- Oshan Kothadiya, Pratik Sonawane and Anmol Singh take home victories during Round 3
- Sandeep Kumar leads the overall Championship, followed by Sourav Bandopadhyay in second spot, and Avik Anwar in third position
- The final round of the championship to be held between 11-13 February, 2022
The third round of the Volkswagen Polo Championship came to an end earlier this week at the Madras Motor Racetrack (MMRT) in Chennai. The finale of the championship is scheduled to take place between 11-13 February, 2022.
Coming to Round 3, Pune’s Oshan Kothadiya and Pratik Sonawane won the first and second race respectively, while Ghaziabad’s Anmol Singh Sahil took home the trophy in the last race.
Oshan Kothadiya from Pune occupied the pole position in the first race which was also his first win in the championship. Anmol, who started at P2, had a race to forget, as he was given a drive-through penalty for a jump start. Since he did not complete the drive-through penalty, he was shown a black flag that ended his race prematurely. With Anmol out of contention, Sourav and Sandeep were competing for the second spot, but it was ultimately Sandeep who overtook Sourav, ensuring himself a second-place finish. Sourav ended the race with the final podium spot in the first race of Round 3.
The second race of the day started in a reversed grid order, with Ayush Tainwala taking the pole position, followed by the only female racer in the grid, Diana Pundole at the second spot. Oshan, who was the winner in the first race, started the second race at the 12th spot. Due to a technical fault in his car, he ended the race at P16. The race witnessed a lot of action and overtaking by drivers, especially by Pratik Sonawane, who started the race at P6 and went all the way to claim victory. He was followed by Avik and Sandeep at P2 and P3, respectively.
The final race of the weekend started with grid places being decided by the second-best lap in the qualifying session. This meant, Sourav, Anmol, Siddharth, Oshan Pratik, and 17-year-old Sai Sanjay occupying the top six positions. Sandeep, who finished on the podium in the earlier two races, started at a distant P11, while finishing the race at P3. Anmol, who started the race at P2, overtook Sourav at the beginning of the race and maintained his lead to the end, ensuring himself victory. Sourav ended the last race of Round 3 at P2.
Sandeep Kumar was the biggest gainer in the Round 3 of the Championship. He managed a podium finish in all the three races which has ensured him a commanding championship lead, while Sourav and Avik currently occupy the second and third spots.
Commenting on the occasion, Sirish Vissa, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport India said, “With a mix of experienced and rookie drivers, Round 3 of the Championship witnessed some exhilarating performances and clean racing from all the drivers. I would like to congratulate Oshan Kothadiya, Pratik Sonawane and Anmol Singh, the deserved winners of the three races that were held over the weekend. I am now eagerly looking forward to the penultimate round of racing, which will decide the winner of the 12th edition of the Volkswagen Polo National Racing Championship.”
