Jarvis Gennari Earns First Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Victory

Jarvis Gennari Earns First Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Victory

Win Marks Fifth Race Winner of 2010 Season

ELKHART LAKE, Wis., Aug. 22 /PRNewswire/ — Series rookie, Jarvis Gennari, earned his first Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup victory yesterday at Road America after an exciting battle with Chris Wehrheim, the event’s polesitter and eventual second-place finisher.  Gennari and Wehrheim swapped the lead all afternoon, but the Boca Raton, FL native was able to regain the lead on the white flag lap to take the win.

“It was a nerve wracking, but exciting day,” said Gennari.  “Chris (Wehrheim) and I were racing really hard the entire afternoon.  I’ve been competing against him for the past few years on the karting circuit and we’ve always raced closely and cleanly.  We have a lot of mutual respect for one another; so not only was the race exciting, but the fact that I was racing with him made it that much better. Throughout the year, I’ve been working harder and harder to be competitive and now I’ve finished in the top-four at the past three events. At the beginning the season, I never would’ve thought I could run up front, let alone earn a victory. So it is a fantastic feeling to have won.”

Rookie, Kevin Gleason, finished the race in third, marking his second consecutive third-place finish.  Wyatt Gooden, the Series points leader, brought his car home in fourth and Jake Thompson finished fifth.

With just three races left in the 2010 season, the points race remains tight with just 35 points separating the top-five drivers.  After his fourth-place result, Wyatt Gooden retains the lead in the Championship with 224 points.  Race winner, Gennari, would have taken second place in the standings, but was penalized thirty points due to a blocking penalty and dropped to sixth in the Championship.  Therefore, Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle moves into second place with 202 and that moves Jake Thompson into third place with 200 points.  Arie Ouimet is in fourth place with 192 points and JD Mobley rounds out the top-five with 189 points.

Jetta TDI Cup News & Notes:

Ouimet Named as Candidate for 21st Annual Team USA Scholarship

It was announced yesterday at Road America that Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup rookie, Arie Ouimet has been nominated as one of eight candidates for the Team USA Scholarship.  Ouimet and the other candidates will be competing for a pair of scholarships to contest the traditional end-of-season Formula Ford events in England in October and November.  The selection for the two winners will be determined at a “shoot-out” at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Chandler, Arizona in September.

Past Team USA Scholarship winners include Jimmy Vasser (the award’s inaugural winner in 1990), Bryan Herta, Buddy Rice, Memo Gidley, Paul Edwards, Andy Lally, Joey Hand, Bryan Sellers and J.R. Hildebrand.

Pair of Guest Drivers at Road America

There were two guest drivers competing in Round 7 of the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup event at Road America, Cooper MacNeil, a SCCA Nationally Licensed Touring 2 driver and racing broadcaster Ralph Sheheen.  Cooper would end up finishing the event in 21st place and Sheheen would bring his car home in 25th.

“I had an absolutely fantastic weekend,” said Sheheen after the race.  “I’ve seen a lot of driver development programs over the years and I’m so impressed with the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup.  This is, by far, one of the most impressive Series I’ve seen as far as the amount of tools and resources provided to drivers to further their careers.  As far as preparation and performance, the cars are incredible.  I never would’ve thought that a front-wheel, turbo diesel engine would make such a thrilling racecar.”

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 motorsport’s 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 TDI’s. 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, an on-board Race Data system, 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 world’s largest producers of passenger cars and Europe’s 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.

SOURCE Volkswagen of America, Inc.