2018 Volkswagen Ameo Cup Round 2 Kicks Off This Weekend In Chennai

The second season for the Volkswagen Ameo Cup kick-started at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore last month and the 20 drivers, both rookie and experienced will now be challenging their limits at the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) in Chennai. This opening round was action packed with two exciting races with a crash in Race 2, the biggest seen by the championship yet. The opening round, however, belonged to Kolhapur-based racer Dhruv Mohite, who registered back-to-back wins over the Round 1 weekend.

(Dhruv Mohite leads the Ameo Cup after back-to-back wins in Round 1)

With Mohite on pole, it is Thane's Saurav Bandyopadhyay in second place with two podium finishes in Round 1, while Anmol Singh Sahil from Ghaziabad sits third on the points table. The rookie drivers are also expected to give some strong competition to the experienced drivers with the wider and longer Chennai track giving a whole new set of opportunities for the drivers to test their skills.

The championship witnesses 20 young drivers being tutored and trained by Volkswagen India Motorsport. The Ameo Cup cars are based on the road-going versions, albeit with race-spec modifications including an eight-point roll cage, sport seats with six-point seatbelts, larger tyres, welded panels for added structural rigidity and a massive front wing for additional downforce. This season, the Ameo Cup cars ride on MRF tyres, which along with suspension upgrades, have improved the handling on the race-ready model.

The 2018 Volkswagen Ameo Cup car is powered by the 1.8-litre four-cylinder, turbocharged TSI engine tuned for 203 bhp and 320 Nm of peak torque. The engine is mated to a 6-speed 3MO sequential gearbox for quick gear changes. The car is substantially lighter than the road going model also comes with upgraded brakes.