VIRGINIA NATIVE RYAN ELLIS EARNS SECOND WIN OF THE WEEKEND
AT VIR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
* Series photos available upon request or via media.vw.com
CONTACT: Jeremy Riffle
(310) 210-1336
jeremyriffle@sbcglobal.net
VIRGINIA NATIVE RYAN ELLIS EARNS SECOND WIN
OF THE WEEKEND AT VIR
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Series to return to action May 8-9 at New Jersey Motorsports Park
ALTON, Va (April 25, 2010) Heading into the season-opening weekend at
VIRginia International Raceway (VIR), Ryan Ellis¹ previous best SCCA Pro
Racing Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup finish was seventh, which he earned last
year at Mosport International Raceway. Heading out of VIR this afternoon,
Ellis now has two poles and two wins under his belt, as he earned
back-to-back trips to Victory Lane in the first two rounds of the 2010
Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup season.
Racing in his home state, Ellis, a resident of Ashburn, Va, started on the
pole today for the second time this weekend and that¹s where he would end
the afternoon as well, clinching the victory after completing a last-lap
pass on second-place finisher Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle; Jake Thompson
rounded out the podium by earning a third-place result.
³This weekend was just awesome,² said Ellis after the race. ³Before the
year began, my best finish was a seventh place. To come out to VIR and
achieve the results that I did is just amazing. Today¹s race was really
exciting it¹s the cleanest drive I can remember ever having. Juan Pablo
(Sierra Lendle) raced me hard and very, very clean. After the side-by-side
action we saw today, I have complete trust in him on the track. I¹m just so
happy and it looks like I¹m off to a great start for the 2010 Volkswagen
Jetta TDI Cup season.²
Sierra Lendle also showed promise to be a contender for the 2010 Series
Championship as he turned in a pair of second-place performances this
weekend. Not only did Sierra Lendle finish second in both events, he
qualified second as well.
³It was a great day out there,² said Sierra Lendle. ³Ryan (Ellis) did a
great job and we had a very intense, but very clean race. It was a
fantastic weekend for me and I just want to thank my coach, and the Jetta
TDI Cup instructors and crew for all their hard work. I can¹t wait to go to
New Jersey in two weeks for Round 3 of the Championship.²
Guest driver, Tony Swan, Senior Editor at Car and Driver magazine, finished
the event in 18th-place after moving up six places from his starting
position. Coupled with his 19th-place finish in yesterday¹s race, Swan
wrapped up a successful and educational weekend.
³The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup is truly an amazing Series,² said Swan. ³This
is a first-rate organization and I can¹t think of a better resource for
young drivers aspiring to a career in professional motorsports. I had a lot
of fun this weekend. I tried to drive a nice, clean race and stay out of
the competitors¹ way. These drivers are so talented though, that it wasn¹t
much of a problem for me as most of them drove away once the race started.
I really learned a lot and I was able to keep improving throughout the
weekend, which was great.²
After two rounds of the Jetta TDI Cup, the Championship standings have the
winner of both events at VIR, Ryan Ellis in the lead with 60 points. Juan
Pablo Sierra Lendle (48), AJ Nealey (37), Taylor Broekemeier (29) and Jarvis
Gennari (29) round out the top five.
³The inaugural race weekend of the Jetta TDI Cup absolutely proved our
concept that Volkswagen clean diesel technology, young drivers and a
top-level crew produces some of the best racing available anywhere in North
America,² said Clark Campbell, Motorsport Manager, Volkswagen of America,
Inc. ³If the talent level displayed this weekend at VIR is any indication as
to how the rest of the season is going to go, our third season of racing
will be the most exciting yet.²
The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series returns to action May 8-9 at New Jersey
Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ.
Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Round 2
VIRginia International Raceway April 25, 2010
Fin. Position/St. Position/Car Number/Driver/Hometown/Sponsor/
1. 1 6 Ryan Ellis/Ashburn/VA/Washington Capitals
2. 2 23 Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle/Puebla/MX/Pirelli
3. 3 19 Jake Thompson/Calgary/AB/Red Bull
4. 4 2 AJ Nealey/Edgewater/MD /Staubli
5. 8 3 Taylor Broekemeier/Ft. Collins/CO/Bosch
6. 5 33 Juan Pablo Delgado/Orizaba/MX/Aggreko
7. 9 12 Jarvis Gennari (R)/Boca Raton/FL/DefNder
8. 12 16 Chris Wehrheim (R)/Norcross/GA/Lamin-X
9. 11 26 Andrew Cordeiro/Woodbridge/ON/VION
10. 16 20 Arie Ouimet (R)/Calgary/MA/VW Parts & Accessories
11. 18 25 Brian Whitmire (R)/Baton Rouge/LA/Staubli
12. 17 14 Colin Thompson(R)/Perkasie/PA/Bosch
13. 23 8 Taylor Tzouanakis (R)/Wauconda/IL/Virginia Tech
14. 22 11 AJ Severino (R)/Hamilton/NJ/Aggreko
15. 14 32 Kevin Gleason (R)/Johnstown/PA/VION
16. 19 39 Mike Mineo-Nardacci(R/East Hills/NY/Oakley
17. 21 9 Rafael Navarro IV (R)/Temecula/CA/Pirelli
18. 24 21 Tony Swan(G)/Ypsilanti/MI/SCCA
19. 25 40 Justine Jackson (R)//JA/SCCA
20. 26 4 Jenna Wagner (R)/Bristol/VA/VW Pre-Loved
21. 13 30 Nate Norenberg (R)/Plymouth/MN/Driver Gear
22. 6 7 JD Mobley/Castle Rock/CO/Castrol
23. 10 18 Wyatt Gooden (R)/Gates Mills/OH/iRacing
24. 20 28 JJ Tomlinson( R)/Park City/UT/Oakley
25. 7 15 Michael Hogg (R)/Vancouver/BC/Castrol
26. 15 29 Andrew Novich/Novato/CA/Hyperfuels
(G) Guest driver not eligible for points
(R) Jetta TDI Cup Rookie Driver
Follow the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series action on:
www.vwmotorsportusa.com <http://www.vwmotorsportusa.com>
Volkswagen Online Newsroom: media.vw.com <http://www.media.vw.com>
Live Timing & Scoring: http://livetiming.net/scca/VW
Live Timing & Scoring for your Mobile Device:
http://livetiming.net/SCCA/VW/html.asp
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/JettaTDICup
Twitter: http://twitter.com/VWJettaTDICup
About the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup
The SCCA Pro Racing Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup was launched in 2008 as way to
introduce clean diesel technology to the U.S. market and develop the best of
motorsport¹s up-and-coming talent. During the season, young, up and coming
drivers (between ages 16-26) compete on road courses around North America in
identical factory-prepared clean diesel powered Jetta TDI¹s. Each driver
competing in the Series earns a professional racing license from SCCA Pro
Racing at the conclusion of the season. In addition to more than $50,000 in
prize money at stake during the season, the Series Champion receives
Volkswagen factory career advancement support with a value up to $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.
About Volkswagen of America
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 world¹s largest producers of passenger
cars and Europe¹s largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Golf, GTI, New
Beetle, New Beetle convertible, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Eos, Passat, Passat
Wagon, CC, Tiguan, Touareg and Routan through approximately 600 independent
U.S. dealers. All 2010 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 www.vw.com or www.media.vw.com to learn more.
About SCCA Pro Racing:
A wholly owned subsidiary of Sports Car Club of America, Inc., SCCA Pro
Racing Inc. 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 World
Challenge Championships, the SCCA Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup, SCCA Volkswagen
Jetta TDI Cup, SCCA Pro Trans-Am Series, Spec Racer Ford Pro Series and
Formula Enterprises Pro Series. For more information, please visit
www.sccapro.com.
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