Sciroccos at 2009 Nürburgring 24-hour

source: Volkswagen Motorsport

Wolfsburg (24 May 2009). The Volkswagen Scirocco cars powered by natural gas and petrol engines superbly mastered the world’s most difficult circuit marathon, the 24-hour race on the Nürburgring, by clinching two class victories.

The Scirocco GT24-CNG with innovative EcoFuel technology of Vanina Ickx (B), Peter Terting (D), Klaus Niedzwiedz (D) and Thomas Klenke (D) won the category for vehicles with alternative powertrains (AT) and finished 17th overall, outperforming numerous more powerful cars. The petrol-powered Scirocco GT24 of youngsters Jimmy Johansson (S), Florian Gruber (D), Nicki Thiim (DK) and Martin Karlhofer (A) achieved a remarkable 15th place and Volkswagen's third consecutive victory in the class of cars with two-litre turbo engines (SP3T).

Altfrid Heger (D), Cheng Congfu (CN), Carlo van Dam (NL) and Franck Mailleux (F) finished third in the SP3T class and 20th overall, the CNG-powered Scirocco of Volkswagen Executive Board Member for Technology Dr Ulrich Hackenberg (D), Bernd Ostmann (D), Peter Wyss (CH) and John Barker (GB) finished as the runners-up in the AT class. The fifth Scirocco of Carlos Sainz (E), Dieter Depping (D), Wolfgang Kaufmann (D) and Patrick Simon (D) retired after a strong showing due to an accident that was no fault of theirs on Sunday morning.

Volkswagen with Scirocco R debut

235,000 spectators lining the legendary Nordschleife in perfect weather not only witnessed an extremely thrilling 24-hour race but also the world debut of the new Scirocco R, the most powerful version of the sport coupe with a 265-hp engine. The Scirocco R presented itself to enthusiasts in a motorcade around the roller-coaster in the Eifel along with the Race Touareg with "Dakar” winners Giniel de Villiers (ZA) and Dirk von Zitzewitz (D). The many guests rooting for the Volkswagen team at the "Ring” included actors Erol Sander and Mark Keller.

Needless to say, VfL Wolfsburg's winning of the German Football Championship was a major topic at the Nürburgring as well: Before the start to the 24-hour race Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Carlos Sainz and Kris Nissen wished the VFL team well in a live transmission to the stadium and a short time later sent their congratulations on Wolfsburg's triumph by pit board messages and from the cockpit.