PoloDriver

Volkswagen Polo R Cup India 2012 championship leader Ameya Walavalkar had a good start to the round three race weekend on 25-26 August. Taking the race one victory, he finished ahead of Sailesh Bolisetti and Sandeep Kumar at the MMRT in Chennai. Walavalkar started on pole and led into the first corner, followed by Kumar and Avdumber Hede. A two-driver collision meant a restart after a red flag, and once again Walavalkar was out in front. Pulling ahead to extend his lead, he crossed the finish line to win his second race of the season. Ex-Polo R-Cup India champion Bolisetti said: ‘I was 1.394 seconds behind in qualifying and knew I had to go faster in the race to challenge for the lead. I managed to set similar times to Walavalkar but could not come close enough. It took me some time to get used the new TSI Race Polo but the more I drove it the more comfortable I was.’

Race two was equally as action-packed. Race leader Ajay Kini received a 20-second time penalty after colliding with Donovan Vaz on the last lap, therefore handing the win to Mihir Dharkar, with Walavalkar and Bolisetti also rising up the final results, placing second and third respectively. Dharkar said: ‘I am happy with my performance today. My plan was to stay behind Ajay and attack at the end of the race. Every time I tried to overtake Ajay, I felt Ameya try to overtake me but there was clean racing between all of us. It is unfortunate but I am happy to inherit the win from Ajay.” Round four of the Volkswagen Polo R Cup India 2012 is at the MMRT, Chennai, on 15-16 September.

Overall standings
1 Ameya Walavalkar: 182 points
2 Mihir Dharkar: 168 points
3 A Sandeep Kumar: 160 points