Angad Singh Matharoo took an early overall lead in this year’s Volkswagen Polo-Cup India. The 25-year-old from Chandigarh, India, won the opening race at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore and finished runner-up behind Bonnie Thomas in race two. Matharoo, who finished third overall in last season’s Volkswagen Polo-Cup, took advantage of a penalty awarded to Karminder Pal Singh, who had overtaken during a yellow flag phase on lap ten. In race two, rookie Thomas was the man to beat. This was the first victory in the Volkswagen Polo-Cup for the 33-year-old rally driver. Thomas is currently second in the overall standings with 43 points, behind Matharoo (54).

Third race, third win for Alexey Ignatov and Alina Kondratyeva: the Russian duo was once again the pair to beat at the Taman Rally in the Volkswagen Polo-Cup. The first day of the rally, on which the 11 teams were faced with 81 kilometres against clock spread over six special stages, was dominated by a thrilling duel between Ignatov and Arkadiy Bogomolov. However, Bogomolov, who led at the halfway point, skidded off the road on day two to leave the way free for Ignatov. Vadim Leluh was second, while Vladimir Melnikov completed the podium in third place.