Volkswagen has begun testing of its Polo R WRC car this week, with double World Rally Champion, Carlos Sainz, at the wheel.
The first day of testing took place around the vineyards of Veldenz near Trier and, as well as Sainz, Volkswagen’s head of development, Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, also put in a few laps of the 2.8 km tarmac circuit alongside Sainz’s co-driver, Timo Gottschalk. Overall, around 100 km was covered, with the team reporting no problems with the 300 hp, four-wheel drive machine. “I immensely enjoy being involved in the development and testing of the new Polo R WRC. The car is still in an early stage but already feels very good,” said Sainz.
Continuing its search for potential drivers, Volkswagen Motorsport will be fielding a pair of Škoda Fabia Super 2000 rally cars at next week’s Great Britain Rally in Wales, with Germany’s Sepp Wiegand and Dutchman Kevin Abbring hoping to impress team boss Kris Nissen.
[Source: Volkswagen Motorsport]
