Ross Wylie celebrated his 22nd birthday in perfect style by claiming a fantastic maiden Junior Cup victory and second place overall in the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup at Oschersleben, Germany, today (15 Sep).
The Thornhill youngster started from pole-position, courtesy of finishing eighth the previous day, led the opening six laps and posted the second fastest race lap around the 14-corner, 2.3-mile track.
But a Safety Car period after an on-track incident brought the 17-car field together again which ultimately cost Scotland’s recently selected BRDC “Rising Star” a likely outright win.
“Scoring my first Junior Cup victory and finishing second overall is a brilliant birthday present,” confirmed Ross who dedicated his win to parents Brian and Veronica who were celebrating their 23rd wedding anniversary at the German track supporting Ross.
“An outright win as opposed to finishing second overall would of course have been even better.
“I’d made a good start from ‘pole’ and created a comfortable gap getting the best out of my new tyres and ‘push to pass’ but then the Safety Car destroyed my advantage.
“Eventual winner Dennis Trebing was on my tail at the re-start but I managed to keep him behind until he made a brave move around the outside of Turn 1. I’d used up all of my ‘push to pass’ power boosts whereas Trebing hadn’t so he had an extra 50hp making it impossible for me to defend.
“I’d set the second fastest time in practice on Friday but struggled a little with pace in Saturday’s opening race although significantly I was the only one using ‘old’ tyres, preferring to save my new allocation for Sunday’s race.
“By finishing eighth, I started race two from pole-position, my first in Germany, so it’s been a highly successful weekend for me. Mark Jenkins from SlideSports, the team that prepares my Volkswagen in the British series was on hand and played a vital role for me in the pits.”
Wylie remains eighth overall and fifth in the Junior Cup standings – but now only nine-points off the third-placed driver in the latter.
The final Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup race is staged at Hockenheim on 19 October. Prior to the German finale, however, Wylie races in the final two races of the APR Volkswagen Racing Cup at Donington Park, Leicestershire, on 6 October looking to post his fifth top-three result and move up from sixth place in the standings.
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* Editorial Copyright Photographs from Oschersleben attached