This weekend is another special one for the local motorsport fraternity. Considered by many as the second largest high-octane event after the Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix, the Japan GT is back in town for the tenth time. Along with a group of high-powered race machines and gorgeous race queens, the event is also made up by two support races including the Toyota Vios One Make Series and the Volkswagen Scirocco Cup China which makes it’s debut in Malaysia.
For those of you who have not heard of the Scirocco Cup, allow us to break it down for you. The first ever Scirocco Cup was held in 1976 in Germany and it evolved into the Golf Cup, which then turned into the Lupo Cup. This series was subsequently replaced by the Polo Cup. The Scirocco Cup was recently re-introduced and in Europe for the 2010 season, the series races the 261hp Scirocco R fueled by bio-compressed natural gas or Bio-CNG. This “eco-friendly” Scirocco R race cars output less carbon dioxide, by up to 80% compared to its gasoline counterpart.
The Chinese version of the event was introduced in 2009 and now enters it’s second year. The Sciroccos that are used in this Asian series are based on the non-R Sciroccos and are fueled by conventional gasoline. Each car uses the usual 200hp 2.0 litre 4-potter TSI linked to a 6-speed DSG transmission. Being a race car it features track-friendly amenities such as a full roll cage, a fire extinguisher system, racing brakes and an AIM data logging system, among others.
All cars are identical and the rules state that no setup modifications are allowed for the drivers. A typical race weekend consists of two 30 minutes practice sessions, one 30 minutes qualifying and two races. Each race is 50 kilometers (or 25 minutes) in length and for Sepang, that equals to eight laps each. Grid positions for the first race are determined by the performance in qualifying. There is a twist for the second race though. The top eight finishers of race one will be positioned in a reverse order for the second race. Meaning the winner of the first event will start the next race in eight. This is of course to keep things more competitive as quicker drivers will try to make their way through the field.
Each participant would need to compete in at least three races to be included in the championship battle where his or her best seven results will be taken into account when calculating total points. The 2010 Scirocco Cup China is mostly made up by Chinese and Hong Kong drivers but they are also joined by drivers from Japan, Canada, Italy, UK and France. For this weekend’s Sepang round which is the second this season after Zhuhai, a Malaysian entry is included as well.
Representing us is Hammond Lai, a familiar face in the local motorsport scene. Despite this being his first ever Scirocco Cup entry, Hammond went on to win Saturday’s first race. He managed to keep pole sitter Stefano Montesi from Italy and Hong Kong’s Kenny Lo at bay.
With the win Hammond who has six years of racing experience under his belt will start the second race from eight place. When asked if he intends to continue with the championship this year, he said that it is unlikely however he hopes to secure a full season entry next year. Our best wishes are with him for Sunday’s race and it would be interesting to see if he can repeat his success.
Meanwhile you can look for image galleries of the event after the jump, enjoy!
GALLERY: 2010 Volkswagen Scirocco Cup China – Sepang (Day 1)
GALLERY: 2010 Volkswagen Scirocco Cup China – Grid Girls
GALLERY: Scirocco Cup Car – Damaged
Harvinder Singh Sidhu thinks there's nothing better than Formula 1, not even sliced bread. Having written about cars since 2006, he plunged head first into the industry out of a passion for all things four-wheeled and everything in between. The F1 enthusiast has been following the sport since 1999 and has been keeping up with it since. In between races he keeps himself busy as the host of the Driven motoring TV programme and as our version of the Joker.
Dilemma… Audi A4 or VW Scirocco… sigh
the girls or VW Scirocco…sigh.both cost the same.XD
it depends on your need.for somethg more luxurious n practical,A4.for smetg sporty and more eye-catching,the Roc. or if u want both practicality n sportiness,the Golf GTi.but it’s less eye-catching than the Roc~
Buy Both but at different time, starts with Scirocco first, then a year later A4, sell or keep the Scirocco by then, case solved.
cool! that’s a lot of pics!
HAHAHA…
Lot’s of babes pic
we can count, yea more than ten fingers…
VW!! nice~ can they also import all the gals too boost up the crowed?? there is no way the locals can boost up the crowed in sepang……
i wish i have da same dilemma as u!
haha
Looks like a really fun and interesting one make race series for hot hatch lovers. =) Great that our local driver could show off our Malaysian racing talent. Good Luck for the second race!
maybe i’ll go find someone to marry in china
no need….go china. bukit bintang there got….
Shan is a Girl, she wanted a made in china china man who can race in a scirocco…support Shan!
The pole girl is very attractive.
Their pants r seriously too long n loosely fit….the jap n taiwan standard should be like 5inches shorter! it’s very effective to boost the male drivers performance during the race and after the race at nite.
In formula one we have the lollipop men, in scirocco cup we have the lollipop ladies.
Harvinder,
Your info regarding hammond, R3 and MME is wrong.
Hammond drove for R3 in 2006, 2007 & 2008. The R3 Waja he drove in 2006 finished 3rd in Class C.
“recently took part in this year’s Merdeka Millennium Endurance ” is also wrong as the MME race is only starting in August this year.
Hi superman,
Thanks for pointing that out. It was an error.
i also heard hammond started his race career doing grassroots carpark autocross events.
Girls/ Cars are very hot….
Chinaman now drives Scirocco to sell their vegetables near pasar malam Great Wall.
Malaysian still drive lousy Proton.
Something wrong with the picture.
Hahaha.
VW has been in china for donkey years already.. they are the first foreign car make to penetrate the market and setup factories there. btw, you can buy and drive vw in malaysia also, they’re not banned