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Interview

Stuck praises Buddh circuit during maiden India visit

Former Formula 1 racer and Le Mans winner Hans-Joachim Stuck heaped praise for India's Buddh International circuit and the Indian motorsport scene on his first visit to the country.

Hans-Joachim Stuck

Hans-Joachim Stuck

Nikolaz Godet

Hans-Joachim Stuck
Hans-Joachim Stuck with Karthik Tharani
Hans Stuck
Anindith Reddy leads
Anindith Reddy
Karminder Singh
Karminder Singh and Raghav Sharma
Sailesh Bolisetti
Sailesh Bolisetti
Hans-Joachim Stuck with Sirish Vissa, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport India
Hans-Joachim Stuck with Karthik Tharani
Hans-Joachim Stuck
Hans-Joachim Stuck

The German driver was invited by Volkswagen India as a special guest during the Vento Cup and JK Tyre Racing series season finale at BIC during the November 27-29 weekend.

After taking a lap around the circuit in a Vento car, the 64-year-old was full of awe for the Hermann Tilke-designed track.

"I think the track is great because it’s a very technical track," he told exclusively to Motorsport.com.

"It is not destroyed by any silly chicanes that some tracks have and everything has a good flow.

"You have to be very careful, very smart, not to overdrive the car to be really fast. And since I’ve driven it in a Vento, it is good fun," he added.

"I would have to do it a faster car, maybe, GT3 or so. I can imagine F1 guys having a lot of fun driving at this circuit."

Impressive young drivers

Stuck also got a first-hand look at the Indian motorsport scene and was impressed by the racing some talents produced.

"I’m a bit positively surprised. I didn't know what to expect and not knowing about the Indian racing scene," he said.

"But I must say that Volkswagen is doing a very good job here. Giving young people a chance to show their talent and do some good racing.

"And I’m also happy that they have the Formula BMW here and Formula LGB which is really cool - there is good racing there," he continued.

"It is especially good for beginners because there’s not much aero, so they have to use their skills and feelings to do competitive racing."

Stuck pointed some racing talents which impressed him competing in the Vento Cup.

"Watching racing, especially the Vento Cup, I’ve noticed a couple of tough guys, there's Sailesh [Bolisetti], there's Karminder [Singh], Anindith [Reddy] and Advait [Deodhar].

"There are having good fights, I see they have good car controls. So, for them it is fantastic to be able to race here. They can show their skills," he said.

"And when they get a chance to race in cup series and other touring car series, I would say they have had a good ground teaching to mix it up."

Talent before nationality

With the lack of Indian talents in sportscar and touring championship at the international level, the German ruled out any nationality factor when the manufacturer teams choose their drivers.

"If you have my opinion, definitely not. It doesn't matter which colour you have, yellow, white, brown or black.

"When you have the talent and when people get aware of you, there’s no reason they shouldn't take them," he said.

"It’s same with ladies. We need ladies in motorsport. If we have good ones like Danica Patrick, they get the chance. Why not?

"It’s important that young drivers have a chance to show their talent. They get it in the Vento Cup and other series. And hopefully they are going to be picked up," he added.

Stuck, however, put it on approaches of the various teams bosses and the drivers' individual talents as the prime deciding factors in one's selection.

"I can say it from my experience it always depend on the boss - who is making the choice," he continued.

"I don’t think there’s lot of importance of rules of marketing. I think what’s important is pure talent.

"That’s what counts to become a good driver and then you get a contract," he concluded.

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