For as long as Andrew Cordeiro can recall, he had an obsession with Volkswagen automobiles.
As a youngster, the Woodbridge resident can remember his cousins owned Volkswagens. It created an interest, he said, so that when Cordeiro turned 17, ready to buy his first vehicle, it was no surprise it was a 2001 Volkswagen Beetle Sport.
Now 24, Volkswagen is still his vehicle of choice, but he just doesn’t get behind the steering wheel in one to drive the local roads and highways.
He now drives one on a race course as a competitor in the Volkswagen Jetta TD1 Cup series.
“I tried it and I was hooked.”
Comprised of eight races, each lasting 30 minutes, the series is built upon 30 spec-clean diesel Jettas operating on ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel. No modifications are allowed.
Each vehicle is equipped with a DSG transmission using a paddle shifter like a Formula One car to shift through gears.
The series makes its second stop this weekend on the Mosport International Speedway road course near Bowmanville.
Coming off a 15th-place effort in his series debut last month in Herndon, Va., after starting 26th on the grid, Cordeiro is excited with the prospects of racing close to home.
At the same time though, he’s not taking the race lightly. He did some homework in formulating a plan of attack.
“I feel good about the upcoming Mosport race this weekend. It’s close to home and I will be well rested,” he said. “I went out last weekend to Mosport and sat down at various corners and explored different racing lines. It was helpful to get an idea of what will happen on the track this weekend as I’ve only experienced Mosport once, in a lapping day about three years ago.
“I expect to do well and will be happy if I can keep progressing.”
Cordeiro’s introduction to racing was born through an unfortunate incident in 2001, when his brother was involved in an auto mishap. It was then that Cordeiro’s brother enroled him into autocross, a safe and low cost form of motorsport in which drivers navigate a temporary course in a timed competition.
“I tried it and I was hooked,” Cordeiro recalled.
Making his autocross debut in 2002, Cordeiro purchased his first “dedicated autocross car”, a 1987 Volkswagen GTi, the following year and proceeded to win his regional class championship.
After accomplishing that feat, Cordeiro felt it was time to move into bigger and better things in auto racing.
While restoring and modifying a 1975 Volkswagen Scirocco that he purchased online, Cordeiro last fall came across Volkswagen’s announcement of its Jetta TD1 Cup series.
“This was my chance to take things to the next level of becoming a Volkswagen racing junkie and I was stoked,” Cordeiro recalls of his entry into the series.
Cordeiro noted only 100 people were chosen for a final selection process.
As a means of gearing up for the selection process held last month in Phoenix, Cordeiro said he set up a 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit for Ice Racing this past winter to prepare himself for wheel-to-wheel racing.
“It was a lot of fun and it taught me the fundamental basics of racing,” Cordeiro said of his time in ice racing. “I never thought you could have so much fun on ice, especially with a car.”
During his trip to Phoenix, Cordeiro was asked to do testing at the Firebird International Raceway and eventually was one of 30 future up-and-coming racers to make the cut.