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GRC: Red Bull Recaps Washington DC Presented by Volkswagen

Photo- Larry Chen

Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross had a bit of a rough go this weekend in our nation’s capital, with Tanner Foust scoring a 5th place finish, and Scott Speed clinching 7th after advancing through the LCQ.  The event saw a dominant performance from Ford, with the top four places held by Fiesta STs, but still Volkswagen remains hopeful.  Red Bull Global Rallycross action picks back up next month for a double-header in Los Angeles.

Read the full recap below.

IN BRIEF: In his 21st career Red Bull Global Rallycross start, Nelson Piquet Jr. finally topped the Supercar podium for the first time in Red Bull GRC Washington DC presented by Volkswagen. Piquet held off defending Washington DC race winner Patrik Sandell and points leader Ken Block to take the victory.

HEAT RECAPS: Jeff Ward and Nelson Piquet Jr. won Friday’s first round heats, while Piquet (with an incredible last-lap pass) and Joni Wiman won the second-round heats. Piquet earned a victory in his semifinal to grab the inside starting spot for the main event, while Patrik Sandell won the other semifinal to start alongside him. Scott Speed, who posted the fastest time in Friday’s qualifying, won the last chance qualifier.

MAIN EVENT RECAP: Ten cars charged into the first corner at RFK Stadium, with Piquet jumping out in front and establishing himself as the leader. The first half of the eight-lap final was dominated by a three-way battle for third, with Ken Block, Tanner Foust, and Steve Arpin all jostling for the final podium position.

After chasing down Piquet for the entire event, Sandell made contact from behind, pushing in Piquet’s left rear fender and leading to a tire rub. Undeterred, Piquet held on to the top spot for the final lap to take his first victory in a Supercar main event.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: The results from Saturday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Washington DC presented by Volkswagen, the seventh round of the 2015 Red Bull GRC season:

  1. Nelson Piquet Jr., #07 SH Racing Rallycross Ford Fiesta ST
  2. Patrik Sandell, #18 Bryan Herta Rallysport Ford Fiesta ST
  3. Ken Block, #43 Hoonigan Racing Division Ford Fiesta ST
  4. Steve Arpin, #00 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford Fiesta ST
  5. Tanner Foust, #34 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle
  6. Sebastian Eriksson, #93 Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST
  7. Scott Speed, #41 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle
  8. Austin Dyne, #14 Bryan Herta Rallysport Ford Fiesta ST
  9. Jeff Ward, #360 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford Fiesta ST
  10. Joni Wiman, #31 Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST
  11. Logan Gomez, #77 Royal Purple Racing Ford Fiesta
  12. Pat Moro, #59 PMR Motorsports Chevrolet Sonic

QUOTES: A selection of quotes from Saturday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Washington DC presented by Volkswagen, the seventh round of the 2015 Red Bull GRC season:

Nelson Piquet Jr., #07 SH Racing Rallycross Ford Fiesta ST: “This is thanks to the team. They’ve been making the car quicker and quicker every race, and we’re just getting more and more competitive, so I have to thank the team. They’ve been improving the car so much, Sulli’s been working hard, the whole team at SH Rallycross, to make the car quicker and more competitive every weekend. We were a bit frustrated the last few weeks with some failures and some bad results because obviously we come to the racetrack and we want to win every weekend. We’ve been together, me and Sulli, since the beginning of last year and all these great sponsors, Hydroxycut, Wix, Haus Personal Vaporizer, have been supporting us for such a long time. They deserve a win, and hopefully this is just the first one for the future—we’re going to have a long time together. I’m really happy.”

Patrik Sandell, Driver, #18 Bryan Herta Rallysport Ford Fiesta ST: “This is brand new for me, it’s a brand new team with Bryan Herta Rallysport and Kobalt who are still with me. But we tried to build this package, try to work really hard, and try to fight for the podiums in each and every race. We’ve been really fast, and now lately we’ve been able to get up onto the podium quite frequently. I’m super happy for the team, they are putting in so much work and so much effort ,so again, this podium goes to them.”

Ken Block, Driver, #43 Hoonigan Racing Division Ford Fiesta ST: “Really, we were struggling this weekend—the team and I worked really hard, especially the crew, to really try and figure out the setup. It got better and better and better, and by the end I was a lot more comfortable with what we were doing out there. I just really wanted to come away with a better result than what we ended up with in the last Detroit race. Really I couldn’t ask for anything better at this point, we’re in this for the championship win so it’s good to come away with a podium and extending the lead.”

FAST FACTS: A collection of facts from Saturday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Washington DC presented by Volkswagen, the seventh round of the 2015 Red Bull GRC season:

  • Nelson Piquet Jr. won his first Red Bull Global Rallycross Supercar main event in his 21st career start. He also took the seventh podium of his Supercar career, his third of the season after third place runs in Fort Lauderdale and at MCAS New River.
  • Patrik Sandell earned his third podium of the season and second podium in the past two races. All three of Sandell’s podium finishes in 2015 have come in the past four races.
  • Championship leader Ken Block took his fifth podium of the season on Saturday by placing third in the Supercar main event. He has podiumed in every race this season except for Daytona I and Detroit II.
  • Steve Arpin’s fourth place finish is his best result since placing third in Daytona I in June. He missed the previous final in Detroit II after falling victim to mechanical issues in the last chance qualifier.
  • By placing fifth, Tanner Foust earned his best finish since Daytona II in June. It was his fourth top-five result of the 2015 season.
  • Logan Gomez and Pat Moro each made their first start of the 2015 Red Bull GRC season in Washington DC. They finished 11th and 12th, respectively, with neither driver advancing past the last chance qualifier.

OFFICIAL DRIVER POINTS:

  1. Ken Block, 302
  2. Sebastian Eriksson, 261
  3. Nelson Piquet Jr., 234
  4. Austin Dyne, 212
  5. Patrik Sandell, 205
  6. Scott Speed, 203
  7. Joni Wiman, 199
  8. Steve Arpin, 198
  9. Tanner Foust, 172
  10. Brian Deegan, 76
  11. Sverre Isachsen, 61
  12. Bucky Lasek, 51
  13. Victor Gonzalez Jr., 17
  14. Jeff Ward, ineligible for points
  15. Logan Gomez, ineligible for points
  16. Pat Moro, ineligible for points

OFFICIAL MANUFACTURER POINTS:

  1. Ford, 34
  2. Volkswagen, 28
  3. Subaru, 19

The post GRC: Red Bull Recaps Washington DC Presented by Volkswagen appeared first on VWVortex.



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