PoloDriver

Over the weekend of 26-27 September the Volkswagen Polo Cup India 2010 made its debut at the Irungattukottai race track in Chennai. Championship leader Sailesh Bolisetti from Vishakapatnam, thrilled spectators to win the first race of Round 4, with local hero Vikash Anand taking second position ahead of Parth Ghorpade. Bolisetti completed the race in 25 minutes and 35 seconds to win his fourth race of the season. Pole sitter Vishnu Prasad jumped into the lead at the start and had an eight second lead over Bolisetti before he retired on lap 5. Ghorpade meanwhile put on an impressive display to win the second race, while Mumbai driver Mohammed Fahad Kutty finished in second position ahead of Imran Majid. Ghorpade completed the 3.717km race in 25:13.862 to win his second race of the season.

‘This was a really tough race and I am really happy to win here. The conditions were tough and I was not prepared to take any risks. I had to defend for the last 5 laps but am very happy with my performance today,’ Bolisetti commented on his first race win. Second placed Anand was equally pleased. ‘It feels great to come second in the inaugural race in Chennai, my hometown. It was a close battle with Sailesh and I had a chance or two to overtake him, but it didn’t work out.’ Prithviraj Siddappa, Head of Motorsports, Volkswagen India said, ‘It feels good to have our first race in Chennai. The whole team has had a really tough weekend with the changing weather conditions. Hats off to the mechanics for being quick with the tyre changes and getting the cars ready on time.’

Winner of the second race, Ghorpade commented, ‘It’s a good feeling being on the podium again. Chennai is definitely a faster track and presents different challenges from racing in Coimbatore. I would like to thank the Volkswagen team for their training that has surely helped me get to this position.’ Second placed Kutty said, ‘I had a great day today and the cars handled very well. It was a tough race throughout; Parth really gave me a good fight till the end. I hope to keep the momentum going into the next round.’ ‘This is my first time on the podium and it is an exciting feeling. The wear and tear on our tyres was a little more in this round because of the new track. It was a good learning experience and I hope to be back on the podium in the next two rounds,’ third placed Majid enthused.

The Round 4 results mean that Bolisetti maintains the championship lead with 271 points, but Ghorpade and Kutty enter the top three to challenge him, with 251 points and 207 points respectively. Ghorpade from Kolhapur moves up to second place from fifth, while Kutty rises to third position from ninth. Sahil Shelar and Vishnu Prasad complete the top five with a total of 194 and 177 points respectively. Round 5 of the Volkswagen Polo Cup India 2010 will be again held at Irungattukottai, on 27-28 November. The series is run by Volkswagen India Motorsport in conjunction with JK Tyres. The field of 20 young racers drive identical and centrally-prepared 129bhp TDI Polo Cup cars.