2016 Volkswagen Vento Cup: 12 rookies finalised for this season

Team OD Published: March 17, 2016, 07:25 PM IST

The selection process for the 2016 edition of the Vento Cup concluded recently and 12 new drivers have been finalised. This year, Volkswagen Motorsport India received a total of 560 entries from around the country. The selection process lasted 45 days, by the end of which, 62 entries made it to the final round at the Indi Karting Track in Pune. This number was further reduced to 12 after the two-day selection process, which tested drivers on fitness, driving skill, learning ability and discipline. These 12 rookies will be joined on the grid by eight others who've driven in the previous Vento Cup and Polo Cup championships. All 20 drivers will now take part in a fitness camp and pre-season testing before Round 1 which is scheduled for June, 2016.

Volkswagen Vento Cup 2016 Driver Selection finals_2

At the end of 2015, MMSC won the bid to host the Vento Cup as a part of the FMSCI National Racing Championship from 2016-2018. The 2016 Vento Cup will consist of four rounds that will now be held across three racetracks the Kari Motor Speedway, MMRT and BIC. The Vento Cup cars will now wear MRF racing slicks, new decals and will use a slightly reworked suspension system.

Vento Cup MRF (2)

"Every year we receive a number of entries from aspiring racers showing their willingness to participate in the Vento Cup. It has been Volkswagen Motorsport India's goal to develop and nurture young talent since its inception in 2009 and we are happy that we are able to coach so many drivers every year and provide them with a strong and robust platform like the Vento Cup," said Sirish Vissa, head of Volkswagen Motorsport India.

"Interestingly 17 drivers are up to the age of 26 years, which is good because they are the young ones whom we really want to groom," he added.

2016 Vento Cup finalists


	Name
1	Aditya Mhatre
2	Amit Mete
3	Arfath Mohammed
4	Arunshowry Vallabhaneni
5	Eswar Bolisetti
6	Gowdham Murugan
7	Harjee Wadia
8	Harshavardhan Saravanan
9	Hatim Shabbir
10	Ishaan Dodhiwala
11	Ishan Bhardwaj
12	Keith Desouza
13	Mohamed Jamil
14	Nachappa Sivanesan
15	Neha Dabas
16	Niranjan Todkari
17	Pradeep Rao
18	Rashad Khan
19	Sailesh Bolisetti
20	Venkatraj Ellendula

	Age
1	22
2	27
3	19
4	21
5	20
6	26
7	17
8	19
9	20
10	25
11	24
12	22
13	24
14	29
15	25
16	22
17	26
18	19
19	27
20	20

	City
1	Mumbai
2	Aurangabad
3	Chennai
4	New Delhi
5	Visakhapatanam
6	Coimbatore
7	New Delhi
8	Chennai
9	Chennai
10	Hyderabad
11	New Delhi
12	Goa
13	Pudukkottai
14	Chennai
15	New Delhi
16	Pune
17	Mumbai
18	Pune
19	Visakhapatanam
20	Secunderabad