Sébastien Ogier and Volkswagen show why they are World Champions and win the 49th RallyRACC

(27/10/2013)

Sébastien Ogier (Volkswagen). RallyRACC 2013 

Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia (Volkswagen Polo R WRC) won the 49th  RallyRACC Catalunya-COSTA DAURADA, Rally de Espańa 2013, 12th and penultimate round of the FIA World Championship, which took place this weekend at Costa Daurada. The Starting Ceremony was on Friday in Barcelona and finished today, Sunday, in Salou, after 15 stages held in three days. If Ogier-Ingrassia were already World Champions since last round, in the Catalan round Volkswagen secured the Constructors title, while in WRC2, former F1 driver Robert Kubica (Citroën DS3 RRC), won the rally and achieved the overall title.

The main interest of the 49th RallyRACC final day was to see if the starting order for the gravel stages would affect the driving, as the best position seemed to be that of Sébastien Ogier (VW), after the puncture he suffered yesterday. The French driver pushed to the max and was able to jump to third place in only two stages and with his team mate Latvala at only 14.4 seconds when they arrived to midday service, after starting the day 46.5 seconds away. Andreas Mikkelsen (VW), who started further back, won the first two stages while Ogier won the third.

In the second loop the standings would change completely and not only due to Ogier’s searing attack. The French driver passed Sordo after Gandesa, but after that the Spaniard broke the suspension when he hit a rock at Pesells and was forced to retire, while Ogier took the lead of the race in the same stage. The Volkswagen Motorsport Team took a great 1-2, with Ogier and Latvala-Anttila, while Mikko Hirvonen-Jarmo Lehtinen (Citroën DS3 WRC) were third.

Constructors title for Volkswagen Motorsport
As it was expected, the FIA Constructors Championship went to Volkswagen Motorsport, a brand that this year won no less than 9 races and achieved really amazing scores in its first season in competition. In any case, the title is undoubtedly well-deserved, as the German Team joined state-of-the-art mechanics and the best driver of the moment, Sébastien Ogier, who had already secured the Drivers’ Championship in France.

Robert Kubica (Citroën), WRC2 World Champion
In the three lower categories, undisputable victory for Robert Kubica-Maciek Baran (Citroën DS3 RRC) in WRC2, that allows the Polish driver to secure the World Championship title in this category. At the RallyRACC, the former F1 driver beat Yazeed Al Rajhi (Ford). In WRC3, victory went to Enrique García Ojeda-Borja Odriozola (Citroën DS3 3RT), while Yeray Lemes-Rogelio Peńate (Ford Fiesta R2) took a comfortable win in the Junior class, thus securing the runner-up position in the class.

After this successful 49th RallyRACC, the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship will have the last race of the calendar from November 14th to 17th in Wales. About the next RallyRACC edition, which will be the 50th, it is scheduled from October 24th to 26th, 2014, again as penultimate race of the calendar.

49th RallyRACC Catalunya-COSTA DAURADA Final Standings
1-Sébastien Ogier-Julien Ingrassia (Volkswagen Polo R WRC), 3h.33’21.2
2-Jari-Matti Latvala-Miikka Anttila (Volkswagen Polo R WRC), a 32.9
3-Mikko Hirvonen-Jarmo Lehtinen (Citroën DS3 WRC), a 1’13.7
4-Thierry Neuville-Nicolas Gilsoul (Ford Fiesta RS WRC), a 1’33.9
5-Evgeny Novikov-Ilka Minor (Ford Fiesta RS WRC), a 2’01.0
6-Mads Ostberg-Jonas Andersson (Ford Fiesta RS WRC), a 2’26.0
7-Martin Prokop-Michal Ernst (Ford Fiesta RS WRC), a 4’55.8
8-Hayden Paddon-John Kennard (Ford Fiesta RS WRC), a 6’55.7
9-Robert Kubica-Maciek Baran (Citroën DS3 RRC, 1st WRC2), a 11’14.1
10-Abdulaziz Al Kuwari-Killian Duffy (Ford Fiesta RS WRC), a 13’26”8

13-Enrique García Ojeda-Borja Odriozola (Citroën DS3 R3T, 1st WRC3), a 23’50.6

17-Yeray Lemes-Rogelio Peńate (Ford Fiesta R2, 1st Junior), a 30’38.6

Etcetera until 40 classified

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