Round Five of the Jetta TDI Cup Presented by the Cleveland Area Volkswagen Dealers

LEXINGTON, Ohio, June 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Wyatt Gooden, didn't have to travel far to get to this weekend's Round Five of the Jetta TDI Cup presented by the Cleveland Area Volkswagen Dealers, as he lives less than 90 miles from the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Gates Mills, Ohio.  Apparently, the short ride worked in his favor as Gooden topped the speed charts in today's Jetta TDI Cup practice session by over half a second (his best lap time was 1:39.313).

"The Jetta TDI Cup car handled great this morning and I felt good out there from the get go," said Gooden after the practice.  "I had the chance to run some solid laps and I'm happy with where I'm at heading into qualifying tomorrow.  Even though I've never competed here at Mid-Ohio, I was able to become familiar with the circuit through iRacing, which I think helped a lot.  It's always nice to run up front, but to be able to do it in my home state in front of my friends and family is fantastic."

Jake Thompson turned the second-fastest lap of the day with a time of 1:39.827 and rookie Jarvis Gennari placed third on the board with a time of 1:40.001.  Two more Series rookies rounded out the top-five as Arie Ouimet and Nate Norenberg registered the fourth and fifth quickest times respectively.

Round Five of the Jetta TDI Cup presented by the Cleveland Area Volkswagen Dealers continues tomorrow at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with qualifying at 8:00 am ET followed by the race, which begins at 11:55 am ET.

Jetta TDI Cup News & Notes:

Volkswagen Reveals 2011 Jetta

Volkswagen of America, Inc. this week announced the world debut of its all-new 2011 Jetta, delivering style, precision German engineering and Carefree Maintenance, all at an extremely accessible price.  At a starting price point of around $16,000, the all-new 2011 Jetta offers best in class rear legroom, a premium interior and Volkswagen essentials. Unveiled for the first time this past Tuesday at an unexpected urban oasis in Times Square, New York, the all-new 2011 Jetta features clean lines, refined side architecture and premium style combined with Volkswagen's trademark precision German engineering.  The all-new 2011 Jetta sets a new standard in its class and will be available in the U.S. this October.

"Today marks the beginning of a new era for Volkswagen and for Jetta," said Stefan Jacoby, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., at the event.  "The all-new 2011 Jetta is a class-up driving experience with the kind of styling, design and power under the hood normally found in more expensive luxury cars. At an extremely attractive price, this car is sophisticated, fun to drive and practical."

Guest Driver Comes From Germany to Compete at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

This weekend's guest driver has traveled a long way to compete at the historic Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.  Martin Westerhoff, an editor of the German motorsports magazine "AUTO BILD MOTORSPORT," finished 22nd during today's practice session while driving the #5 Athletes Performance Jetta TDI Cup car on the 2.25-mile road course circuit.  

Aside from his role covering the main German Touring Car Series "DTM," Westerhoff also writes about the technical side of auto racing. The 28-year-old has held a racing license since 2005 and has competed in several different series around the world. In 2007, he finished fourth in class in the legendary 24 hours of Nurburgring. Westerhoff also has a strong link to Volkswagen's motorsport activities, having previously competed in the former German Polo Cup in 2008, the Scirocco Cup China in 2009 and two weeks ago in Round Two of the newly established Scirocco R-Cup in Germany. Volkswagen Germany is planning to make him the first guest driver to compete in every Volkswagen Cup worldwide.

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, 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.

* Series photos available upon request or via media.vw.com

SOURCE Volkswagen of America, Inc.