Volkswagen explains test engine failure

Footage of Jari-Matti Latvala's car going onto three cylinders while approaching a fast left-hand corner at competition speed was captured on social media.

A Volkswagen spokesman emphatically denied this was an involuntary repeat of the fuel injector problems that halted Latvala and team-mate Sebastien Ogier in South America, but part of the test following an investigation into its worst-ever World Rally Championship event.

"The team replicated the problem of running on three cylinders in a controlled test environment to allow us to asses any potentially damaging effects on the engine and how best to manage the situation should a similar fault ever happen again," AUTOSPORT was told.

Volkswagen's head of engine development Dr. Donatus Wichelhaus added: "The parts in question were investigated thoroughly with the help of the Technical Development department's central laboratory in Wolfsburg.

"It turns out that part of the fuel injector broke while the cars were running. The broken fragments blocked the mechanism of the fuel injector, thus preventing it from working properly."

From next week's Rally of Portugal, a new Bosch fuel injection system will be run on the 2015-specification Polo.

The Hannover-based team has had to utilise one of its homologation 'jokers', allowing it to replace what is a homologated engine component.

"We never saw this problem in testing or on rallies before and there was absolutely nothing new about the injectors we were using on the last round - they are the same ones we have used for a long time," the spokesman added.

"We are confident we have fixed this issue in time for the next event."

Volkswagen suffered its worst result since arriving in the world championship with the Polo R WRC, leaving without a single finisher inside the top 10.

Ogier's car stopped on SS2, with his Rally 2 return subsequently hit by powersteering problems on Saturday afternoon.

Latvala suffered the same engine issue on the penultimate stage, dropping him out of third place and costing him the chance of powerstage bonus points.

Andreas Mikkelsen suffered a puncture on SS2 and retired with related powersteering problems on Friday afternoon in Villa Carlos Paz, before crashing out of the event on the final stage.