Volkswagen Scirocco Ready for Nurburgring

Race-Scirocco in its element around the Nürburgring-Nordschleife

The new Volkswagen Scirocco race version, the road-going version of which is launched on the market in autumn, was immediately in its element around the demanding Nürburgring-Nordschleife.

Volkswagen factory driver Dieter Depping (D) completed extensive tests on Monday, 5 May through the "Grüne Hölle” in the Eifel region with the 300 hp Scirocco. After the roll-out on 14 April at the Spreewaldring close to Cottbus, and the endurance test on 22 April at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, this was the third test in preparation for the 24-hour race on 24/25 May.
 
"The new Scirocco was in its element from its very first lap around the Nordschleife. The car also ran perfectly on this unique and difficult track,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "Our technicians have produced excellent work up to now. Now it's a just a question of preparing the three Scirocco perfectly for the race. After all, the 24-hours is a merciless test for man and machine.”
 
Whether it was the Hatzenbach, Flugplatz, Fuchsröhre, Adenauer Forst, Karussell, Pflanzgarten, Schwalbenschwanz or Galgenkopf the blue Scirocco brilliantly mastered the renowned sections of the Nordschleife. "The experience gained last year when we took class victory with the Golf GTI and eighth position overall helped us immensely to set-up the Scirocco,” says Dieter Depping. "It goes without saying that we tested quite a lot during the tests, but the changes were actually very small. The Scirocco is great through the many and varied corners and the handling very forgiving – which is of great importance for us drivers particularly in this endurance race and with 220 cars on the circuit. The less you have to concentrate on your own car the better.”
 
Volkswagen will start this long-distance classic at the Nürburgring with three Scirocco driven by two-time Rally World Champion Carlos Sainz (E), more recently winner of the Central Europe Rally with the Race Touareg, together with Cross Country Rallying team mates Giniel de Villiers (RSA) and Dieter Depping (D), Volkswagen Junior Jimmy Johansson (S) and the touring car youngsters (D), Thomas Mutsch (D) and Francois Verbist (B) team up in another example, Hans-Joachim Stuck, Motorsport Representative for the Volkswagen Concerns since the start of the year, Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Board of Management of the Volkswagen Brand with responsibility for Development and German Journalist Bernd Ostmann (auto motor und sport) and Matthias Malmedie (Grip – das Motormagazin).
 
As preparation for the 24-hour race Sainz, de Villiers, Stuck, Dr. Hackenberg, Ostmann and Malmedie will contest the four-hour endurance race at the Nürburgring with a pair of Golf GTI R-Line cars this coming Saturday (10 May).