Coimbatore: Vento Cup 2016’s first race kicked off under sunny conditions at Kari Motor Speedway near Coimbatore. With the temperatures going up, the drivers had a task to keep it cool inside the car and get through the first race without any major damages – a task that almost all of them accomplished. Driving clean almost throughout the race was a mix of new and old drivers who showed great signs of matured racing in the first race of the season.
Starting from pole position, Ishaan Dodhiwala took off with a great launch and held his position going into the first turn. After having defended his position in the most crucial corner at the start of the race, there was no looking back for Ishaan. He went on to drive the 12 laps of the race in the lead and took the chequered flag ahead of his 16 other competitors on the grid.
Right behind Ishaan was where the action was in the first lap as Karminder Pal Singh, starting third, overtook Keith Desouza to take second position which he held on to till the finish line. Keith, driving in the Vento Cup for the first time, managed to take the third place despite facing pressure from Aditya Pawar mid-way through the race. Debutant Jeet Jhabakh drove with a calm head to clinch the fifth position.
An ecstatic race winner Ishaan said, “This is an absolutely emotional victory for me. It’s my first one and has come after having a perfect weekend so far. I had the pace throughout and I knew I could win if I made it cleanly through the first corner.” He further added, “I would like to dedicate this victory to my dad on Father’s Day today who has been a fantastic support all the time.”
The second race was preceded by a lot of confusion owing to the changing weather conditions. With light drizzles setting in, the decision to go on slicks or wets was an important one. As the cars lined up to exit the pit lane on slicks, it started raining heavily and the cars were brought back into the pits for tyre change. A quick tyre change was done and the cars went out for a wet race.
Reverse grid start for the second race of the day meant eighth spot finisher Sree Venkata Teja started on pole position joined by Niranajan Todkari on the front row and followed by Amit Mete and Jeet Jhabakh on the second row. Race 1 winner Ishaan Dodhiwala started eighth while second position finisher Karminder Pal Singh started seventh. Charging right from the beginning, Karminder Pal Singh made the crucial moves on the first lap itself and came up to the third position. Ishaan Dodhiwala also ensured that he climbed up to fifth position by then. By the end of second lap, Karminder Pal Singh had moved up to the top position followed by Ishaan Dodhiwala in second. Both of them retained their positions all the way to the chequered flag. Aditya Pawar, having started fifth on the grid, finished third on the podium.
Karminder Pal Singh commented after winning the second race of the day, “The conditions were really tough with wet track initially and then drying up. It was also the first time that we were out on wet tyres. So there was a lot to look out for while racing itself. But I managed to keep my cool and that’s a good way to sign off the weekend.”
Sirish Vissa, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport India, commented “I am extremely delighted to see the performance of the drivers today. The new ones have come very close to the experienced ones in a rather short period of time. Most importantly, they drove very clean in both the races; especially incredible to see a really matured driving from of them when the conditions were wet and tough.”
