Volkswagen Motorsport conducts media race for automotive journalists at MMRT

Volkswagen Motorsport organised a race event for auto journalists, giving them a chance to experience what drivers go through during a typical race weekend. A total of 12 journalists mostly having an automobile background participated in the race weekend. Each one was handed a race spec Ameo car that is used by Volkswagen to conduct the regular races with the race car drivers. While many of them had prior racing experience on bikes or cars on a race track, for some it was their first outing. Evo India was a part of the media race weekend and our man Chinmay Chaudhary (a rookie on track) was behind the wheel of the race-spec Ameo.

The drivers went through free practice sessions on Friday and Saturday to get a hang of their cars and the track, followed by a qualifying practice session on Saturday. The final day saw all of them racing and competing with each other.  Abhik Das from Auto Today won the race after a strong display right from the start, while Ashok George from BBC Top Gear India fought his way from the fourth position to secure the second place. Ameya Dandekar from CarWale was several positions down, but he too clawed his way back up and finished third. Chinmay Chaudhary finished 10^th place overall.

Speaking on the weekend of racing that the auto journalists experienced, head of Volkswagen Motorsport India, Sirish Vissa said, “The race weekend we created for the media is a trailer for what the Ameo Cup drivers will go through on any given race weekend starting June 2018. We tried to keep the experience as authentic as possible. The drivers went through free practice sessions, qualifying and then a race – just like a driver racing in a top international racing series would. Our Driver Coach Rayomand Banajee was present to help and guide the journalists on and off the track. I am sure that the track experience gained by these journalists will not only help them understand the levels of dedication required for professional racing and how we help drivers provide a platform to groom their talent but also make them better track drivers in the future.”

Here is the final result of the media race: