Volkswagen wins two of three Formula 3 championships |  |
| Volkswagen wins two of three Formula 3 championships Posted: 24 Oct 2011 07:58 AM PDT 41 victories in a total of 75 races – this is Volkswagen’s successful tally in the three Formula 3 racing series, the ATS Formula 3 Cup, the British Formula 3 Championship and the Formula 3 Euro Series, in the 2011 season. In total, Volkswagen has achieved seven championship wins, 124 race victories and 344 podium finishes since 2008. At the last race weekend at Hockenheim that featured a total of three rounds Volkswagen driver Marco Wittmann from the Signature team secured the position of the runner-up in the Formula 3 Euro Series. At the first race Volkswagen driver Laurens Vanthoor took third place, which put him on the podium for the fifth time this season. At the second round the German Daniel Abt managed the same result, thus taking his third podium in 2011. At the subsequent third round on Sunday Volkswagen driver Marco Wittmann only needed to finish in fourth place to secure the “runner-up’s title” with a score of 285 points behind champion Roberto Merhi. Rookie Carlos Sainz jr. was struck by misfortune: The son of World Rally Champion and “Dakar” winner Carlos Sainz had caused a sensation by clinching third place in the first qualifying session but was forced to retire in the first race due to a defect on the right rear suspension. Things went better for the 17-year-old Spaniard in the race on Sunday when he finished in fifth place. Kris Nissen, Volkswagen Motorsport Director “On the whole, Volkswagen’s overall tally as an engine manufacturer in Formula 3 is again outstanding. The result in the British Formula 3 Championship where we won the title for the third consecutive time is fantastic. We dominated the season in the German Cup as well and successfully defended the title. And in the Formula 3 Euro Series a ‘runner-up’s title’ is a good result, although we were not represented on the podium there often enough. Considering that we won almost everything there last year, this is disappointing. But we’ve got a strong rival in Mercedes-Benz and as a manufacturer in factory-supported customer sport we obviously can’t control all the parameters. On the whole, we consider the entire Formula 3 an outstanding junior series and talent incubator.” Carlos Sainz jr. “I was super happy with third place in qualifying. Unfortunately, I had a mechanical problem on the car in the first race. That’s too bad but these things can happen. In the second race I wanted to attack but then, after touching a rival, I unfortunately had to retire. By finishing the third round on Sunday in fifth place I managed a pretty good result in the end. Although I had some minor problems at the start I was pleased with my race pace. I’d like to thank Volkswagen for making it possible for me to run as a guest entrant.” - Volkswagen Motorsport Related posts: Volkswagen wins two of three Formula 3 championships
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| Volkswagen successfully completes WRC test rally in Spain Posted: 24 Oct 2011 06:44 AM PDT Volkswagen continued the preparation for its entry in the World Rally Championship in 2013 with the Polo R WRC: At the Spain Rally, the twelfth and penultimate round of the World Rally Championship (WRC), the factory team again fielded two Fabia S2000 cars of the Group’s Skoda brand in order to gather valuable experience in the top category of rally racing.
With Christian Riedemann/Michael Wenzel (both from Germany) and Yeray Lemes/Rogelio Penate (both from Spain) in the cockpits, two young driver pairings again had the chance to prove their skills in a professional environment on an international stage. And they successfully did so: Lemes/Penate took fourth place in their class and 14th overall while Riedemann/Wenzel crossed the finish ramp in Salou on position eight in class and 20 in the overall classification. “We’ve got more than twelve months to go before our entry into the World Rally Championship. We’re using this time efficiently by participating in WRC rounds with vehicles of the Volkswagen Group’s Skoda brand and familiarizing ourselves with the WRC in competitive conditions in parallel to the development of the Polo R WRC,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. “Every rally has its own character. The special aspect of the Spanish rally is that the vehicles first run on gravel and then on tarmac, plus it has incredibly enthusiastic fans. Our two young pairings did well in the competition. Yeray Lemes in particular showed that he can keep the pace of the quickest cars in different terrain whereas Christian Riedemann was running well especially on tarmac. For the whole Volkswagen team the participation in the rally has been a valuable experience and now we’re preparing for our next run in Wales.” The 47th Spain Rally featured a varied profile over a 406.52 kilometer distance of special stages. On Friday the gravel sections were on the agenda. They culminated in a spectacular leg in the dark of the night. On Saturday and Sunday the terrain changed to quick, winding tarmac roads. Yeray Lemes and his co-driver Rogelio Penate marked three fastest stage times at their home round but due to a puncture lost the chances of clinching an even better result. “We’re more than pleased. We quickly got used to the car on gravel and were able to seriously attack on tarmac. The result makes us very happy, particularly in front of so many fans from my home region, the Canary Islands. I want to thank Volkswagen, we’d like to repeat this at another venue,” said the 24-year-old Lemes. After competing in the ADAC Rallye Deutschland this was Riedemann and Wenzel’s second run for Volkswagen. “In the beginning we didn’t do the best job of handling the gravel, but we learned from this. On tarmac we clearly managed to improve and were even able to keep the pace of the more experienced drivers some of the time,” says the 24-year-old as he summed up the event. From 10 – 13 November, Volkswagen will continue the preparation of the team: Sepp Wiegand with “Dakar” winner Timo Gottschalk as his co-driver and the Dutchman Kevin Abbring with co-driver Lara Vanneste will compete at the Rally Great Britain. - Volkswagen Motorsport Related posts: Volkswagen successfully completes WRC test rally in Spain
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