Latvala shakes down the Polo: Time for Tea?

Plain white Polo WRC car looks almost minty fresh, doesn't it?

It's Rally Poland this weekend, meaning that we're just over half way through the 2015 World Rally Championship calendar. And here's Jari-Matti Latvala demonstrating just what an exceptional piece of kit the WRC Polo is during the event shakedown last week.

Rally Poland is a recent addition to the WRC, but the event itself is one of the oldest in Europe, having first been run in 1921. Even 45 years of communism couldn't stop it, although it did create the spectacular sight of an FSO Polonez rally car fitted with Lancia Stratos running gear. These days it's a gravel event run around the Masurian Lakes area in the north-east of Poland, and with some spectacular high-speed stages that mean it is often likened to Rally Finland.

Anyway, here's Latvala putting a pristine-looking unliveried Polo through its paces at what looks like full rally pace in a forest stage. The launch at the beginning is an impressive display of just how quickly these cars get off the line too.

Latvala is currently fourth in the championship, but will be hoping for another victory here off his win in Rally Portugal in May. He's certainly not short on pace...

Watch the video here.