Despite being out-paced by two Olsbergs MSE cars in the soggy season finale, allegations of Volkswagen Andretti shenanigans and teammate Tanner Foust nipping at his heels in championship points, Scott Speed is now your 2015 Red Bull Global Rallycross champion.
The two Beetles improved vastly after a move away from a throttle by wire system allowed the cars to run without incurring a penalty that forced them to run a sizable amount of ballast. In the capable hands of Scott Speed — America’s last Formula One driver before Alexander Rossi got to compete this year — that Beetle was a winner.
Ken Block dominated the early part of the 2015 season, but has run into similar luck to this incident from tonight’s last chance qualifier round as of late:
Oops.
Volkswagen, then, almost solidified the manufacturers’ championship tonight, but lost out by two points to Ford. Foust ran wide early in the finale race, letting several Fords through, and the Fords had a quick pace in the wet that neither Beetle could match.
Tonight, however, Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta driver Joni Wiman has another reason to celebrate: his first ever GRC Supercar win. Wiman’s teammate Sebastian Eriksson came in second, right ahead of Speed in third. The Beetles may have been fast everywhere else later in the season, but the Fiestas were fantastic in the mud.
Eriksson then leaped ahead of Foust in the championship points, claiming second place over Foust in third.
Third place in tonight’s finale was enough to win the title tonight, though. Scott Speed wouldn’t have it any other way, and Volkswagen finally at least has some good news somewhere to celebrate (for now).
[Edit: I originally thought I had heard VW had won the manufacturers’ title, not Ford, but the final points clearly say otherwise. This has since been fixed.]
Photo credit: Red Bull
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