20 drivers for Polo Cup series
May 5th, 2011 - 9:39 pm ICT by IANSChennai, May 5 (IANS) Volkswagen Motorsport India Thursday announced the starting grid of 20 drivers for the Polo Cup India 2011, the second season of the one-make touring car series that begins June 17 at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore.
The grid includes six repeaters and 14 rookie drivers, all in the 16-24 years age group who were shortlisted out of 1,600 registrations and after two rounds of selections, according to a press release.
The selection process took place under the scrutiny of an expert jury consisting of Akbar Ebrahim, India’s only principle instructor in racing, Rayomand Banajee, six times National champion, Rohitaaz Kumar from JK Tyre Motorsport and Ronny Wechselberger from Volkswagen Motorsport.
The series will be run concurrently with the JK Tyre National Road Racing Championship.
The drivers will compete in new and sportier Race Polos built with identical technology, and centrally tuned and maintained by Volkswagen India factory mechanics.
The cars will be powered by a 1.6-liter R4 common rail diesel (CRD) engine capable of a top track speed of 180 kmph. An improved exhaust and bonnet air scoop, together with a new steering wheel, steering angle sensor and electronic driver drink, are some additions to the new Race Polo.
“The overwhelming response and incredible success of the debut season of the Polo Cup India is a testimony to the talent pool in India and the interest in the sport.
“The Volkswagen Polo Cup India is set on international standards and gives young talent the best precondition to compete internationally With second season of the Polo Cup India, we strengthen our commitment towards promoting Motorsports in India ,” John Chacko, Volkswagen Group Chief Representative India, said in a press release Thursday.
The drivers are: Alisha Abdullah (Chennai), Abhinav Aditya Agarwal (Faridabad), Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Mumbai). Prateek Dalal (Bahadurgarh), Mihir Dharkar (Mumbai), Avdumber Hede (Goa), Vidit Jain (Delhi), Ajay Kini (Bangalore), Oshan Kothadiya (Pune), A Sandeep Kumar (Chennai), Angad Singh Matharoo (Chandigarh), Achintya Mehrotra (Delhi), Saif Mihir (Delhi), Rahil Noorani (Mumbai), Aditya Vijay Pawar (Mumbai), Vishnu Prasad (Chennai), Swamathia Rayen (Mumbai), Munjal Savla (Mumbai), Lawrence Taur (Bangalore) and Donovan Vaz (Goa).
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