Volkswagen Motorsport’s pedigree is second to none, having claimed both the driver and manufacturer titles in its first full season of the World Rally Championship last year. And the team is leading the standings so far this year as well…
Topi, what does this new partnership between Marklund Motorsport and Volkswagen mean to you?
”It’s fantastic news for everybody, and it’s very important for the future. Obviously Volkswagen is a huge name not just in motorsport but the whole automotive world, so to have them on board in this partnership is everything we could hope for. With the rallycross team in the United States as well as us, it’s clear that they are very serious about the sport. It’s a genuine two-way partnership that works for everyone: Volkswagen Motorsport can obviously help us a lot but we can help them too, when it comes to development. With Volkswagen officially on our side now, everything obviously takes a step up – including the expectations. But that’s nothing I am afraid of: I think we can develop the car quite quickly, although it’s also important to take things step by step.”
Have you driven the Volkswagen Polo RX Supercar yet?
”Not yet: we start testing in March. But next week I will be in Sweden at the Marklund factory to get my seating position fixed and start some other work with the engineers. We’ve already been working a lot together and they’ve already asked for some of my opinions about how I think the car should be, which is nice, as certain things are going to be designed to suit me. The rules in rallycross mean that you can do quite a lot with the cars, so of course the engineers are able to make a big difference. I can’t wait to get driving again: it’s been much too long now.”
What else have you been doing since your agreement with Marklund was announced?
”I’ve actually been on holiday in Dubai but it wasn’t much of a holiday: no alcohol and lots of training! I feel ready and fit for the season ahead now though, so it was worth it. Apart from that I’ve been doing a bit of snowmobiling but the weather in Finland has been as bad as it was throughout the rest of Europe: not much snow, mostly rain. Hopefully I’ll see a bit more snow in Sweden next week.”
There have been some very exciting announcements in the world of rallycross recently, involving drivers such as Jacques Villeneuve and Ken Block. Does this make the competition tougher than ever?
”Yes, I think the top 10 is going to be incredibly close this year. This is exactly what I was always hoping would happen with rallycross: that the whole sport would take a big step up, and this year it seems to have happened already. To be approaching this season with Marklund and now Volkswagen is a really fantastic situation for me, and of course I will try to win, but it will also be important to score points consistently as well.”
