The following weekend will start the third of Volkswagen Golf Cup season – a prestigious and innovative racing series, which at the beginning of October will crown a new Polish champion. The first round of this year’s struggle will be held at the German Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. This year we have 24 drivers in the start list and spectators will be able once again to follow Jerzy Dudek’s performances. Former Real Madrid and FC Liverpool, as well as a Poland national team goalkeeper, will start in his second full season of racing. Moreover, almost all rounds of Volkswagen Golf Cup will be available to follow live through live streaming in the Internet.
Higher stake – more excitement
One of the most important changes in the start list comparing to last year’s Cup is a bigger grid – this time we have two more cars. In 2015 the fight for the title will occur against 24 drivers, who will represent Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Russia, Sweden, Finland, South Africa, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg and of course Poland. The grid will also contain drivers known from the previous editions of the cup, so it is expected that those who were present on the podium in previous years will eventually want to reach for the desired title.
Jerzy Dudek will take part in his second full season, who competed in the previous year as a full-time competitor and was ranked 18th in the final classification. The former Polish national football player improved from race to race, while his best result so far was an 11th place during the Polish round on Tor Poznan.
In this year’s grid there will also be a representative of the fair sex, which again will be represented by Gosia Rdest. The competitor from Żyrardów has decided to combine racing in the Volkswagen Golf Cup together with competing in a newly established Audi TT Sport Cup – a series accompanied by the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM). Gosia will surely want to improve her 14th position from last year and permanently enter the struggle for the crown.
Practice, qualifying sessions and races
During the first weekend of 2015 season, training sessions will be particularly important, as most of the drivers don’t know the German circuit located near Magdeburg. Using the hour of preparation divided into two training sessions will be a key, so the drivers will be able to get acquainted with the track and prepare their cars for the qualifying session.
The race weekend will begin on Saturday, April 25th with two free practice sessions. The first one is scheduled for 8:10 a.m. while the second one will begin at 11:05 a.m. On the very same day there is also a qualifying session, scheduled for 4:30 p.m. The results will determine the order of the start to the first race. The second best time of each driver will determine the start position to the second one. Both races will be held on Sunday, April 26th – the lights will fade precisely at 12:00 p.m. while the weekend finale is planned at 5:10 p.m. the same day.
The spectators who won’t be able to turn out at the first round of the season will have an opportunity to follow the action via the Internet. The live streaming from the Oschersleben circuit will be available under the following link: https://volkswagengolfcup.pl/en/index.php/live-stream/
Half points, full emotions
The same as last year, the first round of the Volkswagen Golf Cup will be awarded only with half of the points. While the winner of all other races will get 50 points and other drivers will get equally less points up to the 20th position, awarded with 2 points. In races number 1. and 2. the scoring scheme will be quite different from that. For the results of that round half of the points will be given to all of the drivers, who finish in the first 20. This means the winner of the Oschersleben race will have 25 points (instead of 50) and the 20th drivers won’t get 2 points, but 1.
Push – to – Pass
It is the system, which will make overtaking easier and add some colours to the German competition. A solution used in the Golfs prepared by Volkswagen Racing Polska is well-known from the previous editions and is called the Push – to – Pass. During the round at Oschersleben, all drivers will be able to increase the power of a racing Golf with additional 50 horsepower (310 HP in total) 19 times during one single race. Each time it will increase the power of the car for 10 seconds. Last season, we have witnessed that the wise and skillful use of additional power can be crucial in the fight for victory, so the tactics will be once again very important. At the beginning of the season, drivers who have already learnt how to use it last year will have a slight advantage. The number displayed on the side windows of the Golf are informing how many times the driver can still use the 50-horsepower boost. Activation of the Push – to – Pass is also signaled by the blue light located behind the windshield of each of the Golf GTI.
Famous venue
The first two races of the new Volkswagen Golf Cup season will be held on the German Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. The object is located in Saxony and was opened in July 1997, since then it has hosted such series like DTM, FIA GT and WTCC. One lap of the track has a length of 3667 meters and its width vary between 11 and 13 meters. Track record belongs to Andy Soucek, whose time was 1:21.449 behind the wheel of a Formula 2 car.
During the forthcoming weekend on the Oschersleben circuit there will also compete drivers from other racing series. One of them is a very popular in Germany – ADAC GT Masters series, which present a bunch of top GT drivers. This series will accompany the Golf Cup three times.
Volkswagen Golf Cup 2015 – I Round – schedule
Saturday, April 25th
8.10 – 8.40 – Practice 1
11.05 – 11.35 – Practice 2
16.30 – 17.00 – Qualifying session
Sunday, April 26th
12.00 – 12.30 – Race 1
17.10 – 17.40 – Race 2
Quotes before the I round of the Volkswagen Golf Cup 2015 season:
Patryk Strzesak: – I have been on the Oschersleben circuit only once, on Volkswagen Golf Cup pre-season testing, back in 2013. I can’t say however, that I know the track very well, as my training was limited. I am trying to learn the track using the simulator. After two days of testing on Slovakia Ring it is very difficult to say how strong are this year’s drivers. However, I will give a 100% to finish the race on the best place possible and bring the car home in one piece.
Jeffrey Kruger: – The forthcoming Volkswagen Golf Cup season surely won’t be any easier than last year. The pre-season testing in Slovakia has shown that drivers are very well prepared and have very good pace. I will try to use my knowledge and experience gained last year, so I will be able to drive on optimum level. I think my preparations were quite good, both in a physical and mental way. I work on the gym every day and train on simulator. I also analyze data and watch on-boards from Oschersleben, which helps me refresh my memory about the circuit. I can’t wait for the first round to begin, which will be accompanied by a big series ADAC GT Masters.
Adam Rzepecki: – I know Oschersleben quite well and I like to drive on it. I have started twice on that circuit in other racing series, so I already know the configuration. I hope races will be exciting, although we have to be careful on the first turn, which is quite tricky and can cause a lot of trouble. During the test session on Slovakia Ring I did a good job, so I hope I will be able to keep that pace and fight for the top 10 places in Germany.
Piotr Parys: – I am very happy with the two days of testing, which was conducted at the end of March together with other Volkswagen Golf Cup drivers on the Slovakia Ring venue. I have really liked the Golf GTI and I think it is a fully high-performance car that offers plenty of opportunities. In addition, I am very impressed by the organization of the Cup, which is at a very high level. During the second day of testing in Slovakia I could familiarize with the new to me Push-to-Pass system. Thanks to it, the power of the car can be increased for 10 seconds up to 310 horespower, from the basic 260. Of course, the key will be a strategy of using it. I will be helped by my trainer, Kevin Mirocha, who is with me since last year. Assumptions for the upcoming season are very simple – my goal is to learn as much as possible and gather racing experience, as well as learn from older colleagues. My dream would be of course to be in the top 10 at the end of the season. I am looking forward to the first round in the German Oschersleben, which every year hosts very prestigious racing series.
Simo Muhonen: – This will be my first visit on the Oschersleben circuit and I already can’t wait for the first round of Volkswagen Golf Cup 2015 season. I have been training very hard on the gym since the test session on Slovakia Ring, preparing myself physically to the start. The tests on Slovakia Ring wasn’t very good for me, I was lacking the pace a little bit and still have a lot to learn about the car. Nevertheless I’m still quite confident I can handle these things at Oschersleben. I will try to do my best and finish in the top 5.