Volkswagen Motorsport India Vento Cup

Volkswagen Motorsport India revealed its new for 2015 Vento Cup in Pune in partnership with JK Tyre Motorsport to run under the latter’s JK Racing Championship banner. The single-make cup series vehicle is based on the production version of the Volkswagen Vento and will replace the Polo R Cup that has been running since 2010.

The car will be powered by the same 180 bhp, 1390 cc, 1.4-litre, turbo-supercharged engine that powered the Polo R Cup car. The dry weight of the car, prior to its 55-litre fuel tank being filled with 97 octane petrol, is 1225 kg, a 30 kg increase over the weight of the Polo R Cup car.

Registration for the Volkswagen Vento Cup will open from today and the drivers will be separated into three categories – Junior, Pro and Masters.

Entry fees (that cover the cost of the entire season) start at `8 lakh for the Junior and Pro categories and up to 14 lakh for the Masters category.

The head of Volkswagen Motorsport India, Sirish Vissa, stated that the increased weight at the rear and lower drag should lead to drivers getting a better platform to learn about racing in saloon cars as they are more likely to encounter machines with similar characteristics rather than the hatchback Volkswagen Polo.

“The Polo R Cup car was more of a go-kart,” said Vissa. “This new car will require drivers to be more wary of the weight at the rear of the car but will also allow them to use the increased oversteer to get the car to turn in faster too.”

The Vento Cup is expected to add the Madras Motor Sport Track near Chennai as a venue this year after a ‘commercial issue’ between title and tyre sponsor JK Tyre and the Madras Motor Sport Club is expected to be resolved.

The 2014 Polo R Cup champion Karthik Tharani will participate in the JK Racing FB02 single-seater championship like the 2013 champion Rahil Noorani did last year. Noorani also competed in select rounds of the Volkswagen Scirocco R Cup in Europe, a trend that is expected to continue this year.

Driver selection for the Vento Cup will run in association with Rayo Racing – run by former multiple karting champion and national level racing winner Rayomand Banajee – to whittle down the applicants before the pre-season training camp. Banajee’s former rival Ameya Walavalkar is also involved in driver training and coaching.