Chennai, August 25, 2012 – Pushing his Race Polo to the extreme, Ameya Walavalkar took pole position for Race One of Round Three of JK Tyre Volkswagen Polo R Cup 2012 at the Madras Motor Race Track in Chennai. Clocking the fastest time 2:01.037, Ameya will be joined on the front row by Sandeep Kumar, who finished 0.672 seconds behind. Guest driver and 2010 Polo R Cup Champion Sailesh Bolisetti impressed upon his return and will start from third on the grid, 1.395 seconds off the pole time.
Ameya will start on pole for the second consecutive race weekend after claiming pole at the last race weekend in Coimbatore. Ameya said, “It feels good to pick up from where I left off from the last round. I managed to get my best time on the opening lap when the tyres were at its best. The start here tomorrow will be important so I have to make sure that I manage to stay ahead going into the first corner. I love racing at this track so looking forward to a good race tomorrow.”
Starting second on the grid, Sandeep said, “I am quite satisfied with the result but just could not match Ameya’s great lap. However I am more confident for the race as I feel the car will be better over race distance.”
2010 Polo R Cup Champion Sailesh Bolisetti was quickly on the pace upon his return and is happy to start third on the grid. “It feels great to be back at the Polo R Cup and even better to drive the all new TSI Race Polo. The car feels a lot more powerful which is great for young drivers. Qualifying could have been better but am happy to start in third. I am confident of a good showing in the race tomorrow. A big thanks to the Volkswagen Motorsport team for inviting me to participate in this round.
Prithviraj Siddappa, Head of Motorsports, Volkswagen India, said, “It feels great to be back at the newly improved Chennai race track. The weather is always a challenge here but the Volkswagen Motorsports team and the drivers have risen to the occasion. The drivers have upped their game and really improved their form. We are looking forward to some really close racing tomorrow.”
The qualifying grid for Race One:
Sl.no.
Driver
Best Lap
1
Ameya Walavalkar
2:01.037
2
Sandeep Kumar
2:01.709
3
Sailesh Bolisetti
2:02.432
4
Avdumber Hede
2:02.437
5
Ajay Kini
2:02.439
6
Rahil Noorani
2:02.631
7
Prashanth Tharani Singh
2:02.776
8
Mihir Dharkar
2:02.782
9
Munjal Savla
2:03.091
10
Saurav Bandyopadhay
2:03.146
11
Anthony George
2:03.177
12
Donavan Vaz
2:03.233
13
Diego Duez
2:03.435
14
Niranjan Todkari
2:03.932
15
Angad Singh Matharoo
2:03.946
16
Abdullah Alisha
2:04.670
17
Hanoosh Surapaneni
2:04.337
18
Siddharth Sharma
2:04.748
19
Yatin Magu
2:06.075
20
Mahinder Khidia
2:07.302
The Polo R Cup 2012 will have 6 racing weekends, which is similar to the previous year schedule. The racing calendar begins from the month of July and will be on till December of this year. Races will be held on tracks across Coimbatore, Chennai and Noida, as per the tentative calendar below:
· Round 4 15.09.-16.09.2012 Chennai MMRT
· Round 5 30.11.-02.12.2012 Noida BIC
· Round 6 14.12.-16.12.2012 Chennai MMRT
Thanks to its proven concept of promoting young talent abroad, the Polo Cup enjoys the reputation of being an ideal stepping stone to enter professional racing. Building on its success of two great seasons since its inception in 2010, Volkswagen Motorsport hopes to make the Polo R Cup this year an exciting and challenging season in the Indian Motorsports calendar.
Motor sports enthusiasts interested in getting further information can log on to the website, www.polocup.in. This website displays information about Polo R Cup format, race updates and driver profiles. Follow Polo R Cup on www.facebook.com/vwpolocupIndia
About Volkswagen Motorsport
In more than 40 years of motorsport history Volkswagen has been setting standards primarily in three areas: The brand celebrated exploits in touring car racing, formula racing and rally racing.
The brand’s history in motorsport started in 1966, in formula racing. Formula V – "V” stood for Volkswagen – became an important career step for drivers like Keke Rosberg or Niki Lauda. With 58 hp and the robust technology of the Beetle it offered favourably priced entry and high-quality racing for young drivers. Later, one-make cups like Formula König powered by Volkswagen and Formula Volkswagen built upon this line and consistently followed through on the one-make cup idea with standard chassis. In 2008 Formula ADAC powered by Volkswagen started to continue this tradition.
In comparison with other manufacturers Volkswagen set the pace on the formula stage as well. Between 1979 and 1994 Volkswagen, as a Formula 3 engine manufacturer, won 55 international titles, including seven in Germany. Since September 2007 Volkswagen has been competing in the Formula 3 Euro Series, since 2008 in the German Formula 3 Cup and since 2009 in the British Formula 3, and with success: 2009 saw the title wins in the German and British Championships, and 2010 in all three series. At the prestigious Formula 3 finale in Macau in November 2009 and 2010 Edoardo Mortara celebrated wins "powered by Volkswagen”.
Successes in rally sport
While the first off-road excursions date back all the way to the 1970s, Volkswagen has been systematically promoting young talent since 1980. For half a decade, the Golf Rally Cup offered optimum opportunities to young drivers. Concurrently, Volkswagen in the 1986 World Rally Championship clinched the title win in Group A with the Golf and driver Kenneth Eriksson. In cross-country rally sport the brand achieved its first big exploit by winning the 1980 Dakar Rally. From 2009 to 2011 Volkswagen became the first manufacturer to win the legendary rallye with a car powered by a Diesel engine.
Attractive one-make cups in touring car racing
In more than three decades Volkswagen has shaped the touring car scene as well. The Scirocco Cup, as the first one-make cup from 1976 onwards, produced a subsequent Formula 1 driver, Manfred Winkelhock. It was followed by the Golf Cup and the Lupo/Polo Cup from which numerous talented drivers managed to ascend to higher-level series. Currently, the Scirocco R-Cup is causing a sensation.
Volkswagen Group India Communications
Contact: Alexander Skibbe
Phone: +91-9765404647
E-mail: [email protected]
20:20 MSL
Contact: Atul Shah / David Vaz
Phone: +91-9960255829 / +91-9322652611
E-mail: [email protected] / [email protected]