Volkswagen off to a successful start on opening stages of the “Monte”

Quotes after day one of the Rally Monte Carlo

Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1
“Opening the route was anything but easy today. The conditions changed constantly, particularly on the first stage. Wet asphalt or black ice – you never knew exactly what was awaiting you. On the whole, there was little grip anywhere. As such, we took a particularly cautious approach and did not take any risks. That was clearly not the fastest method on the opening stage, but it was the right one.”

Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #2
“I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such a difficult start to the ‘Monte’ as this evening’s first stage. It was very difficult to judge the constantly changing levels of grip. You could easily lose minutes there, so I was still quite happy with our time. On stage two, the boot came open from time to time, as the latch was broken. That irritated me a bit. Apart from that, it was a decent start to the Rally Monte Carlo for us.”

Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9
“It doesn’t get any more ‘Monte’ than it was today. Those were two incredibly difficult special stages to start the new season. The conditions changed all the time. There was a lot of ice and snow on stage one, then a lot of black ice on the second special stage. I just tried to get through safely and avoid taking any risks. We had four studded tyres and two winter tyres with us today. That was not the worst selection in the world.”

Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director
“We saw today just how exciting and tense the ‘Monte’ can be. The duel between the two Sebs ended 1:1. Both Sébastien Ogier and Sébastien Loeb made the most of the conditions when they were out on the route. They both benefitted from their starting position on one stage, and were hampered on the other. The gap between the two of them is relatively small, by Rally Monte Carlo standards. I am sure this duel will entertain us over the coming days. However, Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen also produced solid displays in extremely difficult conditions and did not take any unnecessary risks. Given the way we have started, it is going to be an exciting ‘Monte’ for us.“

And then there was …

… a nostalgic look back. Who knows whether Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito and star guest Jacky Ickx discussed the 1985 Rally Dakar today? Their memories of it are very different in any case. Exactly 30 years ago to the day, father Karl-Friedrich Capito and son Jost won the truck competition at the legendary desert rally. Meanwhile, Jacky Ickx and his then co-driver Claude Brasseur, in their Porsche 959, were forced to retire from the car competition at the half-way point. Back then the route covered 7,470 kilometres of special stages from Paris through Algiers, to Dakar.

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