FIA World Rallycross ChampionshipPodium for Heikkinen and Foust in Canada
Toomas “Topi” Heikkinen (FIN) and Tanner Foust (USA) finished second and third at round seven of the FIA World Rallycross Championship in Trois-Rivières, Canada. Heikkinen came home just two tenths of a second behind winner Davy Jeanney (F, Peugeot) in the final. The two Marklund Motorsport drivers also clocked the two fastest laps of the final in the Volkswagen Polo RX Supercar. Heikkinen’s team-mate Foust, racing for Marklund Motorsport in Canada for the third time this year, worked his way through the field from the back row of the grid in the final. Johan Kristoffersson (S) and Tord Linnerud (N) of Volkswagen Team Sweden failed to make it into the final. Kristoffersson finished fifth in the semi-final, while Linnerud’s weekend came to an end in heat four. There was some consolation for Kristoffersson and his team: the Swede has 124 points to his name in the Drivers’ Championship, meaning he is still the best-placed Volkswagen driver in third place. Heikkinen lies eighth with 95 points. The next round will take place in Hell (N) on 22 and 23 August.
Volkswagen Polo Cup RussiaRostilov/Ignatov win in Vyborg
Denis Rostilov/Alexey Ignatov (RUS/RUS) emerged victorious from the fifth rally weekend of the Volkswagen Polo Cup Russia. The two Russians finished ahead of compatriots Andrey Vavilin/Denis Pimanov at the end of the eight special stages, which saw them tackle 80.90 kilometres against the clock. Only two of the five starters actually finished the gravel rally in the historic region of Karelia, between St. Petersburg and the Finnish border – namely Rostilov/Ignatov and Vavilin/Pimanov. The next rally will be held in St. Petersburg from 04 to 06 September.
Engen Volkswagen Cup South AfricaZwartkops Raceway: Van der Linde bags a brace of wins
Sheldon van der Linde (ZA) dominated the fifth race weekend of the Engen Volkswagen Cup South Africa. The 16-year-old South African won both races at the Zwartkops Raceway (ZA). Pole-sitter van der Linde won race one on Saturday morning, coming home 3.329 seconds ahead of Tasmin Pepper (ZA) after eight laps of racing. Third place went to Daniel Rowe (ZA, +4.549 seconds). Race two on Saturday afternoon saw van der Linde cross the finish line first after 20 laps in his Volkswagen Polo Vivo. Mathew Hodges (ZA, + 7.955 seconds) was runner-up, with Rowe (+ 9.460 seconds) claiming his second third place of the weekend. The next two races will take place at the Dezzi Raceway in Port Shepstone (ZA) on 29th August.
Volkswagen Vento Cup IndiaBolisetti and Singh win at inaugural Vento Cup event
Sailesh Bolisetti (IND) and Karminder Singh (IND) both won a race each on the opening weekend of the new Volkswagen Vento Cup India. Bolisetti won the first race of the series on Saturday, while Singh took victory in Sunday’s second race at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore (IND). Starting from pole position, Bolisetti led from start to finish to claim a commanding win in race one. The 2010 Volkswagen Polo Cup India champion came home ahead of Anindith Reddy (IND) and Singh. Reddy, who had started from second on the grid, lost two positions on the opening lap. However, he was able to fight his way back into second place over the course of the race. The youngster did manage to reel in Bolisetti, but was unable to launch an attack on the lead. Race two was started in reverse order and proved to be an action-packed affair. Singh, who started the race from sixth place, fought his way into the lead and held on to triumph ahead of Reddy and Sahil Gahuri (IND). Race one winner Bolisetti started from eighth place and eventually came home sixth. The race was interrupted following a crash involving Harkishan Wadia (IND) in turn one. Wadia was unhurt and the race was re-started behind the safety car. The Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore will also host races three and four from 04 to 06 September.
Next up:
14/08–15/08/2015South African Rally Championship, Cullinan Rally, Gauteng (ZA)
14/08–15/08/2015Global Rallycross, Washington (USA)
