The first race of the 2016 Volkswagen Vento Cup 2016’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.
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.
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.
Volkswagen Vento Cup Race 1 Results:
Sr. No. | Car Number | Name | Total Time | Best Lap |
1 | 8 | Ishaan Dodhiwala | 15:04.488 | 01:11.534 |
2 | 16 | Karminder Pal Singh | +2.686 | 01:11.939 |
3 | 11 | Keith Desouza | +8.600 | 01:12.285 |
4 | 7 | Aditya Pawar | +11.411 | 01:12.295 |
5 | 5 | Jeet Jhabakh | +18.599 | 01:12.935 |
6 | 3 | Amit Mete | +20.075 | 01:12.792 |
Volkswagen Vento Cup Race 2 Results:
Sr. No. | Car Number | Name | Total Time | Best Time |
1 | 16 | Karminder Pal Singh | 15:20.697 | 01:12.969 |
2 | 8 | Ishaan Dodhiwala | +1.572 | 01:12.915 |
3 | 7 | Aditya Pawar | +7.611 | 01:13.619 |
4 | 11 | Keith Desouza | +11.833 | 01:13.823 |
5 | 3 | Amit Mete | +25.038 | 01:14.712 |