Nelson Piquet Jr. Wins Red Bull Global Rallycross Washington DC presented by Volkswagen - Speedway Digest

Nelson Piquet Jr. earned the first victory of his Red Bull Global Rallycross career in Saturday’s Red Bull GRC Washington DC presented by Volkswagen. After finishing runner-up to Patrik Sandell in last year’s inaugural race in DC, Piquet turned the tables by holding off Sandell from start to finish in this season’s final.

“Thanks to my team—they’ve been making the car quicker and quicker every race, and we’ve just been getting more and more competitive,” Piquet said after Saturday’s main event. “Patrik kept it clean the whole race, and I think that was a bit of a thank you from last year, when we were battling together, he finished first and I finished second. All of our sponsors have been supporting us for such a long time, and they deserved a win. Hopefully this is just the first one!”

“It’s a great event to be here in DC this weekend,” said Clark Campbell, motorsports general manager, Volkswagen of America. “We thought this track was really a racy track, and the cars looked cool out there bouncing around the rough sections. We think coming back to the same location two years in a row has been really helpful for the series, and we hope to continue to grow some momentum in the markets we come back to.”

Piquet’s victory was also the first for SH Rallycross, and came on the heels of a nearly perfect weekend. He turned the second-fastest lap in qualifying, won both of his heat races, and claimed a victory in the semifinal to earn lane choice on the grid. The victory also allowed him to jump from sixth to third place in the Supercar standings with only five races remaining.

Ken Block finished third, earning his class-leading fifth podium finish of the 2015 season. The result extended his Supercar championship lead to 41 points over Sebastian Eriksson of Red Bull Olsbergs MSE. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Steve Arpin and Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross’ Tanner Foust completed the top five.

In GRC Lites, Alex Keyes rebounded from mechanical issues that kept him out of the previous event in Detroit to win his second main event of the season. Keyes held off Oliver Eriksson for the victory, while new Lites points leader Miles Maroney claimed third.

Full Supercar results from Red Bull Global Rallycross Washington DC presented by Volkswagen are as follows:

1. Nelson Piquet Jr., #07 SH Racing Rallycross Ford Fiesta ST

2. Patrik Sandell, #18 Bryan Herta Rallysport Ford Fiesta ST

3. Ken Block, #43 Hoonigan Racing Division Ford Fiesta ST

4. Steve Arpin, #00 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford Fiesta ST

5. Tanner Foust, #34 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle

6. Sebastian Eriksson, #93 Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST

7. Scott Speed, #41 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle

8. Austin Dyne, #14 Bryan Herta Rallysport Ford Fiesta ST

9. Jeff Ward, #360 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford Fiesta ST

10. Joni Wiman, #31 Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST

11. Logan Gomez, #77 Royal Purple Racing Ford Fiesta

12. Pat Moro, #59 PMR Motorsports Chevrolet Sonic

Red Bull Global Rallycross Los Angeles presented by Subaru Tecnica International is the next stop of the 2015 Red Bull GRC season, taking place September 12-13 at the Port of Los Angeles. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.redbullglobalrallycross.com/tickets.

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.