As the Silverstone sun set upon the final round of iRacing’s second VW TDI Jetta Cup, it was Wyatt Gooden’s name being etched onto the virtual trophy for a second successive season; in fact the American is the only name to adorn the silverware, having now won seasons one and two of the front wheel drive series. The Ohio Club driver secured the title with a podium on the Grand Prix circuit, as he came face-to-face with Carl Modoff and Filip Mitreski, two men who pushed Gooden to the last in Season One. However the champion was unable to offer any serious fight to the pair, something he put down to lack of track time.
“I just didn’t prepare for it which was a bummer because I would have liked to have been able to have a nice race with Filip and Carl,” offered a champagne soaked Gooden post race. “I don’t like excuses though and I didn’t put in the effort needed to perform at the top, so it was my own fault”.
The 126 points Gooden collected for third place earned him a net gain of 15 and a final season total of 1272 marks from his best eight weeks of racing. A distant 137 points behind the 2009/10 champion, Bruno Le Doare had his worst week of the season, scoring just five points on his only visit to the Northamptonshire circuit. The former championship points leader found himself embroiled in a multi-car clash early in the race, resulting in the Frenchman’s exit from the event after starting in second position.
Finishing the season a slim 25 points behind Le Doare and consolidating a championship third position, Scandinavian Samu Snabb was unable to secure enough points to make any net gain on his final total. Despite collecting an average of 108 points from his three races at Silverstone, Snabb’s consistent points scoring throughout the series meant the A License driver had to secure at least 160 marks to to make any inroads on Le Doare; an achievement that would have required a personal best performance for the Finn.
Although Jani Penttinen hasn’t made an appearance in an iRacing VW Jetta since Round 10 at Lime Rock Park, the early championship favourite’s haul of 1061 from eight weeks of racing was enough to award the Scandinavian a coveted top five season finish.
Finishing the season in fifth position in a nail-biting battle to the final week, Massimo Macagni sealed his fate by a slender two points over Frederick Vaissaire. Italian Macagni collected 95 points from his solitary race of the week, one of his lowest totals for the series, resulting in no gain on his season tally. Vaissaire headed into Silverstone with the knowledge that any points scored would all count towards his total having only registered results for seven weeks, and the International Club member was so close to stealing a top five series finish after collecting 132 points from four starts. Alas it was to prove too little too late for Vaissaire, who ended this season a mere two points behind Macagni.
A third Scandinavian to finish the season in the top ten, Henri Vierumaki was unable to improve on his season total of 972, even though the Finn collected a podium and 95 points in his lone race at the ‘Home of British Motorsport.’ Thankfully for Vierumaki, a late charge by Michael Skeen that saw the American break into the top ten in the final two weeks was not enough to snatch his eighth position in the championship. Skeen, who joined the VW Cup in week five, took 114 points with a podium finish to declare a final total of 904 marks and steal ninth position by just a single digit from Rod Kodey. However, Kodey was the plotter of his own downfall, as the Carolina driver failed to appear at Silverstone.
With the second iRacing VW Jetta TDi cup season complete, the series takes a week’s break from the frenetic world of front wheel drive racing, giving a chance for many to pat themselves on the back or sit in the corner and think about what they’ve done. One thing all the season competitors will be doing is sending their congratulations to Wyatt Gooden for another display of driving prowess and Championship title. With a change to the schedule in Season three on the cards, an influx of fresh talent will be hitting the series; will Gooden be able to claim an unprecedented third series title?
