Rob Palmer Swaps to Racing with a VW Golf TDI

25 February 2005

Rally star Rob Palmer is to switch to circuit racing for the 2005 season, and is set to contest the Volkswagen Racing Cup at the wheel of a turbodiesel Golf.
The 39-year-old Devonian - a driving force behind the career of young British rallying talent Chris Meeke - has bought the new-model Golf TDI which made its debut in the championship last year; it will be run by his own Team Palmer in the colours of his family business, Exeter Diesels.

'Chris has landed himself a works drive in the Junior World Rally Championship,' said Rob, 'so I decided it was time to go back and do something myself. I've never done any racing before so it's going to be a wholly new experience and, I hope, a lot of fun.'

Palmer's rallying career includes spells behind the wheel of a diesel Peugeot, an Escort kit-car and a British Championship-winning Astra. A Team Palmer-run Opel carried Meeke to seventh place in the Junior WRC last year.

Recognising the increasing level of competitiveness among the diesel drivers in the Cup, a new award is being introduced - the Volkswagen Racing TDI Cup - which will be won by the highest-placed diesel competitor in the 2005 championship standings.

'We are expecting as many as seven TDI-powered cars this year,' said Volkswagen Racing UK director Sam Roach, 'and the increasing level of competition among them deserves recognition.'

One of Palmer's chief rivals will be Lloyd Allard, a frontrunner over the last two years in his Allard-Turner Motorsport-prepared TDI Golf Mk IV. Both will be bidding to become the first diesel driver to win a round of the championship since Mike Neuhoff made UK motor racing history with his twin victories at Thruxton in 2002.

See 2005 series calendar for VW Racing Cup

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