INDIA in F1

Author: David Bodapati

  • Mahaveer Raghunathan finishes 10th in feature race; Matsushita wins: F2

    Mahaveer Raghunathan finishes 10th in feature race; Matsushita wins: F2

    Carlin driver wins from fifth, ahead of Ghiotto and De Vries
    Race winner Nobuharu Matsushita (JPN, CARLIN) celebrates in parc ferme on Saturday. An FIA F2 image

    Monza, 7 Sept 2019: Nobuharu Matsushita claimed his second FIA Formula 2 win of the season, in an overtake fuelled Feature Race at Monza. The Japanese driver rose from fifth on the grid and eventually finished 7s ahead of home hero Luca Ghiotto, and Championship leader Nyck de Vries, who completed a sensational drive from last place.

    It was an emotional afternoon for the F2 field and each car adorned touching tributes to the late Anthoine Hubert who tragically passed in last weekend’s race at Spa and Juan Manuel Correa who was injured in the horrific collision. The entire Formula 2 family was Racing for Anthoine, and race winner Matsushita later dedicated his win to the Frenchman.
    Correa’s teammate Callum Ilott started on pole for the first time in his career and cleanly got away off the line, fending off a challenge from fellow rookie Guanyu Zhou. The third of the three rookie frontrunners wasn’t as lucky: Nikita Mazepin struggled at the entry to Turn 1 and went wide, which dragged him down the order.
    Zhou suffered the same fate as his Russian rival a lap later, going wide at the tricky Turn 1 which threw him down to fifth. Behind him, Louis Delétraz spun on the same corner which ended his race, and De Vries went wide as well.
    The struggles of those in front of him had handed Matsushita second, with the Carlin driver perfectly manoeuvring the corner and setting the fastest lap behind race leader Ilott. The Japanese began to hone in on the Brit and by lap 5, he was within DRS range. The duo went side-by-side down the pit straight and the Sauber Junior Team by Charouz racer clung on by the skin of his teeth. Matsushita was unrelenting and eventually forced himself ahead of Ilott, who couldn’t fight off the DRS enthused Carlin any longer.
    Further back, Ghiotto had fired past his teammate as those on the soft tyre began to feed into the pits. Matsushita was amongst those on the prime stint to pit last and returned sixth, narrowly ahead of Ilott in seventh. The lead was handed to Ghiotto who was on the alternate strategy.
    The Italian had 30s on Matsushita – who was running fresher tyres – and was pushing his UNI-Virtuosi machine to the limit of its powers, in an attempt to stretch the gap even further. Behind them, a coming together between Nicholas Latifi and Zhou left the latter with a puncture to his rear right tyre and he was eventually forced to retire from the pits. Latifi pitted for a new front wing, which dumped him to last.
    Ghiotto eventually pitted with a 20s buffer between himself and Matsushita, but a slow stop from his UNI-Virtuosi team dropped him down to seventh and wounded his dreams of a home victory – not that he would let that stop him trying.
    As the rest of the cars on the alternate strategy began to pit, Matsushita took the race lead and began to put air between himself and Ilott. De Vries passed Sérgio Sette Câmara for third, with a 3s deficit to close for P2. He quickly set to work and within two laps had swept passed the Ferrari F1 junior down the pit straight.
    Despite his troublesome pit stop, Ghiotto had somehow managed to force his way back to third, having followed De Vries past Ilott a lap later. The Italian had the fresher tyres of the two and added another scalp to his growing list of overtakes, thundering past the Dutchman to the tune of a roaring Italian crowd. With just a lap remaining, there was too much ground to cover for first, leaving the Italian wondering what might have been.
    Sette Câmara scrambled past Ilott on the final lap for fourth, before Matsushita crossed the line for first. He was followed by Ghiotto and De Vries, who completed the podium. At the request of the drivers, the French national anthem was played during the podium celebrations in honour of Hubert.
    Sette Câmara and Ilott were fourth and fifth, but the Brazilian was handed a 5s time penalty for gaining track advantage earlier in the race which resulted in Ilott classifying ahead of Sette Câmara. Jordan King finished sixth ahead of Giuliano Alesi, who scored his best finish in F2. Jack Aitken, Sean Gelael and Mahaveer Raghunathan – who also scored his highest finish – were the final men in the points’ positions.
    With Latifi out of the points, De Vries stretches his Championship lead to 49 points with yet another podium finish. The Canadian follows in second on 166, ahead of Ghiotto on 155 and Sette Câmara on 151. Aitken completes the top five with 138. In the Teams’ Championship, DAMS lead the Championship with 317 points, ahead of UNI-Virtuosi on 262 and ART Grand Prix on 221. Carlin are fourth with 170 and Campos Racing fifth with 168.
    Jack Aitken will start on reverse grid pole ahead of Alesi and King for tomorrow’s Sprint Race, at 10.50am local time.
    FIA Formula 2 Championship Round 10 – Feature Race provisional classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    2
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    3
    Nyck De Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    4
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    5
    Sérgio Sette Câmara
    DAMS
    6
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    7
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    8
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    9
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    10
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    11
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    12
    Marino Sato
    Campos Racing
    13
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    Louis Delétraz
    Carlin
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Mick Schumacher (PREMA Racing) – 1:34.632 on Lap 21
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Luca Ghiotto (UNI-Virtuosi Racing) – 1:34.900 on Lap 28

  • Jonathan Rea takes 8th consecutive win: WorldSBK

    Portimao, 7 Sept 2019: The Acerbis Portuguese Round welcomed the first race of the weekend with World Superbike Race 1, with the sun still shining brightly and the WorldSBK grid ready for their return to action. With Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) starting from pole, the Ulsterman made it an eighth consecutive win at Portimao, with three different manufacturers on the Race 1 Portimao podium.

    With the race getting underway, it was Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) got the holeshot and took the lead into Turn 1 but there was drama behind. A lunge from Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) saw him barge his own teammate Alvaro Bautista out of the way, forcing Bautista right down to 18th place after the Spaniard tagged the back of Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team).

    By the end of Lap 1, it was Rea leading Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). Chaz Davies was up to fourth and Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) made a bright start in fifth.

    At the end of Lap 3, Davies and van der Mark had disposed of Leon Haslam, with the Kawasaki rider fading. But two laps later, and Davies had got ahead of Tom Sykes at Turn 1, with van der Mark taking advantage at Turn 3 before Haslam took the 2013 WorldSBK champion at Turn 6. On the front straight, Razgatlioglu got ahead of Sykes at the end of the lap, capping off a bad lap for the Huddersfield rider. Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing – Yamaha) was the first crasher of the race at Turn 8 but remounted and was back racing.

    Further back, Bautista was caught up behind Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) in the battle for ninth, with the two veterans of motorcycle racing swapping paint between Turn 9 and 12. However, Bautista made it ahead at the end of the lap and soon, got ahead of Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK). Back in the fight for fourth, and it was Tom Sykes who crashed at Turn 13, not the way he wanted to celebrate a contract extension for 2020. Sykes re-joined and was back in the points by the halfway distance.

    Whilst they scrapped it out for the remaining podium positions, Jonathan Rea had already built up a lead of over three seconds and was well on his way for an eighth consecutive Portimao victory. Unrivalled, untouched and unbelievable dominant, Rea had come into his own in Portugal.

    With 11 laps to go and with tyre life now becoming a factor, Razgatlioglu made his move at Turn 3 and got ahead of Leon Haslam. The Independent rider was ahead of the factory rider and now, Razgatliolgu had two seconds ahead of him until the podium battle between Davies and van der Mark. In seventh place, Alvaro Bautista was beginning to close on Alex Lowes, who was having a quiet race in sixth position. Bautista was the fastest rider on track, in a race of ‘what could’ve been’.

    With nine laps to go, Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven) came into the pits to end what had been a disappointing race. The Irishman was on pole at the Portimao venue in 2018 but that kind of success had been far away a year later. Back in the battle for fourth and Leon Haslam had got back ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu and began to edge clear with seven laps to go. But now, a new threat was very much in the fight: Alvaro Bautista was taking chunks out of the gap, lapping nearly a second a lap quicker.

    At Turn 5 with six to go, Bautista took advantage of Lowes’ error as the British rider ran in too deep; Bautista was now sixth. Further up, the battle for second had calmed, with Davies seemingly able to break away from van der Mark. Bautista cleared Razgatlioglu with three laps to go on the straight and tried to get ahead of Haslam at Turn 3, but the Brit held on and toughed it out through Turn 4, as the three battled hard. A lap later and Bautista used the top speed of the Ducati and took fourth from Haslam, where he would stay until the chequered flag.

    Across the line, it was Jonathan Rea who took the win and extended his championship lead to 94 points. Chaz Davies was a safe second from 12th on the grid and van der Mark a settled third. Bautista came home fourth ahead of Leon Haslam, whilst Toprak Razgatlioglu faded to finish in sixth, but all the way from 13th on the grid to finish as top Independent. Alex Lowes was seventh, ahead of Sandro Cortese, Marco Melandri and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team), just edging out Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing) to complete the top ten.

    P1 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

    “The big thanks today goes to my team because surely this weekend we made the bike better especially in the hot condition. I worked really hard at the beginning of the race to try and find a gap, then when I got to five seconds I got really nervous so I just tried not to make any mistake and bring the bike home. Thanks to all the support that I got.
    I am looking forward to tomorrow. We can try to improve the bike a little bit, especially at the end of the race to make things more comfortable. We achieved our target today”.
    P2 – Chaz Davies (Aruba .it Racing – Ducati)
    “Honestly if you would have told me that I would be on the podium after that qualifying performance, I’d laughed to it. It wasn’t a good qualifying at all and the start it wasn’t brilliant, but then I just went in deep into Turn 1 and then did the same into Turn 3 and made up like eight places and just went forward. That was the strategy, but sometimes you don’t know if it works out that way. Being aggressive it paid off today, and I put myself into that good group earlier on. Otherwise, it would have been a hard race starting from twelfth. I am pleased, and I think my bike was solid, even I struggled just a little bit with the front in the latter laps. But I only had to manage the gap on Michael, and Johnny was too far. Thanks to my team, they worked hard. I think that the most important thing is that we were able to bring here our performance from Laguna. These are two completely different race tracks, and I generally struggled here in the past, but now we got a good result today”.

    P3 – Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team)

    “I am really happy to be back on the podium. This weekend we have been struggling a lot with the bike, and I have never been happy with it, but today in the race I felt a lot better. I had a nice battle with Chaz, and I thought I could stay with him till the end by I continued to struggle all the way through. Anyway, even if I wasn’t comfortable on the bike I was still able to deliver a podium to my team so I am really pleased with today race”.
    #PRTWorldSBK at Autodromo Internacional do Algarve: Race 1
    1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
    2. Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +3.891
    3. Michael van der Mark (PATA Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +6.168
  • It was very frustrating without DRS, because the car was good: Jehan Daruvala

    It was very frustrating without DRS, because the car was good: Jehan Daruvala

    Thoughts from Shwartzman, Armstrong and Daruvala

    Robert Shwartzman, winner, flanked by Marcus Armstrong,, left and Jehan
    Daruvala 3rd, All three are from PREMA Racing. An F3 image

    FIA Formula 3: Hello and welcome to today’s FIA Formula 3 press conference following the opening race here at Monza. We are joined by the top three finishers from Race 1. Your race winner Robert Shwartzman from PREMA Racing, in second place Marcus Armstrong from PREMA Racing and in third place Jehan Daruvala from PREMA Racing. Robert, you promised some attacking manoeuvres coming up through the field yesterday, you certainly delivered. How was your charge through the field?

    Robert Shwartzman: It’s been really fun. I enjoyed it a lot. All three of us did really nice manoeuvres when overtaking. At the beginning I was behind Marcus, and actually Marcus was getting past the field and I was trying to stay with him and pass who he had passed. There was some nice manoeuvres, some tricky ones, especially at Lesmo 2 when I made the move on Max [Fewtrell]. It was quite tight but everything was fair and nice. Basically then Marcus was leading and I was second. We had good pace so I knew that we could get a gap, and then the safety car came out for the first time. After the restart my target was just not to make any stupid mistakes in Turn 1, just to continue, and Marcus had a good restart and a gap so I didn’t have any chance to attack. I just stayed behind and after two laps, when the DRS was enabled, he let me pass in order to work together to build a bigger gap. I got by and my target was simply not to make any mistakes and continue pushing. For three or four laps I was in front and then the second safety car came out. I heard that the driver was fine, which is obviously really important. It looks really big. The first lap that I passed I didn’t even realise where the car was, it was just debris on the track and nothing else. Only after some time did I realise the car was actually on the fence. I got told it was quite big so I’m happy that the driver is okay.

    FIA Formula 3: A first win for you since Paul Ricard, a big boost for your title hopes going into the final few races of the season. How much of a breakthrough does this feel?

    Robert: It felt like quite a long time, definitely. We were quite close, like P2 or P3, but yeah something was missing but today I felt that the car was really good. We had the pace to win and all three of us were just doing our jobs to get the win. Everything was fair and nice, so that’s the thing. I’m really happy that I won today. It was really tight. I had a lot of pressure from my teammates, it was hard, but today I’m happy that finally I got the win.

    FIA Formula 3: Congratulations. Marcus moving on to you now. Could you talk us through your race and the battle you had with Robert for the lead?

    Marcus Armstrong: It was an exciting race. The first lap I don’t know where I finished, maybe third, so that was pretty exciting and everything sort of went to plan. For whatever reason Christian [Lundgaard] wasn’t leading the race so that was a bit of a surprise because he was very quick yesterday. I don’t actually remember how I overtook them, there was so much action in that race I can’t quite remember it. The pace was pretty good because we got to the lead and pulled out quite a reasonable gap over [Richard] Verschoor. Then there was the safety car and Robert was behind me. It wasn’t easy because I obviously know that Robert is switched on and I had to surprise him a little bit, which I think I did. I managed to lead again for the first two laps after that before the DRS was activated. I felt as though I was destroying my tyres out in front, having to push so hard to break Robert, so I decided to let him go and just follow in his slipstream, use DRS and try and attack in the last few laps. People didn’t get to see what should have been a good last lap battle, but obviously we’re thankful that [Alex] Peroni is okay.

    FIA Formula 3: It was a very significant result for PREMA as well, to get a one, two, three finish at a home race. Does this result just prove how good this team has been this season?

    Marcus: Absolutely, especially here at Monza in front of all the team. A lot of people have come over from Grisignano to watch the race this morning. It was cool to see everyone under the podium, and also to have Guillaume [Capietto] on the podium with us was special. As I said on the radio, I’m very grateful to be a part of such a fantastic, well-organised team, and I think us finishing in the top three is almost our way of giving back [laughs].

    FIA Formula 3: Well done today. Jehan moving on to you now. P3, but obviously the safety car at the end did end any hopes of a tight scrap between the three of you. How did you approach your race and how did you feel it went?

    Jehan Daruvala: I think it was similar to the other guys. My start was really good and I got into a decent position behind Rob. My main problem in the race was that I didn’t have DRS the whole time, so it was very frustrating for me because the car was good and I felt I had the pace to also fight with the guys for the win. It was frustrating. I was fighting cars with DRS around me and I didn’t have it. I was using a lot of my tyres in the middle sector to try and break the DRS of the cars behind. At the end, when they were fighting, I got really close but on the straights I just couldn’t keep up. That was a bit disappointing for me, but again, to come third at Monza with no DRS is a really good result.

    FIA Formula 3: Slipstream here is so important, and the DRS is so powerful, does it feel like damage limitation, in a way, to still get a podium finish?

    Jehan: Like I said, I’m not really concerned with the result, I’m just upset that I didn’t have the chance to fight with the guys for the lead. I was just sat there hoping for something to happen, but I’d rather have been in the scrap for the lead.

    FIA Formula 3: Well done today. Robert, moving back to you now. You started P8 today and fought through for the victory, I imagine you’ll want to repeat that tomorrow?

    Robert: Sure. Tomorrow is also going to be an interesting race. I’m not sure about the weather because before it was said that there may be rain, but from the free practice I’m quite confident with the car we have and how everything is going, even in the rain. Whatever happens we’re going to fight, as today, and surely try just to collect some more points for the weekend.

  • JK Tyre X30 Karting Nationals: Nirmal, Ruhaan, Ishaan crowned National champions

    JK Tyre X30 Karting Nationals: Nirmal, Ruhaan, Ishaan crowned National champions

    (L-R) The JK Tyre FMSCI National Karting X30 Class winners-Ruhaan Alva (Junior Class), Nirmal Umashankar (Senior Class) and Ishaan Madesh (Cadet Class) in Bengaluru on Saturday. JK Tyre photo

    Bengaluru, 7 Sept 2019: Bengaluru’s Ruhaan Alva capped off his spectacular run in the X-30 Junior class of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Karting Championship to emerge the 2019 champions here on Saturday. Chennai’s Nirmal Umashankar and Bengaluru Ishaan Madesh became the National Champions in the Senior and Cadet classes in the last round itself.

    Nirmal, a regular on the JKNRC, collected a total of 23 points in the fifth and final round to amass 160 points to win the Senior category by a mile. Bengaluru’s Aditya Swaminathan (101 points) is the first runner up in the National Championship in Senior category followed by Delhi’s Debarun Banerjee (81) .
     
    It was an eventful start to the weekend, with a carnival-like atmosphere prevailing at the Meco Kartopia. Even as X-30 class was running its final course and the JK Tyre FMSCI National Karting Championship – Sodi Junior & Sodi Senior class’ qualifying rounds began, all eyes were on the `Girls on Track’ programme that attracted racing enthusiasts from across the country.
     
    Ruhaan Alva on way to winning the National Championship in the last round. Photo Shajahan

    Apart from girls from New Delhi, Chennai and Coimbatore, there were four from Nepal too. A handful of 8-year-olds too turned up to get initiated into motorsports along with teenagers and women in their twenties and thirties.

     
    They went through the entire drill of starting on racing simulators before eventually competing in the go-karting slaloms. In between, they underwent a batak reflex test and a basic pit-stop to be set for proper racing.
     
    Meanwhile, local boy Ruhaan Alwa underlined his supremacy in the Junior Category by sealing the title in the first race of the fifth round itself. He returned with a tally of 164 points to be crowned as the National Champion in the Junior class. 
     
    City-mate Arjun S Nair (134 points) is the runner-up in the National Championship and Chennai’s Ryan Mohammed collected a total of 24 points to take the third position in the National Championship with a total of 91 points.
     
    In the Cadet Category, it was Bengaluru’s Ishaan Madhesh who maintained his vice-like grip on the top of the table, winning three more races to accumulate 36 points win with a grand sum of 189 points. Shriya Lohia, a 11-year-old driver from Pune, picked up 27 points to end on the second spot with 134 points. While Ishaan was outstanding and became the National Champion in Cadet class winning all the races, it was a creditable show by Shriya Lohia, who beat many of the boys to stand first runner-up in the National Championship.  
     
    Another Pune driver Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran finished third with a modest total of 117 points.
    Final poinst tally: (top 3) Cadet Category- 1. Ishaan Madesh (Bangalore) 189 points; 2. Shriya Lohia (Pune) 134 points; 3. Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (Pune) 117 points
     
    Junior Category- 1. Ruhaan Alva (Bangalore) 164 points; 2. Arjun Nair (Bangalore) 134 points; 3. Ryan Mohammed (Chennai) 91 points.
     
    Senior Category- 1. Nirmal Umashankar (Chennai) 160 points; 2. Aditya Swaminathan (Bangalore) 101 points ; 3. Debarun Banerjee 81 points.
  • Monza podium for Jehan: F3

    Monza podium for Jehan: F3

    Jehan Daruvala with the trophy for third place in Race 1 on Saturday. Photo by James Gasperotti

    Monza, Italy: Jehan Daruvala was left frustrated inspite of a podium in race 1 of the seventh round of the FIA F3 Championship, but at the same time won the hearts of thousands around the circuit and around the world. Racing at the 5.793km, historic high speed circuit of Monza, also known as the ‘Temple of Speed’, the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix support event, saw Jehan climb from tenth to second, only to suffer issues denying the Indian a potential race win. Electronics issues disabled Jehan’s DRS, in turn preventing him from gaining top speed on the two vital long straights.

    A bizarre qualifying session saw 17 racers, including all three racers in Jehan’s Prema Racing Team, receiving penalties. With only 5 minutes for the session to end and Jehan had set his fastest laptime in Sector 1 and the quickest sector 2 of any racer on the grid. It looked certain that Jehan would have claimed provisional pole, but over ten cars had slowed down in the last sector. Jehan had to abort his lap for the second time, due to numerous cars moving slowly on the racing line. Race control found the situation too dangerous and stopped the session prematurely.

    Jehan Daruvala in action during Race 1 at Monza. Photo by James Gasperotti

    Christian Lundgaard topped the session, while Jehan was in fourth. Officials reviewed the session till late into the night and handed a 10-place penalty to all three racers in Jehan’s team, for being too slow on their out lap. It was unfortunate for them, because they did not impede other racers but infact had suffered themselves. However, with a total 17 racers receiving penalties, Jehan would start the race from tenth.

    As the lights went out, Jehan made a good start and overtook Brazilian racer, Piquet. Two cars tangled in front and Jehan moved upto seventh. He soon overtook British Racer Max Fewtrell to climb to sixth. Up ahead the leaders tangled and German racer Zandeli fell down the order. Jehan quickly went passed Lundgaard into fourth and then, the safety car was deployed. It was during the safety car period that Jehan’s radio messages were broadcast, about Jehan being furious that his DRS (Drag Reduction System) was not working. The DRS is crucial in Monza due to the long straights and the inability to use DRS is a severe handicap while fighting a bunch of cars. The failure was not linked to the team in any way and Jehan would just have to work with the disadvantage.

    Jehan drove brilliantly once the safety car pulled into the pits. Third place Richard Verschoor was also driving well, but the Indian pulled off a phenomenal move around the outside of the Dutchman, going around the first corner. Jehan managed to make the move stick and then began to pull away, in third.

    Jehan had excellent pace, but unfortunately without DRS, he was clearly disadvantaged and unable to challenge the leaders for the race win. He tried to close in as much as possible, but the safety car was deployed a second time due to another crash. The race ended behind the safety car but Marcus Armstrong in second received a penalty, promoting Jehan to second while Russian, Robert Shwartzman won the race.

    “The race was a lot of fun, starting P10 and finishing P2 with such a good result for the team. It was very frustrating for me, not having DRS so I couldn’t really battle for the lead, and I really wanted to, I know we had the pace. Second is good but I’m a little upset for not having the opportunity to fight for the win.”

    Shwartzman’s victory and Jehan’s second place inpsite of his issues, mean the Russian was able to pull further away from Jehan in the Championship. Jehan remains in second after earning his seventh podium of the season. Jehan will start seventh for Race 2 tomorrow, due to the reverse grid regulations.

  • Rajiv Sethu, Anish Shetty continue winning spree; Deepak, Venkatesan sparkel: MMSC bike Nationals

    Rajiv Sethu, Anish Shetty continue winning spree; Deepak, Venkatesan sparkel: MMSC bike Nationals

    Rajiv Sethu celebrating his fifth consecutive win in the Pro-Stock 165cc class at MMRT on Saturday. Photos by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 7 Sept 2019: On a day of serial winners and Honda domination, Deepak Ravikumar spared the blushes for TVS Racing with a brilliant win in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc category to consolidate his top position on the leaderboard in the fourth round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the MMRT, here on Saturday.

    While Ravikumar chalked up his third win of the season, Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing camp celebrated as Rajiv Sethu (Pro-Stock 165cc) stormed to his fifth consecutive win in the class and Anish Shetty (Pro-Stock 201-300cc) led a 1-2 finish with his fourth straight success. Not to be outdone, 22-year old from Chennai, Venkatesan I (Moto Maniacz Racing) completed a hat-trick of wins to consolidate his top position in the Novice (Stock 165cc) championship.

    Deepak Ravikumar (No.25), winner of the Pro-Stock 301-400cc race.

    Ravikumar, a businessman from Chennai and a versatile racer who is a familiar figure on the podium in the National car racing championship, started the race from P3, eased his way past pole-sitter and team-mate Jagan Kumar and Alishaa Racing’s Amarnath Menon to hit the front. With Jagan retiring due to a mechanical issue midway through the six-lap race, Ravikumar opened up a big lead.

    Rajiv Sethu after completing his fifth consecutive win in Pro-Stock 165cc class

    However, with two laps remaining, he had to deal with an errant sprocket, but he managed to nurse the wobbly bike over the finish line, just ahead of Rahil Shetty (Sparks Racing) and Menon. “For the last two laps, my bike was literally dancing and I had a tough time to control the machine, but somehow managed to maintain my track position,” said a relieved Ravikumar who enjoys a 28-point lead over team-mate KY Ahamed going into tomorrow’s Race-2.

    The other notable win of the day was by international Rajiv Sethu, the 21-year old also from Chennai. Starting from pole position, Sethu lost two positions in the very first lap with Jagan Kumar establishing a massive lead. However, Jagan crashed in the third lap, leaving Sethu, who had fought his way to second spot, in the lead. Sethu kept his cool despite close attention from Ahamed and team-mate Sarath Kumar to post his fifth straight win of the championship.

    Venkatesan, winner of the Novice (Stock 165cc) race

    Likewise, Venkatesan had to work hard for his win in the Novice race that was reduced to four laps from scheduled six following a multiple-bike pile-up immediately after the start, leading to red flag and restart. After a poor start from pole position saw him drop a few positions, Venkatesan fought his way to the front for a deserving third consecutive win.

    Late in the day, 15-year old Md Mikail from Chennai, completed a double by winning his second race of the day and fourth win in a row and fifth from six starts, in the Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup (NSF 250R).

    The results (Provisional – all 6 laps unless mentioned):

    National Championship:

    Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race-1): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) (11mins, 38.822secs); 2. Rahil Shetty (Sparks Racing) (11:38.823); 3. Amarnath Menon (Alishaa Racing) (11:40.477).

    Pro-Stock 201-300cc (Race-1): 1. Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:09.576); 2. Abhishek Vasudev (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:15.051); 3. Mithun Kumar PK (Honda Erula Atomic Racing) (12:25.325).

    Pro-Stock 165cc (Race-1): 1. Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (11:58.132); 2. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (11:59.420); 3.Sarath Kumar (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:03.811).

    Novice (Stock 165cc, 4 laps): 1. Venkatesan I (Team MotoManiacz Racing) (08:51.011); 2. Mohan Babu P (Rockers Racing) (08:52.301); 3.Abhimanyu Gautham (Sparks Racing) (08:52.311).

    One-Make Championship organised by MMSC:

    TVS Open (RR 310, Race-1): 1. S Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (11:58.389); 2. Anup Kumar (Chennai) (12:01.632); 3. Arun Muthukrishnan (Chennai) (12:05.125). Novice (RTR 200, Race-1, 4 laps): 1. Venkatesan I (Chennai) (13:18.180); 2. Veera Ashwin Lal M (Madurai) (13:19.885); 3. Annish Samson D (Bengaluru) (13:22.141). Girls (Race-1, 5 laps): 1. Lani Zena Fernandez (Puducherry) (11:20.428); 2. Nivetha Jessica (Chennai) (11:37.015); 3. Lakiya Lee Charles (Chennai) 11:37.280).

    Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup – NSF 250R (Race-1): 1. Md Mikail (Chennai) (10:59.155); 2. Geoffrey Emmanuel (Chennai) (11:09.952); 3. Sarthak Shrikant Chavan (Pune) (11:11.201). Race-2: 1. Md Mikail (10:58.935); 2. Varoon Sadasivam (Chennai) (11:03.295); 3. Kritik Vasant Habib (Gadag) (11:11.955).

    CBR 150 (Race-1): 1. Lal Nunsanga (Aizwal) (13:14.704); 2. Samuel Martin (Bengaluru) (13:14.798); 3. S Rajdashwanth (Trichy) (13:14.922).

    About Madras Motor Sports Club

    Since its humble beginnings in 1953, the Madras Motor Sports Club has grown in stature as the hub of motorsport activity in India. Having moved from Sholavaram to its present location in Sriperumbudur in 1979, MMSC has kept pace with changing times by upgrading facilities. At a cost of about Rs 20 Crore, the MMSC built a pit complex comprising 20 garages, VIP hospitality suites and a viewing gallery, on the eastern side, apart from a second Paddock on the western side with its own short circuit. The Control Room too was upgraded with state-of-the-art hardware while the track itself was improved to meet the exacting FIA standards for Grade-2 certification. The facilities are also extensively used by various vehicle manufacturers for testing their products, displays and corporate days.

  • Shwartzman back to his scintillating best in Monza Race 1; Jehan Daruvala finishes 3rd

    Shwartzman back to his scintillating best in Monza Race 1; Jehan Daruvala finishes 3rd

    Russian wins for the first time since Round 2, ahead of teammates Armstrong and Daruvala

    Robert Shwartzman, winner, flanked by Marcus Armstrong,, left and Jehan
    Daruvala 3rd, All three are from PREMA Racing. An F3 image

    Monza, 7 Sept 2019: Championship leader Robert Shwartzman won for the first time since Le Castellet to edge closer to the FIA Formula 3 Drivers’ title. The Russian racer had to battle off his teammates for the victory, finishing at the peak of a PREMA 1-2-3, with Marcus Armstrong in Second and Jehan Daruvala third. The race finished under safety car as Alex Peroni of Campos Racing survived a huge crash and walked out safely before being taken for regular medical checks.

    The race started in contrasting settings to yesterday’s wet Qualifying session, with bright conditions overlooking a warm 19-degree Italian heat. Following a spat of post Qualifying penalties, it was Lirim Zendeli who backed up Christian Lundgaard on the front row, followed by Richard Verschoor.

    The polesitter was in the middle of a three-man brawl for first off the line, having seen the duo behind him make thundering starts. The Dane managed to eventually fend off Verschoor, but Zendeli flew past him coming out of the first turn.
    Armstrong had bolted off the line himself, rising from seventh to fourth, ahead of Max Fewtrell, and he was soon honing in on Verschoor, who he swiftly swapped positions with, while setting the fastest lap.
    Delight turned to despair for Zendeli – who had taken the lead following arguably the race start of his career to date. Zendeli and Lundgaard came together and the German skidded off track – he was left with a puncture, which ended his race. Meanwhile, the Danish driver suffered front wing damage, which forced him into the pits and left him at the back of the field.
    This handed Armstrong the race lead and a chance to make it three wins from four, which would thrust him into second in the Championship. With Verschoor desperately clinging onto second, ahead of fellow PREMA duo Shwartzman and Daruvala, the Kiwi was able to build up a steady lead at the front.
    The Indian lost significant ground in his tussle with Shwartzman and Verschoor, when he was forced wide in his attempts to wrestle third from his Russian teammate. This allowed the Championship leader an opportunity to pounce on P2 and he powerfully sent it down the side of the Dutchman.
    Having come within 12 points of Shwartzman in Round 5, Jüri Vips struggled in Spa last time out and wasn’t faring much better in Monza. The Estonian clumped the back of Keyvan Andres and was flung off track and into the wall. He attempted to get going again, but the damage to his front right tyre was too great and he was forced to retire, which brought out a safety car.
    Verschoor lost two places upon the restart, with Daruvala and Yuki Tsunoda both lunging ahead down the pit straight. Meanwhile, Armstrong’s lead at the front had been sliced to just 0.5s.
    The sight of Shwartzman arrowing in on his teammate for P1 brought back memories of Spielberg, when the duo collided in the same scenario. There would be no repeat this time around and Shwartzman cleanly dispatched off the Kiwi to take the race lead, displaying the maturity he has gained from that episode in Round 3.
    The race would finish under the safety car, when Alex Peroni took flight on the sausage curb. The Campos driver was able to leave his car safely, before being taken by the medical car for the usual checks.
    This allowed Shwartzman to run home unopposed in first, ahead of Armstrong and Daruvala. Tsunoda and Verschoor completed the top five, ahead of Pedro Piquet, Jake Hughes, Liam Lawson, Fabio Scherer and Logan Sargeant.
    Having also claimed the fastest lap, the Russian’s win hands him a 35 point lead in the Drivers’ Championship, with three races remaining. Daruvala remains second with 144 and Armstrong is third with 137. Vips, on 122, and Lundgaard, on 97, complete the top five. Teams’ Champions PREMA Racing are first on 460 points, ahead of Hitech Grand Prix on 183 and ART Grand Prix on 174. Trident, 97, and HWA RACELAB, 72, complete the top five.
    Lawson will start on reverse pole in Race 2 tomorrow at 9.30am local time.
    FIA Formula 3 Championship Round 7 – Race 1 provisional classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Robert Shwartzman
    PREMA Racing
    2
    Marcus Armstrong
    PREMA Racing
    3
    Jehan Daruvala
    PREMA Racing
    4
    Yuki Tsunoda
    Jenzer Motorsport
    5
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    6
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    7
    Jake Hughes
    HWA RACELAB
    8
    Liam Lawson
    MP Motorsport
    9
    Fabio Scherer
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    10
    Logan Sargeant
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    11
    Felipe Drugovich
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    12
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Hitech Grand Prix
    13
    Teppei Natori
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    14
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    Trident
    15
    Christian Lundgaard
    ART Grand Prix
    16
    Max Fewtrell
    ART Grand Prix
    17
    Raoul Hyman
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    18
    Bent Viscaal
    HWA RACELAB
    19
    Sebastian Fernandez
    Campos Racing
    20
    Keyvan Andres
    HWA RACELAB
    21
    Simo Laaksonen
    MP Motorsport
    22
    Andreas Estner
    Jenzer Motorsport
    23
    Alessio Deledda
    Campos Racing
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Alex Peroni
    Campos Racing
    David Beckmann
    ART Grand Prix
    Juri Vips
    Hitech Grand Prix
    Lirim Zendeli
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    Niko Kari
    Trident
    Giorgio Carrara
    Jenzer Motorsport
    Ye Yifei
    Hitech Grand Prix
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Robert Shwartzman (PREMA Racing) – 1:40.020 on Lap 17
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Robert Shwartzman (PREMA Racing)
  • Lundgaard seals second F3 pole in Monza; Jehan Daruvala starts on P4

    Lundgaard seals second F3 pole in Monza; Jehan Daruvala starts on P4

    ART Grand Prix ace qualifies ahead of Armstrong and Shwartzman
    Christian Lundgaard, ART Grand Prix, take pole. An F3 image

    Monza, 6 Sept 2019: Christian Lundgaard became the first driver this season to seal a second pole position in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, controlling an extremely competitive Qualifying session that had more than 10 different leaders. The Danish driver set his time late on as the circuit began to dry in Monza, and finished ahead of PREMA duo Marcus Armstrong and Robert Shwartzman.

    With the track still damp, following rain in the Formula 2 Qualifying session, the cars headed out with caution onto the track and Niko Kari set the first time at 1:53.444. Devlin DeFrancesco dipped under 1m 49s as they began to get a feel for the circuit. Fabio Scherer then took further chunks out of the best time.
    Leonardo Pulcini, Felipe Drugovich, Liam Lawson and Jehan Daruvala all took turns in first, in quick succession, before the in-form Armstrong grabbed the session by the scruff of the neck to break the 1m 40s barrier.
    Jake Hughes stole provisional pole as the track grew drier and the drivers were told over team radio that no further rain was expected. With just over 10 minutes to go, Lundgaard grabbed provisional pole and made the most of the improved grip on track.
    The traffic intensified as all the cars fed onto the track for their second stint, and it remained heavy for a couple of laps with less than 4 minutes left on the clock. Due to safety reasons the race director decided to red flag the session which was then not resumed. This allowed Lundgaard to claim his second pole since Budapest. Armstrong and Shwartzman took 2nd and 3rd respectively, ahead of their teammate, Daruvala.
    Lirim Zendeli snuck in a late fast lap to take fifth – his best Qualifying of the season. Teppei Natori also sealed his best of the season in sixth, ahead of Max Fewtrell, Richard Verschoor, Kari and Giorgio Carrara.
    Race 2 will get underway tomorrow at 10.30am local time, when Lundgaard will aim for his second win of 2019.
    FIA Formula 3 Round 7 – Qualifying provisional classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Christian Lundgaard
    ART Grand Prix
    1:38.834
    12
    2
    Marcus Armstrong
    PREMA Racing
    1:38.969
    11
    3
    Robert Shwartzman
    PREMA Racing
    1:39.037
    11
    4
    Jehan Daruvala
    PREMA Racing
    1:39.055
    11
    5
    Lirim Zendeli
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:39.177
    11
    6
    Teppei Natori
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:39.303
    12
    7
    Max Fewtrell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:39.307
    12
    8
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    1:39.312
    11
    9
    Niko Kari
    Trident
    1:39.343
    11
    10
    Giorgio Carrara
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:39.344
    11
    11
    Yuki Tsunoda
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:39.437
    11
    12
    Jake Hughes
    HWA RACELAB
    1:39.444
    10
    13
    Liam Lawson
    MP Motorsport
    1:39.505
    12
    14
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    1:39.511
    9
    15
    Jüri Vips
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:39.645
    11
    16
    Logan Sargeant
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:39.717
    11
    17
    David Beckmann
    ART Grand Prix
    1:39.788
    12
    18
    Alex Peroni
    Campos Racing
    1:39.830
    11
    19
    Simo Laaksonen
    MP Motorsport
    1:40.068
    11
    20
    Keyvan Andres
    HWA RACELAB
    1:40.084
    9
    21
    Bent Viscaal
    HWA RACELAB
    1:40.097
    10
    22
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:40.108
    11
    23
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    Trident
    1:40.114
    10
    24
    Sebastian Fernandez
    Campos Racing
    1:40.190
    11
    25
    Fabio Scherer
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:40.258
    11
    26
    Felipe Drugovich
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:40.370
    9
    27
    Ye Yifei
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:40.639
    10
    28
    Raoul Hyman
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:41.052
    10
    29
    Alessio Deledda
    Campos Racing
    1:41.161
    11
    30
    Andreas Estner
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:42.031
    11
  • Charles Leclerc tops rain-affected first practice

    Charles Leclerc tops rain-affected first practice

    Charles Leclerc tops FP1. An FIA image

    Monza, 6 Sept 2019: Charles Leclerc topped a rain-affected first practice for this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix that was interrupted by red flags on three occasions.

    Leclerc, who last weekend in Belgium became Ferrari’s youngest grand prix winner, claimed top at the end of the damp session as the field moves to slick tyres at the end of the session. The Monegasque driver set a best time of 1:27.905 to beat McLaren’s Carlos Sainz by three tenths of a second, with the Spanish driver a further two tenths ahead of team-mate Lando Norris.

    Following heavy overnight rain and drizzle this morning the session featured a brief early period on full wet tyres before the field quickly moved to intermediate rubber. Around half an hour into the session running was halted for the first time when Kimi Räikkönen beached his Alfa Romeo in the gravel traps at Parabolica.

    However, the second delay arrived moments after the green flags had been shown for the re-start. This time it was Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez who was caught out by the conditions. The Mexican driver lost control of his car through the Ascari Chicane and he slid off backwards into the barriers. The impact flipped him round and he also damaged the front left side of the car.

    After a period of improvement for many drivers on a drying track, Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly then caused a final brief red flag spell when he became stranded on a kerb at the first Rettifilo chicane. With the aid or mashals the Frenchman was able to get going again, however, and thus the halt was a brief one.

    In the final phase of the session, with conditions steadily improving, the times began to tumble with Leclerc and the McLaren driver posting their time at the very end of the session.

    That left fourth place to Lewis Hamilton who set a time eight tenths of a second slower than Leclerc’s late slick tyre lap. Fifth place went to Red Bull Racing’s Alex Albon with former Toro Rosso team-mate Daniil Kvyat. The Russian briefly claimed top spot with his time of 1:29.960 in the final two minutes of the session but the rapidly improving conditions saw his eventually beaten by more than two seconds as the leading drivers in the session all made large gains in the final flurry.

    Max Verstappen finished seventh in the second Red Bull, ahead of the second Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel, while Valtteri Bottas took ninth for Mercedes ahead of the second Toro Rosso of Gasly who ended the session 2.790s off Leclerc’s P1 time.

    2019 FIA Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix – Free Practice 1 
    1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 20 1:27.905
    2 Carlos Sainz McLaren 25 1:28.211 0.306
    3 Lando Norris McLaren 23 1:28.450 0.545
    4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 11 1:28.730 0.825
    5 Alex Albon Red Bull Racing19 1:29.025 1.120
    6 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 25 1:29.960 2.055
    7 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 11 1:30.10 2.195
    8 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:30.507 2.602
    9 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 11 1:30.596 2.691
    10 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 26 1:30.695 2.790
    11 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing 22 1:32.848 4.943
    12 Lance Stroll Racing Point Racing Point 9 1:33.976 6.071
    13 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 10 1:34.528 6.623
    14 Kevin Magnussen Haas 7 1:34.715 6.810
    15 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 10 1:35.133 7.228
    16 Romain Grosjean Haas 7 1:35.980 8.075
    17 Robert Kubica Williams 12 1:37.816 9.911
    18 George Russell Williams 12 1:38.421 10.516
    19 Sergio Perez Racing Point 4
    20 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo Racing 4

  • Mikail clocks a stunning lap record in 250cc bikes; Jagan takes pole

    Mikail clocks a stunning lap record in 250cc bikes; Jagan takes pole

    Chennai, 6 Sept 2019: Fifteen-year old Md Mikail from Chennai lit up the fourth and penultimate round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship by setting a record of sorts at the MMRT here on Friday and grabbed pole position in the Honda NSF 250R category while TVS Racing’s ace rider Jagan Kumar qualified first in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc category.

    Also qualifying for pole positions in their respective National championship categories were Ann Jennifer of Sparks Racing (Girls, Stock 165cc), Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing’s Anish Shetty (Pro-Stock 201-300cc) and Venkatesan I (Novice, Stock 165cc) of Team Motomaniacz.

    Mikail, riding the FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R bike in the Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup one-make championship, clocked a blistering lap of 01minute, 47.887secs around the 3.717-km MMRT circuit in the qualifying session. It was the fastest lap ever in a National championship event for bikes up to 250cc.

    Second behind Mikahil who is full time into racing and studies from home, was another Chennai teenager, Varoon Sadasivam (01:49.327) with Pune’s 12-year-old Sarthak Shrikant Chavan (01:51.342) qualifying third.

    “I am very happy with my qualifying session, but I am working hard to do even better,” said Mikail who is leading the championship in his category.

    Md Mikail who qualified for pole position in the Honda NSF 250R .category. Photos: Anand Philar

    As well as these teenagers rode, the spotlight was on the Pro-Stock 301-400cc qualifying session where seven-time National champion in the lower category Jagan Kumar, lying a distant ninth on the leaderboard after a string of disappointing performances, showcased his mettle by putting in a hot lap of 01:54.037 for pole position. Former National champion in this class, Amarnath Menon (Team Alishaa Racing) was second in 01:54.807 while TVS Racing Deepak Ravikumar (01:55.221) completed the front row on the grid for tomorrow’s race.

    Bengaluru-based Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) topped the qualifying session in the Pro-Stock 201-300cc category with a flying lap of 01:57.646. Erula Racing’s Mithun Kumar (01:58.310) was the second quickest and Aravind Balakrishnan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) qualified third in 01:59.192.


    Jagan Kumar who qualified for pole position in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc class.

    Earlier, international Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing), leading the championship in the Pro-Stock 165cc class, put the hammer down by topping the Free Practice session with a flying lap of 01minute, 59.115 seconds, pipping his closest rival, TVS Racing’s Jagan Kumar (01:59.239). Sethu’s team-mate Sarath Kumar, also in the championship reckoning and trailing Jagan by just one point, was third quickest in 02:00.103, ahead of TVS Racing’s Kevin Kannan (02:01.102). The qualifying session is scheduled for Saturday.