Donington Dramas in Store for Volkswagen Racers

18 April 2007

Less than a fortnight after the fraught opening rounds of the Volkswagen Racing Cup in association with Hankook the championship contenders are back in action again this weekend (21/22 April) at the Donington Park circuit near Derby.

And it will be a crucial pair of races for many drivers – not least for reigning champion Paul Taylor and his 2006 runner-up, Martyn Culley.

For Hertfordshire-based Taylor left Oulton Park’s opening rounds empty handed after crashing out of the lead, his Golf R32 suffering a steering component failure, while Culley (Basingstoke) endured all sorts of dramas, seizing his Vento VR6’s engine in qualifying, starting the race from the back of the grid in a borrowed car and then, after finishing race one a heroic third, he retired from round two with more mechanical problems.

The upshot is that Taylor has yet to score a single point and that Culley is currently just outside the top 10. Meanwhile Berkshire’s Joe Fulbrook, who won both Oulton races in his turbocharged Bora, is sitting on a handsome championship lead and is hoping to capitalise on his success with further good scores at Donington.

‘I was pleased with the way things went at Oulton Park,’ said 36-year-old Fulbrook. ‘I came back to prove a point and I think I’ve done that.’

Taylor, a winner at Donington last year, can be relied upon to go well, particularly so if the weather is damp, which will suit his car’s four-wheel drive. Likewise Graham Needham (Lincoln) and his newer R32 Golf with its innovative DSG semi-automatic ’box; he led briefly at Oulton after a phenomenal damp-track start.

The Golf GTIs of Steve Wood (Gloucester) and Tony Gilham (Swanley) are sure to pose a threat; Wood made the podium in both Oulton races and Gilham would have but for mishaps which saw him start each event from the back.

Craig Inskip, who won at Donington in spectacular style in 2005, is meanwhile set to return to the championship at the wheel of his potent Becra-backed Golf GTI 1.8T.

The Westcountry-based Dziurzynski brothers were both in flying form at Oulton Park, younger sibling Adrian claiming his best-ever finish, second, at the wheel of his Mk II Golf while Alex the elder put a qualifying accident behind him to twice make the top seven in his Corrado.

Donington’s biggest cheers will doubtless be reserved for ‘Herbie’, the number 53 Beetle which is in the hands of Gloucestershire’s Steve Chaplin and which has emerged fastest of the Beetle brigade.

There will be plenty more exciting Volkswagens in action, including the redoubtable TDI-powered Caddy van driven by SEAT MD Peter Wyhinny, who shocked a few by claiming a career-best fourth at Oulton; and the exciting new GT TSI Golf, which showed considerable promise on its world debut.

The Volkswagen Racing Cup in association with Hankook enjoys the additional support of Augustus Martin, Castrol, ECM Vehicle Delivery, Europcar, Milltek Sport, Mondial Assistance, KW Automotive, Superchips, TNT Logistics, Turbo Dynamics, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Volkswagen Financial Services UK.

See 2007 series calendar for VW Racing Cup

Related Story 10.04.2007 - Joe Smokes to VW Double Victory at Oulton