IRC rookie Wiegand goes racing

Sepp Wiegand will take a break from his successful Intercontinental Rally Challenge campaign to switch to the race tracks of Austria when he contests the latest round of the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup this weekend.

Wiegand, who has scored points on all four rounds of the IRC he has tackled so far for ŠKODA Auto Deutschland, will be in action at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, a 4.326-kilometre former Austrian Grand Prix venue.

“For sure I’m really excited to be doing this race,” said Wiegand. “There is a big difference between rally and racing but hopefully I can learn a lot with smooth driving and taking the perfect line. It’s my first time racing so everything will be new for me and I don’t really know what to expect but the training is the most important thing and I feel this can be really important for the next rallies.”

As well as a number of series regulars, Olympic medal-winning ski jumpers Sven Hannawald, Andreas Kofler and Thomas Morgenstern will also be taking part in the double-header event.