Chennai Ameo Cup: Karminder favourite for maiden crown
Karminder Singh heads into the final round of the Volkswagen Ameo Cup as the overwhelming favourite for the title. But he will be wary of how championships have slipped through his fingers in previous years.
Photo by: Volkswagen Motorsport
Karminder is currently in his fourth season of the Volkswagen’s touring car championship - which has gone through various iterations - and always has been in the hunt for the top prize.
With a 104-point advantage over the rest of this field, this is unarguably his best shot at the title. However, having qualified only eighth for the weekend’s first race, he will have his task cut out.
Four drivers will have a chance of snatching the title away from the Delhi-based racer, led by Dhruv Mohite.
Mohite, a podium finisher in the JK Tyre Racing Championship, sits second in the championship with one victory and several podium finishes to his name.
He is closely followed by Saurav Bandyopadhyay, who has taken a crucial pole position for the final round. But with a 124-point deficit and only 180 points offer, he will need more than his fair share of good luck to grab the coveted honour.
Some way behind Mohite and Bandyopadhyay, Sandeep Kumar and last year’s rookie champion Jeet Jhabakh sit third and fourth in the championship respectively.
While both drivers have a mathematical chance of winning the title, they are most likely going to be fighting for the runner-up and third position in the standings.
“The 2017 season of the one-make series has been remarkable with a strong performance from Karminder and the racers at the top of the points table,” Volkswagen Motorsport India head Sirish Vissa said.
“The fight for the second spot will be the most exciting and enthralling as we enter the season finale”.
“It is our conscious effort to provide a level playing field with the Ameo Cup race car and such cut-throat competition though the season is a testimony to that fact. The final round in Chennai will test the race craft for one last time this year, giving Indian motorsport young racing talent out of the Volkswagen stable.”
For the first time ever, the Ameo Cup grid will be joined by Indian Touring Car (ITC) drivers as part of organisers MMSC’s efforts to spice up racing.
The one-make series will be held concurrently with the MRF F1600 series, which is also part of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship.
Volkswagen Ameo Cup standings:
Sr. No. |
Name |
Total Points |
---|---|---|
1 |
Karminder Singh |
384 |
2 |
Dhruv Mohite |
280 |
3 |
Saurav Bandyopadhyay |
260 |
4 |
A Sandeep Kumar |
230 |
5 |
Jeet Jhabakh |
222 |
6 |
Donovan Vaz |
194 |
7 |
Anmol Singh |
192 |
8 |
Aditya Pawar |
182 |
9 |
Affan Sadat Safwan Islam |
170 |
10 |
Rashad Khan |
166 |
11 |
Pavneet Singh Sheetal |
132 |
12 |
Rohit Goyal |
130 |
13 |
Siddharth Kotecha |
122 |
14 |
Vedant Agarwal |
112 |
15 |
Johir Suresh |
100 |
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