Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Drivers Take to the Track for the First Time in 2010 at VIR

ALTON, Va.,  April 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) provided the perfect setting for the SCCA Pro Racing Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup. For the third straight year, VIR, the home track of the Jetta TDI Cup Series, will host the first races of the season. Today's action at VIR included an open practice as well as qualifying sessions for this weekend's races.

Today started out as everyone would have predicted. Several veteran drivers took the top positions in this morning's practice session. Jetta TDI Cup racers Ryan Ellis of Ashburn, VA, A.J. Nealey of Edgewater, MD, and JD Mobley of Castle Rock, CO, finished in the top three positions. With at least one season of Jetta TDI Cup racing under their belts, each driver showed their experience on the 3.27-mile road course at VIR.

Second year driver, Ryan Ellis, looking to show what he learned last year, took the pole during both qualifying sessions in the afternoon. Ellis beat fellow driver, Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle of Puebla, Mexico, by less than two seconds in both races.

"It is good to be back at VIR. I have been really looking forward to getting back out there and racing in the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series. Being from Ashburn, VA, it is always great to have the opportunity race in my home state," said Ellis. "Going into my second year of racing in the Jetta TDI Cup, I feel that my experience and lessons learned from last season will be great assets to me this year. Hopefully, I will be able to bring home a win this weekend."

Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle, runner-up in both qualifying races, explained that though he is an experienced Jetta TDI Cup driver, everything feels new to him and that it is important not to get ahead of himself when racing this season.  

"Racing clean laps is very important. The key is to be in front during the qualifying sessions so you are in a good position going into the races over the weekend," said Lendle. "Knowing the track, especially the passing and brakes zones, really helped me secure a great qualifying position today. I am really excited to hit the track for this upcoming race season."

Two guest drivers will be competing in the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup races this weekend at Virginia International Raceway as well. The two guest drivers are J.K. Vernay, a driver in the Indy Lights Series, and Tony Swan, an award-winning automotive journalist. Vernay posted very competitive times in both qualifying sessions, and managed to come in fifth place in the first session and third in the second session. Swan qualified 25th for both Saturday's and Sunday's races.

"What a great way to start the 2010 season of the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Series. Though this was the first racing of the season, the qualifying sessions were very competitive and exciting to watch. Our veteran drivers and rookie drivers and even our guest drivers really showed what the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Series is all about," said Clark Campbell, motorsport manager, Volkswagen of America, Inc. "Tomorrow promises to be a great racing day, plus it is always great to start the season at our home track."

The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Series returns to action tomorrow at 10:15 am at VIR for Round One of the season. Round Two will take place at VIR on Sunday, April 25 at 12:45 pm. Live timing and scoring is available at http://livetiming.net/scca/VW.

Practice Session:

Position/Car Number/Driver/Hometown/Sponsor/Time/Speed

1. 6 Ryan Ellis/Ashburn/VA/Washington Capitals/ 2:13.347 / 88.281

2. 2 AJ Nealey/Edgewater/MD/Staubli/ 2:14.962 / 87.224

3. 7 JD Mobley/Castle Rock/CO/Castrol/ 2:15.023 / 87.185

4. 23 Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle/Puebla/MX/Pirelli/ 2:15.121 / 87.122

5. 19 Jake Thompson/Calgary/AB/Red Bull/ 2:15.326 / 86.990

6. 26 Andrew Cordeiro/Woodbridge/ON/VION/ 2:15.570 / 86.833

7. 5 Vernay (G)/France/Athletes Performance/ 2:15.600 / 86.814

8. 16 Chris Wehrheim (R)/Norcross/GA/Lamin-X/ 2:15.775 / 86.702

9. 3 Taylor Broekemeier/Ft. Collins/CO/Bosch/ 2:15.831 / 86.666

10. 33 Juan Pablo Delgado/Orizaba/MX/Aggreko/ 2:16.084 / 86.505

11. 18 Wyatt Gooden (R)/Gates Mills/OH/iRacing/ 2:16.270 / 86.387

12. 20 Arie Ouimet/Calgary/MA/VW Parts & Accessories/ 2:16.644 / 86.150

13. 29 Andrew Novich/Novato/CA Hyperfuels/ 2:16.913 / 85.981

14. 39 Mike Mineo Nardacci (R)/East Hills/NY/Oakley/ 2:17.225 / 85.786

15. 28 JJ Tomlinson (R)/Park City/UT/Oakley/ 2:17.491 / 85.620

16. 11 AJ Severino (R)/Hamilton/NJ/Aggreko/ 2:17.546 / 85.586

17. 30 Nate Norenberg (R)/Plymouth/MN/Driver Gear/ 2:17.656 / 85.517

18. 15 Michael Hogg/Vancouver/BC/Castrol/ 2:17.924 / 85.351

19. 32 Kevin Gleason (R)/Johnstown/PA/VION/ 2:17.941 / 85.340

20. 25 Brian Whitmire (R)/Baton Rouge/LA/Staubli/ 2:18.022 / 85.290

21. 12 Jarvis Gennari (R)/Boca Raton/FL/DefNder/ 2:18.078 / 85.256

22. 14 Colin Thompson/Perkasie/PA/DefNder/ 2:19.180 / 84.581

23.  9 Rafael Navarro IV/Temecula/CA/Pirelli/ 2:19.907 / 84.141

24. 21 Tony Swan (G)/ Ypsilanti/MI/SCCA/VW/ 2:21.370 / 83.270

25. 8 Taylor Tzouanakis (R)/Wauconda/IL/Virginia Tech/ 2:23.972 / 81.765

26. 40 Justine Jackson (R)/JA/SCCA/VW/ 2:27.881 / 79.604

27. 4 Jenna Wagner (R)/Bristol/VA/VW Pre-Loved/ 2:31.428 / 77.740

(R) – Jetta TDI Cup Rookie Driver

(G) – Guest Driver

Qualifying (Round 1 – Saturday Race):

Position/Car Number/Driver/Hometown/Sponsor/Time/Speed

1. 6 Ryan Ellis/Ashburn/VA/Washington Capitals/ 2:13.905 / 87.913

2. 23 Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle/Puebla/MX/Pirelli/ 2:14.148 / 87.753

3. 19 Jake Thompson/Calgary/AB/Red Bull/ 2:14.808 / 87.324

4. 33 Juan Pablo Delgado/Orizaba/MX/Aggreko/ 2:14.862 / 87.289

5. 5 J.K. Vernay (G)/France/ Athletes Performance/ 2:14.939 / 87.239

6. 7 JD Mobley/Castle Rock/CO/Castrol/ 2:15.059 / 87.162

7. 2 AJ Nealey/Edgewater/MD/Staubli/ 2:15.092 / 87.140

8. 15 Michael Hogg (R)/Vancouver/BC/Castrol/ 2:15.249 / 87.039

9. 18 Wyatt Gooden (R)/Gates Mills/OH/iRacing/ 2:15.431 / 86.922

10.12 Jarvis Gennari (R)/Boca Raton/FL/DefNder/ 2:15.507 / 86.873

11. 3 Taylor Broekemeier/Ft. Collins/CO/Bosch/ 2:15.585 / 86.823

12. 16 Chris Wehrheim (R)/Norcross/GA/Lamin-X/ 2:15.667 / 86.771

13. 26 Andrew Cordeiro/Woodbridge/ON/VION/ 2:15.800 / 86.686

14. 20 Arie Ouimet (R)/Calgary/MA/VW Parts & Accessories/ 2:15.832 / 86.665

15. 30 Nate Norenberg (R)/Plymouth/MN/Driver Gear/ 2:15.938 / 86.598

16. 32 Kevin Gleason (R)/Johnstown/PA/VION/ 2:16.093 / 86.499

17. 25 Brian Whitmire (R)/Baton Rouge/LA/Staubli/ 2:16.201 / 86.431

18. 14 Colin Thompson (R)/Perkasie/PA/Bosch/ 2:16.258 / 86.395

19. 39 Mike Mineo Nardacci (R)/East Hills/NY/Oakley/ 2:16.278 / 86.382

20. 29 Andrew Novich/Novato/CA /Hyperfuels/ 2:16.550 / 86.210

21. 9 Rafael Navarro IV (R)/Temecula/CA/Pirelli/ 2:16.947 / 85.960

22. 11AJ Severino (R)/Hamilton/NJ/Aggreko/ 2:17.140 / 85.839

23. 28 JJ Tomlinson (R)/Park City/UT/Oakley/ 2:18.290 / 85.125

24. 8 Taylor Tzouanakis (R)/Wauconda/IL/Virginia Tech/ 2:20.195 / 83.968

25. 21 Tony Swan (G)/Ypsilanti/MI/SCCA/VW/ 2:20.791 / 83.613

26. 40 Justine Jackson (R)/JA/SCCA/ 2:23.008 / 82.317

27. 4 Jenna Wagner (R)/Bristol/VA/VW Pre-Loved/ 2:29.872 / 78.547

(R) – Jetta TDI Cup Rookie Driver

(G) – Guest Driver

Qualifying (Round 2 – Sunday Race):

Position/Car Number/Driver/Hometown/Sponsor/Time/Speed

1. 6 Ryan Ellis/Ashburn/VA/Washington Capitals/ 2:13.402 / 88.244

2. 23 Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle/Puebla/MX/Pirelli/ 2:13.488 / 88.187

3. 5 J.K. Vernay (G)/France/Athletes Performance/ 2:13.639 / 88.088

4. 19 Jake Thompson/Calgary/AB/Red Bull/ 2:13.939 / 87.890

5. 2 AJ Nealey/Edgewater/MD/Staubli/ 2:13.993 / 87.855

6. 33 Juan Pablo Delgado/Orizaba/MX/Aggreko/ 2:14.099 / 87.785

7. 7 JD Mobley/Castle Rock/CO/Castrol/ 2:14.164 / 87.743

8. 15 Michael Hogg (R)/Vancouver/BCCastrol/ 2:14.312 / 87.646

9. 3 Taylor Broekemeier/Ft. Collins/CO/Bosch/ 2:14.349 / 87.622

10.12 Jarvis Gennari (R)/Boca Raton/FL/DefNder/ 2:14.740 / 87.368

11.18 Wyatt Gooden (R)/Gates Mills/OH/iRacing/ 2:14.806 / 87.325

12. 26 Andrew Cordeiro/Woodbridge/ON/VION/ 2:14.817 / 87.318

13. 16 Chris Wehrheim (R)/Norcross/GA/Lamin-X/ 2:14.925 / 87.248

14. 30 Nate Norenberg (R)/Plymouth/MN/ Driver Gear/ 2:14.947 / 87.234

15. 32 Kevin Gleason (R)/Johnstown/PA/VION/ 2:15.136 / 87.112

16. 29 Andrew Novich/Novato/CA/Hyperfuels/ 2:15.172 / 87.089

17. 20 Arie Ouimet (R)/Calgary/MA/VW Parts & Accessories/ 2:15.401 / 86.941

18. 14 Colin Thompson (R)/Perkasie/PA/ Bosch/ 2:16.011 / 86.551

19. 25 Brian Whitmire (R)/Baton Rouge/LA/Staubli/ 2:16.051 / 86.526

20. 39 Mike Mineo Nardacci (R)/East Hills/NY/Oakley/ 2:16.163 / 86.455

21. 28 JJ Tomlinson (R)/Park City/UT/Oakley/ 2:16.187 / 86.440

22. 9 Rafael Navarro_IV (R)/Temecula/CA/Pirelli/ 2:16.285 / 86.377

23. 11 AJ Severino (R)/Hamilton/NJ/Aggreko/ 2:16.338 / 86.344

24. 8 Taylor Tzouanakis (R)/Wauconda/IL/Virginia Tech/ 2:16.563 / 86.202

25. 21 Tony Swan (G)/Ypsilanti/MI/SCCA/ 2:18.565 / 84.956

26. 40 Justine Jackson (R)/JA/ SCCA/ 2:19.922 / 84.132

27. 4 Jenna Wagner (R)/Bristol/VA/VW Pre-Loved/ 2:22.596 / 82.555

(R) – Jetta TDI Cup Rookie Driver

(G) – Guest Driver

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 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.