VW confirms WRC with Polo from 2013
"In the past, we celebrated our sporting success in the desert," VW's Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg confirmed at the Sardinia launch Thursday evening where the first WRC Volkswagen was shown prior tot he start of the WRC round that sees Mini making its debut.
"Now we will enter the World Rally Championship in 2013 where the new Polo WRC will compete against WRC competitors Citroen, Mini and Ford. "There is almost 20 months between now and our first rally and we will find the drivers but now we must prepare for the task ahead – there is much to be done…"
"We will run the car by the end of the year," VW race boss Kris Nissen explained. "We will start testing the car and run some events with Skoda S2000 to train the team on events and to meet the people. "This is a five-year program – the next two years will be to develop the car and the engine, we will then enter the WRC in 2013, 14 and 15."
It was also confirmed that Carlos Sainz will remain with VW motorsport "I spent some time convincing Carlos to stay in the team, it was the easiest 10 seconds ever! "He will be my right hand and involved in many things – not for racing, but for sure we need him for some tests," Nissen confirmed.
Volkswagen will however no longer race the Dakar as a works effort as it confirmed it would be contesting the WRC on the same budget it had previously used for its Dakar program. It is likely the Race Touareg 3 will run in private hands next year.