POMBO LEADS WIRE TO WIRE TO TAKE THE VOLKSWAGEN JETTA TDI CUP WIN AT MOSPORT
Megenbier increases his Championship lead to 39 points
Bowmanville, ON (August 30, 2009) – Mother Nature returned to challenge the 26 drivers competing in today’s Round 7 of the SCCA Pro Racing Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup at Mosport International Raceway. Overnight rain left the 10-turn, 2.459-mile road course wet and loaded with puddles, which led series officials to run the race on rain tires.
Despite the wet conditions, pole sitter and Duluth, Georgia native, Mark Pombo didn’t waste any time in setting the pace for the race and building a 12-second lead at the half-way point. However, he wouldn’t be without challenge. Timmy Megenbier and Andrew Cordeiro cut the lead down to just a few seconds in the closing laps of the race, but today was Pombo’s day. He held on to win his first Jetta TDI Cup race of the season and his second career series win. He is the fifth different driver to win this season, and the victory moves him into fourth place in the Championship standings.
“Wow, what a great weekend,” Pombo said. “To be able to be fast in every session and lead every lap is the way that I would have dreamed up this weekend. My only regret is that this kind of performance wasn’t earlier in the season. It feels good to get a win, though. During the race, I wanted to get out to a lead so that I could protect my tires. I knew that as the track dried, we would start to use up our rain tires very quickly, and we don’t have an option to change to slicks during the race. Everything went according to plan, and the guys behind me caught me a bit. Fortunately, I was able to hang on.”
Megenbier and Cordeiro battled for the last half of the race with the two swapping positions several times. When the checkered flag fell, it was Megenbier coming in second and Cordeiro third, marking Megenbier’s sixth podium appearance in seven races. It’s also the first podium appearance of the season for local driver Andrew Cordeiro who hails from Woodbridge, Ontario.
The three guest drivers that joined the series this weekend all ran competitively and without incident. ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup driver Maximilian Hackländer topped the guests with a 10th-place finish and nearly ran the fastest lap of the race. He was only .004 seconds slower than Megenbier in a car that he hadn’t driven prior to this weekend. Given his lack of experience, Hackländer was pleased with the result and quite grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Volkswagen driver exchange program.
“I learned quite a lot this weekend,” Hackländer said. “These cars and the track are very different than what I’m used to, but in some ways, I like it better. In Germany, our circuits are traditionally flat, so it was a lot of fun to be able to drive on a course with such terrain. I was able to run competitively all weekend, and I’m very happy with that since I’d never raced these cars before. Plus, I was able to learn a few things that will hopefully help me when I return home to Germany to finish our season.”
The race results didn’t have a major effect on the Championship standings, as Megenbier still maintains the lead with 266 points. He’s trailed by Andy Lee (227), Joey Atterbury (223), Pombo (192) and Jake Thompson (191).
The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series’ next race is at New Jersey Motorsports Park, where Rounds 8 & 9 will take place September 11-13.
Grand Prix of Mosport (Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup - Round 7):
Fin. Pos./St. Pos./Car Number/Driver/Hometown/Sponsor/Best Lap Time/Best Lap Speed
1 1 20 Mark Pombo/Duluth/GA/VW Parts & Accessories/ 1:45.099/84.229
2 4 17 Timmy Megenbier/Melrose Park/IL/Chicagoland VW/ 1:44.942/84.355*
3 9 26 Andrew Cordeiro/Woodbridge/ON/VION/ 1:45.538/83.878
4 3 27 Andy Lee/Maricopa/AZ/Castrol/ 1:45.530/83.885
5 2 19 Jake Thompson(R)/Calgary/AB/Bosch/ 1:45.932/83.566
6 5 14 Joey Atterbury(R)/Renton/WA/SCCA/ 1:45.540/83.877
7 7 5 Ryan Ellis(R)/Ashburn/VA/VION/ 1:45.410/83.980
8 8 23 Juan Pablo SierraLendle/Puebla/MX/Castrol/ 1:45.447/83.951
9 10 24 Donny Warren(R)/Winchester/VA/Aggreko/ 1:45.707/83.744
13 21 Maximilian Hacklander(G)/Ruthen/GR/VW Parts & Accessories/ 1:44.946/84.352
10 6 7 JD Mobley(R)/Castle Rock/CO/Bosch/ 1:45.951/83.551
11 14 22 Andrew Novich(R)/Novato/CA/Oakley/ 1:45.050/84.268
12 17 4 Nicky Boulle(R)/Dallas/TX/Defnder/ 1:46.072/83.456
13 11 3 Taylor Broekemeier/Fort Collins/CO/Oakley/ 1:46.454/83.157
14 16 8 Derek Jones/Philadelphia/PA/Aggreko/ 1:45.557/83.863
15 12 29 Devin Cates(R)/Broad Run/VA/HYPERFUELS/ 1:47.385/82.436
16 20 34 Juan Pablo Delgado(R)/Orizaba/VZ/Red Bull/ 1:47.322/82.484
17 21 2 AJ Nealey(R)/Pasadena/MD/Sherwin-Williams/ 1:47.125/82.636
19 35 Marc Lachapelle(G)/Longueuil/QU/Preloved/ 1:47.341/82.469
18 26 30 Perry Richardson(R)/Los Gatos/CA/Pirelli/ 1:47.396/82.427
19 18 18 Kerstin Smutny(R)/Bothell/WA/iRacing.com/ 1:47.640/82.240
20 22 6 David Richert/Niverville/MB/LAMIN-X/ 1:49.925/80.531
21 23 32 Andrew Gun Tucker(R)/McDonough/GA/Pirelli/ 1:50.141/80.373
24 31 Jim Kenze(G)/Toronto/ON/Virginia Tech/ 1:50.777/79.911
22 15 16 Eric Morse(R)/Pittsburgh/PA/Amplify/ 1:47.713/82.185
23 25 15 Theresa Condict(R)/Lexington/MA/HYPERFUELS/ DNS
(R) – Jetta TDI Cup Rookie Driver
(G) – Guest Driver
* – Fastest lap of the race
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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