The 2008 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Series inaugural season ended successfully with the last race at Road Atlanta. Josh Hurley, Cooper City, Fla., won the championship, claimed the $100,000 purse money, and as a special bonus will be driving in the ADAC Polo Cup at Hockenheim Racetrack in Germany at the end of October. Running seven months, this first of a kind race series, brought forward Volkswagen’s presence in the US motorsports community.
“The 2008 Jetta TDI Cup was a complete success with great racing action from our young drivers and the awesome Jetta TDI clean diesel,’ said Clark Campbell, motorsport manager, Volkswagen of America. ‘This series attracted more attention in the North America market to the advantages of clean diesel and we look forward to what the next season brings.”
The Jetta TDI Cup series is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Pro Racing Inc.
Driver development was a main component of the Jetta TDI Cup and was evident in the increasing talent that was seen on the track. There was anticipation for what these young drivers could do heading into VIRginia International Raceway. A total of 11 laps were run at VIR with over a quarter of the race run under caution. Seventeen cars ended the race with significant damage, three did not finish. Throughout the season the drivers improved and the results were evident by the last race in Atlanta. The final race ran clean, without a yellow flag for the full 30 minutes and all the field came back in without a DNF.
Almost every race saw a different driver win, with no clear championship leader emerging. Drivers battled for the lead down to the last lap of Road Atlanta. Ultimately Josh Hurley won the championship with only a five-point lead over the second place winner, Liam Kenney, Sterling, Va.
The season consisted of eight races at seven different tracks across the United States with one race being held at Mosport International Raceway in Canada. Through out the race series the drivers drove a total of 301.429 miles, over 150 laps. The Jetta TDI race cars managed to complete all 8 races only using two tanks of fuel per vehicle over the entire season.
The drivers were also battling off the track in a media contest, designed to teach drivers the importance of media to their racing careers. The Jetta TDI Cup Media Contest encouraged the building of relationships with key members of the media. David Richert, Niverville, Manitoba, Canada, won the Jetta TDI Cup Media Contest by securing more media coverage then any of the other 29 drivers in the clean diesel series. Richert will be joining Hurley on the trip to Germany to race in the ADAC Polo Cup.
Volkswagen received over 800 applications and over 100 potential drivers were invited to the driver selection event at Firebird Racetrack in Phoenix, Ariz. The applicants were narrowed down to 30 drivers and five alternates. Many of the drivers chosen came from a family tradition of racing, Chad Brassfield, Phoenix, Ariz.; Wyatt and Jake Dallenbach, San Antonio, Texas; Liam Kenney, Sterling, Va.; Mark Pombo, Duluth, Ga.; and David Jurca, Federal Way, Wash.
This race series also introduced saw some international drivers, with drivers from Canada: Andrew Cordeiro, Woodbridge, Toronto, Canada; Chris Holman, Burlington, Ontario, Canada; Adam Kretschmer, Brampton, Ontario, Canada; David Richert, Niverville, Manitoba, Canada; and one driver from Mexico, Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle, Puebla, Mexico.
To receive more information, or to register for the 2009 Jetta TDI Cup season, interested participants between the ages of 16-26 can visit vw.com to sign up to receive more information.
The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series is an innovative approach to motorsports – 30 factory-prepared and managed 2009 clean-diesel Jetta TDIs will be piloted by talented, up-and-coming drivers, aged 16 to 26. Volkswagen’s goal is to find the driver with the most talent and help them break into the world of professional motorsports. The Jetta TDI Cup series, the first all clean-diesel race series, is sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing Inc. Sponsors for the race include: Aggreko, Athlete’s Performance, Bondurant, Bosch, ful®, Holder, Hoopla, Ironclad, Kyosho, Oakley, RedBull, UTI and ViON.
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