Rounds 7 & 8 of the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup go this weekend at Road America in Elkhart Lake Wisconsin. Absolutely one of the top racing circuits in North America, the 4 mile layout features 14 corners, and is the fastest track on the calender. Last year the TDI Cup cars averaged well over 90mph(145km/hr), with a top speed of 130mph (210km/hr) in the draft. The race could easily be described as the Talledega of TDI Cup as the long straights and massive draft keep the entire field bunched together in one pack. It is the one race of the year where strategy more than outright speed is needed to get to the top of the podium.

Drafting last year at Road America

Last year I had a great qualifying run at Road America to start 3rd on the grid, but threw it all away with a mistake at the first corner. To see exactly what happened last year, check out the little youtube video I put together below. This weekend is a double header which makes it easily the most important weekend of the season for the championship. Two bad races this weekend would take me right out of contention, while two good finishes could put me in a prime position heading into the final weekend of the season.

It should also be a great weekend for Racing for the Right To Play. Although the long lap times will mean we only do about 10-12 laps per race, having two events, and two chances to get on the podium will hopefully mean I can raise a bunch of money this weekend. Our pledge total now sits at $52/lap, and I am hoping we can push close to $8000 raised by the end of the weekend! To find out more check out the Right To Play page here.

Once again the best place to get live updates during the weekend is my twitter feed (37 followers now, im famous!) at twitter.com/jakethompson19, or just follow the twitter updates on the right sidebar of jakethompson.ca. I’ll try to get nightly posts up on the site here, hopefully with some pictures. Schedule is for Practice and both qualifying sessions Friday, with a race on Saturday and Sunday. Full schedule and link to live timing link are below as well as the VW preview(Ive also added a link to live timing on the front page, just to the right of the latest news icon).

Thanks again for your support!

-Jake Thompson

SCHEDULE

Practice: Friday August 20th, 2010 – 7:20AM (CST)

Qualifying 1: Friday August 20th, 2010 – 11:20AM (CST)

Qualifying 2: Friday August 20th, 2010 – 5:30PM (CST)

Race 1: Saturday August 21st, 2010 – 6:15PM (CST)

Race 2: Sunday August 22nd, 2010 – 10:10AM (CST)

http://livetiming.net/scca/VW

All Times Central

Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Prepares for Rounds 7 & 8
At Historic Road America
–
Rookie Wyatt Gooden Heads to Wisconsin as Championship Points Leader

Race Information

2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup – Rounds 7 & 8
Circuit:                         Road America – Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (14 Turns, 4.048 miles)
Date/Time: Practice – Friday, August 20th at 7:20 am CT
Qualifying – Session 1 – Friday, August 20th at 11:20 am CT / Session 2 – 5:30 pm CT
Races –  Round 7 – Saturday, August 21st at 6:15 pm CT
Round 8 – Sunday, August 22nd at 10:10 am CT
Race Length: 30 minutes

About the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup

The SCCA Pro Racing Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup was launched in 2008 as way to introduce clean diesel technology to the U.S. market and develop the best of motorsport’s up-and-coming talent. During the season, young, up and coming drivers (between ages 16-26) compete on road courses around North America in identical factory-prepared clean diesel powered Jetta TDI’s. Each driver competing in the Series earns a professional racing license from SCCA Pro Racing at the conclusion of the season. In addition to more than $50,000 in prize money at stake during the season, the Series Champion receives Volkswagen factory career advancement support with a value up to $100,000.

The Jetta TDI Cup car is powered by a 2.0-liter, 170 hp, four-cylinder TDI clean diesel engine mated to a six-speed, double-clutch, automatic DSG transmission. The car is only slightly modified from stock with Pirelli racing tires, an on-board Race Data system, race suspension and brake components, drivers racing safety seat, FIA roll cage and an on-board fire extinguisher system.  Series sponsors include: Pirelli, Bosch, ViON, Castrol, Oakley, Red Bull, Staubli, Aggreko, defNder, Lamin-X, Volkswagen Driver Gear, Volkswagen Parts & Service, iRacing, Safety-Kleen and Ringer Gloves.

What sets the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup apart from other racing series?

·     The Series is the only clean diesel racing series in the United States, and Volkswagen is the only auto manufacturer participating in motorsports full time with diesel powered cars.
·     The TDI engine technology improves fuel economy over gasoline engines and reduces sooty emissions by 95 percent, even under demanding race conditions. The Series will consume approximately two tanks of fuel during its ten races this season.
·     The Jetta TDI Cup features a vehicle similar to what consumers can buy at their local Volkswagen dealerships.
·     Cars are maintained by Volkswagen of America, which creates a level playing field for all drivers.

News & Notes:

Volkswagen Motorsports Manager, Campbell, on the 2010 Season To Date

“The level of talent we’ve had in this year’s Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup has been very impressive,” said Clark Campbell, Motorsports Manager, Volkswagen of America, Inc. “This season, we’ve seen all of the rookies progress at a rapid rate. Furthermore, we have a rookie leading the points Championship with just two event weekends left on the schedule.  With results like this, our goal of developing young, up-and-coming talent really becomes apparent.  I think we’ll see more of the same next weekend at Road America.  It’s great that we can compete at this historic road course as it’s the perfect venue to highlight the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup, as well as the benefits of clean diesel technology.”

Too Close to Call

Series rookie, Wyatt Gooden, took the points lead at the last Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup event two weeks ago at Autobahn Country Club and is now atop the standings with 190 points.  This marks the first time a rookie has led the Championship since the Series’ inaugural season in 2008, when all drivers were rookies.  Right behind Gooden is another Series rookie, Arie Ouimet, who sits in second place with 182 points.  Series veteran, Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle completes the top-three. After leading the Championship after Rounds Three through Five, Sierra Lendle has dropped back to 14 points behind Gooden.  Jake Thompson and JD Mobley sit in fourth place (170 points) and fifth (161 points) respectively, and with 60 points available for a win; they could be right back in it by the end of next weekend.

Right now all 25 drivers still have a mathematical chance to win the Championship, so it’s anyone’s guess how things could look after the dual-race weekend in Elkhart Lake.  There are 120 points at stake next week and that could create a large gap should one driver capture them all.

Strategy, Strategy, Strategy…

There are four races left in the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup, however, they will be concluded in two two-day events.  A situation like this leaves a lot of room for strategy.  As it stands at the moment, there are seven drivers within 54 points of first place.  Each victory pays 60 points and only the top 20 race finishers receive points, therefore it’s definitely possible for one driver to make up some serious ground next weekend in Elkhart Lake.

Furthermore, with two races in the same weekend, each driver must carefully weigh his or her strategy in the first race because if their car is damaged too severely, it might not be repaired in time to compete in the second event.  Talk with drivers to see if they will be playing it safe and looking for safe points next weekend, or if they will be shooting for Victory Circle right out of the blocks.  A smart, patient driver could end up being the beneficiary of other over-ambitious ones.

Nine Veterans Return to Road America

This season, there are nine drivers returning to the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup from last year, including five drivers who finished in the top-ten at Road America in 2009.  Last year, AJ Nealey finished second after starting fifth; Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle finished fifth, Taylor Broekemeier finished seventh, Andrew Novich finished eighth and Ryan Ellis brought his Jetta TDI Cup car home in tenth.

In addition, Andrew Cordeiro, Jake Thompson and JD Mobley finished 11th – 13th respectively and Juan Pablo Delgado finished 21st.   Talk with the drivers to determine how their approach will differ this year after having one race at this challenging road course under their belts.

Virginia Tech students earn their racing stripes with the Jetta TDI Cup

There’s no better experience than on-the-job training, which is why nearly 20 engineering students from Virginia Tech University are taking part in the 2010 Jetta TDI Cup season. The Volkswagen Motorsports Jetta TDI Cup program allows Virginia Tech students interested in pursuing a career in motorsports an opportunity to experience it first-hand. The students provide technical support at Volkswagen’s race shop at VIR and on the road at the Series’ ten race events. During the season, up to fifteen students will travel to each race and work alongside the Series technicians getting hands-on experience with every aspect of motorsports from changing tires to downloading data.

The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup program is an ideal way for students interested in a career in motorsports to learn about the industry and it provides them with the advantage of real-world experience before they enter the workplace.

Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Point Standings (Through Six Rounds)

Driver Points
1. Wyatt Gooden (R)   190
2. Arie Ouimet (R)   182
3. Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle   176
4. Jake Thompson   170
5. JD Mobley   161
6. Jarvis Gennari (R)   147
7. Ryan Ellis   136
8. AJ Nealey   125
9. Kevin Gleason (R)   118
10. Taylor Broekemeier   105
11. Nate Norenberg (R)   99
12. Michael Hogg (R)   88
13. Juan Pablo Delgado   81
14. Andrew Cordeiro   78
15. JJ Tomlinson (R)   59
16. Andrew Novich   54
17. Brian Whitmire (R)   51
18. Mike Mineo-Nardacci (R)   44
19. Taylor Tzouanakis (R)   42
20. Rafael Navarro IV (R)   33
21. Chris Wehrheim   27
22. AJ Severino (R)   21
23. Colin Thompson (R)   19
24. Jenna Wagner (R)   8
25. Justine Jackson (R)   6

Follow the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series action on:
www.vwmotorsportusa.com
Volkswagen Online Newsroom: media.vw.com
Live Timing & Scoring: http://livetiming.net/scca/VW
Live Timing & Scoring for your Mobile Device: http://livetiming.net/SCCA/VW/html.asp
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/JettaTDICup
Twitter: http://twitter.com/VWJettaTDICup

About Volkswagen of America:

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world’s largest producers of passenger cars and Europe’s largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Golf, GTI, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Eos, Passat, Passat Wagon, CC, Tiguan, Touareg and Routan through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. All 2010 Volkswagens come standard-equipped with Electronic Stabilization Program. This is important because the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has called ESC the most effective new vehicle safety technology since the safety belt. Visit Volkswagen of America online at www.vw.com or www.media.vw.com to learn more.

About SCCA Pro Racing:

A wholly owned subsidiary of Sports Car Club of America, Inc., SCCA Pro Racing Inc. is a leading sanctioning body for motorsports events in the United States. A member of the Automobile Competition Committee of the United States (ACCUS), SCCA Pro Racing operates and sanctions the World Challenge Championships, the SCCA Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup, SCCA Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup, SCCA Pro Trans-Am Series, Spec Racer Ford Pro Series and Formula Enterprises Pro Series. For more information, please visit www.sccapro.com.

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