Volkswagen India on Thursday released a starting grid of 20 drivers for the Polo Cup India 2011 one-make car touring series. Volkswagen received 1,600 registrations.
The 20 drivers will compete in a six-race series starting with the first one on June 17 at the Kari Motor Speedway, Coimbatore.
“The Polo Cup is for Indian talent. It's our endeavour to nurture talent in India and equip them with tools to compete on international racing circuits with drivers from across the globe. Volkswagen is committed towards promoting motor sports in India,'' said Dr. John Chacko, President and Managing Director, Volkswagen India.
Huge success
According to Prithiviraj Siddappa, Head of Volkswagen India Motorsport, the inaugural season of Polo Cup was a huge success. “We are building on it this season and it's going to be bigger, faster and packed with a more than a few surprises. These young drivers represent the cream of the Indian motor sport talent. The incredible passion and drive of these budding racers is surely going to make Polo Cup India 2011 an exciting event, cementing its place in the Indian motor sports calendar.”
The selection process — from 1,600 registrations to 20 — was supervised by an expert jury consisting of Akbar Ebrahim, India's only principle instructor in racing, Rayomand Banajee, six-time National Champion, Rohitaaz Kumar from JK Tyre Motorsport and Ronny Wechselberger from Volkswagen Motorsport.
The drivers in the age group of 16 and 24 will compete in new and sportier Race Polo and in professional and junior groups.
The starting grid: Alisha Abdullah, A. Sandeep Kumar, Vishnu Prasad (Chennai), Abhinabv Aditya Agarwal (Faridabad), Saurav Bandyopadhyay, Swamathia Rayen, Munjal Savla, Mihir Dharkar, Rahil Noorani, Aditya Pawar (Mumbai), Prateek Dalal (Bahadurgarh), Avdumber Hede, Donovan Vaz (Goa), Ajay Kini, Lawrence Taur (Bangalore), Oshan Kothadia (Pune), Angad Singh Matharoo (Chandigarh), Achintya Mehrotra, Mihir Saif, Vidit Jain(New Delhi).
