CTSCC - APR pulls amazing 1-2 finish at Watkins Glen

Against all odds APR Motorsport pulled out a fantastic 1-2 finish at Watkins Glen this past weekend. Considering how things were at the start, this seems almost impossible to believe. APR has always seemed to do well at Watkins, with their first Continental Tire victory coming at the track in 2009. All three APR VW GTIs started from the back of the pack. The #171 championship car of Ian Baas and Ryan Ellis had an engine let go in qualifying which meant they started at the back of the pack.



The 181 and new 161 Mk5 GTI (replacing the now-retired / written-off GS class S4) were moved to the back of the pack for a technical infraction of some sort, which was doubly disappointing as the Gleason brothers in the 181 and Nate Norenberg in the 161 (along with Josh Hurley) were set to start 3rd in ST.

Despite all that, the team regrouped and passed the entire ST field and ended up at the front of the pack. That's 55 cars! The equivalent of starting from the back and passing the entire field for victory at Le Mans from a number of cars passed standpoint.



The final finish was the 181 in first, 161 in second, and 171 in 31st. Ian lost the driver's championship points lead after suspension problems set them back in the field.



Although it's unfortunate for Ian to get bumped from the lead of the driver's championship, APR and VW remain in very strong positions, with VW retaining the manufacturer lead by one point over Mazda, and APR sitting fourth in team points. Ryan Ellis remains in the top five in the driver's championship.

With four events remaining it's crucial for APR to keep it together and finish strong in every event.

For more: www.grand-am.com / www.aprmotorsport.com

_WRS

CTSCC - Kevin Gleason kills in qualifying, starts P2 at Lime Rock

APR Motorsport is looking good going into this weekend's Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Memorial Day Classic at Lime Rock Park. VW Jetta TDI Cup veteran Kevin Gleason ran a scorching sub-60 second lap to take second place on tomorrow's starting grid. For a track as tight and technical as Lime Rock, a strong starting position is key. Kevin will start tomorrow's Grand Am CTSCC race in the #181 and hand over to brother Chris to finish out the event.



Championship points leader Ryan Ellis will end up P14 on the grid, with the small track making for tight, and slow, qualifying in the 171 GTI. Ian Baas will be co-driving with Ryan.



APR Motorsport is in need of a good weekend, as the previous round at VIR race was challenging to say the least. Both GTIs struggled and placed off the podium, while the star-crossed S4 was finished off in a heavy shunt. The S4 is done for, and a new chassis is being prepped, but it effectively ends the APR effort in GS for this season.

The race is tomorrow at 10:30am - check out www.grand-am.com for live timing and scoring. The race will be broadcast on Speed TV sometime in the future...

Best of luck to the APR crew! Unfortunately tight time and finances means no trip to Lakeville this year, maybe next. With a strong finish, APR drivers Ian Baas and Ryan Ellis should stay in the hunt for the championship.

_WRS

CTSCC - Round 2 from Homestead Miami (today at 4:15pm)

The second round of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge takes off today at Homestead Miami Speedway at 4:15pm eastern. APR Motorsport is there ready to continue the success they had in the ST class, and hoping to improve on their results in GS. GHary Gibson landed the big B8 S4 landed pretty much square in the middle of the GS field, 16th out of 29 cars. The 3.0 TFSI V6 showed supreme flashes of speed last season, but so far hasn't quite found the groove that the ST GTIs have.



Speaking of which, the two 2.0t Mk6 GTIs are toward the sharp end of a very competitive field. While not able to pull out a class poll-position, the 171 of Ian Baas and Ryan Ellis sits 6th out of 34 cars, and the 181 of the Gleason brothers earned 8th position.



Check out live timing and scoring at Grand-am.com or check out APR's Twitter feed for live updates.

Now we're talking : VW takes the wraps off their latest 24 hour racer

Finally. We've got a real race car to route for. Yeah yeah, there's the R18, the R8LM, R15++ blah blah blah. The Scirocco 24 was close, but they don't even sell the Scirocco in the USA, and it was a basic FWD 2.0t, so it was a little harder to get excited about.



The Golf24 however, ticks all the right boxes. I mean look at all those things! Spoilers, splitters and air vents galore! The wide fenders, super aggressive fascia, everything about this car is fantastic, and if VW were to make an RSR to compete on a world stage, this is what it should look like.



Which VW will never do. This car will be a one-race wonder probably, or at the very least it'll never make it over to America for any appearances. The specifications are certainly impressive; 6-speed sequential box, 440 horsepower 5-cylinder turbo motor, and all-wheel drive.



Still it would be nice if they sold these on to customers. Something tells me the cost would be rather high, as it's basically a GT3 spec VW Golf, but just imagine how fantastic it would be to see this car going up against the entire GT field at Sebring, Lime Rock, Road Atlanta... (and yes I know GT3 is still not legal in the ALMS, but we're talking 'in a perfect world' here)



It's nice that VW commits such resources to the Nurburgring 24 hours, which is scheduled for June 25th and 26th, but it would be even better to see them commit to an entire series and go for a championship. We all know they have the technical and monetary resources...so how about it VW?

_WRS

CTSCC - Round 1 from Daytona - APR Motorsport on ST pole

The 2011 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge kicks off today at 1:30pm EST, with the Grand Am 200 at Daytona International Speedway. Like other large tracks, the CTSCC is running combined classes at Daytona so both GS and ST cars will be on course at the same time. You can check out live timing and scoring for the race at www.grand-am.com - and it will be broadcast live on SpeedTV at 3pm on February 5th.

The good news for VAG fans is that APR Motorsport, who like previous years is flying the flag in the CTSCC, earned pole position in the Street Tuner class with new driver Ryan Ellis behind the wheel of their new-for-2011 Mk6 GTI 4-door. This is a very strong indicator that 2011 could finally be the year that APR Motorsport has what it takes to clinche the championship. The Mk5 GTIs were always a bit down on power, and for the Mk6 to be on pole it's clear that APR has been doing a lot of homework on getting the absolute maximum from the 2.0t TSI. Ellis managed a 2:06.818 to get ahead of the DeMan Motorsports Porsche Boxster, and the always-fast Compass360 Racing Honda Civic Si.

The disappointment is in Grand Sport, where the B8 S4 qualified a low 19th in class, reportedly due to minor suspension trouble. We saw flashes of brilliance from the supercharged sedan last year, but it was plagued with teething troubles and APR had a rough go of it. APR's Jeff Mishtawy is usually quite adept at calling race strategy and consistently puts the team in the position to win, but with the competitiveness of the CTSCC, starting back in 19th does not always bode well for podium finishes. If the car can hold together, it should do well.

Here we go! The first event for 2011 in the USA is almost underway...

_WRS

CTSCC - Tonight at 9 on Speed...

Tune tonight at 9pm EST for the broadcast of last weekend's final race of the CTSCC season, which took place at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah. I haven't posted the results yet (although they're all over if you look) as APR was finally showing a strong hand from the start rather than struggling mid-pack.



The Mk6 took it's first poll position and has a hungry pack ready to take it down as soon as they can. Will the boys from Alabama be able to hold them off? Find out tonight...

speedtv.com
goapr.com

_WRS

CTSCC - APR Motorsport on pole position in ST

The final round of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge begins at 2:45ET today, at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah. APR Motorsport has scored pole position in the ST class with the #91 Mk6 GTI. This is the first time that the Mk6 has been on pole, and the strong starting position should aid them in a strong finish in the ultra-competitive CTSCC. If they can end the season on a high note it should prove to be a great boost for 2011. Check it out at 2:45ET today, live on Grand-Am.com - live timing and scoring plus live audio.

We here at Der Wolfsburg Rennsport apologize for a slacking coverage of the CTSCC. Things have been extremely busy outside in the real world so the time to keep up has been missing from the schedule.

_WRS

APR Desktop Image - Mk6 GTI

APR has just released this desktop image of their brand new for 2010 Mk6 GTi for the CTSCC series. Click HERE to view / download the full size!

_WRS

Anatomy of a race car - APR Mk6 GTI Build up

Ever wonder what it takes to turn a stone-stock GTI into a seriously competitive machine for this year's Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge? Well wonder no more. APR has been working overtime to replace their aging Mk5s with the new Mk6 this season, and although they weren't ready for the Daytona opener, things are moving along swiftly.



The car was stripped down to absolutely nothing in a mere two days, with every unnecessary bit removed to reduce weight as much as possible. Sound deadening? Gone. Power windows, gone. Sunroof, gone. Plus every little bracket or piece of metal that is deemed as expendable.



Not even the wire harness escaped unscathed, with a huge 14lbs of extra wire ripped out. It's amazing to think how much weight these cars carry in luxury and conveniences for the modern day driver.



Check out the doors....! No need for power windows at 140mph plus.



The cage, like everything else at APR Motorsport, has been done in-house. The motor is currently being rebuilt before re-installation, along with a DXD clutch and rebuilt 6-speed gearbox. APR is typically tight-lipped on power outputs, as you would imagine, but modifications to the 2.0t engine are very limited, with the stock turbo remaining and boost being specified at a very strict limit.



The car just came back from paint, and should be really sharp once all the graphics are done. I'll keep updating as things move along for the 2010.



www.GoAPR.com

_WRS