Volkswagen extends WRC programme until end of 2019
Volkswagen has committed itself to its biggest ever motorsport campaign by lengthening its stay in the World Rally Championship for the next five years
The German brand announced today that it will remain in the WRC until the end of 2019, giving a green light to build a next generation World Rally Car for the 2017 season.
Volkswagen's initial commitment to the series was scheduled to end next year, but the world champions will remain for the long-term.
Team principal Jost Capito said: "The Volkswagen Board's decision to commit to the FIA World Rally Championship until 2019 makes us very proud. Volkswagen has never implemented a long-term motorsport programme on this scale before.
"This faith is a huge motivation for our entire team not to rest on its laurels for a single second, but to continue to show the same degree of passion, determination and commitment to ensure we remain successful in the World Rally Championship."
Capito added that while Volkswagen's decision was made, the company still wanted to see more media coverage from the WRC.
Capito said: "A prerequisite for the success of the championship itself is a format optimised for TV, in order to make rallying even more attractive for the general public.
"We call upon the promoters to work together with the manufacturers to significantly increase the media coverage of the series."
Dr Heinz-Jakob Neuser, Volkswagen Board Member for Technical Development explained the decision, saying: "Millions of people are passionate about this spectacular sport.
"The close interaction between the production and motorsport development departments at Volkswagen, the sporting contest with our direct rivals in various markets and the huge potential for marketing in the media led to our decision to commit to a long-term involvement in the World Rally Championship.
"The FIA World Rally Championship is a very good platform for Volkswagen to demonstrate the efficiency, dynamics and reliability of its cars to a global public.
"The series is more closely oriented towards the technology used in the latest production vehicles than any other world championship and based on the kind of real conditions that our customers all over the world experience on a daily basis."
Volkswagen leads the manufacturers championship this year while Sebastien Ogier is 33 points ahead of team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala.
The firm's Polo R WRC has won 16 of the 19 WRC rounds it has started since entering the series in January last year.
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