[jalsa777]

Oshan Kothadiya is the latest Indian to drive in the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup. Earlier, Aditya Patel and Sailesh Bolisetti have driven in this series.

Oshan made his racing debut in 2010 with the VW Polo R Cup. He went on to finish the 2010 season in 9th place. In 2011, he did quite well and finished the season in 2nd place behind champion Vishnu Prasad. The award for winning the Polo R Cup India Championship is a sponsored drive in the VW Scirocco Cup, Germany. Oshan got this opportunity after Vishnu backed out.

Oshan made his international debut at the Hockenheim ring on 27th April.

Here's the weekend's report:
The practice session was intensive as Oshan had to learn the Hockenheimring circuit which he had only driven on virtual simulators. Qualifying was not as expected since there was a change in the weather conditions. Oshan qualified 21 out of a 25 car grid.

Minutes before the start, Oshan's race strategy went out of the window since he was unable to see the start gantry and had to rely on the cars starting in front of him. Due to this he fell back to dead last at the start. Oshan kept cool and steadily worked his way up the grid saving his boost button only to make confirmed overtaking maneuvers. This saw him cross 8 drivers after the start. He finished the race 16th gaining 5 positions overall.

Alongside Oshan on the grid was F1 Legend 'Mika Salo' and former DTM Champion 'Marc Surer'.

Commenting on the weekend, Oshan had this to say:

It was a fantastic learning experience for me. The biggest highlight was the difference between racing in India & Europe. Apart from the weather, the support that's received by drivers is spectacular! The 70,000 odd fans that were present make you feel like a true celebrity. I've never signed so many autographs before. The entire team from Volkswagen Zubehör (Volkswagen Accessories) was there to support me. Racing in Europe would not have been possible without support from Volkswagen India, Volkswagen Zubehör, JK Racing & Jet Airways. Moreover I'd like to thank all my fans for believing in me. My next race is immediately next weekend in Lausitz at the Eurospeedway and I look forward to a stronger performance.

About Scirocco R Cup:

In 2010, Volkswagen introduced the world’s most eco-friendly one-make cup. The cars run on bio-CNG (compressed natural gas) fuel, thus producing 80 per cent less CO2 emissions than when running on petrol.

The cars were powered by a 2 litre turbocharged engine delivering 223 BHP power at 6000 rpm and approx. 275 Nm Torque at 3000 rpm. This seasons cars get a power bump up to 235 BHP, along with a push-to-pass system which delivers 50 BHP extra on demand (20 more BHP than last season). The number of uses for the push-to-pass system are determined by grid position; with the drivers further back getting more uses, to keep things interesting! Transmission is a dual-clutch semi-auto unit from the production cars.

The series is run as an official DTM partner series and thus enjoys large spectator turnout and also vast media coverage. The ten races of the 2012 Scirocco R-Cup will be part of the DTM, held in Germany, Austria and UK.


The 2012 Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup calendar is as follows:
27–28 April at Hockenheim (D)
04-05 May at Lausitzring (D)
18-19 May at Brands Hatch (GB)
01–03 June at Spielberg (A)*
29–30 June at Norisring (D)
17–18 August at Nürburgring (D)
14–16 September at Oschersleben (D)*
19–20 October at Hockenheim (D)

*Two races, otherwise one race on Saturday


For further information visit: http://www.volkswagen-motorsport.com

[jalsa777]

The second round of the VW Scirocco Cup concluded this weekend (04-05 May) at EuroSpeedway (Lausitzring). Oshan had some bad luck over the weekend and thus it was a forgettable weekend for him.

Practice:
During the initial stage of the practice itself, his car developed a technical issue and stopped on the track. Due to this, Oshan lost out on much needed track-time. As this was his first outing on the track, he had to learn the track during the practice session which unfortunately could not happen.
The technical team tried to revive the car but the problem persisted.

Qualifying:
Oshan got a new car for qualifying. He tried to maximize the available time and managed 20th position out of 26 participants. This is a very respectable position considering his lack of track-time.

Race:
He had a very good start and made 2 positions by the 1st corner. It was all set for a trilling race for him and he could have made-up more places similar to what he did last weekend. But, as luck would have it, he spun out on the 3rd corner and lost track position. The rest of the race was spent trying to catch up with the pack in front and eventually Oshan managed 23rd position.


This was a tough weekend for him, but I'm sure he'll bounce back for the next race at Brands Hatch, England.


Here are some pictures:

Notice anything familiar in the pictures??

[scuderiamania]

It is really heart warming to Indians getting a chance to show off there skills in such a big international stage. It should act as a major incentive for the youth the take up motorsport not only for fun but also as a career option. The EMR cup should provide further boost to the phenomenon started by the VW Polo cup and the "one in a billion" series sponsored by Sahara SFI.

PS: Hope I am not being rude for asking this is Team-bhp sponsoring Oshan in the Sirocco cup?That would truly be great.

[Rehaan]

50 BHP kick for the push-to-pass sounds like a lot of fun!!

Also the fact that these cars run on CNG is quite a statement.

Originally Posted by scuderiamania

Hope I am not being rude for asking this is Team-bhp sponsoring Oshan in the Sirocco cup?

Nope, we aren't sponsoring him. In fact we didn't know anything about this until Shrivz @ BigFootRacing emailed us this picture

cya
R

[scuderiamania]

Guess then Oshan may be a member and fan. If he is a member, please ask him to share his experiences here after every race. It would definitely make for an interesting read.