Jann-Hendrik Ubben is this year’s winner of ProTalent, the junior racing competition sponsored by Volkswagen Coaching and Volkswagen Motorsport.
The 18-year-old from Aurich will contest the 2009 ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup. Ubben showed a convincing performance at the finale in Oschersleben on 16 and 17 February, and in the end prevailed against more than 500 competitors. “For me, a dream has come true,” says Ubben, who has been a motorsport enthusiast since his childhood. Jan Stimpel and Martin Kristek from Zwickau, who are enrolled in the Volkswagen Educational Institute, finished in second and third place.
ProTalent winner Jann-Hendrik Ubben, who is being trained as a machinist at Volkswagen’s plant in Emden, cannot really believe his good fortune yet. “I’m a total motorsport enthusiast,” says Ubben. Without a sponsor – supported only by his parents – he was active in kart racing for four years. Now, he will soon be sitting in the cockpit of a Racing Polo and compete in nine races of the ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup staged as part of the popular DTM. “I’ll definitely take advantage of this unique opportunity,” stresses Ubben, who has firmly set his sights on two objectives: “I’ll give my best – in the races and in my vocational training.”
To safely familiarize the candidates with driving at racing speed, a number of highly focused fitness training sessions, theoretical as well as driving practice units including slaloms, braking and evasive manoeuvres were held. To find the ideal cornering line and the perfect braking point in racing cars at a speed of up to 200 km/h while maintaining concentration, posed a challenge to all the drivers. After guided units, the 20 young drivers started their free practice sessions in which speed was less important than driving techniques and driving skills. Tuesday night then brought the decision: a jury of experts selected Jann-Hendrik Ubben, who had shown the highest aptitude and ranked among the best in all of the tests, as the winner.
Volkswagen Coaching and Volkswagen Motorsport sponsored the ProTalent competition for apprentices and students enrolled in Volkswagen’s joint practical training programme for the third time. The winner contests the ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup, which provides a stepping stone into professional racing for young, talented drivers. ProTalent aims to inspire the enthusiasm of young people for technology and automobiles, to motivate them and to give the top-performing candidate the chance to gain racing experience. In the first qualification round, over 500 apprentices and students enrolled in the joint practical training programme had competed in driving simulator races. The quickest 100 qualified for a kart race in which the top 20, who just met for the finale at Oschersleben, were determined.
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