Indian Scirocco R-Cup drivers, Aditya Patel and Sailesh Bolisetti, finished in competitive positions at the 2nd round of the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup 2011 at the all new Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria, this past weekend.
Aditya Patel, who is in his second Scirocco R-Cup season started the weekend well but ended up having a very eventful race weekend. Aditya finished second in the practice session and qualified third on the grid for Race 1 after a very impressive qualifying lap. Race one started with a safety car due to the wet conditions and on lap 3 Aditya was given a drive-through penalty after a collision with Daniel Lloyd. This compromised his race and he finished in 11th place. Race 2 saw a much improved drive from the Chennai lad and who finished in 4th place after starting in 11th. He carved his way through the field and was looking good for a podium finish, if he had more laps in hand. He is now placed 4th in the overall Championship standings.
India’s other entrant Sailesh Bolisetti, the Polo Cup India 2010 Champion, continues to impress as every race goes by. This is only his second race weekend on international soil and is already moving up the ranks. He qualified only in 18th place after he left his qualifying lap too late in the day, but managed to move up three places and finish Race 1 in 15th place. Race 2 was a little better for the Indian and he managed to finish in 14th place.
Commenting on the race weekend, Aditya Patel, said,
“The Red Bull-Ring was new for everyone, so we all had to learn it very quickly. My qualifying lap was quite good and I made no mistakes and took P3. In the first race, I had an unfortunate incident with Daniel Lloyd, got a drive-through penalty and finished in P11. The second race actually was one of my best, starting from 11th and finishing P4. I have really enjoyed my time here as it´s a great track to drive on. The atmosphere was great, the crowd was really big and the people are really friendly and enthusiastic. I´m now going home to India for a week, where I will continue to concentrate on my fitness for the next race at the Lausitzring. Afterwards I will stay in Europe for a month.”
Sailesh Bolisetti commented,
“I had a really good weekend. As I´m new to the championship, to the Scirocco and to the tracks it´s important to drive as much as possible to get more experience. In qualifying I got it wrong as I tried to do my fast laps too late. Another thing is the Push-to-pass button – it´s really important to find the perfect spot and timing to use it. I enjoyed both races and had some good overtaking maneuvers. On Saturday I finished 15th, and on Sunday I finished 14th and I hope to continue like that and to improve from race to race. Before the race weekend I visited Austria together my family, and now we´ll fly to the US for a few days before coming back for the third race weekend.”
The 2nd round of the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup was held in the newly inaugurated Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. The race circuit was founded as Österreichring and was later shortened, rebuilt and renamed the A1-Ring. The 4.326 km track was then bought by Red Bull and renamed the Red Bull Ring. Besides the Scirocco R-Cup, the track also hosts the Austrian Grand Prix and a round of the DTM Season 2011.
