The Volkswagen brand has announced it will end its motorsports activities as part of a company realignment. The Volkswagen Motorsport GmbH workforce, which employs 169 people based in Hanover, Germany, will be integrated into Volkswagen AG in Wolfsburg in the coming months.
“The Volkswagen brand is on the way to becoming the leading provider for sustainable e-mobility. To this end, we are pooling our strengths and have decided to terminate the Volkswagen brand’s own motorsport activities,” VW Board Member Dr. Frank Welsch said.
Volkswagen Motorsport celebrated over five decades of competition, beginning with Formula V in the 1960s and Formula 3 in the 1970s. Achievements include three Dakar Rally wins with the Race Touareg (2009-2011), four Rally World Championship titles with the Polo R WRC (2013-2016), two TCR International titles with the Golf GTI (2016, 2017), and three Rallycross World Championship titles with the Polo (2017, 2018, 2020).
Volkswagen holds five international records with the ID.R racing car, including the overall record for Pikes Peak (USA), the electric record for the Nürburgring North Loop (D), and the Tianmen Mountain in China.
“The deep technical expertise of the motorsport employees and the know-how gained from the ID.R project will remain with the company and will help us put further efficient models from the ID. family on the road,” Dr. Welsch said.
Production-ready vehicles such as the Volkswagen Polo, Golf, and Scirocco are often found at the grid at race tracks, as well as at rallycross and rally sport events.
The long-term supply of spare parts for the Polo GTI R5 and Golf GTI TCR for the racing circuit is secure. Production of the customer sport Polo GTI R5 for rallying expires at the end of 2020.
