Volkswagen should soon announce its intention to compete in the FIA World Rally Championship, and is expected to bring one of the motorsport's biggest budgets to the competition.
According to reliable sources, the announcement is expected to be made at the end of March, probably at the Rally of Portugal. Volkswagen is believed to be planning to compete in a few rallies in 2012 before going for a full program in 2013.
The choice of car is open for speculation. Early rumours suggested the Scirocco would form the basis of the new WRC car, but it's now believed the Polo will get the rally treatment.
According to rumours, the German car manufacturer would allocate a budget of 100 million euros for its WRC program. That tells a lot about VW’s intentions…
At this moment, it's unclear which drivers the team has lined up to fill the new seats.
It seems that former world rally champion Petter Solberg is one of the clear favourites. Although he’s been driving a private Citroen for the past few seasons, Solberg proved he was still one of the best rally drivers in the field.
Another favourite is Nasser Al Attiyah, the recent winner of the Dakar rally and a works VW driver.
Interestingly, French engineer François-Xavier Demaison should be responsible for the development of the new Volkswagen world rally car. A former Peugeot and Prodrive engineer, Demaison has continued to work with Solberg and their relationship is expected to continue when they join Volkswagen.
This is great news for the WRC, which would welcome a fourth car manufacturer alongside Citroen, Ford and Mini. Volkswagen's involvement in a future rally campaign had been tipped since the regulations were altered to make 1.6-litre turbocharged, direct injection engines the stipulated powerplants.
According to reliable sources, the announcement is expected to be made at the end of March, probably at the Rally of Portugal. Volkswagen is believed to be planning to compete in a few rallies in 2012 before going for a full program in 2013.
The choice of car is open for speculation. Early rumours suggested the Scirocco would form the basis of the new WRC car, but it's now believed the Polo will get the rally treatment.
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| Nasser Al Attiyah, official driver Volkswagen (Photo: Volkswagen) |
According to rumours, the German car manufacturer would allocate a budget of 100 million euros for its WRC program. That tells a lot about VW’s intentions…
At this moment, it's unclear which drivers the team has lined up to fill the new seats.
It seems that former world rally champion Petter Solberg is one of the clear favourites. Although he’s been driving a private Citroen for the past few seasons, Solberg proved he was still one of the best rally drivers in the field.
Another favourite is Nasser Al Attiyah, the recent winner of the Dakar rally and a works VW driver.
Interestingly, French engineer François-Xavier Demaison should be responsible for the development of the new Volkswagen world rally car. A former Peugeot and Prodrive engineer, Demaison has continued to work with Solberg and their relationship is expected to continue when they join Volkswagen.
This is great news for the WRC, which would welcome a fourth car manufacturer alongside Citroen, Ford and Mini. Volkswagen's involvement in a future rally campaign had been tipped since the regulations were altered to make 1.6-litre turbocharged, direct injection engines the stipulated powerplants.