Volkswagen chance for Wiegand in Germany

Sepp Wiegand has been handed a dream opportunity to further impress Volkswagen Motorsport bosses when he contests his country’s round of the FIA World Rally Championship next week.

The 21-year-old rising German star, a former motocross rider, is being assessed as a possible factory driver for the German make in the future with an expanded programme in this year’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

ADAC Rallye Deutschland will mark Wiegand’s second appearance in a Volkswagen-run Skoda Fabia Super 2000 following an entry on Wales Rally GB last November, which ended in retirement when Wiegand’s co-driver Timo Gottschalk fell ill. His outing in Germany comes on the back of a number of impressive performances in the IRC, his debut season of four-wheel-drive competition.

“Sepp and Timo are showing a superb performance in their first IRC season,” said Volkswagen Motorsport director Jost Capito. “That’s why they deserve the chance to compete for the Volkswagen team at the German WRC round. Sepp and Timo were running for us [in] Great Britain in 2011 but unfortunately were forced to retire at that time. Now they’re getting the opportunity to prove their skills at ADAC Rallye Deutschland.”

Wiegand will link up with team-mates Andreas Mikkelsen and Sebastien Ogier in an expanded Volkswagen attack on the Trier-based round from 23-26 August. He said: “It’s a great honour to compete in the Volkswagen team at Rallye Deutschland. My team colleagues Sebastien and Andreas rank among the world’s best drivers. Being in the same team with them is a great feeling. I’ll probably be able to get a few pointers from them. On the other hand, it raises the benchmark for me to a pretty high level.”