Current APR Volkswagen Racing Cup championship leader Aaron Mason will return to defend his points lead at Snetterton this weekend after participating in his maiden BTCC outing at Oulton Park with AmDTuning.com, while Sam Morgan will make his VW Cup Racing debut.
Doncaster driver Mason currently lies only two points ahead of AMW/Warranty Direct team-mate Joe Fulbrook having claimed four wins from six events so far in 2013, but last weekend got to sample BTCC machinery at Cheshire’s Oulton Park for the fourth round of the British Touring Car Championship, where he claimed a third place in the S2000 class in AmD’s Volkswagen Golf.
Unfortunately the 32-year-old’s joy was cut short due to engine problems later that Sunday, but Mason enjoyed his experience.
“It’s a shame the weekend ended as it did, but I’m pleased with how quickly I was able to adapt to the car and how quickly I was on the pace,” said Mason himself. “We made a few adjustments to the Golf to get it more to my liking and by the time we got to qualifying, I felt I was really up to speed. In the first race, the car didn’t feel quite as good but the guys made some changes for race two and it felt a lot better in the laps we did. I think we were showing strong pace before the engine let go.
“I really enjoyed the weekend and working with the team, and I think I put in a good performance. It would be nice to get out again and give it another go later in the year if the chance arose.”
Mason returns to defend his points lead in this weekend’s seventh and eighth VW Cup rounds at Snetterton’s 300 circuit in Norfolk which will see an expected grid of 26 Volkswagens take to the grid, 16-year-old Sam Morgan becoming the latest driver to take to the championship in an Aetna healthcare group-backed Team HARD Golf GTI.
“I’ve been following the Volkswagen Racing Cup since 2010 and it’s always been a career path I have wanted to take,” said Bristol-based Morgan. “It looks a great championship and I can’t wait to get out there and hopefully have a good weekend.”
Graham Perkins will return for Team HARD after making his debut at the second event at Rockingham, while Jack Walker-Tulley, cousin of reigning champion James Walker, will again be at the wheel of the team’s family GTI machine like he was at Silverstone. The final notable change will be the absence of Peter Wyhinny, his son Paul Wyhinny instead deputising in his father’s SEAT Leon Cupra.