[TusharK]

Registrations for the driver's selection for the Volkswagen Ameo Cup 2018 have opened. The selection round will be held at the Indi Karting Track in Kharadi, Pune on January 27 and 28, 2018. The last date to register is January 21, 2018.



The one-make racing series is hosted as part of the MMSC-FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship. The format for this year's series will remain the same as the recently concluded VW Ameo Cup 2017. Over 20 drivers will race identical Ameo Cup race cars in 10 events scheduled throughout the year. Races will be held at the Madras Motor Race Track near Chennai, Kari Motor Speedway near Coimbatore and the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida.

For the 2017 season, Volkswagen Motorsport India switched to the Ameo compact sedan. The same cars are likely to be used for the 2018 season.

The 2017 Ameo Cup race cars are developed indigenously and are powered by a 1.8-litre, 4-cylinder TSI petrol engine. The engine produces 202 BHP @ 6,100 rpm and 320 Nm of peak torque @ 3,200-4,600 rpm and comes paired with a 6-speed sequential gearbox and paddle shifters. The cars are fitted with an 8-point roll cage and weigh just 1,150 kg.

The 2017 Ameo Cup race cars get beefed up brakes with 334 mm ventilated discs in the front and 232 mm discs in the rear and have ABS. The cars ride on McPherson strut with 2-way adjustable KW dampers in the front and torsional beam axle with 2-way adjustable KW dampers in the rear. Unlike the road car, the Ameo Cup cars ride on 17-inch alloy wheels shod in 200/605 section MRF tyres.

Those interested can register on this website.

[rajasRTR]

Anyone here has registered for the selection?

[RM Motorsports]

I have registered for Ameo Cup.

The selections will take place at the Indi Karting Track, Kharadi, Pune (formerly known as Downtown Racing Track), where driver coach will put each driver through a series of tests and challenges to gauge his/her consistency, talent, pace and willingness to learn. The selections will be conducted on 27th & 28th January 2018.

Unfortunately I am travelling coming weekend so wont be able to go.

[rajasRTR]

I participated in the Ameo Cup 2018 driver selection.

Day 1: About a 100 people from all over India had participated.
We weren't actually evaluated on the first day and there were no eliminations. There were briefing sessions by Rayo sir (of Rayo Racing Academy, Pune) and Mr. Sirish ( Head of VW Motorsports India), followed by a few of exercises like slaloming and following the racing line.
We were asked to come the next day with a final decision on whether we were ready to participate in the season by spending about 10 lakhs or not.
This was to pick out only the serious guys so that they could be evaluated separately.
Oh, and the best part of Day 1, we were given a chance to take a close look at the Ameo cup car, take pictures sitting behind the wheel and drool over it as Rayo sir did a few laps for us.

Day 2: First thing in the morning, were divided into 2 groups- 'Yes' those who were ready to spend and definitely wanted to participate in the season, and the 'Maybe/No' who weren't sure or didn't want to participate.
We were evaluated and given points based on 3 rounds-
1) Fitness
2) Driving exercise - how skillfully you follow the racing line, tackle the corners and go fast at the same time (but no lap times recorded)
3) Final driving round - marks were given based on the best lap time.

It was a good experience for someone who just wanted to see where you stand amongst fellow Motorsports aspirers/enthusiasts. I am not going to be in India during the season, so there was no point for me to go ahead.

If you really want to race in the Ameo cup and look forward to pursuing Motorsports seriously, you should be able to spare some 10 lakhs for the season. You can try to get sponsors to cover the costs, but ideally you should not make a decision relying completely on sponsorships.

[ajmat]

Volkswagen Motorsport India selects 19 new drivers for the 2018 edition of the Volkswagen Ameo Cup

· From over 1500 registrations, 96 drivers were shortlisted who attended the Drivers Selection programme in Pune on 27 – 28 January 2018
· 19 new drivers to take their places on the race track in the Volkswagen Ameo Cup 2018 along with some of the previous season’s drivers
· The new set of drivers also include two female drivers from Bangalore and Davanagere

The first day of the driving selection process consisted of three karting sessions which helped the participants get comfortable with their karts. The first session consisted of slalom course to understand the handling characteristics of the karts, followed by cornering drills, which helped extract the raw potential of the participating drivers, as they had to get as close to the apex as possible as they made their turn. The third session was a timed lap, which helped the selectors to group drivers with similar lap times together for the next day. These lap times were not considered in the evaluation process.

The next day started off with fitness sessions wherein, all participating drivers were required to run three timed laps of the track. Post running, the participants had to prove their muscle strength through push-ups in 60 seconds. Post the fitness sessions, the participants took to the karts once again and were judged on their racing line and driving technique. This was also followed by a timed lap in the kart, which helped to tally the final score.

The format of the Volkswagen Ameo Cup 2018 will remain the same as the recently concluded Volkswagen Ameo Cup 2017. There would be in total 10 races throughout the season and the drivers would be classified in Pro and Junior category based on their experience in racing. At the end of the season, the winner of the Ameo Cup Pro category would get a sponsored seat in a higher series of racing while the winner of the Ameo Cup Junior category would get a sponsored seat in the Ameo Cup for one more year to get developed further.

The youngest driver selected this season is a 19 year old from Lucknow and the only international participant is from Bangladesh.

List of the selected 19 new Drivers