From Adam Hoover
POMBO LEADS WIRE TO WIRE TO TAKE THE VOLKWAGEN JETTA TDI CUP WIN AT MOSPORT
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Megenbier increases his Championship lead to 39 points
Bowmanville, ON (August 30, 2009) – Mother Nature returned to challenge the 26 drivers competing in today's Round 7 of the SCCA Pro Racing Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup at Mosport International Raceway. Overnight rain left the 10-turn, 2.459-mile road course wet and loaded with puddles, which led series officials to run the race on rain tires.
Despite the wet conditions, pole sitter and Duluth, Georgia native, Mark Pombo didn't waste any time in setting the pace for the race and building a 12-second lead at the half-way point. However, he wouldn't be without challenge. Timmy Megenbier and Andrew Cordeiro cut the lead down to just a few seconds in the closing laps of the race, but today was Pombo's day. He held on to win his first Jetta TDI Cup race of the season and his second career series win. He is the fifth different driver to win this season, and the victory moves him into fourth place in the Championship standings.
"Wow, what a great weekend," Pombo said. "To be able to be fast in every session and lead every lap is the way that I would have dreamed up this weekend. My only regret is that this kind of performance wasn't earlier in the season. It feels good to get a win, though. During the race, I wanted to get out to a lead so that I could protect my tires. I knew that as the track dried, we would start to use up our rain tires very quickly, and we don't have an option to change to slicks during the race. Everything went according to plan, and the guys behind me caught me a bit. Fortunately, I was able to hang on."
Megenbier and Cordeiro battled for the last half of the race with the two swapping positions several times. When the checkered flag fell, it was Megenbier coming in second and Cordeiro third, marking Megenbier's sixth podium appearance in seven races. It's also the first podium appearance of the season for local driver Andrew Cordeiro who hails from Woodbridge, Ontario.
The three guest drivers that joined the series this weekend all ran competitively and without incident. ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup driver Maximilian Hackländer topped the guests with a 10th-place finish and nearly ran the fastest lap of the race. He was only .004 seconds slower than Megenbier in a car that he hadn't driven prior to this weekend. Given his lack of experience, Hackländer was pleased with the result and quite grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Volkswagen driver exchange program.
"I learned quite a lot this weekend," Hackländer said. "These cars and the track are very different than what I'm used to, but in some ways, I like it better. In Germany, our circuits are traditionally flat, so it was a lot of fun to be able to drive on a course with such terrain. I was able to run competitively all weekend, and I'm very happy with that since I'd never raced these cars before. Plus, I was able to learn a few things that will hopefully help me when I return home to Germany to finish our season."
The race results didn't have a major effect on the Championship standings, as Megenbier still maintains the lead with 266 points. He's trailed by Andy Lee (227), Joey Atterbury (223), Pombo (192) and Jake Thompson (191).
The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series' next race is at New Jersey Motorsports Park, where Rounds 8 & 9 will take place September 11-13.
Grand Prix of Mosport (Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup - Round 7):
Fin. Pos./St. Pos./Car Number/Driver/Hometown/Sponsor/Best Lap Time/Best Lap Speed
1 1 20 Mark Pombo/Duluth/GA/VW Parts & Accessories/ 1:45.099/84.229
2 4 17 Timmy Megenbier/Melrose Park/IL/Chicagoland VW/ 1:44.942/84.355*
3 9 26 Andrew Cordeiro/Woodbridge/ON/VION/ 1:45.538/83.878
4 3 27 Andy Lee/Maricopa/AZ/Castrol/ 1:45.530/83.885
5 2 19 Jake Thompson(R)/Calgary/AB/Bosch/ 1:45.932/83.566
6 5 14 Joey Atterbury(R)/Renton/WA/SCCA/ 1:45.540/83.877
7 7 5 Ryan Ellis(R)/Ashburn/VA/VION/ 1:45.410/83.980
8 8 23 Juan Pablo SierraLendle/Puebla/MX/Castrol/ 1:45.447/83.951
9 10 24 Donny Warren(R)/Winchester/VA/Aggreko/ 1:45.707/83.744
13 21 Maximilian Hacklander(G)/Ruthen/GR/VW Parts & Accessories/ 1:44.946/84.352
10 6 7 JD Mobley(R)/Castle Rock/CO/Bosch/ 1:45.951/83.551
11 14 22 Andrew Novich(R)/Novato/CA/Oakley/ 1:45.050/84.268
12 17 4 Nicky Boulle(R)/Dallas/TX/Defnder/ 1:46.072/83.456
13 11 3 Taylor Broekemeier/Fort Collins/CO/Oakley/ 1:46.454/83.157
14 16 8 Derek Jones/Philadelphia/PA/Aggreko/ 1:45.557/83.863
15 12 29 Devin Cates(R)/Broad Run/VA/HYPERFUELS/ 1:47.385/82.436
16 20 34 Juan Pablo Delgado(R)/Orizaba/VZ/Red Bull/ 1:47.322/82.484
17 21 2 AJ Nealey(R)/Pasadena/MD/Sherwin-Williams/ 1:47.125/82.636
19 35 Marc Lachapelle(G)/Longueuil/QU/Preloved/ 1:47.341/82.469
18 26 30 Perry Richardson(R)/Los Gatos/CA/Pirelli/ 1:47.396/82.427
19 18 18 Kerstin Smutny(R)/Bothell/WA/iRacing.com/ 1:47.640/82.240
20 22 6 David Richert/Niverville/MB/LAMIN-X/ 1:49.925/80.531
21 23 32 Andrew Gun Tucker(R)/McDonough/GA/Pirelli/ 1:50.141/80.373
24 31 Jim Kenze(G)/Toronto/ON/Virginia Tech/ 1:50.777/79.911
22 15 16 Eric Morse(R)/Pittsburgh/PA/Amplify/ 1:47.713/82.185
23 25 15 Theresa Condict(R)/Lexington/MA/HYPERFUELS/ DNS
(R) – Jetta TDI Cup Rookie Driver
(G) – Guest Driver
* – Fastest lap of the race
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