Big blow to WRC as Volkswagen pulls plug
As Volkswagen looks to minimize financial rupture from Dieselgate, the automaker giant is expected to announce its withdrawal from World Rally Championship.
The announcement could be made after tomorrow’s board meeting at the company’s Wolfsburg headquarters.
Having clinched four manufacturer titles and four driver’s championships in as many years, Volkswagen’s 41 WRC wins made the team a dominant force with very little opposition and therefore nothing left to prove.
Rumours suggest that Matthias Mueller, will announce an end to the company’s highly successful WRC programme as a direct result of the financial burden placed on Volkswagen in the wake of the Dieselgate emission manipulation scandal.
“It is disappointing. The guys at Volkswagen have done a great job,” a separate source involved in Volkswagen Group Motorsport operations told Autocar.
This follows the recent shock news that Audi has chosen to exit the World Endurance Championship where it currently fights, perhaps counter-productively, with sister brand Porsche in the top-tier LMP1 category.
Audi’s new motorsport focus will be Formula E where technology transfer to its passenger cars will have a similar purpose to that of World Endurance Championship.
As one big name exits WRC, Toyota Gazoo Racing prepares to enter its Yaris contender but there’s no denying that Volkswagen’s sudden exit will leave a big void in WRC whch is alreadly scrapping for numbers.
