2013 Pocket Facts 2013 FIA World Rally Championship Calendar Date Country Event Surface
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Motorsport Information 2013 POCKET FACTS 2013 FIA World Rally Championship calendar Date Country Event Surface 15/01–20/01/2013 Rally Monte Carlo Asphalt/snow 07/02–10/02/2013 Rally Sweden Ice & snow 07/03–10/03/2013 Rally Mexico Gravel 11/04–14/04/2013 Rally Portugal Gravel 02/05–05/05/2013 Rally Argentina Gravel 31/05–02/06/2013 Rally Greece Gravel 20/06–23/06/2013 Rally Italy Gravel 01/08–03/08/2013 Rally Finland Gravel 22/08–25/08/2013 Rally Germany Asphalt 12/09–15/09/2013 Rally Australia Gravel 03/10–06/10/2013 Rally France Asphalt 24/10–27/10/2013 Rally Spain Gravel/asphalt 13/11–17/11/2013 Rally Great Britain Gravel Content 03 Pocket Facts 02/2013 Content FIA World Rally Championship Rally Sweden – preview 04 Volkswagen Polo R WRC – technology 06 Volkswagen Polo R WRC – technical specifications 08 Volkswagen Team – #7 Jari-Matti Latvala 10 Miikka Anttila 11 Volkswagen Team – #8 Sébastien Ogier 12 Julien Ingrassia 13 Volkswagen Team – who’s who 14 Statistics 16 Rally Sweden Rally information 18 Rally history 20 Rally map 22 Rally schedule 24 Rally entrants 26 Volkswagen Motorsport and Volkswagen brand Engagements 28 RALLY THE WORLD campaign 30 Volkswagen Polo R WRC production car 32 Partners 34 Notes 35 Useful addresses 42 As per 29/01/2013 04 Preview The heat is on in the bitter cold: Rally Sweden After the unpredictability comes the icy cold: when Volkswagen Motorsport starts out on the Rally Sweden from 7 to 10 Febru- ary, it will be taking on its second major challenge in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). At the wheel of the 315-hp (232 kW) Polo R WRC, Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) and Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) will grapple with the only event this season to be held completely on ice and snow. The rally, with its headquarters in Karlstad and Service Park in Hagfors, also represents a gruelling test for the team’s tech- nology: the rally cars are consistently pushed to their very limits, despite temperatures plummeting to between 10 and 20 degrees below freezing point. FIA World Rally Championship 05 The icy cold is also an obstacle for the enthusiastic fans: armed with tents and camp fires, which they erect along the side of the route, they defy the conditions to cheer the wild drifts and huge jumps produced by their rally heroes. Parts of the route also take the rally into Norway – for example, SS 17 “Mitanderfors” sees the drivers crossing the border between Sweden and Norway. “After a good start to the season, the entire team now heads to the next challenge, the Rally Sweden, fully motivated and full of confidence. However, everyone in the team is well aware that the good result achieved in Monte Carlo is not yet a true indication of where we lie compared to the opposition,” said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito. “The Rally Sweden is totally unique. The speed on the ice and snow is very high. This is only possible with extreme studded tyres, which are only used once a year. However, every rally is a test for the team. The processes in Monte Carlo recently were top-class. We want to follow on from this in Sweden and continue to develop from rally to rally.” Snow, ice, bitter cold: a unique challenge At the Rally Monte Carlo it was the all-important question: which tyre to use. In Sweden, conditions make the lives of the drivers and engineers significantly easier. The only tyres available to the drivers are studded winter tyres. Rather than tyre selection, the bitter cold around Hagfors and Karlstad will play a crucial role: initial forecasts are predicting temperatures of –10° Celsius for the weekend of 7 to 10 February. This will provide a stern test for the team at the nine scheduled services, and will put man and material through its paces during the 338.91 timed kilometres awaiting the Polo R WRC. 06 Technology The Polo R WRC – with all-rounder qualities Developing a competitive car for the FIA World Rally Cham- pionship (WRC) is an extremely complex task. One minute it is crouched low on smooth asphalt, the next it is travelling sideways on ice and snow, then it is tearing over rough gravel on tiptoes – on top of all that, you have searing heat at one event and icy cold at the next. No other type of international motorsport offers such a wide range of climatic conditions and different surfaces. The cars in the World Rally Championship must overcome all these obstacles. Take this fine example of the flexibility that must be demonstrated by the car’s concept: there is a difference of about 100 mm between the ground clearance for gravel and asphalt. The chassis and engine must be as efficient as physically possible in the multitude of different conditions. Strong enough to take the strain, light enough to guarantee the necessary performance. FIA World Rally Championship 07 A love of detail: development steps “powered by Wolfsburg” Every single component on the Polo R WRC underwent a series of fundamental processes on its way to attaining the “ready to race” status. First up was the theory: the parametric design process on CAD (computer aided design) systems is verified by computer- aided simulations (e.g. CFD – computer fluid dy namics) and tested in practice in wind tunnels and the Volkswagen Group’s altitude environmental test chamber. Only then did the extensive test drives follow. The resources available in Wolfsburg play a key role in designing and testing the chassis. Volkswagen’s Design department made a significant contribution with valuable develop ment work focussing on crash tests and safety. Tests on the car in wet conditions were also made possible by the engin- eers at the headquarters in Wolfsburg. The result, under the guidance of Volkswagen Motorsport, is a high-tech jigsaw consisting of about 3,000 pieces, of which 1,360 were designed from scratch for use in motorsport – not including the engine and gearbox. Nothing left to chance: state-of-the-art engine development When designing the Polo R WRC’s engine, which consists of around 300 individual parts, Volkswagen took a completely differ ent approach to that used in the development of the chassis. The result is the 315-hp, 1.6-litre engine. The automated interplay between CAD design and simultaneous simulation using CFD processes led, among other things, to the optimal design of the intake ports. Volkswagen took a strictly analytical approach to decisions for or against various concepts within the strict regu- lations of the World Rally Championship. 08 Technical specifications Volkswagen Polo R WRC Engine Type Straight-four engine with turbocharger and intercooling, transversally mounted in front of the front axle Displacement 1,600 cc Power output 232 kW (315 hp) at 6,250 rpm Torque 425 Nm at 5,000 rpm Bore/stroke 83.0 mm/73.8 mm Air restrictor 33 mm (FIA regulation) Power transmission Gearbox Sequential, six-speed racing gear box, transversally mounted Final drive Permanent four-wheel drive with fixed drive between the front and rear axles, multi-plate limited-slip differentials, front and rear Clutch Hydraulically actuated double-disk sintered metal clutch by ZF Chassis/suspension Front/rear McPherson struts, dampers from ZF Suspension travel approx. 180 mm on asphalt, approx. 275 mm on gravel Steering Servo-assisted rack and pinion steering Braking system Ventilated disc brakes (front Ø 355 mm on asphalt; front and rear Ø 300 mm on gravel) aluminium brake callipers (four callipers, front and rear) Wheels Size 8 x 18 inch for asphalt, 7 x 15 inch for gravel FIA World Rally Championship 09 Chassis/bodywork Length/width/height 3,976/1,820/1,356 mm Track width/wheelbase 1,610/2,480 mm Minimum weight 1,200 kg Performance Acceleration 0–100 km/h in approx. 3.9 seconds Top speed Up to approx. 200 km/h (depending on gear ratio) 10 Volkswagen Team Jari-Matti Latvala Date of birth 03 April 1985 27 years Place of birth Töysä (FIN) Domicile Tuuri (FIN) Hobbies Nature, sauna, films, historic rallies His father, Jari, had been racing in rallies since 1981, during which time the entire Latvala family became a true “rally family”. Jari-Matti was still mastering the art of walking when he com- pleted his first laps in a go-kart at the age of just four. Sporting career highlights 2009 4th in FIA World Rally Championship, one win (WRC, Ford) 2010 2nd in FIA World Rally Championship, two wins (WRC, Ford) 2011 4th in FIA World Rally Championship, one win (WRC, Ford) 2012 3rd in FIA World Rally Championship, two wins (WRC, Ford) Jari-Matti Latvala on Rally Sweden: “I really like the Rally Sweden. It requires a very quick and flowing driving style. There is nothing to criticise about the event – with one exception: it can get very cold there, with temperatures reaching as low as minus 20 degrees. I have fond memories of Sweden – includ- ing my win in 2012. My goal is to finish in the top five.” FIA World Rally Championship 11 Miikka Anttila Date of birth 10 September 1972 40 years Place of birth Janakkala (FIN) Domicile Lempäälä (FIN) Hobbies Skiing, cycling, car restoration They have been through many highs and lows together: Miikka Anttila and Jari-Matti Latvala are a well-rehearsed team in the rally cockpit – and can always depend on each other 100 per cent. Sporting career highlights 2009 4th in FIA World Rally Championship, one win (WRC, Ford) 2010 2nd in FIA World Rally Championship, two wins (WRC, Ford) 2011 4th in FIA World Rally Championship, one win (WRC, Ford) 2012 3rd in FIA World Rally Championship, two wins (WRC, Ford) #7 12 Volkswagen Team Sébastien Ogier Date of birth 17 December 1983 29 years Place of birth Gap (F) Domicile Forest Saint Julien (F) Hobbies Sport, skiing The Frenchman was something of a late-starter in rally terms, only joining the sport at the age of 22 – and that despite the iconic Rally Monte Carlo traditionally running through his home town of Gap in the French Maritime Alps.