Asia / Pacific region, where 86,100 (62,000; +39.0 percent) units were handed over.

SEAT delivered 121,200 (117,300) vehicles worldwide in the first four months, representing an increase of 3.2 percent. Deliveries by the Spanish brand in Germany were particularly satisfactory, with 17,000 (13,500; +25.7 percent) models handed over. The brand also grew in Italy, delivering 6,900 (6,000; +14.8 percent) units there.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles enjoyed significant growth of 31.1 percent in the period from January to April, delivering 164,200 (125,200) units. On West European markets, brand deliveries grew 29.0 percent to 53,200 (41,300) units (Western Europe excluding Germany), with growth as high as 61.5 percent (10,200; 6,300) in Central and Eastern Europe.

*) excluding Scania

- Volkswagen AG