Final Polo specification to be set by the end of this month

The countdown to 2017 is well and truly underway at Volkswagen’s Hannover base, with the final specification for next year’s Polo R WRC expected to be set by the end of this month.

The team is currently running chassis 35 and 36 – the so-called zebra cars – as test Polos. The build programme shows chassis 37 as Sebastien Ogier’s Monte Carlo Rally entry car.

“Everything has to be with the FIA for homologation for November 1,” said Demaison. “After that, we cannot change anything – the only thing that will change is if the FIA is not happy with something. The final validation process is the end of this month, the specification will be frozen at the start of September then we start building nine chassis – three for Monte, three for Sweden and three spares – at the start of December.”

Demaison says the weight of expectation for next year is nothing like it was in 2013.

“That was the biggest challenge,” he told MN. “For us, we came with everything and of course the goal was to win from the beginning. This is not what we said, we said we wanted to come and look, to make the experience and this kind of thing – we were not allowed to say we wanted to win. But I remember the day I signed the contract, I was told: “You are here to design the best car, to design the car to win Monte [in 2013].”