Scirocco R-Cup: title to be decided at the grand finale in Hockenheim 15.09.2013: The Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup title will only be decided in the season’s

The Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup title will only be decided in the season’s grand finale at the Hockenheimring on 19 October. Top-of-the table Kelvin van der Linde (ZA) finished the second race in Oschersleben in 15th place after being awarded a drive-through penalty, scuppering his first chance of sewing up the title.


This meant that other drivers had good reason to celebrate following an eventful race on Sunday morning: the American Dennis Trebing achieved his first win of the season after starting sixth and putting in a very impressive performance. Ross Wylie (GB) came second: a fitting way to mark his 22nd birthday. The Danish driver Kasper H. Jensen – who won the first race on Saturday – took third place.


The stage is now set for a three-way Cup battle at the ninth and final race of the season in Hockenheim. 17-year-old van der Linde is leading in the overall Scirocco R-Cup standings with 290 points, ahead of Jensen (247) and his compatriot Jordan Lee Pepper (232). 60 points are awarded for each win. This means that van der Linde only needs to finish the season’s last race twelfth to win the world’s only single-make championship powered by environmentally sound natural gas.


Before the race, it looked like the top-of-the-table driver would clinch the title early at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. He started the race with a 69-point lead in the overall standings, but then pretty much everything went wrong. Following a driver error, the exceptionally talented youngster conceded places after starting seventh. As he fought to regain ground, he collided with the female Swedish driver Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky, was awarded a drive-through penalty and fell hopelessly behind.


At the front of the field, birthday boy Ross Wylie initially defended his lead. Behind him, Dennis Trebing shot forwards into second place following a phenomenal start. The duel was interrupted in lap two, when Yann Ehrlacher smashed into a crash barrier in spectacular style due to a driver error.


The Frenchman managed to hobble into the pit lane with his wrecked car. He was able to get out of the Cup Scirocco unaided and did not suffer any serious injuries. However, he was flown to hospital to make sure all was well.


The safety car then came onto the circuit for three laps and Trebing passed Wylie when the race got under way again. It was just one of many spectacular overtaking manoeuvres which wowed the crowd at the track. Kasper H. Jensen secured third place on the podium just before the end to keep the Cup exciting.



Quotes following the second race in Oschersleben


#21 Dennis Trebing

Starting position 6 – race 1: “With my first podium finish on Saturday and now my first win, it was a great weekend for me in Oschersleben. I had a perfect start and whizzed forward into second place straight away after starting sixth. After the safety car phase, I had one more Push-to-pass than Ross, and I used this tactical advantage to overtake him. Everything has definitely clicked into place for me now and I want to win in Hockenheim too.”


#6 Ross Wylie    
                      
Starting position 1 – race 2: “It’s a brilliant present, making it onto the podium in the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup for the first time on my 22nd birthday. I’d like to dedicate this success to my parents. It’s their wedding anniversary today and they were out there in the crowd cheering me on. I would have liked to win of course, but Dennis drove really well.”




#20 Kasper H. Jensen   
                       
Starting position 8 – race 3: “It was a pretty tough but very fair race. It couldn’t have gone better for me in Oschersleben. First my first pole position, then my first win and finally third place on used tyres after starting eighth – things don’t get much better than that. Kelvin was unlucky in the race, which means I could still win the Cup. I’ll do all I can to attack again in Hockenheim. Anything is possible – but I need a bit of luck too.”


#3 Jordan Lee Pepper                           

Starting position 4 – race 5: “I would have liked to go home with a podium finish this weekend. But I can live with two top-five results in Oschersleben, especially as I’ve still got a chance in the Cup. This event showed that it’s only really over when the last race has finished. I’ll try to win in Hockenheim and then I’ll see what happens.”


#20 Kelvin van der Linde              
            
Starting position 7 – race 15: “Absolutely everything went wrong in this race. I wanted to play it safe because of the Cup title. Then I came into contact with Mikaela and got the drive-through penalty. All in all, I was too cautious and didn’t take enough risks. I’ll come back stronger in Hockenheim – I want to claim this title.”



The races on TV

A 30-minute summary of the first race will be broadcast on Sport 1 at 20:15 hrs on Sunday.

- VW also photos