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.’

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Fresh from their victory on the Osram Rally on 21-22 August, Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson once again took the prize on the Swartland Rally event on 18-19 September. In fact, it was a VW 1-2-3 finish, as Jan Habig and Douglas Judd came in second after a battle with fellow BP Volkswagen Polo S2000 team Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries. However, Kuun dominated the seventh round of the Sasol South African Rally Championship and moves within 4 points of clinching his second driver’s title after romping to an easy 40.3 second win. Co-driver Guy Hodgson took his title with a round to spare. The three Polos were briefly headed by Charl Wilken and Greg Godrich in their Basil Read/Bizhub Ford Fiesta S2000, who scorched the tarmac stages on Friday evening to lead the rally overall.

On Saturday’s first 26.8km long stage, Kuun and Hodgson took a 4.8 second lead over the rest of the field, and after stage five, Kuun was 25 seconds ahead, 37 seconds clear after the next and over 40 seconds in front after the final stage. The Volkswagen driver took the fastest times on four of the nine stages, while Fekken was quick on just one. The Cape Town-based VW pair also sealed the S2000 Championship on the Western Cape sortie. The incestuous VW fight for the balance of the podium placings saw Fekken/Arries on the middle step, three seconds ahead of Habig/Judd. The wily six times champion blasted through the last long stage outside Malmesbury just 0.3 seconds slower than stage winner Kuun, pushing Fekken to the bottom step of the podium.

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The sixth race weekend of the Volkswagen Polo Cup South Africa at Zvartkops on 17-18 September saw Kosie Weyers take victory in the first round after starting from pole position, while championship defender Mathew Hodges settled for fourth place. It was a reversal of fortunes in the second race, though, as Hodges clinched first place, with Weyers coming in behind him. The high-position finishes mean that 23 year-old Hodges (above) continues to extend his lead in the championship standings of the popular Volkswagen one-make cup. Round 8 of the Volkswagen Polo Cup South Africa is on 1-3 October at Killarney. The 2010 Volkswagen Polo Cup South Africa series is similar to the other racing Polo championships run in Europe and India. Just as in those series, the one-make format highlights new young driving talent. As many as 30 drivers regularly take to the track in technically identical cars, full grids ensure close-fought races.

Sailesh Bolisetti and Parth Ghorpade were the most successful drivers at the third race weekend of the Volkswagen Polo Cup India 2010 at Coimbatore on 28 and 29 August. Bolisetti, who had celebrated two victories as early as the first race weekend, triumphed in race one and finished the second race in second place. 17-year-old Ghorpade took fifth place in the first race and in the second round captured the lead which he maintained all the way across the finish line.

Bolisetti clinched the first two races of the season back in June, and started second on the grid at for the first race of Round 3 at the Kari Motor Speedway, overtaking Vishnu Prasad on pole in the fourth lap. Completing the race in 25 minutes and 55.675 seconds, Prasad and Sahil Shelar were on his heels, finishing second and third respectively. An ecstatic Bolisetti said: ‘I got a good line and was able to pass Prasad on lap four. After a minor set back in round two, it feels great to be back on the top of the podium. I hope my luck continues to the next race and I hope to back here on the podium.’

The second race in Round 3 saw 17-year-old Parth Ghorpade from Pune take the chequered flag, improving on his third place podium finish in race one. Starting from fourth on the grid, he overtook pole-sitter Samyak Shah, completing the race in 26 minutes and 00.295 seconds. Sailesh Bolisetti, winner of race one, finished second followed by Mohd Fahad Kutty. Commenting on his win, Ghorpade said: ‘In qualifying our setup was not so good, but for the race the car felt really good. I am really happy with my performance today and to win my first Polo Cup race is a really special moment.’

Round 4 of the Volkswagen Polo Cup India 2010 is at Irungattukotal, Chennai over the weekend of 25-26 September. 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.

It was a Volkswagen finish all the way on the Osram Rally, which took place on 21-22 August. The BP Volkswagen Racing Polo S200s of Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson, and Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries finished the sixth round of the Sasol South African Rally Championship in first and second places respectively, while the third factory-backed car of Jan Habig and Douglas Judd came in fourth. A Polo-filled podium was broken by the Ford Fiesta S2000 of Conrad Rautenbach and Peter Marsh. Kuun and Hodgson finished the event 23.7 seconds ahead of Fekken and Arries, while the next Polo to finish was the car of Theuns Joubert and Carl Peskin, which came across the line of the 164km event in ninth place.

Further down the field, the A7 class Polo of Gavin Cronje (the current Le Mans Series Champion) was beaten in the first stage by Leeroy Poulter and Henry Dearlove in their Toyota RunX. The Japanese-driving duo finished 13th overall, a fraction under eight seconds ahead of the 2-litre factory Polo S2000 of Gugu Zulu and Cindi Harding. Other Polo finishers included the Motorite Racing car of Evan Hutchison and Elvéne Coetzee in 12th place, and the privateer Polo of Nicholas Ryan and Armand Du Toit, which was placed a disappointing 17th out of the 25 teams that completed the event after Ryan bent the Jonnesway car’s suspension. The penultimate round of the 2010 Sasol South African Rally Championship is the Swartland Rally in the Western Cape on 17-18 September.

[Images: QuickPic]