Volkswagen enters Petter Solberg and the Polo R WRX Supercar at the Simola Hillclimb in 2023.
The lineup of drivers and vehicles that will compete in the yearly Simola Hillclimb racing event has been released by Volkswagen Motorsport. The Simola Hillclimb, already in its 13th year, will take place from May 4 to May 7 in 2023.
“We are very excited to announce that Petter Solberg will be making his way to South Africa to race in the Polo R WRX Supercar. Solberg’s partnership with Volkswagen started in 2017 when he set up the PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team in partnership with Volkswagen Motorsport. Solberg won the Team's Championship in both 2017 and 2018 before his retirement from full-time racing. We are thrilled to have Petter come out of retirement to race for us in South Africa,” said Mike Rowe, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport.
The Polo R WRX Supercar is perhaps the most successful race vehicle of the contemporary Rallycross period, having won two Drivers' championships and two Teams' FIA World Championships. The Polo R WRX Supercar stands out for its engine cooling, which places a strong focus on aerodynamics and makes it much more effective. The supercar's rear wing produces additional downforce and offers several set-up possibilities. The engine in the Polo R WRX Supercar generates 419kW of power and 650Nm of peak torque at 5 000 rpm. The race from 0 to 100 km/h is completed in only 1.9 seconds thanks to the four-cylinder engine and sequential, six-gear racing gearbox
This year's lineup for Volkswagen Motorsport will also feature factory drivers Jonathan Mogotsi and Daniel Rowe, who will be driving the brand-new Golf 8 R. An EA 888 engine with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder displacement powers the Golf 8 R. The Golf 8 R has a peak speed of 250 km/h and can reach 100 km/h in under 4.8 seconds. With 400Nm of torque, a state-of-the-art drivetrain, and the most advanced all-wheel drive in its class, the Golf 8 R dazzles.
The fourth driver to represent Volkswagen Motorsport will be Graeme Nathan. In the Class B2 finals last year, Nathan finished second by one of the slimmest margins in Simola Hillclimb history—0.016 seconds.
