The Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team enters the 2016 Championship, aiming to repeat the previous year’s success with the same drivers, personnel and the Beetle GRC race car.
Tanner Foust and the 2015 champion Scott Speed are teaming up for the third straight season with both of them driving the 560hp VW Beetle GRC for its second full-season.
“At the start of last season, we didn’t know a whole lot about the car, so we made a lot of educated guesses about what would work,” said Speed. “As the results show, the Beetle GRC was extremely quick out of the box, and I’m looking forward to what we can do now that we have a better understanding of the vehicle’s dynamics and characteristics.”
The VARX team is a collaboration between Volkswagen Motorsport in Germany and Andretti Autosport in Indianapolis. “The team is an international effort unlike anything else in Global Rallycross,” said Foust. “We spend a lot of time working with Volkswagen Motorsport and benefit from the championship-winning experience and development of their World Rally Championship program. It’s an advantage that’s helped us a great deal in our own work with the Beetle GRC, speeding us along the learning curve with a new car.”
Speed is aiming for this season to win his second successive title. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a chance to go back-to back with championships, so I’m looking forward to the challenge,” he said.
“Scott had a great season last year, but I’m going to make him work for it in 2016”, said Foust. “I know from personal experience what it takes to win back-to-back championships in GRC, so I hope he comes prepared.”
The 2016 RedBull Global Rallycross Championship opens this weekend, May 21-22, in Phoenix.
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