PoloDriver

The Volkswagen Polo R-Cup India 2014 moved to the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) over 8-9 November for the three-race third round, and it was at the track in Greater Noida that Lee Keshav Gupta took a double victory on day one of the meeting.

Gupta started in pole position and dominated race 1 right from the off. Gosia Rdest, a Polish guest driver, achieved second place on the podium in race one – her first at the BIC. Chennai’s Karthik Tharani rounded out the podium.

Race two saw 17 year-old guest driver Dylan Pereira from Luxembourg battle it out with Angad Singh Matharoo. Pereira was disqualified, though, after an overly-aggressive manoeuvre, leaving the door open for Gupta to take victory again. Karminder Pal Singh was third.

The third and final race on day two was full of excitement as Polo R-Cup India racers traded paintwork in the first corner. Pereira emerged to take the lead during lap 7, managing to maintain his position until the finish line.

Singh finished close behind, while Tharani was leading until lap 6, when an incident brought out the safety car, relegating him to sixth place. He battled his way back up the field to finish third, while Gupta retired.

The final round of the 2014 championship will again be held at Buddh International Circuit, on 12-14 December.

Volkswagen Motorsport India runs the Volkswagen Polo R-Cup India 2014 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.

It may have fallen two places compared to September, but the Volkswagen Polo is still one of the best-selling cars in the UK, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Figures released for October 2014 see the Polo sitting at number seven, with 3968 examples sold last month.

The SMMT figures show that UK new car registrations jumped 14.2 per cent in October to 179,714 units, marking the 32nd consecutive month of growth. The Ford Fiesta again topped the chart, selling 9157 cars, while the Vauxhall Corsa shifted 6184 units, before a refreshed model went on sale.

The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during October 2014 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 9157 (116,987, 1st)

2 Ford Focus: 7116 (74,131, 2nd)
3 Vauxhall Corsa: 6184 (68,877, 3rd)

4 Volkswagen Golf: 5683 (64,347, 4th)

5 Nissan Juke: 4311 (32,658, 10th)
6 Nissan Qashqai: 4287 (43,207, 6th)
7 Volkswagen Polo: 3968 (40,740, 7th)
8 Audi A3: 3902 (39,498, 8th)
9 MINI: 3755
10: Vauxhall Astra: 3561 (51,043, 5th)

(The 2014 top 10 best-selling car absent from last month’s sales figures is the Fiat 500 with 38,096 units sold.)

The Polo Vivo’s recent model refresh seems to have made Volkswagen’s South African entry-level model even more appealing, as it was once again the top-selling passenger car in the country during October. In total, 3491 Polo Vivos found buyers last month.

In a repeat of September, the current Polo 6R was also in the top three best-sellers, sitting in third place. The also recently-refreshed model sold 2333 units, with an additional 5972 exported from Volkswagen South Africa’s Uitenhage plant.

The latest figures released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA), show that once again the Toyota Corolla/Auris/Quest was in-between the two Polo models, with 2398 examples sold.

The Polo Vivo was launched in March 2010 as an entry-level model for the South African market, replacing the Series 1 Golf-based CitiGolf, and is available as a three or five-door hatchback and four-door booted saloon with 74bhp/84bhp 1.4-litre and 103bhp 1.6-litre petrol engines.

Costing from R142,700 for the base-model 1.4 Conceptline hatchback to R180,900 for the top 1.6 Polo Maxx, the 2014 Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo (9N3), built from 2005 to 2009.

A new version of the fifth-generation Polo (6R) is now available as a three and five-door hatch, in addition to the four-door Polo Sedan. Prices start at R194,500 for the Polo 1.2 TSI Trendline, rising to R253,000 for the Polo Sedan 1.6 TDI Comfortline.

Zwartkops Raceway was host to the final round of the 2014 Engen Volkswagen Cup on 1 November. The popular South African racing circuit series crowned its 2014 champion at the event, and, at 15, Sheldon van der Linde is the youngest ever.

The youngest national saloon car racing champion in South African history, Van der Linde’s brother Kelvin is also a former Engen Volkswagen Cup title holder.

While Van der Linde won both races at the final meeting (as well as the Rookie of the Year prize), his team-mate Daniel Rowe came third in the championship, securing a Volkswagen Team Award for the 2014 season for Ferodo Racing.

The outfit scored 11 race wins, 13 podium results, 14 pole position starts and 13 fast laps recorded between from 16 race starts.

Van der Linde received R25 000 for his spectacular efforts in 2014, while second placed Dewald Brummer was awarded R15 000, with Rowe benefitting from R10 000 in prize money.

Mathew Hodges claimed on the Masters title for the season, for drivers over the age of 27. Hodges has competed in this series for the past eight years.

Behind Hodges in the Masters category, Trevor Bland was second and Juan Gerber was third, receiving R12 500, R7 500 and R5000 resepectively.

The Most Improved Driver of the Year was awarded to Andrea Bate for her performance, improving from a 19th place finish in 2013 to finishing in seventh spot in 2014.

The Driver of the Day award for the final race day of the year was made to Shaun La Reservée who finished second overall at the Zwartkops event.

RACE RESULTS

Race 1
1 Sheldon van der Linde (16: Ferodo Racing)
2 Mathew Hodges (M3: ITR Africa / 959 Panelbeaters)
3 Tasmin Pepper (31: PG Glass / Suburban Panelbeaters)

Race 2

1 Sheldon van der Linde (16: Ferodo Racing)
2 Shaun La Reservée (7: Alpine Motors / Compendium Insurance)
3 Tasmin Pepper (31: PG Glass / Suburban Panelbeaters)

Overall
1 Sheldon van der Linde (16: Ferodo Racing)
2 Shaun La Reservée (7: Alpine Motors / Compendium Insurance)
3 Mathew Hodges (M3: ITR Africa / 959 Panelbeaters)


MASTERS

Overall
1 Mathew Hodges (M3: ITR Africa / 959 Panelbeaters)
2 Juan Gerber (M8: Haupt Racing)
3 Marius Roberts (M0: Ferodo Racing / VW Motorsport)


CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Sheldon van der Linde (16: Ferodo Racing), 345
2 Dewald Brummer (2: MAD Racing / Grand Prix Models), 307
3 Daniel Rowe (11: Ferodo Racing), 293
4 Tasmin Pepper (31: PG Glass / Suburban Panelbeaters), 274
5 Mathew Hodges (M3: ITR Africa / 959 Panelbeaters), 250

After his disappointing 13th place at Rally France, Sébastien Ogier was once again celebrating at Rally Spain. Taking a double win, the Frenchman celebrated both event and Drivers’ Championship victories with his co-driver Julien Ingrassia.

Once again, the duo clinched the series win before the end of the season, just as in 2013. The defending champions have driven to 7 victories in the 2014 season, with one round – November’s Wales Rally GB – still to go.

It’s a successful story all round, as Volkswagen Motorsport can celebrate its three drivers – Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen are team-mates to Ogier – being the top three drivers in the championship, too.

The 383km Rally Spain (24-26 October) was the eleventh 2014 win for Volkswagen Motorsport and the 23rd of Ogier and Ingrassia’s career. The pair are the only the fourth duo since 1977 to have defended their title successfully and are the eighth twosome to become double world rally champions.

Ogier was more than a little ecstatic: ‘It’s a fantastic feeling to become world champion for a second time! I’m over the moon, it was a real battle to defend the title. In particular, my team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala showed an incredibly strong performance in the last few months.

‘Big thanks to our fantastic team at Volkswagen. Not just for giving us a fantastic car throughout the season. But also for the unique solidarity that we have.

‘It doesn’t matter whether things are going well or badly – the team stands by every driver crew and that is extremely motivating. I’m happy and proud to be part of this team.’

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