Skip to main content

Initial tests with the Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR prove successful

[See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com]

Wolfsburg (18th March 2016). The stage is set for the new circuit racer: the Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR successfully completed the official TCR comparison tests in Valencia (E). Prior to this, the first five of 20 cars were delivered to two customers. The cars were then put through their paces during two days of testing at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. Engstler Motorsport from Germany and the W-Racing Team from Belgium, who line up in the TCR International Series in 2016, took to the racetrack for the first time with the new 330-hp touring car.

As well as familiarising themselves with the new car, the test programme also included the obligatory Balance-of-Performance test (BOP). This meant performance tests on the test stand, car measurements to determine the car’s centre of gravity, acceleration and deceleration tests with varying amounts of ballast and an official TCR driver at the wheel. The data gathered in the BOP is analysed and used to achieve a similar level of performance between the cars of different manufacturers, thus ensuring everyone has the same chance of winning. However, this task proved far from easy for the powers that be: heavy rain in Valencia repeatedly disrupted the two test days.

In total, eight customer sports teams will field the Golf GTI TCR in 2016: Engstler Motorsport, Kai Jordan, D&T Drive & Training (all Germany), W-Racing Team, Gtps Delahaye Racing Team (both Belgium), Milo Racing (Luxembourg), Gusto Technik Performance (Hong Kong) and Novaplus Gestão Desportiva (Portugal). The racing Golf will start in five TCR championships: in the international series, the Benelux and Asia series as well as in the German and Portuguese championships.

Quotes after the comparison tests with the Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR

Eduard Weidl, Head of Customer Sports
“The comparison tests with the Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR went well. We are happy, but we also know that we still have some work ahead of us – particularly when it comes to the cars’ traction. As such, the tests were very helpful and revealing. The Engstler team completed more than 50 laps with its three cars on both days, allowing it to make some valuable findings. The feedback received from the customer sports teams and drivers on the Golf GTI TCR was certainly very positive.”

Jordi Gené, test and development driver
“The Golf GTI TCR is a real racer. Compared to last year’s concept car, we have made good progress in many areas. Thanks to the new six-speed sequential racing gearbox, an improved braking system, and modifications to the aerodynamics, the Golf is now even better to drive. We will obviously continue to work on the car throughout the season, where the regulations allow it, in order to ensure that we improve continuously. As far as performance is concerned, I am sure that the customer sports teams will be able to challenge for the championship in the various TCR series.”

The post Initial tests with the Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR prove successful appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/1RTqPxJ
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Saying Goodbye to the CC V6

For all its size and its global reach, Volkswagen is still, in many ways, a deeply human company. There was, for instance, the Bugatti Veyron an ego project if ever there was one. Then the purchase of Ducati, a move most called folly. And then there was the Phaeton, the Volkswagen that most folks can’t afford. Not only were these moves all strange, I’m sure that they made VW’s accountants furious. None of them made good business sense, but they were all deeply interesting and they all are evidence of the heart that beats at the center of VW. Among these follies is the CC, a car that everyone agrees is rakishly handsome, but that no one really wanted to buy. The car couldn’t last, but the world is brighter for its having been in it. With the approach debut of the Arteon, it seems like a good time to look back on its sadly departing predecessor. The version I drove, because I live in Canada, is a V6 Wolfsburg Edition, which apparently isn’t available in the States. Nor is the V6, not as...
Post a Comment
Read more

T-Prime Makes World Premiere at Beijing

[ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] The SUV segment is one of the fastest growing segments in the world and Volkswagen is showing the world how to do it. With the new T-Prime Concept GTE that was revealed today, the company is showing off all of the technology you can look for in its coming models. The T-Prime is a full-size hybrid SUV that can go up to 31 miles on a charge and gets 87 mpg. The hybrid power station is good for 375 hp and 516 lb/ft of torque and puts the power down with 4MOTION all wheel drive. It’ll get you up to 60 in six seconds. The concept’s real party piece, though, is its interior, which features exclusively touch, gesture, and voice controls. Everything from the infotainment, to the display, and even the gears are controlled by touch-screen. The T-Prime Concept GTE is bigger than the Touareg, and design elements are likely to find their way into all of their SUVs, of which there will be many. Volkswagen is also announcing that they expect to make an S...
Post a Comment
Read more

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...
Post a Comment
Read more