Volkswagen announces 2011 Polo Cup driver line-up

As we told you yesterday, Volkswagen has released the final list of drivers that will compete in the 2011 Polo Cup India. The group of 20 drivers is a mix of rookies from this year’s qualifiers and some experienced racers from last year’s Polo Cup. To avoid an unfair advantage, Volkswagen will be segregating these racers in groups of rookies and experts (pro drivers) and the post race classification will happen accordingly. Volkswagen Motorsports’ Prithviraj Siddappa has been quick to point out that some of the new rookies have in fact matched the pace and timings of the pro drivers when the second selection round was underway in Coimbatore. It should therefore be an interesting battle on the race tracks when the 2011 Polo Cup season gets underway in June 2011.

The twenty drivers will now be taken to Lonavala at the Della Adventures camp where the rookies and professionals alike will undergo a series of fitness regimes. Mr. Siddappa stated that a few drivers had faced fitness issues in the last season of Polo Cup and therefore it was necessary to put the new crop through this regime to prepare them for the endurance that racing demands.

The drivers will be driving the new Polo Cup car this season which was also unveiled at the Press Conference yesterday. The changes for the 2011 racer come in the form of air scoops on the bonnet, a new racing wheel from OMP and a hydration system. The racers were subject to dehydration last season while coping with the hot and humid conditions of Chennai and Coimbatore and there VW found it necessary to incorporate the hydration system. Volkswagen is making no changes to the engine and is in fact running same set of engines and gearboxes that were used for the last season, therefore showcasing the robustness of the 1.6-litre engine-drivetrain used in the Polo Cup race cars.

Dr. John Chacko, Volkswagen Group Chief Representative India, President and Managing Director, Volkswagen India Private Limited, expresse, “The overwhelming response and incredible success of the debut season of the Polo Cup India is a testimony to the talent pool in India and the interest in the sport. The Volkswagen Polo Cup India is set on international standards and gives young talent the best precondition to compete internationally. With second season of the Polo Cup India, we strengthen our commitment towards promoting Motorsports in India.”  

The list of drivers who will don the race suit for the 2011 Polo Cup India are as follows:

Alisha Abdullah

Abhinav Agarwal

Saurav Bandyopadhyay

Prateek Dalal

Mihir Dharkar

Avdumber Hede

Vidit Jain

Ajay Kini

Oshan Kothadiya

A. Sandeep Kumar

Angad Singh Matharoo

Achintya Mehrotra

Saif Mihir

Rahil Noorani

Aditya Pawar

Vishnu Prasad

Swamathia Rayen

Munjal Savla

Lawrence Taur

Donovan Vaz