Vishnu Prasad crowned Volkswagen Polo R Cup 2011 Champion

Chennai, November 27, 2011 – Vishnu Prasad was crowned Volkswagen Polo R Cup 2011 Champion after an action packed race finale at Irungattukottai Race Track, Sriperumbudur, Chennai. For the second year in a row the championship came down to the last race with Oshan Kothadiya securing the runners–up spot.

Guest driver Sunny Sidhu won the final race with a time of 19:48.996 minutes, while international woman driver Maiken Rasmussen, who started 18th on the grid, fought through the field to finish in 2nd position, just 1.220 seconds behind the winner. Mihir Dharkar who started in third position in race two drove hard and managed to finish in third place, 0.276 seconds after Maiken. Champion Vishnu Prasad finished fourth, while championship contenders’ Oshan Kothadiya and Avdumber Hede finished in 5th and 6th position respectively.

Sunny Sidhu led from the start and was followed closely by Maiken Rasmussen, who had a brilliant start from 18th on the grid, and Mihir Dharkar for the entire race, with neither driver close enough to make a move. Maiken Rasmussen is only the second woman driver to finish on the podium, and in only her second visit to the circuit. The wet track made the conditions very slippery but also made for great racing with the top 7 drivers being separated by less then 5 seconds.

The last round of Polo R Cup definitely turned out to be an eventful one as championship contender Rahil Noorani was given the black and orange flag for a hanging bumper thus ending his championship hopes. This made it easier for Vishnu as all he had to do was finish in the top 5 to seal the title.

Polo R Cup 2011 champion, Vishnu Prasad said, “I am thrilled to win the 2011 Volkswagen Polo R Cup Championship in what has been an excellent season for me. This year has been really hard as the competition has been so evenly matched. I would like to thank Volkswagen for organizing a great championship and for all the help they have provided me with over the year. The car has been magnificent to drive all season long and all credit must go to the team. My main aim for the race was to finish ahead of my rivals and not try anything risky, which I managed to do.”

Winner of Race Two, Sunny Sidhu said, “I am very thankful to Volkswagen for giving me this opportunity to race at the Volkswagen Polo R Cup. It has been a wonderful experience and the Race Polo is a well made car and it handled really well. I would like to congratulate the champion and wish him all the best for his racing career.”

Mr. Prithviraj Siddappa, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport India, said, “It has been a great season and the last race has been one of the most memorable ones, thanks to the presence of international drivers and veteran race driver Sunny Sidhu. The fact that the championship was not won until the last race made the Championship even more exciting. I would like to thank the efforts made by my whole team to make this a highly successful season.”