Now official - Capito is new Volkswagen Motorsport Director

Handover of the relay race baton: Jost Capito is new Volkswagen Motorsport Director

Handover of the relay race baton at Volkswagen Motorsport: Jost Capito has assumed the role of Motorsport Director. Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Brand for Development, officially welcomed the 53-year-old on Wednesday and introduced him to the staff. At the same time, Dr Hackenberg thanked Kris Nissen, who had led the factory team since 2003. During this time, Volkswagen, in addition to many other successes, achieved three consecutive victories at the Dakar Rally.

Podium: car category winners Nasser Al Attiyah and Timo Gottschalk

Photo by: Volkswagen Motorsport

“I cordially welcome Jost Capito to our ranks as new Motorsport Director; I wish him and the team a lot of success. I view the transfer of Kris Nissen’s role to Jost Capito like the handover of a relay race baton. This process is taking place place hand in hand, and aims to further accelerate afterwards. My personal thanks go to Kris Nissen; he has moulded the squad into a real winning team over the past years,” stated Dr Ulrich Hackenberg in front of the Volkswagen Motorsport employees.

“I’m very much looking forward to working together with this strong team and have a lot of respect for the successes that have been achieved so far. My first impression is that the squad is working with great enthusiasm and operates in a likeable and friendly atmosphere. Big and interesting tasks are awaiting all of us and we will tackle them with high motivation. My thanks also go to Kris Nissen, who has done very good preparatory work and who will continue to play a part in this endeavour in order to assure a harmonious handover,” said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito.

“I’m very proud of what the squad has achieved over the past few years. Volkswagen has never before had such an extensive and, above all, successful motorsport programme as it has today. We have to thank the fantastic work of the entire team for this. I would like to thank Dr Hackenberg for his trust and his support and wish the team and Jost Capito all the best for the future,” said Kris Nissen, who will now be available to the company in an advisory role.

Sébastien Ogier, Julien Ingrassia, Kris Nissen, Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Volkswagen Development

Photo by: Volkswagen Motorsport

After the hat-trick with the Race Touareg at the legendary Dakar Rally, Volkswagen is tackling a new great challenge in international motorsport. From 2013, the factory team will be contesting the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with the Polo R WRC and is carefully preparing for this campaign at the moment. In addition to top-calibre racing, Volkswagen has commitments as a partner of young talents in formula and touring car racing, such as in the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup with bio natural gas power as part of the DTM’s supporting programme, as engine manufacturer in Formula 3 plus in many other one-make cups and championships around the globe.