A tight, close race at the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup 2011.   Photos provided to China Daily

Motorsports in China have been developing at an unprecedented speed in the last few years and are on the track to prosperity, since the "Volkswagen Scirocco Cup" was introduced to China in 2009.

This means that the Scirocco Cup - now the newly named Scirocco R-Cup - is a national-scale event and has reached a new level, from its racing cars to promotion of the event.

Back in 2009, when the "Volkswagen Scirocco Cup" first came to China, it had only four stops and circuits in the whole country.

A year later, the number of stops grew to seven and Scirocco R-Cup China was moved abroad, for the first time, to the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.

Now, in 2011, the fully improved "Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup" has increased its overseas competitions to two stops, and is working together with many important overseas events.

These include the "Millennium Endurance Race", in Malaysia, and the "Intercontinental Le Mans Cup", which has greatly improved the race standards and enhanced the reputation and influence of Chinese motorsports in whole Asia.

Now, with the expansion of this event, the Scirocco R-Cup is, without doubt, China's biggest one-made cup race in size and influence.

Over the past three years, the Chinese race has been transformed and improved its level and internationalization and has provided new ideas for developing motorsports in China.

Chinese racers

And, just as the Volkswagen R-Cup series has developed, Chinese race car drivers have become a symbol of how the sport has developed here through their achievements.

Their rise also reflects a growing interest among local drivers, and, more significantly, attests to the improvement in their driving skills.

In 2010, Wang Jianwei won at the Volkswagen Scirocco Cup 2010 Malaysia, the first title for a Chinese mainland driver in an international competition.

Then, at the "Millennium Endurance Race", in Malaysia this year, the Chinese team, with Yin Haitao, Joseph Lo, and Kenny Lo, took the championship title, giving people a more optimistic view of the future of Chinese racers.

Zhang Dasheng is another outstanding member of this new generation of Chinese drivers. At only 19, he won the championship at the Scirocco R-Cup 2011 Zhuhai.

China's motor culture

One reason for this growing attention has been Volkswagen's efforts over the past three years to spread the motorsports culture in China.

At the Volkswagen Scirocco Cup 2010 there were many fresh elements, such as the lovely "cool wolf" mascot, the sexy and the attractive Scirocco girls, delivering a message of happiness, sportfulness, and vigor.

This year, each weekend, leading up to race day, Volkswagen had a Scirocco R-Cup showcase in the downtown area of the host city, with related activities and cultural elements to get the attention and participation of local people.

There was even a "Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup China Photo Contest" which gave Chinese photographers a great chance to take photos of their favorite moments at the Scirocco R-Cup.

Volkswagen has certainly made a great effort to promote Chinese motorsports and motor culture, especially for the Scirocco R-Cup, while achieving self-breakthroughs, which stands to make the 2012 event even more appealing.

With faster race cars, fiercer competition, and better activities, the Scirocco R-Cup will keep on giving fans a real taste of the speed and passion of motorsports.

Volkswagen provided the story.

Zhang Dasheng (center) took the championship at Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup 2011 Zhuhai, when he was only 19.

(China Daily 11/25/2011 page22)