The 30th of May 2010 was a red letter day for Indian motorsport, as it marked the entry of Volkswagen into the domestic motorsport scene. The first race for the much awaited Polo Cup was held at the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex – a fitting venue for the inaugural race since it also played host to the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games. This same venue was now the scene of the first high profile race for many young Indian drivers hoping to make it big on the world stage – an enviable opportunity given to them by Volkswagen and JK Tyres. Last month, we told you about the mammoth selection process that whittled down the 1,100 applicants to 20 lucky drivers who would take the start on this day – in front of cheering crowds, celebrities, dignitaries, and the press. A baptism by fire indeed.

To give you some background, the first Volkswagen Cup Series started in April 1998 at Hockenheim in Germany as the ‘Volkswagen ADAC Touring Junior Cup,’ with the objective of developing young racing talent. Ever since then, the competition has been the breeding ground for promoting new talent, and is successfully being run in the US, South Africa, China, and now India.

As elsewhere, in India as well, the Polo Cup is restricted to young drivers – who compete with one another in a controlled environment with technically identical cars, so as to bring the most talented drivers to the fore. Moreover, such a series gives the drivers the opportunity to develop their skills and experience, which would help them to prepare for other racing series on a global stage. JK Tyres have thus far been the sole flag-bearers for young and talented Indians, and now they’ve been joined in this endeavor by this German giant.



The first round of the Polo Cup was divided into two races, which were spread across the entire day and split by the FMSCI Rotax National Championship, which ran alongside the event. Round one – being a street race at this Sports Complex in Pune – was truly a feast for the teeming crowds that showed up in impressive numbers. The circuit had been carved out in the complex, and therefore was a street circuit that consisted of 2.15 kilometers, which included eleven 90-degree corners, a series of sharp bends, and a chicane. Plus, the track was wide in places to encourage overtaking, and extremely narrow in others to truly challenge the rookie drivers.

The Polo’s charging the track were a little different than the ones that you and me can order at VW showrooms across the country. The racing Polo’s have a 1.6 liter, common rail direct injection diesel engine producing 130 horsepower and a healthy 184lb/ft of torque at 1500rpm. These machines also feature 17-inch rims shod with JK racing slicks. Suffice to say, the drivers had their hands full on their Polo Cup debut.

Suresh Kalmadi, President of the Indian Olympic Association, and Suresh Shetty, Minister of Sports for the state of Maharastra, were on hand to inaugurate the series. These dignitaries were joined by Raghupati Singhania, VP & MD, JK Tyre Industries, along with Prof. Jochem Heizmann, Member of the Board of Volkswagen AG, Joerg Muller, Volkswagen Group Chief Representative in India, and Mr. Kris Nissen, Volkswagen Motorsport Director.



Prof. Heizmann pointed out that Volkswagen was proud and honored that, for the first time in the history of Indian motorsports, an international automaker has launched a racing series that encourages young talent in the county. Joerg Muller reiterated, “India is of high importance to Volkswagen. Ever since our launch in Pune, we have been made to feel a part of the great Indian family and blended into this beautiful culture.”

Before the start of the race, the surprise element was the appearance of Bollywood actress Soha Ali Khan, who was invited to flag off the race along with Prof. Heizmann and Mr. Kris Nissen. First on the starting grid was 22-year old Sailesh Bolisetti from Vishakhapatnam, who made an excellent start to his Polo Cup career by faultlessly leading the first race from start-to-finish. Adding some excitement to the show, however, was 6th place starter, Mohammed Fahad Kutty from Mumbai, who made up a number of positions at the start, and then made an impressive move on the brakes on Karthik Shankar from Delhi for 3rd position. He then tried to catch 2nd place Saran Vikram of Chennai, and while doing so managed to clip a tyre barrier and get himself on two wheels. Nevertheless, he made it to flag in 3rd, despite some pieces of bodywork hanging off his car. Unfortunately for the lad from Mumbai, he was given a 15 second penalty following the race, which robbed him of his podium place. With Fahad out, Kartik Shankar became the benefactor. Vishnu Prasad finished 4th, followed by Sahil Shelar, and Fahad Kutty, now in 6th, rounded out the top 6. The only woman driver in the series, Alisha Abdullah, finished in an impressive 14th place in her debut race.



Apart from the main race, VW also had some tricks up their sleeve. Veteran Hari Singh, along with a German associate, performed 360-degree turns to create quite a stir and a sense of excitement within the crowd. They also performed parallel parking tricks where two boys were made to sit at a distance of 10-feet, following which the drivers drove down the straight, and parked the cars in between the two by performing 180-degree spins.

The second race was meant to see a reverse grid for the top 8 finishers – the intention being that the faster drivers would make their way to the front, and therefore provide added action on the track. In reality, however, overtaking was tricky due to the tight street course – therefore, Race 2 actually saw the cars line up in the order they finished Race 1. And that was perfect for Sailesh Bolisetti, as he once again led from the start and took the top step of the podium for a clean sweep of the weekend. Karthik Shankar managed an opening lap move on Saran Vikram and improved on his previous inherited 3rd place, as he finished in 2nd. Vishnu Prasad tagged Saran Vikram in the battle for the final podium position, and allowed Fahad Kutty to legitimately claim 3rd place this time around.

All-in-all, the inaugural race certainly proved that the Polo Cup has the makings of a great series, and is a valuable addition to the JK Tyre National Racing Championship. It had excitement, character and drama – all attributes that could help spread some motorsport culture in India. And it may actually help Volkswagen sell more cars as well.