THOMPSON LEADS WIRE-TO-WIRE FOR VICTORY IN UTAH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
* Series photos available upon request or via media.vw.com
CONTACT: Jeremy Riffle
(310) 210-1336
jeremyriffle@sbcglobal.net
THOMPSON LEADS WIRE-TO-WIRE FOR VICTORY IN UTAH
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Three Rookies Finish in the Top-Five
Tooele, Utah (June 6, 2010) Jake Thompson dominated this weekendıs
Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup event as he led every lap in todayıs race at Miller
Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. His victory today marked Thompsonıs third
career Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup win, as he won twice in his rookie season
last year.
³I had a great car today and I was able to run the exact pace that I wanted
to all afternoon,² said Thompson after the race. ³Iım really excited about
the win today, I just went out and drove my race. I was relaxed and patient
and my Jetta TDI Cup car handled perfectly all day. I wasnıt happy with my
position in the point standings coming into this weekend, but I have a new
outlook; we have a lot of races left and Iım going to take this momentum
into our next event in two weeks at Mid-Ohio.²
Series veteran, JD Mobley, finished second, which marked his first
Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup podium appearance in two years of competition.
Three rookies rounded out the top-five as Wyatt Gooden finished third, Arie
Ouimet finished fourth and Nate Norenberg finished fifth. JJ Tomlinson, of
Park City, finished the day in 22nd after being able to move up three spots
from his starting position. The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup will head to Ohio
for Round Five at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on June 20th.
Jetta TDI Cup News & Notes:
Progress Through the Entire Field
With four rookies finishing in the top-six today in Utah, itıs safe to say
that the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup driving instructors are getting
ever-closer to accomplishing their goal of grooming the best up-and-coming
drivers for careers in motorsports.
³What a fantastic event,² said Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Driving Instructor,
Mark Miller. ³My hatıs off to Jake (Thompson) he ran a great race and he
was fast all weekend; he certainly deserved the win here in Utah. I also
canıt express enough how impressed I am with JD (Mobley); to have to switch
to a car heıd never driven and then qualify third is amazing. That speaks
volumes to his character and the skills heıs developing here in the Jetta
TDI Cup. I think we saw a lot of close, clean racing which is certainly
consistent with the messaging weıre giving these drivers. Iım very happy
with where we are at this point in the season and I look forward to the
drivers all continuing to impress us throughout the year.²
All-Star Cast of Guest Drivers in Utah
This weekend, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup race featured four guest drivers
including Roger Hayden, who currently competes on the World Superbike Tour;
Anthony Lobello, who was a member of the 2006 US Speed Skating Olympic team;
Grete Eliassen, who is a professional Red Bull freeskier; and Thomas Lyman,
a journalist who currently writes for 0-60 Magazine and has a significant
amount of seat time in various SCCA classes.
Lyman was todayıs top-finishing guest driver as he recorded an impressive
eleventh-place result. Roger Hayden was knocked out of the race early due
to contact on lap 2, which placed him 27th; Lobello finished 25th and
Eliassen brought her car home in 26th.
³The race was one of the most competitive events Iıve ever been a part of,²
said Lyman. ³Iıve never fought so hard for an eleventh-place finish. The
talent in this Series is a real testament to the amount of skill that
drivers are developing not only behind the wheels of the Jetta TDI Cup cars,
but also through the instruction theyıre receiving. I had a blast all
weekend and I just want to thank Volkswagen for inviting me to be a part of
the event.²
Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Results: Round Four - Miller Motorsports Park
Finish Start Car First Name Last Name Hometown Sponsors
1 1 19 Jake Thompson Calgary/AB Red Bull
2 3 7 JD Mobley Castle Rock/CO Castrol
3 2 18 Wyatt Gooden (R) Gates Mills/OH iRacing
4 6 20 Arie Ouimet (R) Plymouth/MA VW Parts & Accessories
5 5 30 Nate Norenberg (R) Plymouth/MN Driver Gear
6 4 15 Michael Hogg (R) Vancouver/BC Castrol
7 10 23 Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle Puebla/MX Pirelli
8 7 6 Ryan Ellis Ashburn/VA Washington Capitals
9 9 29 Andrew Novich Novato/CA BOSCH
10 12 32 Kevin Gleason (R) Johnstown/PA VION
11 15 21 Thomas Lyman (G) Atlanta/GA SCCA
12 17 3 Taylor Broekemeier Ft. Collins/CO Bosch
13 14 12 Jarvis Gennari (R) Boca Raton/FL DefNder
14 18 33 Juan Pablo Delgado Orizaba/MX Aggreko
15 16 8 Taylor Tzouanakis (R) Wauconda/IL Virginia Tech
16 20 39 Mike Mineo-Nardacci (R) East Hills/NY Oakley
17 13 16 Chris Wehrheim Norcross/GA Lamin-X
18 24 9 Rafael Navarro IV (R) Temecula/CA STAUBLI
19 21 25 Brian Whitmire (R) Baton Rouge/LA Staubli
20 19 26 Andrew Cordeiro Woodbridge/ON VION
21 22 11 AJ Severino (R) Hamilton/NJ Aggreko
22 25 28 JJ Tomlinson (R) Park City/UT Oakley
23 23 14 Colin Thompson (R) Perkasie/PA Bosch
24 29 4 Jenna Wagner (R) Bristol/VA VW Pre-Loved
25 27 5 Anthony Lobello (G) Tallahassee/FL Athletes
Performance
26 26 22 Grete Eliassen (G) Salt Lake City/UT Red Bull
27 8 10 Roger Lee Hayden( G) Owensboro/KY Oakley
28 28 40 Justine Jackson (R) Kingston/JA SCCA
29 11 2 AJ Nealey Edgewater/MD Pirelli
(R) - Rookie Driver
(G) Guest Driver
Follow the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Series action on:
www.vwmotorsportusa.com
Volkswagen Online Newsroom: 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
motorsportıs 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 TDIıs. 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. Series
sponsors include: Pirelli, Bosch, ViON, Castrol, Oakley, Red Bull, Staubli,
Aggreko, defNder, Lamin-X, Volkswagen Driver Gear, Volkswagen Parts &
Service, iRacing, Safety-Kleen and Ringer Gloves.
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 worldıs largest producers of passenger
cars and Europeıs 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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