Golf Racing – AUSmotive.com

Volkswagen Golf Racing wins on TCR debut

Team Engstler driver Pol Rosell won race 2 of the TCR International Series meeting at the Red Bull Ring on the weekend and in doing so gave the Golf Racing its maiden win. Not a bad effort for the car’s first competitive outing.

The Golf made its presence known early after Rosell’s teammate Mikhail Grachev set the fastest lap during the second free practice session with a time of 1:40.593.

Volkswagen Motorsport’s usual Monday morning newsletter had this brief report:

First appearance, first win: The new Volkswagen Golf for the racetrack made its debut in the Touringcar Racer International Series (TCR) and promptly claimed its first victory. The Golf run by cooperation partner Liqui Moly Team Engstler triumphed at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. Spainâ€™s Pol Rosell won race two, finishing ahead of his compatriots Pepe Oriola (Seat) and Jordi GenÃ© (Seat). Starting from pole position, Rosell defended his lead until the chequered flag at the 4.318-kilometre Grand Prix circuit. Mikhail Grachev (RUS) came sixth in the second Golf.

Rosell finished ninth and Grachev seventh in race one. Victory went to Switzerlandâ€™s Stefano Comini (Seat).

The racing version in action in Austria is the first such model based on the seventh generation of Volkswagen Golf. The production-based, 330-hp concept car is assembled in accordance with TCR Regulations and is intended to allow Volkswagen to evaluate a possible customer racing programme as of the 2016 season. In order to accelerate the development process, the new Golf will be tested under competitive conditions in the TCR between now and the end of the season.

The next races will take place in Singapore from 19 to 20 September, when they will share the bill with the Formula One World Championship.

EDIT: A brief highlights video has been added below. [Thanks to Tom for the tip]

Volkswagen Golf Racing revealed

Volkswagen Motorsport dropped these images to our inbox overnight and we like what we’re seeing. This is the 243kW/410Nm Golf Racing. It’s been built to compete in the final four races of the 2015 Touringcar International Series (TCR) and will make its competition debut at the Red Bull Ring this weekend.

The production-based concept will test the waters for Volkswagen Motorsport to see if there’s a market to offer this as an ongoing customer racing model for the 2016 season. The Volkswagen group is already represented in TCR with the Seat Leon and Audi TT.

Taking power from an uprated 2.0 litre Golf R engine the Golf Racing puts its power to the ground through the front wheels only, using a 6-speed DSG and 18-inch wheels and tyres. The somewhat extreme bodykit is in keeping with its competitors and is 400m wider than a standard Golf VII.

Officially still in a development phase, the Golf Racing will be run by Liqui Moly Team Engstler for the remainder of the TCR season, which has rounds to follow Austria in Singapore, Thailand and Macau.

“The newly created TCR category provides a promising platform for customer racingâ€”on a national and international level,” said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito. “With exciting races, production-based technology and reasonable costs, it offers a new outlook for private racing teams.”