Volkswagen Polo Ladies Cup at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz: Qualifying: Nuray Esener clinches pole position

Volkswagen Polo Ladies Cup at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz: Qualifying: Nuray Esener clinches pole position

Wolfsburg, 17 September 2005 - Close fight for pole: Nuray Esener claimed the pole position for the German debut of the Turkish Volkswagen Polo Ladies Cup.

In a thrilling qualifying session at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, in which the lead among those clocking the best times changed five times, the 34-year-old executive from Istanbul relegated the leader of the standings, Ann Tahincioğlu, to second place with an advantage of less than two tenths of a second. The second row on Sunday will be formed by the third in the standings, Melis Çeker, and world record diver Yasemin Dalkılıç. In the first Turkish one-make Cup, which is open strictly to women, 17 ladies are competing with Racing Polo cars featuring identical technology, powered by 130-hp TDI diesel engines.

"We extend a cordial welcome to the Volkswagen Polo Ladies Cup and are looking forward to an exciting race. The close decision in the qualifying gave us a foretaste of how hard the 17 ladies are going to fight for each position," commented Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. Birgül Ak Karacahisarlı, General Manager of the Volkswagen importer and Cup organiser, Doğuş Otomotiv, said: "We are very proud to participate this weekend as a guest with our unique racing series. In Turkey, the Polo Ladies Cup has been a great success and we are pleased to be able to present it here to German audiences for the first time."

The qualifying session was marked by the duel between two experienced drivers: Nuray Esener and Ann Tahincioğlu took turns at the top of the field three times. After two thirds of the roughly half-hour session Esener set the absolute best time of 1m53.027s. "I'm very happy to have clinched the pole position, but that doesn't mean I've won anything yet. What counts is a good result in the race," said the seasoned touring car driver, who immediately took a liking to the 3.442-kilometre EuroSpeedway Lausitz: "The circuit is pretty demanding and – with its many corners – lots of fun."

Ann Tahincioğlu, as well, was obviously satisfied with her result. "Second place here is okay, Nuray and I were very close together," said the driver, who, at the age of 49 is the oldest competitor in the highly mixed field. "Having the lead in the standings in the back of my mind, of course I won't risk everything, but if a chance for victory should be opening up, I'll take advantage of it." Aged 22, Melis Çeker is the youngest competitor. She will start the race from position three. "After most recently winning the race that was part of the Formula 1 supporting programme in Istanbul, third place of course isn't enough for me,” the young gun with carting experience said for the record. "But considering that I've usually been better in the race than in the qualifying so far, I see good chances for scoring a top result."‹ previous  •  8854 of 12885  •  next ›