Devin Robertson wins the first race of the Round 2 of Ameo Cup 2017

Competitive racing for Round 2 of the Volkswagen Motorsport India’s one-make series – Ameo Cup 2017 started earlier today at the Madras Motor Race Track near Chennai. Favourite for the race, guest driver Devin from South Africa, got off to a fabulous start and drove flawlessly to take the win. Having dominated the Free Practice and the Qualifying sessions, Devin Robertson won the race with over 10 seconds lead finishing with a best lap of 1:54.238.

Behind Devin is where the action was expected to be for the second position between Karminder and Sandeep. Karminder had a great launch and came side by side to Sandeep going into the first corner. Sandeep made a small mistake during the launch which cost him a fraction of a second – an opportunity that Karminder capitalised on. Diving into the first corner, it was Karminder on the outside and slightly ahead of Sandeep. This helped the former close the door on Sandeep, thus getting ahead of him. From there on, it was no looking back for Karminder and he crossed the finish line in second position.

While trying to get back into the second position, Sandeep pushed too hard ending up making a couple of mistakes. By then Donavan Vaz, who had gained couple of positions earlier in the race, was right on Sandeep’s tail attempting to get past. From there on Sandeep drove a defensive line maintaining his position till the finish line and not letting Donovan get ahead.

Devin being a guest driver, Karminder bagged maximum points in the race today, thus taking the lead in the Ameo Cup 2017 season. Sandeep stands behind him in the fight for the Ameo Cup title as the season progresses for the fourth race of the season tomorrow. The top eight finishers of today’s race will start in a reverse grid order promising an exciting end to the second round of the 2017 season.

Guest driver Devin Robertson from South Africa talking about his experience said, “The Ameo Cup Car is great to drive. It is very different from the Polo that I drive in South Africa. The Free Practice sessions helped me in getting accustomed to the race track which helped me going in to the race. The track is a bit bumpy and I had to adjust to its characteristics. The motor sporting culture in India is fabulous and there is a sense of comradery in the pits despite the competitive attitude on the race track.”

Mr. Sirish Vissa, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport India said, “Volkswagen Motorsport’s exchange programme gives the racers in India the benchmark against the competition internationally. Our drivers are getting a lot to learn from him.” He further added, “The temperatures are quite high this weekend, despite which we have seen consistent performance from our cars and tyres. I am really looking forward to tomorrow’s race now.”

Race 3 Result –