Global RallycrossMaiden GRC win for the Volkswagen Beetle: Foust triumphs in Daytona
Tanner Foust (USA) celebrated a momentous Global Rallycross victory in Daytona. The American from the Andretti Motorsport team triumphed after a fiercely-competitive race on Saturday, which formed the opening leg of a double-header. This was the first victory for the Volkswagen Beetle GRC in Global Rallycross since the car made its debut in Los Angeles last year. “This is fantastic for the entire Andretti Motorsport team, after such a hectic day,” said Foust. Team-mate Scott Speed (USA) was fighting his way through the field from the back row of the grid in Heat 2A until problems forced him to retire. On Sunday, both Foust and Speed made it into the final. To do so, Foust had to come through the “last chance qualifier” after suffering a damaged suspension. Foust finished fifth in the final, while team-mate Speed had to settle for ninth place having also suffered problems with his suspension. Foust is now third in the Drivers’ Championship with 120 points, 17 behind leader and winner of race two Sebastian Eriksson (S, Ford). Speed lies seventh with 76 points. The next round on 5 July will be a first for the series: for the first time, the elite drivers in the Global Rallycross will compete at an active military base near the city of Jacksonville.
FIA European Rallycross ChampionshipRustad wins in Buxtehude to make up ground in the championship
Tommy Rustad (N) produced an outstanding performance in round two of the FIA European Rallycross Championship. A the wheel of a Volkswagen Polo RX run by Marklund Motorsport and HTB Racing, the Norwegian triumphed ahead of Jérôme Grosset-Janin (F) in the final at the Estering (D) to make up substantial ground in the overall standings. Rustad (53 points) is now just two points off the lead, currently held by Grosset-Janin (55). “It feels great to win,” said Rustad. “I am very happy with the pace. The car is running superbly and we found a great set-up, which really suits me. If everything comes together like it did this weekend, I can make it into the final in Holjes – that would be really good.” The next round of the European Championship takes place in Hell, Norway, from 21 to 23 August.
FIA World Rallycross ChampionshipKristoffersson fourth in WRX in Germany
The Estering also hosted round five of the FIA World Rallycross Championship, in which Johan Kristoffersson (S) of Volkswagen Team Sweden was the best-placed driver in Volkswagen colours. The final at the circuit on the outskirts of Hamburg saw Kristoffersson on course for second place until he had to use his joker on the final lap of the race. This dropped him back to fourth overall. However, fourth place was enough for Kristoffersson to hold on to second place (103 points) in the Drivers’ Championship behind Petter Solberg (N, 138). Fifth place at the Estering went to Kristoffersson’s team-mate Tord Linnerud (N). This was the series’ second appearance of the year in Germany, after Hockenheim welcomed the WRX elite at the start of May. The next round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship will take place in Holjes (S) from 3 to 5 July.
FIA Formula 3 European ChampionshipLeclerc wins in Spa to lead championship
Charles Leclerc (Van Amersfoort Racing) has moved into the lead in the Drivers’ Championship in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. The man from Monaco won the opening race of the fifth weekend of the season in Spa-Francorchamps, before finishing runner-up in races two and three. In contrast, Antonio Giovinazzi (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin) endured a miserable couple of days. The Italian picked up just two points from an eventful weekend in the Ardennes, causing him to surrender the overall lead in the championship. The third placed drivers in Belgium were also “powered by Volkswagen”: Alexander Albon (T, Signature), Sérgio Sette Câmara (BR, Motopark) and George Russell (GB, Carlin). In total, the young drivers with the 225-hp engine from Wolfsburg behind them claimed one win, five podiums and 14 top-ten results. In the overall standings, Leclerc leads with 217.5 points, ahead of Jake Dennis (GB, 189) and Felix Rosenqvist (S, 188). Giovinazzi is fourth with 184 points to his name.
Volkswagen Golf Cup PolandPereira and Kruger triumph at the Slovakiaring
Dylan Pereira (L) and Jeffrey Kruger (ZA) bagged a win apiece on the second weekend of the season in the Volkswagen Golf Cup Poland. For Luxembourger Pereira, this was the first victory in the series. Starting from pole position, he won the first race with a lead of 0.397 seconds over Marcus Fluch (S). Michał Gadomski (PL) overtook Kruger at the start and went on to secure third place, ahead of Kruger in fourth. Kruger hit back in race two: the South African, had already tasted victory on the opening weekend in Oschersleben (D), and finished ahead of Fluch and Pereira to claim win number two. Kruger overtook pole-sitter Pereira on lap one and refused to surrender the lead until he saw the chequered flag. Fluch also passed Pereira to finish runner-up. Race one winner Pereira was third in race two. The Lausitzring (D) hosts the next races on 4 and 5 July.
South African Rally ChampionshipZulu/Auffrey best-placed Volkswagen Polo in fourth
Gugulethu Zulu/Hilton Auffrey finished fourth at the “Bela Bela Rally” in Limpopo (ZA) – round four of the South African Rally Championship – making them the best-placed Volkswagen duo. At the end of the ten special stages they came home 2:04.2 minutes behind winners Leeroy Poulter/Elvéne Coetzee (Toyota). The second-best pair in a Volkswagen Polo was Henk Lategan/Barry White, who finished sixth. The drivers struggled with extremely dusty conditions all weekend, with particularly poor grip levels on sandy parts of the stages. The next event, the “Volkswagen Rally”, takes place in Port Elizabeth (ZA) from 17 to 18 July.
Volkswagen Fun Cup UKTeam Racelogic wins in Brands Hatch – red flag three minutes from end
Team Racelogic won the fourth race of the season in the Volkswagen Fun Cup UK at Brands Hatch (GB). They came home 3.797 seconds ahead of JPR - Uvio at the end of the four-hour race on the Grand Prix circuit to the south-east of London. Third place went to Team Honeywell (+ 4.568), ahead of JPR – Isla Racing (+ 6.343) in fourth. One hour into the race, the eventual winners led the race by a little over a second. However, they found themselves in third place and trailing the leaders by over ten seconds at the two and three-hour marks. A fightback in the final hour of the race was ultimately rewarded with the win. With just three minutes of the four hours remaining, the red flag was waved to signal that the race had been suspended due to heavy rain.
Volkswagen Fun Cup France219 TFE wins in Magny-Cours after twelve hours flat-out
After half a day of flat-out racing, the 219 TFE team clinched victory at the fourth round of the Volkswagen Fun Cup France in Magny-Cours (F). The team of Laurent Dub/Clément Dub/Paul Corduan/Yannick Pechard won in sunny conditions, ahead of Defi 6 baticonfort (Julien Suzanna/Julien Menard/Pascal Amand/Ronald Basso). Third place went to the 275 Zosch Groupe Dirob team (Didier Robin/Arnold Robin/Maxime Robin/Jean René Defournoux). The FC 199 team was also involved in the battle for the lead in the early stages of the race. However, they dropped out of contention shortly before dusk, having suffered damage to their car after colliding with two rivals. The next round promises to be a gruelling test: from 10 to 12 July, the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium will host a 25-hour race featuring competitors from all of the Fun Cup series.
Next up:
26/06–28/06/2015FIA Formula 3 European Championship, Norisring (D)
26/06–27/06/2015Volkswagen Polo Cup Russia, Karelia (RUS)