Ellis Wins the First Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Race of the 2010 Season
Pole sitter wins first race of the season in home state
ALTON, Va., April 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Series began its 2010 season in exciting fashion at the VIRginia International Raceway (VIR). The weather was picture-perfect and the young drivers provided a thrilling and competitive race. While the rookie drivers put on a strong showing, it was veteran Ryan Ellis, who took the checkered flag in the #6 Washington Capitals car.
The Ashburn, Virginia native held off fellow driver, Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle of Puebla, Mexico, for the coveted first win of the Jetta TDI Cup season. Lendle finished second, but was neck and neck with Ellis throughout the race. Series veteran A.J. Nealey rounded out the podium with his third-place finish.
"This is the best day of my racing career. The weather was ideal for racing and my car ran perfectly today," said Ellis. "Juan and I were jockeying for position throughout the race. He ran an amazing race and his driving was very clean and error free. This was a great way to start the 2010 season. However, I know there is still a lot of racing to go this season, so I need to stay focused."
Guest driver Tony Swan, Senior Editor at Car and Driver magazine, improved six positions during the race today to finish in 19th place. Though Swan has over 30 years of racing experience, he was really impressed with the quality of racing that the young drivers of the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup race delivered today.
"These young drivers really showed me something today. I have been involved in racing for 30 years but I was blown away by the quality of racing that I saw today," said Swan. "The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup is a great racing series, and I am proud to have had the chance to participate in the first race of the 2010 season. I am really excited to see how I finish tomorrow."
Clark Campbell, Motorsport Manager, Volkswagen of America, Inc. shared Swan's feelings regarding today's strong racing.
"Heading into our third season, everyone expects clean and competitive racing from our Jetta TDI Cup series," said Campbell. "The quality of racing was amazing today. This is a true testament of all the hard work that everyone puts into making the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series a success. This was a great way to start the 2010 season. I am looking forward to our drivers putting on another great show tomorrow."
The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series returns to action tomorrow for Round 2 at VIR. The race is scheduled to begin Sunday at 12:45 pm. Live timing and scoring is available at http://livetiming.net/scca/VW.
Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup – Round 1
VIRginia International Raceway – April 24, 2010
Fin. Position/St. Position/Car Number/Driver/Hometown/Sponsor
1. 1 6 Ryan Ellis/Ashburn/VA/Washington Capitals
2. 2 23 Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle/Puebla/MX/Pirelli
3. 7 2 AJ Nealey/Edgewater/MD/Staubli
4. 6 7 JD Mobley/Castle Rock/CO/Castrol
5. 8 15 Michael Hogg (R)/Vancouver/BC/Castrol
6. 10 12 Jarvis Gennari (R)/Boca Raton/FL/DefNder
7. 12 16 Chris Wehrheim (R)/Norcross/GA/Lamin-X
8. 11 3 Taylor Broekemeier/Ft. Collins/CO/Bosch
9. 4 33 Juan Pablo Delgado/Orizaba/MX/Aggreko
10. 14 20 Arie Ouimet (R)/Calgary/MA/VW Parts & Accessories
11. 20 29 Andrew Novich/Novato/CA/Hyperfuels
12. 17 25 Brian Whitmire (R)/Baton Rouge/LA/Staubli
13. 16 32 Kevin Gleason (R)/Johnstown/PA/VION
14. 23 28 JJ Tomlinson(R)/Park City/UT/Oakley
15. 13 26 Andrew Cordeiro/Woodbridge/ON/VION
16. 21 9 Rafael Navarro IV (R)/Temecula/CA/Pirelli
17. 22 11 AJ Severino(R)/Hamilton/NJ/Aggreko
18. 19 39 Mike Mineo Nardacci (R)/East Hills/NY/Oakley
19. 25 21 Tony Swan (G)/Ypsilanti/MI/SCCA
20. 24 8 Taylor Tzouanakis (R)/Wauconda/IL/Virginia Tech
21. 26 40 Justine Jackson (R)/JA/SCCA
22. 27 4 Jenna Wagner (R)/Bristol/VA/VW Pre-Loved
23. 18 14 Colin Thompson (R)/Perkasie/PA/Bosch
24. 3 19 Jake Thompson/Calgary/AB/Red Bull
25. 15 30 Nate Norenberg (R)/Plymouth/MN/Driver Gear
26. 9 18 Wyatt Gooden (R)/Gates Mills/OH
27. 5 5 J.K. Vernay (G)/France/Athletes Performance
(R) – Jetta TDI Cup Rookie Driver
(G) – Guest Driver
Follow the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series action on:
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 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, race suspension and brake components, drivers racing safety seat, FIA roll cage and an on-board fire extinguisher system.
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.
SOURCE Volkswagen of America, Inc.
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