The boss of Volkswagen motorsport, Jost Capito, has paid tribute to his team after it equaled the longest winning run in WRC history with victory in Portugal at the weekend.
Sébastien Ogier secured the fourth win of the year for the Polo R WRC – and the eighth in a row for Volkswagen including the events at the end of last season.
The result pulls Volkswagen equal with Citroën, who achieved the same feat in 2011.
Capito said: “What Citroën has done in 10-plus years is really impressive together with Sébastien Loeb and we could never think we could come close in a long time, so to equal the number of consecutive wins in just our second season and after only 17 rallies is something I never imagined could happen. The team is outstanding.”
“Every win is something very special – this is what drives the team. We are having fun when we are winning and when we are not winning then we push harder, but team spirit is what drives this team on.”
The winning run wasn’t the only milestone for Volkswagen in Portugal. The Polo R racked up its the 200th stage win since making its debut last season.
Volkswagen has now won 204 of the 312 special stages it has contested – a success rate of 65 per cent.