PoloDriver

We’d seen pictures from the recent reveal, but our friends at Indian Autos Blog have confirmed that the Tiger Sports Volkswagen Vento is ready to hit the tracks in the Indian Touring Car Championship. Created by the Indian racing team, the race-tuned Polo saloon is based on a standard Polo 6R-based Vento, on sale in India (and South Africa and Russia as the Polo Sedan). The car still has four doors, and is powered by a modified twin-cam 1.6-litre engine. Power is up to 180bhp from the standard car’s 106, thanks to a remapped ECU and data logger. An advanced lambda sensor is also fitted for an accurate air-fuel mix.

A close-ratio six-speed manual gearbox replaces the standard five-speeder, while a limited-slip differential helps put the power down to the track. Weight is down to 900kg, 220kg lighter than a customer-specification Vento, partly due to three doors, the wings, bonnet and boot lid being made from aerospace-type composite. Moving onto the chassis, KW Suspensions have fettled with the Tiger Sports Vento’s set-up, while uprated brakes also feature, along with an all-disc operation at the rear. Finally, the racing Vento also confirms to FIA safety standards. At the time of writing, there is no word on when the car will see its competitive debut.

[Source: Indian Autos Blog]

Lead Volkswagen Motorsport Polo R WRC driver Sébastien Ogier will be joined by his regular co-driver Julien Ingrassia, following the all-clear by doctors after a recent shoulder operation. The Frenchman injured his collarbone while riding a mountain bike and has been recuperating, missing out on recent testing sessions with the Polo R WRC in Finland, ahead of Rally Finland, which starts on Thursday 1 August. Ogier has blasting through the Finnish forests with team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen, carrying out tests ahead of the eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, 60kms away from the event’s base at Jyväskylä. In total, the 315bhp Polo R WRCs spend five days pounding the jump-heavy gravel tracks.

Ingrassia returns following a successful outing in the aggressive rallying Polo at the weekend, and replaces Ogier’s stand-in co-driver Nicolas Klinger. ‘I am so relieved that I have managed to get back to full health in time for the Rally Finland. My thanks go out to the doctors for the great job they have done on me and the whole Volkswagen team, who have always supported me and sent me their best wishes. Now, I cannot wait to get back out on the road with Sébastien,’ said a please Ingrassia. Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito said: ‘The whole team is very happy that Julien is back to full health. Our main priority is always the well-being of our drivers. I would like to thank Nicolas for the great levels of commitment he demonstrated in the most recent test runs and for his willingness to step in for Julien in Finland if he was needed.’

Team Slideways Industries scored three podium positions at round three of the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship, the Rally Rally of Coimbatore on 20-21 July. Supported by Volkswagen Motorsport India and JK Tyres, the Pune-based squad saw victories in the both the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) and Junior Indian National Rally Championship (JINRC) classes. Former PWRC champion and multiple APRC champion Karamjit Singh put in a flawless run with his co-driver Jagdev Singh over the weekend to secure his second consecutive win in the IRC class with an overall time of 1 hour, 42 minutes and 12.1 seconds.

In the Group N 1600cc class, Byram Godrej and co-driver Prajwal Pai experienced brake issues early on Saturday and ended the day in second place. He was back in stunning form on Sunday morning, though, and enjoyed a terrific run in the rally’s two special stages. Making up over a minute, the pair overhauled their overnight lead, sealing their first win in the 1600cc class with an overall time of 1 hour, 47 minutes, and 44.9 seconds. ‘It is hard to believe that the Volkswagen Polo is only three rallies old given the amount of performance it offers,’ said Byram.

Vikram Mathias and R Chandramouli meanwhile, driving their first rally for Slideways Industries, were in a comfortable lead of the class on day one but went off on the penultimate stage. Sirish Chandran and co-driver Nikhil Pai who scored the Polo’s first victory in the INRC earlier in the year suffered a forgettable weekend with a mechanical problem putting them out of contention on the very first special stage of the event.

It was better news for Team Principal Rohan Pawar and his co-driver Arjun Mehta, who secured another podium finish in the JINRC class, with an overall time of 1 hour, 56 minutes, and 29.2 seconds. Pawar fought with fellow Team Slideways Industries driver Aniruddha Rangnekar, but ultimately went faster that Rangnekar on the second day of the event to clinch first place. ‘I am extremely happy with the team’s and my own performance. Having veteran drivers like Karamjit Singh and Vikram Mathias in the team have bolstered everyone’s spirits and of course our Technical Director Byram Godrej has done an excellent job in preparing and setting up the cars,’ said an elated Pawar.

The Rally of Coimbatore was held alongside the first rounds of the Volkswagen Polo R-Cup India 2013. With the Kari Motor Speedway being the base for both, enthusiasts and spectators were treated to witnessing India’s best racing and rally drivers in action together at the same time. The rally Polos of Team Slideways Industries – which have performed excellently in the Volkswagen Polo R-Cup India on track for the past three years – had no trouble negotiating the tight corners of the track-based special stage after sliding around the gravel stages of the rally.

Team Slideways Industries now heads back to Pune to develop the squad of Polos further with support from Volkswagen Motorsport India, ahead of round four of the championship, the K1000 Rally at Bangalore.

Volkswagen Classic entered a 1990 Polo G40 at the recent running of the Auto Zeitung Youngtimer Classic 2013 car rally. Once again the event – the fourth – started and ended in Frankfurt, and was open to cars built from 1969 to 1993. Around 100 classics took the roads around the city, completing a timed 280km course. Volkswagen Classic usually sends cars to the event from its ‘rolling museum’ and this year sent a pristine Polo G40 (we think the same car used to launch the Polo GTI in the UK in 2010), as well as a 60bhp 1989 Golf and a Golf Limited-powered, 210bhp Corrado G60 from the same year. The 1990-1994 Polo G40 developed 112bhp from its supercharged 1.3-litre engine, and posted a 0-62mph time of 8.2 seconds. Another G40 and a 1978 Audi 50 (Mk 1 Polo) driven by Audi Tradition also took part on the event.

South African Driver Jeffrey Kruger made a string start to his championship hopes in the first round of the 2013 Volkswagen Polo R-Cup India, which took place at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore last weekend. Taking first and second places in the two races which made up the first round of the season, the guest driver took victory in race two from seventh on the grid, ahead of rookie Karthik Tharani and Polo R-Cup India regular Rahil Noorani. In race one, Kruger couldn’t get past Noorani and had to settle for second place. Prashanth Tharani came in behind the pair in third place.

With four race weekends still to come, Kruger is top of the overall standings. Now into its fourth season, the Volkswagen Polo R-Cup India has fourteen new racers for 2013, along with seven drivers from the 2012 season. Each round is scheduled as a double-header event, with a pair of races run over the duration of the weekend. Other venues include the Madras Motor Sports Track in Chennai and the Buddh International Circuit near Delhi. The next round is in Chennai at MMST on 9-11 August.

In related news, the third round of the 2013 Volkswagen Polo R-Cup India, scheduled for 6-8 September, could be held in Srinagar on a street circuit. Pending essential safety clearances from FIA-appointed stewards, the race would be similar to 2012’s street race at the Balewadi Sports complex near Pune, and the night-time event in Colombo. Volkswagen India Motorsport runs the five-round Volkswagen Polo R-Cup India 2013 series in conjunction with JK Tyres. The field of young largely Indian racers drive identical and centrally prepared 1.4-litre TSI-engined, 178bhp Polo R-Cup cars.

[Images: VW Motorsport India]