David Jurca Finishes Fourth in Jetta TDI Cup Debut

April 28th, 2008

Federal Way, WA. - In its worldwide debut, the first Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup race was held Sunday at VIRginia International Raceway with David Jurca of Federal Way, Washington finishing in the fourth position in the 30-minute sprint race. This was Jurca’s first time racing in a sports car after competing as one of the top nationally ranked shifter kart drivers for the last five years. With his best lap time quicker than that of the winner’s, Jurca was able to stay out of trouble in the action packed race against 30 other competitors.

“After qualifying seventh for the race, I focused on the areas that I needed to improve on for the race,” commented Jurca. “They mainly consisted of learning the characteristics of a clean diesel engine rather than the typical gasoline engine I was used to. Without a lot of practice time, I was able to take what I learned from qualifying to improve myself in the race. The Volkswagen Jetta performed flawlessly and I must thank my marketing partners Redapt, Serengeti Design, Pignataro Volkswagen, and Washington Cedar and Supply. Without them, my 2008 season efforts would not be possible.”

“We couldn’t be more thrilled about our first Jetta TDI Cup race experience,” said Stefan Jacoby, president/CEO, Volkswagen of America, Inc. “We had an amazing event in Virginia with Governor Kaine in attendance, ‘Max’ leading the pack as pace car, and incredibly talented young drivers racing clean diesel cars in what’s proving to be a very competitive race series.”

Complete Jetta TDI Cup race results are listed below with finishing position, driver, hometown, and laps completed.
1. Mark Pombo, Duluth, Ga., 11
2. Derek Jones, Philadelphia, Pa., 11, -.463
3. Jimmy Underhill, Denver, Colo., 11, -.532
4. David Jurca, Federal Way, Wash., 11, -.831
5. Gary Williams_Jr., Dana Point, Calif., 11, -1.171
6. Caleb Kenney, Berkeley, Calif., -1.629
7. Chris Kuenning(R), Grand Rapids, Mich., 11, -2.381
8. Chris Castagna, Boston, Mass., 11, -2.556
9. Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle, Puebla, MX, 11, -3.269
10. Michael DeNino, Gaithersburg, Md., 11, -4.122
11. Jake Dallenbach(R), San Antonio, Texas, 11, -4.846
12. Adam Kretschmer(R), Brampton, Ontario, 11, -8.487
13. Andy Lee, Colorado Springs, Colo., 11, -11.204
14. Nick Mancuso, Mettawa, Ill., 11, -11.663
15. Andrew Cordeiro, Woodbridge, Ontario, 11, -11.828
16. Taylor Broekemeier(R), Fort Collins, Colo., 11, -12.457
17. Adam Love(R), Normal, Ill., 11, -14.986
18. Wyatt Dallenbach(R), San Antonio, Texas, 11, -15.751
19. James Kirkham, Beaverton, Ore., 11, -18.063
20. Ryan Buetzer, Long Beach, Calif., 11, -18.195
21. David Richert(R), Niverville MB, Canada, 11, -19.377
22. John Shim(R), Starkville, Miss., 11, -19.768
23. Evan Pflock(R), Rendondo Beach, Calif., 11, -26.949
24. Josh Hurley, Cooper City, Fla., 11, -2:11.011
25. Chad Brassfield(R), Phoenix, Ariz., 10, -1 lap
26. Liam Kenney, Sterling, Va., 9, DNF
27. Adam Crepin(R), St. Louis, Mo., 9, DNF
28. Chris Holman, Burlington, Ontario, 9, DNF
29. Timmy Megenbier, Melrose Park, Ill., 3, DNF

In the end, the winner of the race series will be awarded $100,000 from Volkswagen to aid them in their next steps as a professional racer. An additional $150,000 will be given to the winner if he or she signs a contract with a professional level team within six months of winning the Jetta TDI Cup series.

All drivers in this innovative race participated using factory prepared and managed 2009 Jetta TDI clean-diesel vehicles powered by a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder TDI engine. The Jetta TDI is lightly modified from spec, featuring race-ready suspension and brakes, and a six-speed double-clutch automatic DSG transmission. Additionally, to highlight its environmental dedication Volkswagen has partnered with Carbonfund.org to certify the entire race series as carbon free.

The next race in the series will take place on May 16 – 18th, at Mosport International Raceway in Ontario, Canada. The Jetta TDI Cup series, the first all clean-diesel race series, is sanctioned by the SCCA Pro Racing, Inc. and Volkswagen of America, Inc.