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| Munjal after winning the Polo Race |
Munjal Savla steals the show in Volkswagen Race Polo at the Colombo Night Races 2012
Volkswagen Polo R CupIndia driver from Mumbai, Munjal Savla steals the show at the Colombo NightRaces 2012 (CNR) in a combination of high speed and excellent driving. Munjal, who was also the pole sitter, made no mistake and used his 3 years of Race Polo driving experience to the fullest. He was followed by the Polo R Cup India 2012, Pro-category champion from Chennai, A. Sandeep Kumar and 2012 JK Tyre National Karting Champion from Mumbai, Ameya Bafna. Early day break and time constraints resulted in few races being cancelled including Race 2 of Volkswagen Polo.
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| Munjal speeding past the super-charged crowd in Colombo Night Race 2012 |
Last night saw the Qualifying session being dominated by Munjal. Qualifying was restricted to 3 timed laps owing to time restrictions, forcing the drivers to adapt quickly and put in hot laps right from the start with no room for error. Munjal set the pace and set the fastest lap time of 2:05.71 minutes. Ameya was almost a second slower and joined Munjal on the front row at the 2nd position. Sandeep and Angad Singh Matharoo were at 3rd and 4th position respectively.
In the race, Munjal capitalized on his pole position and took a good lead. He pushed his Race Polo to the maximum, never having to look back. He led throughout the race to take an easy victory. Sandeep, starting from 3rd position on the grid, had a great start and made an early move in lap 1 to move up a position ahead of Ameya. Sandeep and Ameya had a good battle between them in the first few laps for the 2nd spot but later Sandeep managed to pull away from the young karting champion to finish 2nd on the podium while Ameya had to settle at the 3rd position.
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| Volkswagen Race Polo taking on the streets of Colombo during the race |
Race winner Munjal was ecstatic on his incredible win. He said, “Winning here for second time in a row feels amazing. Winning the pole position by a second made me confident of winning the race. Though I started with a few mistakes in lap 1, I managed to keep my lead and made no further errors. My driving experience here last year really helped me to be at the top of my game. Street racing is absolutely fun and driving in front of a super-charged crowd is a hair-raising experience. I hope we get to do this more often.”
"The ColomboNight Race last year is a memorable experience and this year it was incredible with drivers enjoying this experience thoroughly! It requires special fitness on both physical and mental level to be driving under flood lights on a street circuit but the racers adapted quickly to the situation. Our drivers proved their mettle by bringing out excellent results here in Colombo and we are proud of them,” said Prithviraj Siddappa, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport India. He further added, “We are grateful to Carlton Motor Sports Club, Asian Motor Racing Club (AMRC) and Sri Lanka Motor Cycle Club (SLMCC) for the support and coordination. We look forward to continue this association in the years to come.”
Qualifying Grid:
1. Car no: 78 Munjal Savla
2. Car no: 80 Ameya Bafna
3. Car no: 77 A. Sandeep Kumar
4. Car no: 76 Angad Singh Matharoo
5. Car no: 73 Romani De Silva
6. Car no: 79 Saurav Bandyopadhay
7. Car no: 71 Upulwan Serasinghe
8. Car no: 72 Rohitha Rajapakshe
9. Car no: 70 Sumanapala Mannapperuma
10. Car no: 75 Niranjan Todkari
Results of the Race:
1. Car no: 78 Munjal Savla (Mumbai)
2. Car no: 77 Sandeep Kumar (Chennai)
3. Car no: 80 Ameya Bafna (Mumbai)
4. Car no: 73 Romani De Silva (Sri Lanka)
5. Car no: 71 Upulwan Serasinghe (Sri Lanka)
6. Car no: 72 Rohitha Rajapakshe (Sri Lanka)
7. Car no: 75 Niranjan Todkari (Aurangabad)
8. Car no: 70 Sumanapala Mannapperuma (Sri Lanka)
9. Car no: 79 Saurav Bandyopadhay (Mumbai)
Did Not Finish
10. Car no: 76 Angad Singh Matharoo (Chandigarh)
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 onwww.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 CO2 emissions by 80 per cent.
