Andy Lee & The Volkswagen TDI Cup
Van Horssen Group is proud to be a sponsor of an up and coming driver, Andy Lee. He is among the few to get the chance to race in Volkswagen’s TDI Cup Series. We will be following Andy’s progress throughout the series in this blog.
In April Bondurant Superkart instructor Andy Lee was invited to a try out for the inaugural year of the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Series. The Jetta TDI race car features the all new, high-tech 2.0-liter four cylinder TDI Clean Diesel engine mated to a DSG transmission. The fastest shifting transmission in the world. A winning combination for the Jetta TDI Cup drivers. The Jetta TDI Cup is the first and only clean diesel racing series in the world. And the first one to be declared Carbon Free by Carbonfund.org.
A Hundred drivers were invited to Firebird Raceway in Chandler Arizona to compete against one another for a chance to run in the inaugural season for the TDI Cup. Only 30 drivers would make the cut at the end of a grueling 3-days. The drivers were tested in physical fitness, media relations, professionalism, and of course driving skill. At the end of the tryouts Andy Lee had proved to be very fast setting Fast times for most of the tryouts and was selected to run the 8 race series which will air on SPEED CHANNEL later this year.
Race number one took place at Virginia International Raceway and was a super intense race from beginning to end with positions being swapped continuously. During this race Andy Lee struggled with a left rear shock issue which left the car incredibly loose and very tough to drive. Despite the problems Andy would go on to finish 13th out of 30.
Race number two took place at Mosport International Raceway. Several drivers were penalized by the SCCA for ignoring a yellow flag in race one at VIR. As a result of the penalties Andy was forced to start 19th for the race even though he was running well inside the top ten during Qualifying. At the Drop of the green flag Andy immediately started picking drivers off. Setting lap times that were 2 seconds faster than the leader Andy moved up to 7th place by the 11th lap when the race was ended early due to heavy rain.
After two races Andy sits in 10th position in points with six races to go. To keep up on Andy’s progress go to www.vwmotorsportusa.com.
Upcoming races
Aug 15-17 Lime Rock Park NASCAR Camping World Series
Sept. 19-20 Iowa Speedway USAR Hooters Pro Cup
Sept. 27-28 New Jersey Motorsports Park* SPEED World Challenge/ARCA
Oct. 1-3 Road Atlanta ALMS / SPEED World Challenge
Track Day Event
| October 30, 2008 |
Join the Van Horssen Group in a rare opportunity to drive an Ariel Atom as well as your choice of our other luxury and exotic supercars on a private track for our popular club events. For more information about our track day event click here.