Volkswagen Race Polo returns to Colombo Night Races 2012

Volkswagen Race Polo returns to
 Colombo Night Races 2012

Volkswagen Race Polo returns

Volkswagen Motorsport India will once again burn rubber on the streets of Colombo, Sri Lanka in the Colombo Night Races 2012 (CNR 2012). The 2^nd edition of the Colombo Night Races will be held in Colombo Fort areas on December 14 and 15. Six Polo R Cup India drivers will compete in this special race weekend along with four Sri Lankan drivers to complete the grid of 10 drivers.

Volkswagen Polo R Cup 2012 Pro Category Champion Sandeep Kumar, along with Munjal Savla, Saurav Bandyopadhay, Angad Singh Matharoo, Niranjan Todkari and 2012 JK Tyre National Karting Champion, Ameya Bafna would be the Indian drivers in Sri Lanka. The Volkswagen Polo Race will be a part of the race weekend which includes eight different categories of races.

The other races will see both cars and motorbikes line up in different categories on a 4 km circuit that is drawn out from the Colombo streets.The practice sessions along with a qualifying session will be held on Friday while the two races will take place on Saturday under the flood lights.

After yet another successful Volkswagen Polo R Cup season, Mr. Prithviraj Siddappa, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport India, was excited about returning to the streets of Colombo. He said, “After the success of last year's Colombo Night Races, it is exciting for us to return to this mega event. We will be racing the Polo TDI race cars this year as well. This race signifies the popularity of Polo R Cup not only in India but beyond as well.”

The Polo R Cup India drivers participating in the race are:

1.   Sandeep Kumar

2.   Munjal Savla

3.   Saurav Bandyopadhay

4.   Angad Singh Matharoo

5.   Niranjan Todkari

6.   Ameya Bafna

The SriLankan drivers participating in the race are:

1.   Rohitha Rajapakshe

2.   Romani De Silva

3.   Upulwan

4.   Mannaperuma

The unique street circuit sets off opposite Galadari Hotel on Lotus Road and run towards Fort and will take a left turn towards Chatham Street. The drivers will take a right turn to Duke Street which runs towards Main Street opposite Gaffoor Building. Then they will turn left on Sir Baron Jayathilaka Mawatha and run past the Cargills Building on York Street. The route will then take a right turn to Bank of Ceylon Mawatha and towards Ceylon Continental Hotel and turn left towards the roundabout opposite Galadari Hotel where the lap will be completed.

Motor sports enthusiasts interested in getting further information can log on to the website, www.polocup.in. This website displays information about Polo R Cup format, race updates and driver profiles. Follow Polo R Cup on www.facebook.com/vwpolocupIndia.

About Volkswagen Motorsport

Volkswagen is committed to broad-scale motor sport as in internationally staged cross-country rally racing programmes in countries including Germany, Europe and the United States apart from other countries in Asia and has a long tradition of promoting young talent. Following the legendary Formula V as of 1966 the brand, in 1976, sponsored a one-make touring car cup for the first time. Among others, the Scirocco Cup produced drivers like the subsequent Formula 1 racer Manfred Winkelhock. In 1977 the first-generation Golf GTI replaced the Scirocco as the cup vehicle and remained the popular competition car for a generation of young racers up to 1982. In 1983, the second-generation Polo followed as the cup vehicle – initially using the 88-hp normally aspirated engine version and, from 1986, the 112-hp compressor engine. At the relaunch in 1998, Volkswagen presented the Lupo, which offered top-class sport at fair prices, as well as the Volkswagen New Beetle Cup.

The year of 1998 stands for an all-new concept in the world of racing. To this day, this new concept featuring centrally fielded vehicles and car swapping among the drivers guarantees maximum equality of opportunity. In 2004 the 150-hp Polo replaced the small Lupo as the cup vehicle and the concept was subjected to further refinement. The Polo Cup’s success story is closely linked to the DTM-Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft. The premier league of touring car racing has evolved into a real crowd-puller and is envisaged as a concrete career goal by many junior racers.

The commitment encompasses the internationally renowned Dakar Rally. Diesel and bio natural gas powered as eco-conscious alternatives to conventional spark ignition engines and clever down­­sizing are the core elements of this strategy. Volkswagen is already in the process of putting the aims of eco-conscious motorsport of the future into action. Bio natural gas engines in the Scirocco R-Cup and at the Nürburgring 24 Hours have already proved that eco-consciousness and top-calibre racing. Volkswagen consistently banks on production-based technology and the conservation of resources. In an overall assessment of racing operations and logistics for the Scirocco R-Cup Volkswagen has achieved a reduction of CO₂emissions by 80 per cent.