Coimbatore: With reverse grid start for the Race 2 of the Volkswagen Vento Cup 2015 Round 1, it was Vigneshwar Devarajan on pole followed by Sahil Gahuri in second, Sidharth Balasundaram in third and Raghav Sharma in fourth. On the first lap of the race itself, Karminder climbed up to the third spot after starting sixth on the grid while Anindith made it to the fifth place after starting seventh. Right after the second lap, Harkishan Wadia went off on the first corner and toppled causing a red flag situation. The driver escaped the accident unhurt and the race was restarted under safety car. Vigneshwar, who had started from pole, maintained his lead all the way till the seventh lap. However, a charging Karminder came from the back and overtook Vignesh cleanly to take the lead in the race which he held on to till the chequered flag.

Meanwhile, Anindith progressively made his moves and climbed up to the second place by end of lap nine. From there he maintained his position all the way to the finish line. Starting seventh and finishing second was indeed an incredible feat for Anindith. Debutant Sahil, who was racing only for the second time, kept his cool throughout the race and managed to finish third. Despite having dropped to fourth on the seventh lap of the race, Sahil managed to climb back to take his first ever podium finish.

Pole-starter Vigneshwar had to settle down for the fourth position while Ishaan Dodhiwala (starting fifth on grid) finished in fifth. Race 1 winner Sailesh Bolisetti started eight on the grid and managed to climb up two positions to finish sixth in the end.

Karminder Singh, winner of Race 2 commented, “Starting sixth on the grid was never going to be easy. I wanted to stay out of any trouble at the start and so kept it cool and came out clean in the first few laps. After the race restart, I started making my moves and finally came up on the top by mid-race. From there onwards, I kept my concentration high and ensured I maintained adequate lead to take the chequered flag. I am really happy to have scored two podiums at the opening round of the Vento Cup 2015 and I am looking forward to coming back to Coimbatore for more action next month.”

Anindith Reddy, after having finished second in the Race 2 of the weekend, said “Two second positions for the weekend are great for the championship points. However, I am keen for a victory the next time around. The Vento Cup race cars are phenomenal to drive and it has been an amazing weekend. I can’t wait to get back here next month for the Round 2 of the season.”

An immensely delighted debutant Sahil Gahuri commented after finishing third, “A podium in the very first weekend of my racing career is a big boost. This is an encouraging result and I would like to thank Volkswagen Motorsport India for providing such a wonderful platform that gives even rookies like me a fantastic opportunity to learn and race in a series that is truly of international standards.”

Sirish Vissa, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport India said “We have kicked off an exciting chapter of Volkswagen Motorsport in India with the Vento Cup 2015. The two races over the weekend saw a lot of action, especially in the Race 2 where the drivers got a little more aggressive adding flavour to the weened. Our team has put together a set of top performing cars for the season. I am glad to see that the Vento Cup race cars held it strong despite the extremely aggressive driving and delivered 100% reliability.”