Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia (F/F) claimed their fifth win of the season with Volkswagen in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) – and took a big step towards the World Championship title in the process. 180 km/h through the Finnish forests, jumps of up to 60 metres in length, and all between the ubiquitous trees: the WRC put on a thrilling show for hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic fans in Finland, who saw the overall lead constantly change hands on the first two days of the rally.

A sixth triumph for the Polo R WRC in only its eighth rally outi

ng saw Ogier and Ingrassia extend their lead in both the driver and co-driver standings to 90 points. Volkswagen also increased its advantage in the Manufacturers’ Championship. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) finished 17th in the Polo R WRC and contributed six points to the total. Their team-mates Andreas Mikkelsen/Mikko Markkula (N/FIN) ended their home rally in tenth place, earning them one World Championship point.

 

The Rally Finland has been taking place since 1951, and Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia this year became only the fifth duo from outside of Scandinavia and Finland to win the rally. 2013 marked the eleventh time that a non-Nordic driver had won this iconic event in the World Rally Championship.

The World Rally Car from Wolfsburg claimed twelve stage wins and a total of 24 top-three times, making it the most successful car at “Formula One in the Forest”. Since its debut at the Rally Monte Carlo in January 2013, the Polo has now amassed an incredible 81 of a possible 143 stage wins. Furthermore, six of the eight World Championship rounds so far have gone to Volkswagen – an impressive record for a car making its debut in the FIA World Rally Championship.

FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Rally Finland– final results

1.  Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), Volkswagen 2h 43m 10,4s
2.  Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (B/B), Ford + 36.6s
3.  Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson (N/S), Ford + 57.6s.
4.  Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (FIN/FIN), Citroën + 1m 21.6s
5.  Daniel Sordo/Carlos Del Barrio (E/E), Citroën + 6m 08,5s
6.  Evgeny Novikov/Ilka Minor (RUS/A), Ford + 8m 39.7s
7.  Jari Ketomaa/Marko Sallinen (FIN/FIN), Ford + 8m 39.7s
8.  Per-Gunnar Andersson/Emil Axelsson (S/S), Ford + 11m 41.5s
9.  Robert Kubica/Maciek Baran (PL/PL), Citroën + 12m 48.1s
10. Andreas Mikkelsen/Mikko Markkula (N/FIN), Volkswagen + 13m 42.0s

FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), standings*
Drivers’ Championship
1.  Sébastien Ogier, 181 points;  2.  Jari-Matti Latvala, 91;  3.  Thierry Neuville, 91;  4.  Mikko Hirvonen, 73;  5.  Dani Sordo, 69;  6.  Sébastien Loeb, 68;  7.  Mads Østberg, 65;  8. Evgeny Novikov, 39;  9.  Martin Prokop, 37;  10.  Nasser Al-Attiyah, 30;  11.  Andreas Mikkelsen, 26.

Manufacturers’ championship
1.  Volkswagen Motorsport, 251 points;  2.  Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, 196;
3.  Qatar World Rally Team, 115;  4.  Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team, 104;  5.  Jipocar Czech National Team, 39;  6.  Abu Dhabi Citroën Total World Rally Team, 33;  7.  Volkswagen Motorsport II, 26;  8.  Lotos WRC Team, 20.

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