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The Volkswagen Polo R-Cup India 2014 moved to the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) over 8-9 November for the three-race third round, and it was at the track in Greater Noida that Lee Keshav Gupta took a double victory on day one of the meeting.

Gupta started in pole position and dominated race 1 right from the off. Gosia Rdest, a Polish guest driver, achieved second place on the podium in race one – her first at the BIC. Chennai’s Karthik Tharani rounded out the podium.

Race two saw 17 year-old guest driver Dylan Pereira from Luxembourg battle it out with Angad Singh Matharoo. Pereira was disqualified, though, after an overly-aggressive manoeuvre, leaving the door open for Gupta to take victory again. Karminder Pal Singh was third.

The third and final race on day two was full of excitement as Polo R-Cup India racers traded paintwork in the first corner. Pereira emerged to take the lead during lap 7, managing to maintain his position until the finish line.

Singh finished close behind, while Tharani was leading until lap 6, when an incident brought out the safety car, relegating him to sixth place. He battled his way back up the field to finish third, while Gupta retired.

The final round of the 2014 championship will again be held at Buddh International Circuit, on 12-14 December.

Volkswagen Motorsport India runs the Volkswagen Polo R-Cup India 2014 series in conjunction with JK Tyres. The field of young largely Indian racers drive identical and centrally-prepared 1.4-litre TSI-engined, 178bhp Polo R-Cup cars.

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Zwartkops Raceway was host to the final round of the 2014 Engen Volkswagen Cup on 1 November. The popular South African racing circuit series crowned its 2014 champion at the event, and, at 15, Sheldon van der Linde is the youngest ever.

The youngest national saloon car racing champion in South African history, Van der Linde’s brother Kelvin is also a former Engen Volkswagen Cup title holder.

While Van der Linde won both races at the final meeting (as well as the Rookie of the Year prize), his team-mate Daniel Rowe came third in the championship, securing a Volkswagen Team Award for the 2014 season for Ferodo Racing.

The outfit scored 11 race wins, 13 podium results, 14 pole position starts and 13 fast laps recorded between from 16 race starts.

Van der Linde received R25 000 for his spectacular efforts in 2014, while second placed Dewald Brummer was awarded R15 000, with Rowe benefitting from R10 000 in prize money.

Mathew Hodges claimed on the Masters title for the season, for drivers over the age of 27. Hodges has competed in this series for the past eight years.

Behind Hodges in the Masters category, Trevor Bland was second and Juan Gerber was third, receiving R12 500, R7 500 and R5000 resepectively.

The Most Improved Driver of the Year was awarded to Andrea Bate for her performance, improving from a 19th place finish in 2013 to finishing in seventh spot in 2014.

The Driver of the Day award for the final race day of the year was made to Shaun La Reservée who finished second overall at the Zwartkops event.

RACE RESULTS

Race 1
1 Sheldon van der Linde (16: Ferodo Racing)
2 Mathew Hodges (M3: ITR Africa / 959 Panelbeaters)
3 Tasmin Pepper (31: PG Glass / Suburban Panelbeaters)

Race 2

1 Sheldon van der Linde (16: Ferodo Racing)
2 Shaun La Reservée (7: Alpine Motors / Compendium Insurance)
3 Tasmin Pepper (31: PG Glass / Suburban Panelbeaters)

Overall
1 Sheldon van der Linde (16: Ferodo Racing)
2 Shaun La Reservée (7: Alpine Motors / Compendium Insurance)
3 Mathew Hodges (M3: ITR Africa / 959 Panelbeaters)


MASTERS

Overall
1 Mathew Hodges (M3: ITR Africa / 959 Panelbeaters)
2 Juan Gerber (M8: Haupt Racing)
3 Marius Roberts (M0: Ferodo Racing / VW Motorsport)


CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Sheldon van der Linde (16: Ferodo Racing), 345
2 Dewald Brummer (2: MAD Racing / Grand Prix Models), 307
3 Daniel Rowe (11: Ferodo Racing), 293
4 Tasmin Pepper (31: PG Glass / Suburban Panelbeaters), 274
5 Mathew Hodges (M3: ITR Africa / 959 Panelbeaters), 250

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After his disappointing 13th place at Rally France, Sébastien Ogier was once again celebrating at Rally Spain. Taking a double win, the Frenchman celebrated both event and Drivers’ Championship victories with his co-driver Julien Ingrassia.

Once again, the duo clinched the series win before the end of the season, just as in 2013. The defending champions have driven to 7 victories in the 2014 season, with one round – November’s Wales Rally GB – still to go.

It’s a successful story all round, as Volkswagen Motorsport can celebrate its three drivers – Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen are team-mates to Ogier – being the top three drivers in the championship, too.

The 383km Rally Spain (24-26 October) was the eleventh 2014 win for Volkswagen Motorsport and the 23rd of Ogier and Ingrassia’s career. The pair are the only the fourth duo since 1977 to have defended their title successfully and are the eighth twosome to become double world rally champions.

Ogier was more than a little ecstatic: ‘It’s a fantastic feeling to become world champion for a second time! I’m over the moon, it was a real battle to defend the title. In particular, my team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala showed an incredibly strong performance in the last few months.

‘Big thanks to our fantastic team at Volkswagen. Not just for giving us a fantastic car throughout the season. But also for the unique solidarity that we have.

‘It doesn’t matter whether things are going well or badly – the team stands by every driver crew and that is extremely motivating. I’m happy and proud to be part of this team.’

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The final event of the 2014 Volkswagen Polo Cup Russia calendar, the Rally Tmutarakan was won by newcomer Denis Rostilov, ahead of Yury Uryukov and Andrey Vavilin. The eight-stage, 112km event saw Alexey Ignatov finish fourth which was enough to see him take the 2014 drivers’ title.

Ignatov struggled with tyre trouble on his Polo, but his rival Arkady Bogomolov also had problems with the gearbox on his car, leaving the title challenger to finish in sixth place. A total of eight teams lined up to compete in the final rally of the Volkswagen Polo Cup Russia season.

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The penultimate round of the 2014 FIA World Rallycross Championship in Instanbul, Turkey on 11-12 October saw strong performances from Polo RX drivers Toomas ‘Topi’ Heikkinen and Anton Marklund, taking Marklund Motorsport to the top of the series’ team standings.

Heikkinen’s drive in his 500bhp Polo RX saw him hold on to second place in the Drivers’ Championship. His command over four gripping heats and battles with Timmy Hansen’s Peugeot 208 RX saw the young Finn score enough points to see him defend his runner-up position.

Former WRC ace Petter Solberg has already been crowned 2014 champion.

‘Volkswagen Marklund are now leading the teams’ standings by four points – we’ve been tied at the top on two separate occasions this year but now we are leading it by ourselves,’ explained Heikkinen.

‘My driving hasn’t been perfect this weekend, I made a few small mistakes but I’m happy to have got some crucial points for the team.’

Ford Olsbergs MSE driver Andreas Bakkerud was the overall winner of the World RX of Turkey. With Ford, Peugeot and Volkswagen all represented on the podium, the fight for the first ever Teams’ Championship will now be decided at the final round in San Luis, Argentina, on 28-29 November.

2014 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Petter Solberg, 250

2 Toomas Heikkinen, 200

3 Reinis Nitiss, 182
4 Timmy Hansen, 179

5 Andreas Bakkerud, 173
6 Anton Marklund, 159

2014 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Volkswagen Marklund, 359
2 Ford Olsbergs MSE, 355

3 Team Peugeot-Hansen, 335

4 PSRX, 237
5 Monster Energy World RX Team, 102

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