Tanner Foust, Developing VW Beetle for Global Rallycross

Rallycross is a relatively new sport in the United States.  It combines elements of rally racing with some street courses and stadium tracks.  Volkswagen chose to use the New Beetle as a platform for Global Rallycross.  Tanner Foust won his first heat with the new chassis.

"“The Beetle was built for the ground up specifically for GRC, and it feels like that,” Foust said. “Everything works, it’s easy to drive. It’s a little bit bigger than the Polo, and right now we’re not able to really take advantage of the weight savings we could get with the 1.6 (liter engine), but this is still a bit of a testing phase. But even with that considered, the 1.6 is working hard, and it’s putting down some power.”The Beetle differs significantly from the Polo that Foust started the season with. The key difference, as Foust mentioned, is the smaller engine, which affords the team a weight savings under Red Bull GRC rules. But the geometry of the car is significantly different—and the additional overhang of the car’s bumpers has given him something to think about when taking the series’ signature jump."

Foust has had to make adjustments to the new bodywork.

"“I’m definitely taking it a little easy over the jump, partly because of the overhang,” he noted. “But there’s certainly a lot of rally car heritage built into the Beetle, and the purpose of racing it in the heat of competition right now is to engrain a bit of rallycross DNA into the car. Working on how to make a mistake over the jump is one of those.”"

The season hasn’t been a total loss.  The chassis is being set up for the upcoming year.

"“I’m really happy,” he concluded. “We still have a lot of things to iron out, but that’s one of the great things—with Volkswagen’s commitment to GRC in 2015, we’re able to use some of the races this year to come in full sprint ready for the championship (next year).”"

We look forward to seeing Tanner Foust and former F1 driver, Scott Speed this upcoming season.