Tanner Foust, Scott Speed Start 2016 Red Bull GRC Race Series in Beetle GRC Cars

Scott Speed Tanner Foust VW Beetle GRC | Red Bull GRC
Scott Speed and Tanner Foust | VW Beetle GRC | Red Bull GRC

While Andretti Racing sends Justin Wilson and the Andretti Formula E team to race in the Moscow ePrix on June 4, the racing dynasty will be competing in the Red Bull Global Rallycross season opener starting this weekend in Fort Lauderdale. The Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team of Scott Speed and Tanner Foust are using a pair of Beetle GRC race cars that were introduced to the race circuit late last season.

Scott Speed VW Beetle GRC | Red Bull GRC

Scott Speed will start the season from behind the wheel of the No. 41 SHARK WEEK Volkswagen Beetle GRC, wrapped for SHARK WEEK, which begins on July 5th.

“My father raced with No. 41 in karts when I was younger so it’s pretty special to me,” said Speed. “I have only had the option to choose the No. 41 twice in my career and was able to win championships each time. Hopefully it continues to bring me luck in 2015!”

Tanner Foust VW Beetle GRC | Red Bull GRC

Tanner Foust, driver of the No. 34 Rockstar Energy Drink Volkswagen Beetle GRC, is ready to get back into the action after the hard work during the off-season and applying the learnings from last year’s limited running of the Beetle GRC.

“I’m excited to stack it up with the new engine against the amazing competition the series has this year and I’m looking forward to getting back on track.” says Foust.

This year the team has chosen to change the engine specification from the Beetle GRC race cars that ran in 2014. In place of the 1.6-liter turbocharged and intercooled TSI® four-cylinder engine, there is now a 2.0-liter TSI engine that produces 553 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque, compared to 544 hp and 387 lb-ft for the 2014 car.

Scott Speed VW Beetle GRC | Red Bull GRC
Scott Speed VW Beetle GRC | Red Bull GRC

Red Bull Global Rallycross Fort Lauderdale will take place at Bahia Mar Resort & Marina in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, from May 30-31. NBC will air the race live on Sunday, May 31, at 3:00 p.m. ET. Follow @VW and @FollowAndretti on Twitter for live updates throughout the event.

Guys, don’t quit your day job.