Diesel Jetta the equalizer in one-make race series

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Jim Kenzie nestles into his VW Jetta TDI before racing it in the 30-minute event last Sunday at Mosport.

Jim Kenzie

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

It was 20 years ago, almost to the day.

I was part of a mostly journalist team competing in a 24-hour race at Mosport in an Archer Brothers-prepared Eagle Talon.

I lost it at the top of the dreaded Turn Four. I slid backward down the hill at 160 km/h.

At that moment, another car roared over the crest of the hill toward me. He braked violently, but managed to dive to the inside.

The car was a Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo, driven by Pepe Pombo.

Last Sunday, also at Mosport, I was passed by another Pombo – Pepe's son Mark – who won the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup race in which I was a guest driver.

The Jetta TDI Cup is a one-marque series in which driving skill ultimately wins out.

The cars are powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine producing 170 horsepower, mated to a six-speed Dual Clutch gearbox. Other than racing suspension, brakes lifted from the Audi R8, a roll cage and other safety equipment, the cars are basically stock. They're rotated through various drivers to ensure no one gets an unfair advantage.

Mosport's round last weekend was the seventh of 10 rounds.

I qualified last for the 30-minute race. But I did raise the average age of this field by about four years.

Race day dawned gloomy. Pirelli rain tires were the choice.

I didn't see much of it from row 20-whatever of the grid, but Mark Pombo apparently made a stunning start, and built up a 12-second lead midway through the race.

"I had to get out front and build a margin," he said later. "Never mind that the tires were cold."

The field started to close in on him near the end.

"The track was drying and the rain tires started to go away," he said, "and I figured there might be a big crash, leading to a full-course yellow.

"I wanted to make sure I had some tires left if there was going to be a sprint to the finish."

As impressive as Pombo's performance was, the drive of the day belonged to Andrew Cordeiro of Woodbridge.

In his second season, he has a couple of top-fives. Mosport is his home track and, with family cheering him on, he moved from ninth to third, his best finish ever.

"I was second at one point," he said. "But Timmy (Megenbier, currently the series leader) was really pushing me and I didn't want to risk a crash and lose the podium, so I let him go."

Thompson finished fifth, putting two Canadians (there are only three running in the series) in the top five.

Personally, I had several objectives: Don't crash (check), don't get in anybody's way (check) and don't get lapped. Two out of three ain't bad.

For most of the race I was dicing with another car. I could see he was having trouble getting grip, especially in the left-hand Turn Nine, where I gained several car lengths on him. At one point I actually got alongside of him coming through Turn 10.

A lap or two later, my tires started to go away, so that challenge faded. I just wanted to take that checkered flag; at least I could see him for the entire race.

Jetta TDI Cup cars are great fun to drive, although it does feel a bit weird to upshift a race car at 4200 rpm. The torque (almost 300 lb.-ft.) from a diesel is so ample there's just no reason to rev it any higher.

The handling is terrific – very stable, no tricks. And those massive brakes stop you NOW.

As impressive as these kids were as race drivers, they were even more impressive as people. As part of the series, they receive training in media and sponsor relations as well as day-to-day coaching on their driving.

All were bright and personable.

Theresa Condict, one of two women in the series, is from Lexington, Mass., but attended McGill University so she could work on her French; she majored in physics with a minor in music (she's a guitar player).

And while all have potential as race drivers, their chances of ever making the pinnacle of the sport are slim. Half the Formula One field is already younger than most of these kids.

But they do have a shot at other pro series, although that depends on luck and finding sponsorship.

Clark Campbell, another Canadian who runs VW of America's Motorsports programs, said they could also find careers in race promotion and organization, or even as journalists.

Okay, kids. Come take me on at my game.

Wheels' chief auto correspondent Jim Kenzie can be reached at jim@jimkenzie.com

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