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Al-Attiyah con un contrato a largo plazo con Volkswagen


Aunque el fabricante alemán todavía no ha comunicado oficialmente nada, Al-Attiyah reveló durante el Rallye Acrópolis la semana pasada que estaba a punto de firmar un contrato a largo plazo con la empresa alemana, que entrara en el WRC a partir de la temporada 2013 con su exitoso modelo Polo en versión World Rally Car.

“Esta semana iré a Alemania para pilotar en las 24 Horas de Nürburgring con Volkswagen y de esta forma poder negociar con los directivos de Volkswagen Motorsport mi nuevo contrato”, dijo Al-Attiyah. “Todo se aclarara esta semana, nuestro plan es un contrato de tres años desde el 2013. Tengo una buena relación con el equipo y estoy muy feliz de poder formar parte de ese proyecto”.

Al-Attiyah cambiará su Ford Fiesta S2000 por un coche gestionado por Volkswagen Motorsport, el Skoda Fabia S2000, el qatarí ya dispondrá de él para la prueba del Neste Oil Rallye de Finlandia del mes que viene. Su contrato incluirá hacer por completo el Campeonato del Mundo de Rallyes de 2012 con el Fabia unido al programa de test y desarrollo del nuevo Polo R WRC.

El piloto qatarí ha comentado que iba a realizar unas jornadas de pruebas en Finlandia. También admitió que su primera carrera con el Polo podría ser a principios del mes de diciembre.

Volkswagen confirmó su entrada en el WRC durante un acto de presentación delante de los medios de comunicación en Cerdeña el pasado mes de mayo. En esa ocasión, el director deportivo de Volkswagen, Kris Nissen, comentó: “A pesar de que el WRC es un campeonato nuevo para nosotros, el equipo actual ya cumple con muchas de las aéreas que se necesitan para realizar un coche competitivo, tenemos una actitud profesional para alcanzar la perfección absoluta y el compromiso de todos los integrantes del proyecto”.

Al-Attiyah, campeón del mundo de coches de producción de 2006 y ganador del Rallye Dakar 2011, ha sido un piloto fijo en el Campeonato del Mundo de Rallyes desde hace varias temporadas y ha participado en el SWRC la temporada pasada y la actual. Su temporada esta viéndose condicionada por la mala suerte aunque ha conseguido puntuar en sus dos últimas pruebas disputadas, ocupando actualmente el octavo puesto de la clasificación general de pilotos del SWRC.

Fuente: WRC.com

Al parecer todo cambio y y Al-Attiyah no estará más con VW y será con X-Raid y el mini para Dakar y un Fiesta o un DS3 para el WRC...

Al-Attiyah set to turn down long-term deal with Volkswagen

Nasser Al-Attiyah is ready to turn his back on a long-term deal with Volkswagen and intends to drive a Mini on next year's Dakar Rally and a Ford or Citroen on the World Rally Championship, AUTOSPORT can reveal.

The Qatari, who won the Dakar with Volkswagen this year, had been expected to sign up to the German firm's WRC programme until the end of 2013 at last weekend's Nurburgring 24-Hour race, which he won in a Scirocco. But now, it appears he may have driven a factory Volkswagen for the last time.

Al-Attiyah and VW Motorsport director Kris Nissan were unable to agree terms in Germany, after it became clear the former Production Car World Rally champion would not be given a Race Touareg to defend his South American title in 2012.

Al-Attiyah, 40, is now ready to return to the X-Raid team to drive a Mini.

"My sponsor Barwa made it clear that they wanted me to do Dakar," said Al-Attiyah, "and I want to do Dakar. Of course, I want to go back to defend my win, I love this rally and I was very surprised and shocked when I realised that Volkswagen changed its mind and would not be going to the rally. So I couldn't make the agreement."

After driving the class-winning VW at the Nurburgring, Al-Attiyah went to X-Raid's German base to look at the Mini.

"I think I can win Dakar with this car," he said. "It's a good car and I know the team is good."

Al-Attiyah will meet with Barwa next week, when it is expected the deal will be agreed for the WRC.

"It will be for all of the WRC except Monte Carlo," said Al-Attiyah, "because this rally clashes with Dakar.

"I don't know the car, but I have good contact with Malcolm Wilson and my manager has good contact with Citroen. This is a good solution for me, it means I don't have to wait until 2013 to start driving the World Rally Car, I'm happy about this. Believe me, I'm happy. When I left from the race last weekend and there was no agreement, I waited, but I could have waited and waited, but I can't do that - I want to enjoy my time in Dakar and the world championship."

Al-Attiyah admitted the possible decision to snub VW might appear odd.

"If I was 20 years old then I would have signed the deal, but I'm not and, like I said, I want to enjoy my time - and the important thing is to keep my sponsor happy," he explained. "Barwa has been fantastic for me, supporting me for a long time in the Middle East and in WRC and I can't stop this deal."

Al-Attiyah's decision not to drive for Volkswagen will shock the sport, given his close ties with the manufacturer and the big-budget and long-term nature of the deal to prepare, build and run the Polo R WRC in the championship. VW is committed to WRC until the end of 2015.

Al-Attiyah had been expected to contest all remaining European WRC rounds in a Skoda Fabia S2000 run by VW, but that car has been scratched for Rally Finland. Al-Attiyah will return to his Fiesta-based Super 2000 World Rally Championship programme later this year.

fuente: Autosport

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