During the last weekend of August, Volkswagen Golf Cup will return after the summer break with the 4th round of this season, which will be held on the German venue Sachsenring. Golf GTIs, prepared by Volkswagen Racing Polska will once again join the rivalry in companion of the German racing series ADAC GT Masters, so a lot of spectators are expected on track.
The circuit in Sachsen is a big unknown, as the round of Volkswagen Golf Cup will be held there for the first time in history. Though, some of the drivers never had a chance to drive on it. Their rivalry will be possible to follow not only from the tribunes, but also via Internet live streaming.
Fourth scene of this year’s struggle
24 drivers representing as many as 10 different countries will come to the circuit located near Chemnitz – Sachsenring. Both quick and demanding lap of the circuit will be there for the first time in the history of the Cup, so drivers will have to learn it as quickly as possible during the free practice sessions. Win or lose can be decided by responsiveness to finding onself in new conditions, as well as good feeling of the car. The leaders of the series will surely remain in the top, but during this round debutants will have much easier work to do to reduce the gap and make a surprise.
Practice sessions, qualifying and races
During the fourth racing weekend of 2015 practice sessions will be crucial. Problems during those sessions on the unknown circuit will have a big influence on the races. More than that, drivers will surely want to find a good rhythm and balance after long, nearly a 2-months summer break.
The racing weekend will begin on Friday, August 28th with the first half an hour practice session scheduled at 6:20 p.m. We will have to wait though for the start of the second practice session, as it is scheduled for 9:20 a.m. on the Saturday morning. The qualifying session will begin on the very same day, precisely at 6:00 p.m. and we will know the starting positions for both races.
Sunday will be the day of wheel-to-wheel fight. The first race is scheduled exactly at noon, while drivers will take their starting positions before the second race at 5:10 p.m.
On the German Sachsenring, the Volkswagen Golf Cup drivers will have a very decent and famous company – there will also drive cars taking part in one of the most famous racing series – ADAC GT Masters, where fans will be able to hear the hypnotizing sound of Lamborghini, Ferrari or McLaren engines.
To those fans, who won’t be able to show up during the competition near Chemnitz, we would like to remind that the rivalry on the first Volkswagen Golf Cup round can be also seen via Internet live broadcast, available at the following link: http://volkswagengolfcup.pl/index.php/live-stream/
Push – to – Pass
The thing that will make overtaking easier on the German venue, as well as bring more colours to the rivalry during the fourth Volkswagen Golf Cup round is a Push – to – Pass system. It is a solution used in the Golf’s prepared by the Volkswagen Racing Polska since the very beginning of the cup. During this round drivers will have possibility to increase power of the engine with extra 50 hp (up to 310 hp) 19 times during single race. Every time the system will increase the power for 10 seconds, but the next “shot” will be able to use only after the 10 seconds brake. Last season we have seen that the proper usage of the system can be crucial in fighting for the win. At the beginning of the season drivers who used the Push – to – Pass system last year will be in a better position, but during the previous round we have seen that each contestant has learnt very quickly how to make a good use of it. The number displayed on the side wind-shields shows how much shots each driver has left. Activation of the Push – to – Pass system is signalized with a blue lamp placed on the front windscreen of each Golf GTI.
Mysterious Saxony
Drivers will have to face a lot of demanding challenges during the fourth round of the Volkswagen Golf Cup. Sachsenring is in the Cup’s calendar for the first time in history, more than that, despite its’ reach history, races are not organized there very often, so there are few opportunities to learn all of the turns and massive altitude variations.
The first race on Sachsenring was organized already in 1927, but back then the lap consisted of public roads in villages nearby Chemnitz, and attracted mostly motorcycle drivers. It was kept that way until 1990, when officers of the track stated that driving on public roads is not too safe. The construction of a permanent circuit began, while the first race ever was held in 1996. The following year brought attraction attraction of such series as Moto GP, DTM and FIA GT World Championship.
Volkswagen Golf Cup 2015 – 4th round – time schedule
Friday, August 28th
6.20 p.m. – 6.50 p.m. – 1 practice session
Saturday, August 29th
9.35 a.m. – 10.05 p.m. – 2 practice session
6.00 p.m. – 6.30 p.m. – qualifying session
Sunday, August 30th
12.00 a.m. – 12.30 p.m. – race 1
5.10 p.m. – 5.40 p.m. – race 2
Quotes before the 4th round of Volkswagen Golf Cup 2015 on Sachsenring:
Jeffrey Kruger: – In South Africa it is now winter, so it is not really the period of holidays, like in Europe. Most of my spare time I have spent on the university, gym and simulator I have built. My target for the second half of the season will be scoring as many points as possible. My rivals are very strong and a lot of drivers can fight for the top 5. That’s how it supposed to be motorsports though.
Marcin Jaros: – We return to the rivalry of Volkswagen Golf Cup after the summer break. Coming back won’t be easy, especially that we fill drive on the circuit I don’t know at all. There are really few opportunities to train on the Sachsenring, so unfortunately my first laps behind the wheel on this circuit I will complete on Friday. During summer break I took part in other racing series and completed few practice on other circuits, which helped me keep fit. We will surely have to check the new track on the simulator, as well as on other driver’s onboards.
Adam Rzepecki: – After the summer break we are coming back to Volkswagen Golf Cup. This time we will fight on the Sachsenring circuit, which is new in the calendar. I have never driven on this circuit before, as local rules makes it really difficult to train there. It won’t be easy for sure, but I know that most of the drivers are in similar situation. I checked the venue on the simulator, so the first laps should be a bit easier. During my practice starts in holiday I managed quite well, so I hope I will be able to transfer this good pace into the Cup’s rivalry.