SCOTT SPEED TO RACE SHARK WEEK THEMED BEETLE GRC IN RED BULL GLOBAL RALLYCROSS SEASON OPENER

May 27, 2015 by Volkswagen

Scott Speed and Tanner Foust will contest the Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship in Beetle GRCs, starting this weekend in Fort Lauderdale

Herndon, VA — The Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team begins its second full season of racing this weekend in Ft. Lauderdale. The team will again be battling with two Beetle GRC race cars, which debuted in the closing races of 2014.

As Volkswagen enters its fourth consecutive year as a presenting sponsor of Discovery Channel's SHARK WEEK, Scott Speed will concurrently begin the Red Bull Global Rallycross season behind the wheel of the No. 41 SHARK WEEK Volkswagen Beetle GRC, wrapped for SHARK WEEK, which begins on July 5th.

'My father raced with No. 41 in karts when I was younger so it's pretty special to me,' said Speed. 'I have only had the option to choose the No. 41 twice in my career and was able to win championships each time. Hopefully it continues to bring me luck in 2015!'

New this year, the team has chosen to change the engine specification from the Beetle GRC race cars that ran in 2014. In place of the 1.6-liter turbocharged and intercooled TSI® four-cylinder engine, there is now a 2.0-liter TSI engine that produces 553 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque, compared to 544 hp and 387 lb-ft for the 2014 car.

'Volkswagen and Andretti have been hard at work during the offseason and making good use of the lessons learned from last year's limited running of the Beetle GRC,' said Tanner Foust, driver of the No. 34 Rockstar Energy Drink Volkswagen Beetle GRC. 'I'm excited to stack it up with the new engine against the amazing competition the series has this year and I'm looking forward to getting back on track.'

'We're really excited about our second season in the Global Rallycross series,' said Clark Campbell, General Manager, Motorsports, Volkswagen of America. 'We have the same great drivers and team, and have further developed the Beetle GRC, based on our race experience last year and offseason testing. I'm optimistic that we will be contending for race wins and the title again this year.'

In addition to the twelve regular season races, both drivers have been invited to the non-scoring Summer X Games in Austin, TX. Gold medalist Scott Speed will be in the hunt to defend his 2014 title.

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Launching this week, the VARX Supercars app will provide GRC fans with the perfect mobile companion to every race weekend. Users can stay up to date on schedules, session results, and live timing and scoring, all in the palm of his or her hand. The app is free to download for iOS and Android users. Search 'VARX Supercars' in the App Store or on Google Play to download.

Red Bull Global Rallycross Fort Lauderdale will take place at Bahia Mar Resort & Marina in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, from May 30-31. NBC will air the race live on Sunday, May 31, at 3:00 p.m. ET. Follow @VW and @FollowAndretti on Twitter for live updates throughout the event.

About Volkswagen of America, Inc.

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc., an operating unit of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (VWoA) is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. VWoA's operations in the United States include research and development, parts and vehicle processing, parts distribution centers, sales, marketing and service offices, financial service centers, and its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Volkswagen Group is one of the world's largest producers of passenger cars and Europe's largest automaker. VWoA sells the Beetle, Beetle Convertible, CC, Eos, e-Golf, Golf, Golf GTI, Golf R, Golf SportWagen, Jetta, Passat, Tiguan, and Touareg vehicles through approximately 652 independent U.S. dealers.

About Andretti Autosport

Based in Indianapolis and led by racing legend Michael Andretti, Andretti Autosport boasts a wide racing portfolio rooted in tradition and designed for success. Together with Andretti Formula E and Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross, Andretti Autosport fields multiple entries in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights and the Pro Mazda Championship, along with entries in the FIA Formula E Championship and Global Rallycross. The company boasts four IndyCar Series championships (2004, 2005, 2007, 2012), two Indy Lights titles (2008, 2009), one Pro Mazda championship (2013) and one USF2000 championship (2010) and has captured victory at the famed Indianapolis 500 three times (2005, 2007, 2014). To share in the Andretti story, please visit online at AndrettiAutosport.com or AndrettiTV.com and follow along on Twitter via @FollowAndretti and @AndrettiFE.