RALLY AUSTRALIA TO SEE SECOND VOLKSWAGEN TEAM

Posted 11:53pm 8th March 2013 - Rally Australia

(WRC.com release, 7/3/2013) VOLKSWAGEN will bring a second team for young Norwegian driver Andreas Mikkelsen to Coates Hire Rally Australia.

The one-car team, registered as Volkswagen Motorsport II, will debut on next month’s Rally Portugal, also Mikkelsen’s first event for the German brand.

Mikkelsen, 23, is scheduled to drive a Polo R on every round of this year’s WRC from Portugal.

By running as part of a manufacturer team, he will be eligible to score points in the manufacturers’ championship as well as the drivers’ championship.

Volkswagen’s team manager Sven Smeets explained that running Mikkelsen’s car in a separate team, rather than as a third car, would also have testing and logistical benefits.

“The third car was always planned to come and we chose to have a one-car team in order to give Andreas his fair amount of test days and not to have to share them with our other drivers,” he said.

“Also we are a manufacturer, so in order to have the proper space in the service park the complete package for a one-car WRC team was much more interesting to us.”