- Race car developments to be used in street cars as well
- Motorsports highlights safety, reliability and fun to drive aspects
- TC4-A regulations are based on the current Indian Touring Car (ITC) regulations
Currently in its ninth year, Volkswagen Motorsport is the only OEM that is directly involved in motorsports in the country. Under various programs, aspiring drivers from around the country are given an opportunity to get trained and develop themselves to participate in international races someday. Hence, events like the Cup car series emerge as the right platform to prepare racers for the TCR races.
Based on an interaction with Sirish Vissa, the head of Volkswagen Motorsport India, we learnt that an event like the Cup car series gives Volkswagen an opportunity to present facts like safety, reliability and fun to drive element in a practical manner by putting the car on the race track. Over the years the motorsport division has witnessed major crashes and the company claims that each time the drivers have managed to walk away without any major injury. These events have reportedly been a testimony to the engineering and development of the chassis, as well as the DNA of the vehicle. Speaking of safety, Shirish further highlighted the fact that even the company’s road legal cars make use of the most spot weld points and laser welded roof as compared to any other car manufacturer in the country, thereby offering more structural rigidity.
Shirish further revealed how the program has been designed for overall driver development right from understanding racing lines, to approaching sponsors, interaction with the media and understanding the car behavior on the track and being able to relay it to the engineer for further development.
Volkswagen Motorsport will celebrate its 10th anniversary in the country next year. The racing developments and findings will be used for development of upcoming road cars from the German car manufacturer. Moreover, the Motorsport division also aims at improving the racing scenario in India and provide more opportunities for potential racers.
Recently, the Motorsport division also introduced the TC4-A Vento. The TC4-A regulations are based on the current Indian Touring Car (ITC) regulations andfeatures turbocharged racecars up to 2000cc. Under the new regulations, the minimum weight of the racecar has been set at 1150kg, while the turbo inlet restrictor is meant to be 30mm. The Vento TC4-A is powered by a 1.8-litre TSI engine, mated to a 3MO sequential gearbox with a manual gearshift lever.
