Volkswagen successfully defend WRC title!

Volkswagen successfully defend WRC title!

Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia have claimed the World Rally Championship title after victory at the Rally Spain.

The win – the pair’s seventh of the season – leaves them with an unassailable 31-point lead in the
drivers’ and co-drivers’ standings going into the final event, Rally Great Britain. It was also Volkswagen’s 11th win in the 12 events this season, equalling Citroën's previous two best results – 11 out of 16 rallies in 2005 and 11 out of 15 in 2008.

Volkswagen team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila took second place in Spain to clinch the tenth one-two victory for Volkswagen in the WRC. Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene finished seventh in Spain, guaranteeing them at least third place in the championship.

Ogier said: “It's a fantastic feeling to become world champion for a second time! I'm over the moon – it was a real battle to defend the title. Jari-Matti Latvala showed an incredibly strong performance in the last few months.

“Big thanks go to our fantastic team at Volkswagen. Not just for giving us a fantastic car throughout the season but also for the unique solidarity that we have. It doesn't matter whether things are going well or badly – the team stands by every driver crew and that is extremely motivating. I'm happy and proud to be part of this team.”

Ogier and Ingrassia are only the fourth duo since 1977 to successfully defend the title and are now the eighth team to become double world champions.