MEGENBIER TOPS THE VOLKSWAGEN JETTA TDI CUP PRACTICE CHARTS AT ROAD AMERICA

Race begins Saturday at 7 pm CT

CONTACT: Adam Hoover
Office: (440) 540-4670 / Mobile: (440) 258-2462
ahoover@automotive-events.com

 

Elkhart Lake, WI (August 14, 2009) – Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin is one of the most legendary road courses in all of U.S. racing. However, up until today the SCCA Pro Racing Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup had never visited the challenging 14-turn, 4.048-mile road course.

When the green flag flew signaling the start of today’s lone 30-minute practice session, the drivers didn’t waste any time getting up to speed on a track where many of them had no prior experience. At the end of the day, it was series points leader and Melrose Park, Illinois native, Timmy Megenbier who topped the speed charts with a time of 2:40.219 (90.955 mph). Andy Lee (2:40.607) and Derek Jones (2:40.736) rounded out the top three positions. The lap times in practice were very close for the top third of the field with only a second separating the top nine drivers.

“It’s great to be back here at Road America,” Megenbier said. “Even though we raced earlier this year at Autobahn Country Club, I’ve always thought of this as my home track. I think the experience that I gained in the past racing in Skip Barber helped me have a bit of an advantage on the track today, and it showed on the speed charts. I feel like I’ve been able to put together some good runs in our past few races, so I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to carry that momentum into the race tomorrow.”

Today’s action also marked the first track time for John Prather, the top North American road racing competitor from the popular racing simulation site, iRacing.com. Despite years of experience in the simulation environment, Prather’s only experience in a real racecar was a few weeks ago when he participated in a racing school at Laguna Seca. It took Prather a few laps to get a feel for the racecar, but towards the end of the session, he began to steadily improve his times.

“Getting out on the track today in the Jetta TDI Cup car was a lot of fun,” Prather said. “Obviously, there’s a bit of a learning curve for me, but I feel that racing simulations really prepared me as much as possible to hit the track here this weekend. Right now, it’s just a matter of me getting a feel for the limit of the car. Obviously, I was concerned about keeping the car on the track, so I didn’t push it too hard where I would possibly jeopardize my ability to compete tomorrow. I’m looking forward to getting some more seat time in hopes of putting together a solid run during the race.”

Two other guest drivers have joined the series for this weekend’s race, including professional snocross racer and freestyle snowmobile rider, Levi Lavallee and Jaime Vondruska, the founder of the VWvortex.com, an online community devoted to Volkswagen owners and enthusiasts. The pair finished 26th and 24th respectively in the practice session.

The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series returns to action at Road America, Saturday at 8 am CT and 7 pm CT for qualifying and Round 6 of the season. Live timing and scoring is available at http://www.livetiming.net/SCCA/VW/livetiming.asp.

Friday Practice Session:
Position/Car Number/Driver/Hometown/Sponsor/Time/Speed
1 17 Timmy Megenbier/Melrose Park/IL/Chicagoland VW/ 2:40.219/90.955
2 27 Andy Lee/Maricopa/AZ/Castrol/ 2:40.607/90.735
3 8 Derek Jones/Philadelphia/PA/Aggreko/ 2:40.736/90.663
4 2 AJ Nealey(R)/Pasadena/MD/Sherwin-Williams/ 2:40.958/90.538
5 29 Devin Cates(R)/Broad Run/VA/HYPERFUELS/ 2:40.969/90.531
6 20 Mark Pombo/Duluth/GA/VW Parts & Accessories/ 2:41.046/90.488
7 19 Jake Thompson(R)/Vancouver/BC/LAMIN-X/ 2:41.165/90.421
8 3 Taylor Broekemeier/Fort Collins/CO/Oakley/ 2:41.207/90.398
9 24 Donny Warren(R)/Winchester/VA/Aggreko/ 2:41.333/90.327
10 23 Juan Pablo SierraLendle/Puebla/MX/Castrol/ 2:41.423/90.277
11 14 Joey Atterbury(R)/Renton/WA/SCCA/ 2:41.730/90.105
12 22 Andrew Novich(R)/Novato/CA/Oakley/ 2:41.784/90.075
13 26 Andrew Cordeiro/Woodbridge/Ont/CN/Bosch/ 2:42.242/89.821
14 7 JD Mobley(R)/Castle Rock/CO/VION/ 2:42.274/89.803
15 4 Nicky Boulle(R)/Dallas/TX/Defnder/ 2:42.304/89.787
16 16 Eric Morse(R)/Pittsburgh/PA/Amplify/ 2:42.636/89.603
17 6 David Richert/Niverville/MB/CN/Bosch/ 2:43.145/89.324
18 5 Ryan Ellis(R)/Ashburn/VA/VION/ 2:43.223/89.281
19 34 Juan Pablo Delgado(R)/Orizaba/VZ/MX/Red Bull/ 2:43.374/89.199
20 18 Kerstin Smutny(R)/Bothell/WA/iRacing.com/ 2:44.323/88.683
21 15 Theresa Condict(R)/Lexington/MA/HYPERFUELS/ 2:44.342/88.673
22 30 Perry Richardson(R)/Los Gatos/CA/Pirelli/ 2:44.509/88.583
23 32 Andrew Gun Tucker(R)/McDonough/GA/Pirelli/ 2:45.166/88.231
24 35 Jamie Vondruska/Glen Ellyn/IL/VWVORTEX/ 2:48.545/86.462
25 31 John Prather/Tracy/CA/IRACING/ 2:53.018/84.227
26 10 Levi LaVallee(G)/Longville/MN/Red Bull/ 2:55.854/82.868
(R) – Jetta TDI Cup Rookie Driver
(G) – Guest Driver

About Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup
The 2009 season marks the second year of competition for the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup, which is sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing. During the season, young, up and coming drivers (between ages 16-26) will compete in 10 events on eight road courses around North America in identical factory-prepared clean diesel Jetta TDI’s powered by Syndiesel® B5 blended biodiesel fuel. Each driver competing in the series will earn a Pro Racing license from SCCA at the conclusion of the season. In addition to more than $50,000 in prize money at stake during the season, the series champion will win $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. Series sponsors include: Pirelli, Bosch, ViON, Castrol, Oakley, Red Bull, HYPERFUELS, Aggreko, defNder, Lamin-X, Meguiar’s, Sherwin-Williams, Chicagoland VW, Safety-Kleen, Ringer Gloves, Jim Russell Racing School and Trellis Earth.

Follow the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series action on:
www.vwmotorsportusa.com
www.tditruthanddare.com
SCCA Pro Racing Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Live Timing & Scoring: http://www.livetiming.net/SCCA/VW/livetiming.asp
Volkswagen Online Newsroom: media.vw.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/VWJettaTDICup
Twitter: http://twitter.com/VWJettaTDICup

Volkswagen of America, Inc.
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 Rabbit, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, GTI, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Eos, GLI, Passat, Passat wagon, CC, Tiguan, Touareg 2 and Routan through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. All 2009 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 vw.com or www.media.vw.com to learn more.

SCCA Pro Racing
A wholly owned subsidiary of Sports Car Club of America, Inc., SCCA Pro Racing Ltd. 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 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup, as well as provides sanctioning and various operational services for other racing series. For more information, please visit www.sccapro.com.

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