Deigo Duez, the first international driver to win the Volkswagen Polo R Cup 2012

Deigo Duez, the first international driver to win the JK Tyre Volkswagen Polo R Cup

Mexican driver Deigo Duez created history by becoming the first international driver to win in the JK Tyre Volkswagen Polo R Cup when he crossed the finish line in first place at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore. The second race of Round 1 saw a completely different podium compared to the first race with Alisha Abdullah and Prashanth Tharani Singh taking the 2 ^nd and 3 ^rd position respectively. Deigo finished the race with a total time of 19:17.543 seconds. Alisha finished seven seconds behind the leader with 3 ^rd place Prashanth a mere six-tenths behind her.

Deigo, who started third on the grid, jumped into the lead after passing both Ajay Kini and Alisha and comfortably maintained his lead till the end of the race. Behind him there was a close battle for second place with Alisha impressively holding her own ahead of Prashanth. Pole sitter Ajay could only manage 4^th position after a poor start and spent most of the race holding off Mihir Dharkar. Experienced racer Ameya Walavalkar put on great performance by finishing 6^th , after starting back in 12^th position. Race winner Deigo Duez said, “I would like to thank Volkswagen Motorsport and JK Tyre for making it possible for me to be here. It was quite an experience and I am very thrilled with the result. I drove aggressively for the entire race and was very harsh on the tyres but I am happy to have created a big gap between Alisha and me. The track is great and the car felt amazing to drive.”

Second placed driver Alisha Abdullah said, “I have been confident the whole weekend with my pace as my lap times have been closer to my competitors as compared to last year. I am extremely satisfied with the result and hope to be on the podium many more times this season. I have a great team pushing me all the way and would like to thank them for the support.” Third placed Prashanth Tharani Singh said, “It is a completely new experience for me and it feels great to be on the podium in my first ever Polo R Cup round. The technical team and coaches at Volkswagen Motorsport have played a big role in making me feel comfortable with the car. Alisha was very aggressive and I was very close behind but I did not want to do anything rash to compromise my position.”

Mr. Prithviraj Siddappa, Head of Volkswagen Motorsports, India said “It is great to be back at the Kari Motor Speedway. I would like to thank all the drivers for putting on a fantastic show. We had a pre-season test at the Buddh International Circuit earlier this year and that helped us to analyze the driver’s performance in the petrol TSI Race Polo. I would like to thank all our sponsors for the tremendous support they have given us to promote young talent in India. The Volkswagen technical team has done a great job all weekend to prepare the cars.”

Results and total times from Race Two of Round One of the JK Tyre Volkswagen Polo R Cup 2012.

DNF

DNS

The Polo R Cup 2012 will have six race weekends, which is similar to previous year’s schedule. The season has begun with the current round and will be on till December of this year. Besides Coimbatore, race will take place on Chennai and Noida tracks, as per the calendar below:

·          Round 2                July 28-29, 2012                     Coimbatore     KMS

·          Round 3                Aug 25-26, 2012                     Chennai           MMRT

·          Round 4                Sep 15-16, 2012                     Chennai           MMRT

·          Round 5                Dec 01-02, 2012                     Noida               JPSI

·          Round 6                Dec 14-16, 2012                     Chennai           MMRT

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