VW News 2012 & WRC 2013

[janvanvurpa]

Id prefer a more prestigious company like VW in WRC over Skoda any day!

Would love it to be a Scirocco as well!!

Prestigious is often a point of view.
VW has really done very little in WRC aside from Ericssons FIA Cup aka 2wd World Champignonskit way back in ä86.

Skoda fielded small but amazing little cars for decades under the great Pavel Janeba.
In my book in WRC context, Skoda has a proud history----which only went sideways when the Germans invaded Bohemia and took over the "management' placing some circuit race "genius" in charge..

Years more participation than VW, and since I am typically impressed by those who "do the most-est with the least-est" Skoda stands even higher..

The biggest cheers every stage I watched at Monte Carlo WRC in 1993 was for Pavel Sibera and Emil Triner in their 1.3 Skoda Favorits (If you ever saw some of the Youtube vids of Jean Ragnotti---those 2 guys were driving INSPIRED, great!)

[Motorsportfun]

Maybe Skoda will arrange a semi-works programme like Honda South America will do in 2011 WTCC. Isn't it?

[Barreis]

Still remember Baumschlager/Wicha Safari Golf F2 sixth place in 1998.. That year I was watching Safari Eurosport coverage and saw Kankunen's Ford Escort with Safari and Valvoline stickers on the car.. And said friend:"If I can just sit for once in that car.." A month later on Zagreb Autoshow on Valvoline stand the same car (ford).. I asked guy from Valvoline England (on english) is there any chance to sit in the car.. He unlocked door and said:"Sit in the driver's seat!" Dreams.. Maybe Valvoline will come back with VW..

[Mirek]

Prestigious is often a point of view.
VW has really done very little in WRC aside from Ericssons FIA Cup aka 2wd World Champignonskit way back in ä86.

Skoda fielded small but amazing little cars for decades under the great Pavel Janeba.
In my book in WRC context, Skoda has a proud history----which only went sideways when the Germans invaded Bohemia and took over the "management' placing some circuit race "genius" in charge..

Years more participation than VW, and since I am typically impressed by those who "do the most-est with the least-est" Skoda stands even higher..

The biggest cheers every stage I watched at Monte Carlo WRC in 1993 was for Pavel Sibera and Emil Triner in their 1.3 Skoda Favorits (If you ever saw some of the Youtube vids of Jean Ragnotti---those 2 guys were driving INSPIRED, great!)

We should be fair. In 1993 when VW bought Škoda, it was almost dead company. VW pumped huge money into Škoda and didn't transform it into just manufacture but also held development facilities which grew in time as the whole company did. In the end it wasn't bad business for VAG but also for the country because unlike many other investors after 1989 which just bought something for ridiculously small money and soon run further to the east, VW kept and rose something of high value. We're small country and Škoda Auto and all depending companies runs most of the economy...

Maybe Skoda will arrange a semi-works programme like Honda South America will do in 2011 WTCC. Isn't it?

Don't think so, it would be direct competition to VW.

[Tomi]

The problem is that Škoda rose at the expense of VW especially on German market. So they will for sure try to present VW itself as higher profile brand.

Quite unfair really if they now pick the glory when someone else has done the work.

[AndyRAC]

Quite unfair really if they now pick the glory when someone else has done the work.

I'm afraid it was always likely to happen....., that is VAG for you.

[Tomi]

I'm afraid it was always likely to happen....., that is VAG for you.

Sure it was likely, but it still would have been better if VW would have stuck to playing in the sandbox and only secured the resourses for Skoda to make a serious approache, this time Skoda seem to have the things in control, right people involved and so on.

[AndyRAC]

Sure it was likely, but it still would have been better if VW would have stuck to playing in the sandbox and only secured the resourses for Skoda to make a serious approache, this time Skoda seem to have the things in control, right people involved and so on.

Yeah, VW have always claimed each brand/ marque had it's own series; Skoda was the Rallying arm, VW was Rallye Raid, Audi - Sportscars, etc

So what changed??

[Tomi]

Yeah, VW have always claimed each brand/ marque had it's own series; Skoda was the Rallying arm, VW was Rallye Raid, Audi - Sportscars, etc

So what changed??

VW's has been in driven by good drivers Kalle Grundell for instance, and Audi has won a few World Championships.
This can well turn out same like Suzuki, if VAG want changes in who run the project, a few wrong people in key places can damage alot.

[AndyRAC]

VW's has been in driven by good drivers Kalle Grundell for instance, and Audi has won a few World Championships.
This can well turn out same like Suzuki, if VAG want changes in who run the project, a few wrong people in key places can damage alot.

Wasn't it Audi's Martin Muelheimer who was brought into Skoda? Not a success, as I remember.