It was nothing less than Volkswagen’s greatest single victory in the history of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). In extremely difficult external conditions, Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) and Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) celebrated a hard-fought one-two victory in the Polo R WRC at the Rally Argentina. Andreas Mikkelsen/Mikko Markkula (N/FIN) completed the German factory team’s triumph by claiming fourth place. Crowds of enthusiastic fans lined the route of SS 14, holding their breath as Latvala and Ogier repeatedly fought it out to win the fifth round of the season.

Mikkelsen also helped to make the event a resounding success for Volkswagen by doggedly working his way up the leader board. Taking first and second place further extends Volkswagen’s lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship. Following the Rally Argentina, the three Volkswagen duos are now also at the top of the table in the Drivers’ and Co-Drivers’ Championship. The event marked Jari-Matti Latvala’s tenth win in the World Rally Championship and his third in Volkswagen’s colours.

First, second and third, the Volkswagen duos have a firm grip on the top of the WRC drivers’ and co-drivers’ leader board. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia are in the lead with 112 points, followed by Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila who have notched up 88 points. Having finished the latest rally fourth, Andreas Mikkelsen/Mikko Markkula are now in third place overall with 48 points. Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson (Citroën) are fourth in the overall standings with the same number of points as Mikkelsen. Volkswagen has further extended its lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship thanks to Ogier and Latvala’s one-two win, giving them the maximum point score of 43. The works team will go into the next round in Italy (05–08 June) 97 points ahead of second-placed Citroën.