The one thing that unites all petrolheads around the world is the speed and thrill of cars. When one looks for a logical solution to seek that very speed and thrill legally, quite often they end up at the gates of motorsport, finding a way to step in and start a memorable and exhilarating journey in the world of racing. This can be challenging, especially in a country like India, where motorsport isn’t a household discussion on the dinner table and awareness is limited. Finding the passion for the sport is easy, but getting in can be quite a convoluted process.
How to get in?
Touring cars and sportscars appear to be the best option for many drivers starting out in the sport; feeling the same sense of thrill as a Formula Car with more hardcore racing at a relatively frugal rate is an option too good for many to pass on.
Image Credits: Asif Zubairi / VW Motorsport India Facebook
This is exactly what Volkswagen Motorsport India have mastered over the course of the last decade. For ten years, the German giants have provided hundreds of aspiring racing drivers from the subcontinent a solid platform to wave the green flag to their racing careers and a lot of their graduates have gone on to bask in success later in their careers. Every season, thousands register to be a part of Volkswagen Motorsport India’s cup series and eventually, 20 make it into the championship.
Why Volkswagen Motorsport India?
“Why should I start my racing career with Volkswagen Motorsport India?”, is probably what you are thinking of at the moment and the answer is pretty simple. The Volkswagen Motorsport India Cup championships are quite simply the best entry-level motorsport series in the subcontinent. Here’s why VW Motorsport India have earned this tag and why this could be your first step into the world of professional racing.
Image Credits: Asif Zubairi / VW Motorsport India Facebook
Driver Development
An entry-level series must be able to nurture novices into professionals over the course of their stay in the championship. That is something that VW Motorsport India excel at doing; before the start of the season, the twenty drivers are chosen through a selection process by the team at VW and the lucky ones are taken through some truly intense training to be a racing driver; from teaching the amateurs how to drive a race car to working on the physical aspect of racing, VW Motorsport India truly have all bases covered.
Jeet Jhabakh, the 2019 Ameo class Champion has developed greatly as a driver under Volkswagen Motorsport India
That way, a new driver’s physical, mental and racing abilities are sharpened over the course of their stay in the cup championship and they leave as true professionals. A brilliant example would be this season’s Ameo class champion Jeet Jhabakh; with no real racing experience behind him, he entered the Ameo class as inexperienced novices and in the last few years, his growth as a racing driver has made him one of the best in the country.
Equality in competition
Equality has been at the very core of every Volkswagen Motorsport India’s cup championship; they make sure that every single driver is presented the same equipment to compete with, making for a fair championship where driver skill and mental toughness is the only defining factor. That has been VW Motorsport India’s recipe for success from the very start; ensuring a fair competitive environment has made sure that the inequality brought about by varying budget sizes in other motorsport series is eliminated. The fact that all the cars are operated by only one team gives no advantage to any driver in terms of the cars. Consequently, the drivers are exposed to intense, yet impartial competition and the cream rises to the top.
Cost-effective
It is no secret that motorsport isn’t the most generous sport if you are looking to please your bank account. Pursuing a career in Formula cars may set you back a ginormous sum which could be compounded by damages, travel and insurance. With a series like the Volkswagen Championship – Ameo Class though, you get to race a 220-kmph car for over 10 races a year, for a fee much more affordable than that of other championships. In all, if you are a fairly safe driver, an entire season worth of racing and driver development won’t set you back more than 15 lakh rupees! Compare that to the astronomical sums of single seater championships and you start to realise that getting to race some incredibly-well prepared racecars against the best in the country for such a relatively low price is some truly good value for money. Ask some of the competing drivers about it; I am pretty sure that none of them will have a bad word to say!
Karthik Tharani (L) and Dhruv Mohite (R) have developed into two of India’s best while driving under the Volkswagen banner
The pedigree and future racing prospects
There has been no shortage of competition in any of Volkswagen Motorport India’s Cup Series over the years; this year’s Ameo class chamionship saw the Top 3 drivers split by merely one point heading into the final race of the season! This competition helps you develop as a racing driver and that explains why Volkswagen Motorsport India’s past series champions such as Karthik Tharani, Dhruv Mohite, Ishaan Dodhiwala and Karminder Singh have gone on to become some of the biggest names in Indian Motorsport. Moreover, the Ameo class cars offer a good experience of what international touring and sportscars series are like, helping aspiring drivers become more competent internationally too!
With the scope of driver development being so high and the champion of the Ameo class getting a free drive with Volkswagen Motorsport India in the following season of the prestigious Indian Touring Car championship, you can’t help but admit that this really is the perfect place to begin your racing career!
Would you like to take part in Volkswagen Championship 2020 and start your racing career?
Click here to register yourself and to know more details about how you can race next season!
You might also like
