TheSportsCampus

Chennai racer Vishnu Prasad put in a stunning lap to claim the Pole Position for the 1st race of the 3rd Round of Polo Cup India 2010, at the Kari Motor Speedway, Coimbatore, with the best lap time of 1:16:672. Sailesh Bolisetti will start in second position, three tenths down on Prasad. Drivers Munjal Savla, Sahil Shelar and Vikas Anand complete the top 5. Championship leader Karthik Shankar had a close finish in a very competitive time, but will start in 7th position. The only women driver on the grid Alisha Abdullah will start in 14th position.

The qualifiers proved to be an exciting event for the spectators. A close qualifying round was proof that the drivers have learned the in's and out's of their cars and understood the track, having raced on it once before. If today's qualifiers were a taste of what is to come, the 3rd round of the Polo Cup India 2010 is sure to be a nail-biting, adrenaline-pumped affair.

Speaking about winning Pole Position, Vishnu Prasad said, "It feels great to be on pole for first race tomorrow. I have been working hard this whole season and am extremely satisfied with the lap that I put in today. Scoring as many points as I can is definitely the target as we are coming to the second half of the season."

Sailesh Bolisetti, from Vizag, was second on the grid just three-tenths away from the leader. Sailesh said, "I am not totally satisfied with my lap but it is great to be on the front row. VW has given me a great car to drive this weekend and I will be looking to convert this into a win tomorrow."

The top 10 places in the qualifying grid for Race 1 are as follows: Vishnu Prasad, Sailesh Bolisetti, Munjal Savla,  Sahil Shelar, Vikash Anand, Parth Ghorpade, Karthik Shankar, Samyak Shah, Mohd Fahad Kutty, Gurniaz MannThe highly successful VW Polo Cup is in its debut year in India and runs over 6 race weekends. This will be the third round of the Championship with Karthik Shankar leading the Championship, closely followed by Vishnu Prasad and Sailesh Bolisetti.

The current driver standings after the first 2 rounds of Polo Cup India 2010 in Pune and Coimbatore are as below:
1. Karthik Shankar, Hyderabad, 94
2. Vishnu Prasad, Chennai, 87
3. Sailesh Bolisetti, Vishakhapatnam, 80
4. Sahil Shelar, Pune, 70
5. Mohammed Fahad Kutty, Mumbai, 65

The Polo Cup India will have six races in total. Races will take place each month upto December.

The remaining three races will take place on the race course in Chennai.
§ 25/26 Sep 2010 at Chennai (Irungattukottai Race Track)
§ 27/28 Nov 2010 at Chennai (Irungattukottai Race Track)
§ 18/19 Dec 2010 at Chennai (Irungattukottai Race Track)