Dieselgate forces VAG will pull out of Motorsport by the end of 2016.
Opens up a real Silly Seson!
This deserves it own thread!
Who goes where, and what will the impact on WRC be?
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Dieselgate forces VAG will pull out of Motorsport by the end of 2016.
Opens up a real Silly Seson!
This deserves it own thread!
Who goes where, and what will the impact on WRC be?
Sad news...
Apparently Volkswagen Motorsports main program will now be its TCR campaign and it's rallycross campaign.
VAG to pull out of motorsport? Really?
This has been the main motorsport talk today , there is not a mention about it on WRC.COM , says a lot about how the whole wrc is being run I think !!!!!
VW out of WRC? Really? OMG!
WEC for Audi is cut, in addition to Rally.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/mo...nship-end-2016
lets see what the official story is tomorrow. Hopefully they let Skoda keep on in Wrc2..
Surey there is a place for the Skoda R5 cars. Would an R5 Polo have a market?
"As of August 2016, Skoda was being sold in 102 countries with planned expansions to South Korea, Singapore and Iran within a year. The decision whether to expand into the North American market is planned to be made in 2017."
So what about the WRC 2017 car? Should be run by private team in the future, I do believe.
Not possible according to rules:
Only drivers entered by Manufacturers are eligible to drive 2017 World Rally Cars, with the approval of the FIA.
http://www.fia.com/news/fia-announce...il-decisions-3
It's official now. No more WRC for VW.
They will build a Polo R5
Quote:
Volkswagen richtet Motorsport-Programm neu aus
Neue Technologien und Kundensport-Aktivitäten erhalten höchste Priorität
Engagement in der FIA Rallye-Weltmeisterschaft (WRC) nach zwölf gewonnenen WM-Titeln in Serie abgeschlossen
Beschäftigungsgarantie für die Mitarbeiter
Wolfsburg, 2. November 2016 – Die Marke Volkswagen richtet ihr Motorsport-Programm neu aus. Ab 2017 konzentriert sich Volkswagen auf neue Technologien sowie den Kundensport. Das Engagement in der FIA Rallye-Weltmeisterschaft ist nach vier historisch erfolgreichen Jahren, in denen Volkswagen mit dem Polo R WRC die Titel in Fahrer-, Beifahrer- und Hersteller-Wertung in Serie gewann, abgeschlossen.
„Die Marke Volkswagen steht vor gewaltigen Herausforderungen. Mit dem anstehenden Ausbau der Elektrifizierung unserer Fahrzeugpalette müssen wir all unsere Anstrengungen auf wichtige Zukunftstechnologien konzentrieren. In der WRC haben wir unsere sportlichen Ziele weit übertroffen, nun werden wir Volkswagen Motorsport neu ausrichten und auch dort die Fahrzeugtechnik der Zukunft stärker in den Mittelpunkt rücken“, erklärte Entwicklungsvorstand Frank Welsch vor rund 200 Motorsport-Mitarbeitern in Hannover. „Gleichzeitig wird Volkswagen verstärkt im Kundensport Flagge zeigen. Neben dem Golf GTI TCR auf der Rundstrecke und dem Beetle GRC im Rallycross möchten wir auch im Rallye-Bereich Spitzenprodukte für Kunden anbieten und werden einen neuen Polo nach R5-Reglement entwickeln.“
Mit dem Golf GTI TCR bietet Volkswagen Motorsport seit der Saison 2016 ein seriennahes Kundensport-Fahrzeug für ambitionierte Fahrer und Teams an, die sich auf globaler und nationaler Ebene in der stark wachsenden TCR-Tourenwagen-Kategorie engagieren. In den USA setzt Volkswagen of America erfolgreich zwei Beetle in der Global-Rallycross-Serie ein, die von Volkswagen Motorsport in Hannover entwickelt wurden und bereits für die Saison 2017 vorbereitet werden. Scott Speed gewann den Fahrertitel in der populären US-Serie 2015 und 2016, in dieser Saison ging zusätzlich der Hersteller-Titel an Volkswagen. Aufgrund der vorhandenen Erfahrung im Rallycross wird die Marke einen Ausbau dieser Aktivitäten untersuchen. Darüber hinaus wird Volkswagen 2017 mit der Neuentwicklung eines Rallyefahrzeuges der R5-Kategorie auf Basis der nächsten Fahrzeuggeneration des Polo beginnen, um das Auto ab 2018 Kunden zum Kauf anbieten zu können.
In dieses neue Fahrzeug wird die gesamte Erfahrung aus dem erfolgreichen WRC-Engagement mit dem Polo einfließen, mit dem die Werksteams Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia, Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila und Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger bei 51 Rallyes zu 42 Siegen und 621 Bestzeiten auf den Sonderprüfungen gefahren sind – kein anderes Auto in der Geschichte der Rallye-WM hat eine bessere Erfolgsquote. Am zurückliegenden Wochenende hatte Volkswagen in Großbritannien den vierten Hersteller-Titel* in der Rallye-WM in Folge gewonnen.
„Ich möchte unseren Fahrern und Beifahrern von Herzen für ihre herausragenden Leistungen danken. Sie sind nicht nur überaus schnelle, sondern auch ungemein sympathische Botschafter der Marke Volkswagen. Das ganze Team um Motorsport-Direktor Sven Smeets hat mit dem enormen Engagement eines jeden einzelnen die Basis für diese Erfolge geschaffen. Mit dieser exzellenten Mannschaft möchten wir weiterarbeiten und die Neuausrichtung umsetzen. Genauso werden wir die enge Zusammenarbeit zwischen Serienentwicklung und Motorsport, von der in den zurückliegenden Jahren stets beide Seiten profitiert haben, ausbauen. Für die Volkswagen Motorsport Mitarbeiter besteht eine Beschäftigungsgarantie“, sagte Entwicklungsvorstand Frank Welsch.
Volkswagen Motorsport-Direktor Sven Smeets erklärte: „Natürlich bedauern wir den Abschied aus der WRC sehr – für die Marke Volkswagen war es das bislang erfolgreichste Kapitel ihrer Motorsport-Geschichte. Die Mannschaft hat Großartiges geleistet. Gleichzeitig ist unser Blick nach vorne gerichtet, denn wir sind uns der großen Herausforderungen des gesamten Unternehmens bewusst. Mit unserer Neuausrichtung möchten wir einen Beitrag für den Erfolg der Marke Volkswagen leisten. Von nun an liegt der Fokus auf kommenden Technologien im Motorsport sowie auf unserem Kundensport-Angebot, welches wir noch breiter und attraktiver aufstellen werden.“
* vorbehaltlich der Bestätigung der Ergebnisse durch die FIA
Official Press Release from VW:
https://www.volkswagen-media-service..._auth=ublbR7q7
Here it is. In English.
Goood bye VW
Yes I was serious , a rumour is "a currently circulating story or report of uncertain or doubtful truth" now everyone knew the story was true and the official announcement was being released this morning , as it was.
Oh and by the way there is still nothing on the official site , even Hyundai has put out a statement regarding the situation.
From 2017, Volkswagen will focus on new technologies and customer sport
so, what is customer sport? (like M-sport maybe...)
Ogier last week at the Rally Forum:"I admire Malcolm and one of my regrets is not having worked with him, but who knows what the future holds.."
Shame we wont ever see this car in competition...:(
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CwNSF_WXYAAkkOx.jpg:large
20 years from now we’ll probably be able to look back and see that VW’s dieselgate was one of the last nails on combustion engine coffin.
Ironically, after sinking the petrol boat VW’s managers are eagerly moving to eco motion land, like frightening rats running for their life’s…the previous VW board was packed with liars; the current one is full of traitors.
They’re not only rejecting Petrolheads and Motorsport fans; they’re rejecting their own heritage. It’s sad and stupid, because renouncing our heritage is the first step to our extinction.
Btw, the promised R5 looks like a consolation prize for rally community; they can stick it up on their asses!
Goodbye VW and good riddance!
Take a cup of coffee and relax a bit. There are way more serious things on this planet one shall feel betrayed about than is VW decision to end its WRC program.
Of course but Your choice of words about one brand's decision to leave a sport they entered only 4 years a go is a bit over the top for me. It's not that long time a go when there was no VAG brand at all in the WRC and now after just four years it's being portrayed like an end of the world when they pack and leave? Everybody knew that VW is not in the sport for ever. They came in to squeeze as much as possible out of it before they throw it behind and go elsewhere just like they did with Dakar before. They don't give a fuck about heritage (which heritage by the way?), they care about money.
You’re not seeing the bigger picture.
By pulling out from LeMans and WRC and entering FE, besides a simultaneous announcement of a strong electric mobility development, VW is making a clear distinction between new clean forms of motorsport and the traditional petrol based ones.
Mass media and the general public, both dominated by political correctness, will take the message as a free pass for moral judgments on current motorsport activities, which are based on a rich culture and heritage that neither the mass media nor the general public wishes to understand and respect.
For sure VW its free to leave, but it shouldn't leave in such an outrageous way.
You are correct.
Well.. that's what they needed. These pullouts are not about the money. They are about cleaning their own face to that same mass media and general public. It's what they need. Like it's what they needed when they entered WRC and endurance racing with Audi. This is more of a message that they are doing than anything else.
As much I disagree with Mirek on many occasions, here I stick with him 100%.
VW was nobody five years ago in WRC, they were in this circus yust for comercial reason, after four titles still nobody is and will think about VW personal cars on the same way we all associate Subaru and Mitsubishi (partly also Ford...) with rally. Maybe VW didn't want this, who knows.....Anyway, after few months we will forget them, Ogier&JML&Mikkelsen will get rich $$$ refunds, engineers will be focused on new technologies....and most important: already now we can say that the rest of the drivers have much more possibilities to become 2017 world champion.
Yes, it is a shock, which I don't like, but that is life...sometimes sucks.
Bring on 2017!
VAG didn't leave WEC. Audi did but Porsche remains and Porsche is the most powerful body in the VAG structure. This point is more related to the internal struggle between Audi and Porsche but for sure dieselgate played a role as the sole reason why Audi was in WEC was to promote diesel engines. What if somebody starts to ask if maybe Audi cheated there as well?
We should not look at them as on some sort of evil. They have all the rights to disagree with traditional forms of motorsport just like we have right to disagree with anything else (in my case it's for exampler self-driving cars although it's my colleagues who are developping them). The fundamental change in the perception of mobility in the society is something unstoppable. Dieselgate accelerated the process but it didn't start it. It's the whole society which changes itself and no matter if we like it or not the change must have sooner or later hit traditional motorsports.
Yes and as such it is logical decision although it is strangely timed. The true petrolheads make only small percentage of VW customers. For majority of the society VW is a giant cheater and a symbol of arrogant business entity whose only concern is money no matter what. The reason why the decision came now may be in internal changes and internal fight between various lobbies.
I wonder what VW actually gained overall from their time in the WRC ?
WRC still means very little to the public and general car buyers... VW's rally success therefore cant have done a lot for their image.
For the actual rally fans, VW's total domination has made the series less attractive as the winner was rarely any doubt. Plus Ogier, due to this and his attitude, has been about the least popular champion I can remember for many years..
I dont see the real benefit for all their success.
I think you guys underestimate how much of an impact a WRC project can have, when I talk to friends/fellow workers about rally, even a casual, not really interested in cars and motorsport person, knows that VW dominated the championship, they might not even know fully what Rally but they know it was VW win fest, either by casual headlines on sites or the ads on TV.
Plus, I know many examples of people who did not consider VAG and specially VW cars as "sporty" or particularly "durable and effective" machines, a successful WRC campaign can do wonders on that.
I am also very skeptical about electric cars. Selfdriving cars will be the thing sooner or later but thats understandable because safety is number 1, however there will ALWAYS be a market for people who enjoy driving.
This is sadly contradicting. Either the whole road traffic goes automatic or not at all. Some automatic cars among man-driven cars cause only huge problems mainly in accountability for accidents. There are way too many situations which can not be solved on automatic basis and for which there is no time to just warn the driver and let the decision upon him. In my opinion there will be first some zones with completely automatic traffic (for example in city centers) and slowly they will get everywhere. It will definitely take many years to come but as of today there is no legislative capable of taking care of accidents with automatic cars in non-automatic traffic (and I doubt it's even possible to make one).
Sorry for off topic.