JANUARY 27, 2016

(Volkswagen Motorsport)
Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (No. 1 Volkswagen Polo R WRC) won the Rally Monte Carlo, their third triumph in a row and third for the Volkswagen Motorsport team. Their teammates Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger (No. 9 Volkswagen Polo R WRC) finished runner-up to deliver a Volkswagen one-two in the opener for the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). With his victory, Sébastien Ogier takes his place among such rally legends as Sandro Munari (Lancia), Walter Röhrl (Opel, Lancia and Audi), Tommi Mäkinen (Mitsubishi) and Sébastien Loeb (Citroën) by winning the Rally Monte Carlo three times in succession. It was the 35th triumph in 40 rallies for the Polo R WRC and the 33rd career win for Ogier/Ingrassia.

 

(Volkswagen Motorsport)
The Ogier/Ingrassia combination was dominant in the No. 1 Volkswagen Polo R WRC.

(Volkswagen Motorsport)
By winning the Rally Monte Carlo three years in a row, Sébastien Ogier takes his place among rallying's all-time greats.

(Volkswagen Motorsport)
The Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger (No. 9 Volkswagen Polo R WRC) made it a 1-2 for VW at the Rally Monte Carlo.

(John Thawley  ~  Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com  ~ 248.227.0110)
The 54^th Rolex 24 At Daytona kicks off Corvette Racing’s 2016 sports car racing season. Long-distance racing has been the undeniable strength of Corvette Racing. In addition to its two victories at Daytona and eight at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the team has won the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring ten times and the 1,000-mile/10-hour Petit Le Mans seven times. During the next ten months, the team will race twelve times across three countries and two continents. The goals: win the biggest events in sports car racing, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the ninth time and capture the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class championship of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. This season Corvette Racing enters the fray with a pair of 2016-spec Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs. The new machines have been updated due to changes in Automobile Club de l’Ouest regulations for cars that compete in the IMSA GTLM class. There are a number of aerodynamic changes including a larger splitter at the front and diffuser at the rear of the Corvette. Side skirts and a repositioned wing also are among the most notable changes, along with updated safety features that are now mandated on all GTLM cars. Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Mike Rockenfeller will wheel the No. 3 Corvette C7.R, while Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Marcel Fässler will be in the No. 4 Corvette C7.R team car.

(BMW images)
BMW Team RLL has unveiled two commemorative 100th anniversary liveries for the team's new twin turbocharged V8-powered BMW M6 GTLM race cars competing in the 2016 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. To mark its centenary, one of the M6 machines will race with No. 25 in honor of BMW 3.0 CSL’s first season racing in the US in 1975 and will sport a livery that celebrates the history of BMW in motorsport. The second M6 machine will race with No. 100 and will be wrapped in a livery design that looks to the future. The Rolex 24 takes the green flag at 2:40 p.m. Saturday, January 30 with the first two hour hours of coverage on FOX Sports 1 beginning at 2 p.m. ET. Coverage shifts to FOX Sports 2 from 4 to 10 p.m. ET. FOX Sports 1 will pick up the broadcast from 7 - 9 a.m. ET and then finish with three hours of coverage beginning at 12 p.m. ET. You can follow BMW Team RLL on Twitter at @BMWUSARacing for “from-the-pit-box” updates all weekend.

(Audi)
Audi of America has four R8 LMS GT3 machines in the GT Daytona (GTD) class in the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship opener at Daytona International Speedway this weekend. Three Audi customer teams – Stevenson Motorsports (No. 6: Andrew Davis, Robin Liddell, Matt Bell and Lawson Aschenbach and No. 9: Tristian Vautier, Dion von Moltke, Boris Said and Kenny Habul), Magnus Racing (No. 44: John Potter, Andy Lally, René Rast and Marco Seefried) and Flying Lizard Motorsports (No. 45: Nic Jonsson, Pierre Kaffer, Christopher Haase and Tracy Krohn) will compete in the 54th running of the Daytona 24-hour race. The Stevenson and Magnus racing teams will field the all-new Audi R8 LMS GT3 racecars, while Flying Lizard Motorsports has entered the previous generation R8 LMS. The GT Daytona (GTD) class has adopted full FIA GT3 technical regulations in 2016. Watch an Audi video here.

(Risi Competizione)
Risi Competizione will enter the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series with a brand-new Ferrari 488 GTLM. The car arrived a few days ago from Italy, where it was built by Ferrari supplier Michelotto Automobili to the team's specs for the U.S. sports car series regulations. The driver lineup for the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTLM will feature all Ferrari factory drivers. Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander will be the team's drivers for the entire 2016 season while Davide Rigon and Olivier Beretta will join the team drivers for this weekend's Rolex 24.

(Lamborghini)
Lamborghini Squadra Corse will debut the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 in the Daytona 24 Hours this weekend. The V10 powered Huracán GT3 was born from a desire to offer factory-built and supported cars to customers worldwide. It is the first GT3 car to be fully engineered, developed and assembled internally by Automobili Lamborghini. Five Lamborghini Huracán GT3's will represent Lamborghini in the GT Daytona (GTD) class, the largest of the four classes competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener. The five entries also represent the largest representation by any manufacturer in the GTD class. The Lamborghini line-up includes No. 11 O'Gara Motorsport: Townsend Bell, Bill Sweedler, Edoardo Piscopo and Richard Antinucci; No. 16 Change Racing: Spencer Pumpelly, Justin Marks, Kaz Grala, Corey Lewis; No. 21 Konrad Motorsport: Emanuele Busnelli, Jim Michaelian; No. 28 Konrad Motorsport: Rolf Ineichen, Lance Willsey, Franz Konrad, Marc Basseng, Fabio Babini and No. 48 Paul Miller Racing: Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow, Bryce Miller, Mirko Bortolotti.

Editor's Note: Watch the latest episode of AutoextremistTV on YouTube here. -WG