INDIA in F1

Author: David Bodapati

  • Aishwarya Pissay, Harith Noah set for FIM Baja Aragon

    Aishwarya Pissay, Harith Noah set for FIM Baja Aragon

    Teruel, 21 July 2022: Fastest rider at Dakar from India, Harith Noah and the only World Cup winner from Indian motorsports, Aishwarya Pissay, relaunch their international campaign after an year and are all set for the FIM Baja Spain Aragón, the fourth round of the FIM Bajas World Cup beginning here on Friday.

    The 38th edition of Baja España Aragón Trofeo AVATEL will see two of the top Indian Cross-Country enduro riders in Harith Noah and Aishwarya Pissay. While Kerala’s Harith Noah is the fastest from India at the Dakar, Aishwarya Pissay is the only Indian to win a World Cup in motorsports, men or women. Noah became the third Indian to finish Dakar after CS Santosh and KP Arvind, both from Bengaluru.

    Read the preview and archives of Aishwarya Pissay here.

    Dakar star Harith Noah exploits can be found here.

    Petronas TVS Racing’s Harith Noah will begin his 11th year with the factory team. He successfully completed his third Dakar becoming the only rider from India to fly the Tricolour at the the 44th Dakar Rally, the prestigious annual cross-country endurance rally-raid race which concluded in Jeddah on January 14 earlier this year. He also set the fastest stage time by a rider from India, 18th in Stage 11, beating his own record set in 2021 (20). He is the third rider from India to complete Dakar after CS Santosh and KP Aravind, both from Bengaluru.

    On Friday, more than 70 motorcycle and quad riders will take the start of the race, including 18 motorcycles and eight quads competing for points in the FIM Bajas World Cup.

    Team Sherco is registered with four riders who are aiming for the podium: Lorenzo Santolino 3rd las year, Rui Gonçalves, Harith Noah and Pissay Aishwarya, the only woman in the FIM field, make up the team.

    David Casteu, sporting director of Team Sherco, also has a “Team Casteu” team manager’s cap on and is supporting four private riders with crucial assistance.

    There are three riders aiming to take the top step of the podium in the Junior category: the young Pole Konrad Dabrowski, Neels Theric – whose father won one of the first editions of the Baja Spain Aragón – and Kevin Giroud, who rides a quad. Dabrowski (KTM Duust Rally) is currently leading the Junior category and holds second overall in the FIM Bajas World Cup with 50 points behind Emirati Mohammed Al-Balooshi.

    In the Veteran category, seven riders will take the start: Klyver, Gaits, Howe, Grignac, Argoud, Lardon and Vingut.

    Eight competitors will line up in the quad section and they include Alexandre Giroud, winner of the 2022 Dakar, the Spaniard Toni Vingut and the Saudi rider Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi.

    Administrative and technical checks will take place in Teruel on Friday, July 22nd from 08.00hrs to 13.30hrs and the six-kilometre Prologue will be played out from 17.00hrs in order to determine the starting order for the first selective section the next day

    On Saturday, July 23rd, riders will tackle two selective sections and a third on Sunday morning for a total of 435 competitive kilometres and 342km of liaison.

    The 38th edition of the Baja España Aragón-Trofeo AVATEL will once again be a record-breaking event in its ninth consecutive year in Teruel. 165 crews will line up for the start in the car category of the rally that counts towards the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Bajas. Dakar winner Nasser Al-Attiyah, reigning champion of the Baja Aragón, will be one of the main favourites.

    The Qatari will be joined by Yazeed Al-Rajhi in a Toyota Hilux, who is second overall in the World Cup behind Czech Miroslav Zapletal. A good result for the Saudi in Teruel would allow him to take the lead in the championship.

    Other big names to start in this Baja España Aragón Trofeo AVATEL include
    Dutchman Erik Van Loon and Argentinean Fernando Álvarez. Host country Spain will be represented by a huge contingent, spearheaded by Jesús Calleja, Félix Macías, José Antonio Ramos and Daniel Alonso. The latter two are the first two classified in the Spanish Cross-Country Rally Championship.
    The 38th edition of the Baja España Aragón Trofeo AVATEL will see the first
    participation of a WRC driver. Dani Sordo joins the populous field to take on yet another challenge in his sporting career. The Spaniard, who has announced hisretirement from the World Rally Championship at the end of the year, has decided totry his hand at cross-country rallies, with his current WRC co-driver, the Galician Cándido Carrera, on his side.

    Note: Courtesy FIM communications and Baja Aragon official site.

  • Rajendra triumphs at MRF Rally of Coimbatore; TVS dominates

    Rajendra triumphs at MRF Rally of Coimbatore; TVS dominates

    Coimbatore, 17 July 2022: Former champion Rajendra RE spearheaded a stunning bounce back by Petronas TVS Racing team into strong contention with a solid overall victory even as the team made a clean sweep of the top-five positions in the MRF Rally of Coimbatore, the third round of the God Speed Racing MRF MoGrip fmsci National Rally Championship-2W 2022 organised by Coimbatore Auto Sports Club (CASC) here on Sunday.

    Sarath Mohan, became the top privateer, taking sixth behind the TVS riders and Aishwarya Pissay, made light of the competition with another easy victory in the Ladies Class, switching easily into local rally mode after another round of high-performance training in Europe, the second this year. Satara lass, Tanika Shanbagh, who upgraded herself to a higher class to gain experience on a super bike, rode the Husqvarna with confidence finishing overall 18 among a field of 100 bikes that took the start. While 14 failed to finish the rally, Tanika, competing on par with men, is making strides improving her timing every round.

    Winners All: Winners of different classes in the Round 3 of the MRF Rally of Coimbatore.

    Sarath Mohan bagged the sixth overall place astride a Husqvarna and won the gold in his class as he clocked the third fastest time after Rajendra and Imran Pasha, both from the stables of TVS. The talented biker puts in tremendous efforts into his preparations but was bogged down on Sunday due to clutch issues. He overcame a serious accident last year and recovered to mount his challenge once again. He is a strong contender to win his maiden National title in Class 1A, the Superbike Expert Group A category this year. “Yes, I have to get my bike set-up right. Today, I had to go only at 60 per cent of my usual self due to clutch issues. On the fourth stage I got into my own and was having fun but in no time the rally was over,” said the Kerala rider, who trains with Dakar star, Harith Noah, back home.

    Rajendra RE bounces back into contention with an easy victory at Coimbatore

    Rajendra, the Shimoga-born 2019 Overall champion, who could only get 12 points from a fourth place in Round 1, bagged full 25 points to place himself in a fighting distance with table topper and teammate Abdul Waheed Tanveer, who despite increasing the pace to win the last two stages, could only finish second in Class 1. Rajendra’s blistering pace in the first two stages, provided him a buffer of over 20 seconds. The former champion began with a bang topping SS1 in the Kethanoor farms to log a 15-sec lead that helped him finish Overall first with ease and grace.

    The Class may have only four riders, but the competition was high as all the four National champions (in different years) finished within three seconds. All four missed second round due to Team Orders, but it would not affect any of them in this class as all belong to Petronas TVS Racing, which bagged top honours with Imran Pasha, the Class V winner taking the fifth spot.

    World Cupper Aishwarya Pissay, was back in her elements posting a facile win in the Ladies class and logged 38th place in the Overall ranking for a creditable performance in Round 3, which saw a record number of over 100 bikers vying for honours.

    SuperSport 130cc Group B – Class 2

    Chalass K Bose, put his #62 Stunner on the top of the pack beating Vinoth Kumar (also on a Stunner) of Erode by a whisker and another Kerala rider has to be content with a third place astride a Gladiator. With this win, the Kottayam champ took a 13-point lead over his nearest rival Anoop Manjappa, who could finish only fourth.

    Adnan suffers loss, but keeps Overall lead

    Meanwhile, championship leader Adnan Ahmed saw former champion Imran Pasha race away to a comfortable lead. But later Imran’s TVS mate Sachin too pipped Adnan by less than two-seconds. However, Adnan’s 15 points today for his third-placed finish still keep him atop the rankings with a 5-point lead over Pasha, who has 50 points (2 wins).

    Venu Ramesh, at his best in Supersport 400cc Group B

    The story of this Coimbatore veteran is all about passion and experience. Venu Ramesh Kumar, the oldest rider in the field, continues to defy age with his commitment and dedication to fitness teaching a lesson or two to youngsters half his age. He won comfortably by a mile beating the Bengaluru duo of Amog Nag and Mohammed Zaheer to second and third places respectively. Venu, who also takes part in four-wheeler rallies, keeps himself fit taking part in competitive cycling activities.

    Naresh bags Bullet class

    Naresh VS, another rider, popular as Bruce Lee among the biking family, chalked out an easy win brushing aside the two Kerala riders, Arun Joy and Shajeer Ishmail in the Bullet class.

    Sasi Kumar, on an Impulse, bagged Class 3, the Supersport 165cc Group B while local rider Sabarish won the Superstock 450cc Group D. Vishnu Prakash, also on an Impulse won the local Class 10, a non-championship class.

    TVS continues to dominate Scooter class

    Petronas TVS Racing continues to dominate the Scooter class with Syed Asif Ali and Shamim Khan making it 1-2 for the Hosur factory team while Subramanya T finished third.

    Provisional Results (Ro 3 Cbe):

    Class 1:

    1. #5 Rajendra RE (Petronas TVS Racing; Shimoga) RTR 450; 57:59.624;

    2. #2 Abdul Waheed Tanveer  (Petronas TVS Racing; Bengaluru) RTR 450;  58:19.178;

    3. #3 Samuel Jacob (Petronas TVS Racing; Udupi) RTR 200; 1: 00:38.045;

    4. #4 R Nataraj (Petronas TVS Racing; Mysore) RTR 450; 1: 00:51.112;

    Class 10:

    1. #91 Vishnu Prakash S (Privateer – Pvt; Coimbatore) Impulse; 01:11:01.450;

    2. #99 Ricarius Venchaslaus (Pvt; Coimbatore) Impulse; 01:11:56.250;

    3. #96 Shailesh Kumar (Pvt; Coimbatore) Impulse; 01: 12:14.340; (Including 10 sec penalty)

    4. #100 Aswin JK (Pvt; Coimbatore) Xpulse; 01:13:13.370;

    5. # CV Vignesh (Pvt – Coimbatore) XPulse; 01:13:15.100; (Including 1 min penalty)

    (Legend: Pvt= Privateer; #= Bike number/ Competition Number)

    Class 1A:

    1. #6 Sarath Mohan (Pvt – Mallapuram) Husqvarna; 01: 03: 08.160;

    2. #10 Anish Shetty (PRN Motorsport – Hubbali) KTM 390; 01:03:56.013;

    3. #9 Jatin Jain (Pvt. Nagpur) KTM 450; 01:07:00.381;

    4. #7 Sinan Francis (Pvt.Vennala/Kerala) KTM 450; 01:07:09.419;

    5. #8 Tanika Shanbag (Pvt. Satara) Husqvarna;  01:08:49.726;

    Class 2:

    1. #62 Chalass K Bose (Pvt – Kottayam) Stunner; 01:14:48.638;

    2. #66 Vinoth Kumar (Pvt – Erode) Stunner; 01:14:54.987;

    3. #70 Hari Krishnan (Pvt – Kerala) Gladiator; 01:17:21.170;

    4. #63 Anoop Manjappa (Pvt – Bengaluru) Stunner; 01:24:16.627;

    5. #67 Raj Bharath (Pvt – Bengaluru) Stunner; 01:25:06.845;

    Class 3:

    1. #35 Sasi Kumar (Pvt -Coimbatore) Impulse; 01:08:29:813;

    2. #34 Francis PV (Pvt – Chikkamagaluru) Impulse; 01:08:44.737; (Including 10 sec Penalty);

    3. #45 Vikram Sekar (Pvt – Coimbatore) Impulse; 01:10:27:488;

    4. #39 Varun Kumar (Pvt. – Bengaluru) Impulse; 01:10:44:532;

    5. #43 Nirmal E Paret (Pvt – Kottayam) Impulse; 01:11:14:540;

    Class 4:

    1. #12 Imran Pasha (Petronas TVS Racing – Mysore) RTR 200; 01:01:45:030;

    2. #15 Sachin D (Petronas TVS Racing – Mysore) RTR 200; 01:03:56:323;

    3 #1 Adnan Ahmed (Pvt -Mangaluru) Xpulse; 01:03:58.053;

    4. #17 Banteilang Jerwa (Pvt -Shillong) Xpulse; 01:05:08.075;

    5. #16 Yuva Kumar (Hero MotoSports Team Rally) Xpulse; 01:05:39.889;

    Class 5:

    1. #29 Venu Ramesh Kumar (Pvt – Coimbatore) KTM390; 01:09:16.089;

    2. #30 Amogh Nag (Pvt – Bengaluru) KTM390; 01:10:21.107;

    3. #27 Mohammed Zaheer (Pvt – Bengaluru) KTM-Adv; 01:10:30.994;

    4. #28 Ashwin Anantha Raju (Pvt – Bengaluru) KTM390; 01:16:28.343;

    5. #32 Russel Jossy (Pvt – Mumbai) KTM390; 01:17:20.579;

    Class 6:

    1. #48 Naresh VS (Pvt – Bengaluru) Royal Enfield; 01:08:53.423;

    2. #49 Arun Joy (Pvt – Kerala) Royal Enfield; 01:11:24.222;

    3. #51 Shajeer Ishmail (Pvt – Ernakulam) Royal Enfield; 01:13:59.864;

    4. #52 Mahesh Kumar (Pvt – Kochi) Royal Enfield; 01:14:01.538;

    5. #50 Sreekanth Komana (Pvt – Kochi) Royal Enfield; DNF

    (Only 5 riders in this class took the start)

    Class 7:

    1. #73 Aishwarya Pissay (Petronas TVS Racing – Bengaluru) RTR 200; 01:12:23.225;

    2. #72 Fazeela (Pvt – Ernakulam) Impulse; 01:14:58.092;

    3. #75 Sameera Dahiya (Pvt – Bengaluru) Xpulse; 01:32:54.076;

    4. #74 Deeksha Srivastava (Pvt – Pune) Impulse; 01:33:41.643;

    5. #76 Jeena Joy (Pvt -Muvattupuzha) Xpulse; 01:45:32:747.

    Class 7:

    1. #60 Syed Asif Ali (Petronas TVS Racing – Bhopal) NTorq; 01:11:02:998;

    2. #55 Shamim Khan (Petronas TVS Racing – Bhopal) NTorq; 01:11:06:548;

    3. #57 Subramanya T (Pvt – Bhopal) NTorq; 01:14:02:631;

    4. #54 Goutham N (Pvt – Bengaluru) NTorq; 01:15:55:088;

    5. #61 Elango (Pvt – Erode) NTorq; 01:18:18:147;

    Class 9

    1. #77 Sabarish (Pvt – Coimbatore) Xpulse; 01:09:41:935;

    2. #78 Arun T (Pvt – Bengaluru) RTR200; 01:10:22:870;

    3. #80 Saravana Kumar (Pvt – Coimbatore) Xpulse; 01:11:48:576;

    4. #79 P Rakesh Kumar (Pvt – Coimbatore) RTR200; 01:13:18:295; (Including one minute liaison penalty);

    5. #85 Jagadeesh (Pvt – Coimbatore) Xpulse; 01:13:39:059;

  • Peregrine Racing’s Madesh brothers sweep honours; Nikhilesh shines in Micro Max

    Peregrine Racing’s Madesh brothers sweep honours; Nikhilesh shines in Micro Max

    Bengaluru, 17 July 2022: Madesh brothers, Rohaan and Ishaan, led the Peregrine Racing charge in the Meco fmsci Rotax Max National Karting Championship 2022 in an aggressive manner bagging full honours while Nikhilesh Raju bagged enough points with a win the finals to lead the Micro Max class in Round 1 which concluded at the Meco Kartopia circuit here on Saturday.

    The eldest of the Madesh brothers, from Peregrine Racing, also became the fastest driver of Round 1 clocking a blistering 55.357 in the fourth lap of the Official Practice 2. He virtually dominated the week-end winning everything on offer in the Senior Max class as he qualified first and won both the Finals and Pre-finals.

    On his part, his younger brother and former champion, Ishaan, likewise, brooked no challenge in the Junior Max category. He too made a sweep of all the races, save one heat which saw a Red Flag and a re-start. He also clocked the fastest time in his class logging a 56.088 seconds for the third lap in Official Practice 2. He won both the Finals and the Pre-Finals to take a substantial lead in the Junior class championship. He also set the best laps in both the races and was the only driver in his class to dip under 57-sec, reeling out blistering lap after lap in both the finals and the pre-finals. Fourteen of his laps were under 57-sec mark.

    In the Pre-finals, Ishaan, had a brilliant start and made his dash to the front look so easy, in the words of commentator, Vivek Abraham, and never disappointed the expectations of the small crowd with his pole to flag exploits. He displayed enough skill and race craft and soon increased the lead substantially to leave the drivers behind to fight for the second place where the battle was between Sai Shiva Makesh and Anshul Sai. Ishaan won a comfortable race to begin his campaign on a positive note full points from Round 1 in the 12-lap race which had a grid 12 karts of 22HP 2stroke engine.

    Nikhilesh Raju, the bespectacled defending champion began on the right note dominating the Micro Max class. Shrugging off initial hiccups in the Practice sessions, he qualified at the top and won the finals and came second in the Pre-finals races in the 8 to 12 years category.

    Starting P2 in the finals, Nikhilesh Raju had a bad start and went down to P5 but quickly recovered making up two positions. Later, after a good fight between the top two, he found the opportunity on Lap 8 as he made a move at the fourth corner but it proved to be futile. However, in the next corner he found a better exit as he went wide and took the other line and dashed to the front taking both the leading karts at a go. In the Pre-finals, Nikhilesh started P4 and had the pace but good defence by poleman Anuj kept him behind for eight laps with Eshan leading the pack. In the eighth lap Nikhilesh moved to 2nd with a brilliant move and retained the second place till the end. He earned enough points with a win in finals and a second in pre-finals to take the championship lead in the Micro Max class after the first round.

    The year began on a promising note as the Nationals for the first time in the recent past saw grids of over 20. With new teams entering the fray, the Senior grid saw 21 karts while the Junior grid boasted of 16 drivers including three girls, who kept the women in motorsport challenge alive with Shriya Lohia running close to the frontline boys. The Micro Max too saw better numbers this year with 13 karts on the start gird.

    Provisional official classification – Round 1 2022:

    Junior Max: Finals (14 laps):

    1. #55 Ishaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing);

    2. #27 Anshul Sai Shivakumar (Birel Art India);

    3. #46 Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (MSport);

    Junior Max: Pre-Finals (12 laps):

    1. #55 Ishaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing);

    2. #27 Anshul Sai Shivakumar (Birel Art India);

    3. #46 Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (MSport);

    Junior Max Qualifying:

    1. #55 Ishaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing);

    2. #45 Abhay M (Birel Art India);

    3. #46 Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (MSport);

    Micro Max Finals (12 laps):

    1. #11 Nikhilesh Raju D (Peregrine Racing);

    2. #17 Eshanthn Vengatesan (MSport);

    3. #10 Aditya Suresh Kamat (Birel Art India);

    Micro Max Pre-Finals (10 laps):

    1. #17 Eshanthn Vengatesan (MSport);

    2. #11 Nikhilesh Raju D (Peregrine Racing);

    3. #25 Anuj Arun (MSport);

    Micro Max Qualifying:

    1. #10 Aditya Suresh Kamat (Birel Art India);

    2. #11 Nikhilesh Raju D (Peregrine Racing);

    3. #17 Eshanthn Vengatesan (MSport);

    Senior Max Finals (16 laps):

    1. #69 Rohaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing);

    2. #96 Nigel Abraham (Peregrine Racing);

    3. #62 Rishon Rajeev (Birel Art India);

    Senior Max Pre-Finals (14 laps):

    1. #69 Rohaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing);

    2. #63 Ruhaan Alva (MSport);

    3. #96 Nigel Abraham (Peregrine Racing);

    Senior Qualifying:

    1. #69 Rohaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing);

    2. #96 Nigel Abraham (Peregrine Racing);

    3. #63 Ruhaan Alva (MSport);

    (Editor’s Note: The results were updated with Official version on 18 July 2022 6pm)

  • Formula E: Cassidy takes maiden win in drama-filled race

    Formula E: Cassidy takes maiden win in drama-filled race

    Envision Racing driver claims popular maiden success on the streets of the Big Apple, as rain stops play with less than ten minutes remaining.

    New York City, 16 July 2022: Nick Cassidy and the Brooklyn Street Circuit have history together. Twelve months ago, the Envision Racing ace sped to pole position there and a second-place finish 24 hours later. Today (16 July), he went one better, converting the top spot on the starting grid into his breakthrough victory in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship – in a dramatic race that ended under a red flag.

    Aside from brief stints in the lead for Lucas Di Grassi (ROKiT Venturi Racing) during the two Attack Mode activations, Cassidy was never headed in the ninth New York City E-Prix. The New Zealander executed a textbook launch when the lights went out, and thereafter artfully withstood the dual pressure applied behind by his experienced Brazilian rival and Mercedes-EQ’s title-chasing Stoffel Vandoorne.

    Cassidy was edging away from his pursuers as the race entered its final ten minutes, before intensifying rain injected a late twist into the tale. No sooner had a Full Course Yellow been  deployed due to the deteriorating conditions, than three of the top four sailed straight on at Turn Six after aquaplaning on a puddle – the leader amongst them.

    Cassidy’s Envision, Di Grassi’s Venturi and Vandoorne’s Mercedes were all firmly embedded in the tyre barriers, and the red flag was duly flown.

    That confirmed Cassidy as the winner of the E-Prix ahead of Di Grassi, who had overhauled front row sitter Vandoorne at the start. A couple of small mistakes while in Attack Mode for the first time prevented a bid for the lead, and the 2016/17 champion subsequently slipped back to third when Vandoorne exploited his FanBoost to reclaim second place.

    The Belgian – who had patiently bided his time early on, dropping as low as fifth – looked increasingly sharp as the race progressed but lost ground to Di Grassi again as well as an opportunistic Robin Frijns with 12 minutes left on the clock, when the former made a bold dive that prised the door open just wide enough for the Envision Racing driver to follow through.

    From seventh on the grid – and at the scene of his most recent Formula E triumph three years ago – Frijns produced a fast and feisty performance to climb the order to third, and he appeared poised to launch a late assault on the runner-up spoils before the action came to a premature conclusion. Displaying lightning-quick reactions, the Dutchman was the only one of the top four to safely navigate the late Turn Six drama.

    Vandoorne was classified fourth – elevating him to second in the title table. After a bright start initially lifted him from fifth to third, Buemi faded slightly as the race wore on, but fifth place nonetheless represented the 2015/16 title-winner’s best result of the season to-date. The driver he collided with on the last lap – Porsche’s Wehrlein – wound up sixth once the result was counted back.

    The top ten finishers were completed by Jaguar TCS Racing’s Sam Bird, defending champion Nyck de Vries (Mercedes-EQ), the championship leader Edoardo Mortara (ROKiT Venturi Racing), who posted fastest lap, and Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti).

    Like team-mate Bird, Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) had to fight back from a slow start and ultimately just missed out on a points score in 11th – dealing a blow to the New Zealander’s title aspirations. Fellow championship front-runner Jean-Éric Vergne similarly endured a day to forget for DS TECHEETAH, finding himself tipped into a spin on the race’s first lap that restricted him to a lowly 18th place in the final reckoning.

    The Frenchman does have an immediate opportunity to redress the balance, however, with the second leg of this weekend’s North American double-header – round 12 of the fiercely-contested campaign – getting underway at 13:00 local time (19:00 CET) tomorrow (Sunday).

  • Jehan Daruvala to Test McLaren F1 car MCL35M for the second time

    Jehan Daruvala to Test McLaren F1 car MCL35M for the second time

    Mumbai, 16 July 2022: Indian racing ace Jehan Daruvala will take part in a second two-day Formula One (F1) test with former champions McLaren at the Portimao Circuit in Portugal next week.

    A release sadi that the test, during which Jehan would once again drive the 2021 race-winning MCL35M. The test will take place on July 18 & 19 and comes shortly after Indycar star Colton Herta and McLaren test and development driver Will Stevens ran in the car earlier this week.

    Jehan completed over 130 laps of Silverstone during his first Formula 1 outing with the British team last month during which he impressed with his fitness, how quickly he adapted to F1 machinery, his feedback and his ability to assimilate information from the engineers.

    Next week’s test in Portimao, his second time in a Formula One car, will allow Jehan to build on that strong outing and further prepare him as he bids to become only the third Indian to race at the pinnacle of the sport.

    Jehan, who currently competes with Prema Racing in feeder series Formula 2, is a part of the Red Bull Junior Team. He is now eligible for a Formula One Super License, having both the required points and mileage in last year’s F1 car. 

    The Portimao test, like the Silverstone outing, is part of McLaren’s Testing Previous Car (TPC) programme, which the team is running to evaluate young, up and coming drivers.

    The Mumbai Falcons, who are supporting Jehan’s Formula 2 title bid, said, “The second McLaren test marks yet another milestone in Jehan’s journey to Formula 1. He impressed on his F1 debut at Silverstone and we are confident that with this second test Jehan will continue to prove that he belongs on the Grand Prix grid. This is a truly gratifying moment for Indian motorsports and for us particularly. Our mission is to showcase the best of Indian motorsport talent to the world and we are proud to support Jehan as he pursues his dream of becoming only the third Indian to race in F1.”   

    Jehan said: “My first taste of Formula One machinery was surreal and I can’t wait to get back in the car again in Portimao. I came away from the Silverstone test with a lot of confidence as both from a driving and physical perspective I did well  and covered more than two race distances absolutely trouble-free. My dream has always been to race in Formula One and this test will build on what we achieved at Silverstone. I am thankful to both Red Bull and McLaren for giving me this opportunity and continuing to support my development.”

  • KY Ahamed clinches a thriller; Rajini, Balappa score a double

    KY Ahamed clinches a thriller; Rajini, Balappa score a double

    Chennai, 10 July 2022: While Rajini Krishnan and Sarvesh Balappa pouched their fourth straight win, KY Ahamed won an absolute thriller that lit up the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2022 which concluded at the Madras International Circuit, here on Sunday. But INDIAinF1’s hero of the day is Md Samrul Zubair of Hyderabad who came only second but his ride from 33rd on the grid to a valiant podium is the story of the day.

    The Race’ists Motorcycle Club in Hyderabad is formed by a group of enthusiastic riders a few years back led by champion riders like Karthik Mateti, Peddu Sriharsha and Rahil Pillarisetty. Of-late they have been a regular feature on the podium in different classes.

    Starting P9 for the eight-lap race in the popular Pro-Stock 165cc Open race, Petronas TVS Racing star Ahamed, who endured two crashes on Saturday, showed poise and aggression to rise like a phoenix as he snatched a dramatic win from Pacer Yamaha’s Mathana Kumar and Rajiv Sethu of Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing, with just one-tenth of a second separating the trio at the finish line. The eventual outcome was in suspense as the three front-running riders exchanged lead after two other contenders, Deepak Ravikumar, also of Petronas TVS Racing, and Prabhu Arunagiri of Pacer Yamaha, retired in the second half of the race. Ahamed then pulled out a last-gasp win in a photo-finish that would be remembered for long.

    Meanwhile, in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open category, Rajini Krishnan, the founder of RACR Castrol Power1, riding Yamaha R3 with a lighter frame than last year’s, was simply unstoppable while posting a fluent win that underlined his class and calibre, as he destroyed the field. His victory margin was over 10 seconds in the eight-lap race with the Petronas TVS Racing duo of KY Ahamed and Deepak Ravikumar coming in second and third, respectively. It was Rajini’s fourth win on the trot this season, following his double in the first round at Coimbatore last month.

    Ryhana Bee, after a disappointing first round in Coimbatore last month, bounced back to win the National Championship Girls race (Stock 165cc) to put her campaign on track. She took the top honours ahead of Bengaluru’s Aditi Krishnan (Winverve Apex Racing Academy) who moved up a spot after second-placed Lani Zena Fernandez (Speed Up Racing) was docked a 15-second penalty which dropped her to fourth behind Axor Sparks Racing’s Jagruti Penkar from Mumbai. Lani was penalised for “causing avoidable collision” that involved early race leader Ann Jennifer (Alpha Racing) who finished fifth.

    Hubballi’s Sarvesh Balappa (Axor Sparks Racing) continued his dream run as he finished the weekend with a double on the back of his two wins in the first round to remain unbeaten in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category. Finishing second was Md Samrul Zubair (Hyderabad) of Raceists Motorcycle Racing Club who started the race from P33 and worked his way up. His team-mate P Vignesh Goud, also from Hyderabad, was third.

    Also scoring four consecutive wins were Sarthak Shrikant Chavan (Pune) and Raheesh Mudassar Khatri (Mumbai) in the NSF 250R and Novice (CBR 150) categories of the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup, besides Bengaluru schoolboy Chiranth Vishwanath in the Rookie class of the Petronas TVS One-Make Championship.

    Provisional results (all 6 laps unless mentioned):

    National Championship – Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. Rajini Krishnan (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1) (15mins, 15.889secs); 2. KY Ahamed (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (15:26.410); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (15:26.729).

    Pro-Stock 165cc Open (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. KY Ahamed (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (15:55.678); 2. Mathana Kumar (Trichy, Pacer Yamaha) (15:55.722); 3. Rajiv Sethu (Chennai, Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) (15:55.726).

    Novice (Stock 165cc) Race-2: 1. Sarvesh Balappa (Hubballi, Axor Sparks Racing) (13:06.383); 2. Md Samrul Zubair (Hyderabad, Raceists Motorcycle Club) (13:08.978); 3. P Vignesh Goud (Hyderabad, Raceists MC) (13:10.293).

    Girls (Stock 165cc, 5 laps): 1. Ryhana Bee (Chennai, Pacer Yamaha) (11:01.483); 2. Aditi Krishnan (Bengaluru, Winverve Apex Racing Academy) (11:51.191); 3. Jagruti Penkar (Mumbai, Axor Sparks Racing) (11:18.793).

    Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250R (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Sarthak Shrikant Chavan (Pune) (18:45.396); 2. Mohsin Paramban (Malappuram) (18:55.514); 3. Shyam Sundar (Chennai) (18:55.663).

    Novice (CBR 150, Race-2): 1. Raheesh Mudassar Khatri (Mumbai) (12:54.900); 2. Shyam Babu (Chennai) (13:27.093); 3. Harshith V Bogar (Bengaluru) (13:27.429).

    Support race – Hornet 2.0 (Race-2): 1. G Balaji (Chennai) (13:32.712); 2. Kayan Zubin Patel (Mumbai) (13:32.851); 3. Romario John (Chennai) (13:38.944)

    Petronas TVS One-Make Championship – Open (RR 310, Race-1): 1. Mohan Babu P (Chennai) (11:47.933); 2. S Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (11:48.064); 3. Manoj Yesuadiyan (Chennai) (11:48.694). Race-2: 1. S Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (11:54.105); 2. Mohan Babu P (Chennai) (11:54.125); 3. Kannan S (Chennai) (11:56.367).

    Rookie (Apache RTR 200, Race-2): 1. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru) (12:25.916); 2. Shreyas Hareesh (Bengaluru) (12:35.302); 3. Abdul Basim RS (Chennai) (12:35.447).

  • Mumbai Falcons extends support to Kush Maini’s F3 campaign

    Mumbai Falcons extends support to Kush Maini’s F3 campaign

    Silverstone, 1 July, 2022: The Mumbai Falcons announced their support to Indian racing star and formula driver Kush Maini as a title sponsor for the remainder of the six rounds 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship, that runs alongside Formula1.  extending their long-standing partnership.

    Mumbai Falcons extended their partnership with Maini, who was first drafted into the X1 Racing League in 2019, when Falcons was founded. The younger of the two Maini brothers, Kush’s good performance in the series prompted the Falcons to back him for the 2021 FIA Asian F3 Championship and their relationship has now expanded to the  FIA F3 campaign in 2022.

    Racing for the MP Motorsport team, Maini’s car will now carry the Mumbai Falcons livery which will also feature prominently on his suit and the helmet to signal a deeper partnership into the Future.

    “I’m overjoyed to have extended my partnership with the Mumbai Falcons,” Maini said of the deal.

    “My relationship with Mumbai Falcons goes back to 2019 and I am excited to continue it for the F3 season and it is a big step for me. The organisation has done an outstanding job of promoting motorsport in India, as well as overseas and I hope to play an important role in the sport’s development in the country through my results in F3 and beyond,” add Kush Maini.

    “The FIA Formula 3 Championship is extremely competitive, with some of the world’s best drivers vying to impress the Formula 1 grid. But I intend to maximize the opportunities extended to me for the rest of the year.”

    Mumbai Falcons owner Ameet Gadhoke also commented on the partnership, citing Maini’s raw speed, talent, and personality as the primary reasons for the extension. “We are delighted to see Indian talent budding in motorsport and see Kush as a contender presently to bring this sport into the mainstream in our nation. We wish him the best during his remaining season and anticipate he would move up the ranks quickly.”

    The Mumbai Falcons, a subsidiary of the Gadhoke Group, were established in 2019 with the goal of promoting Indian motorsport talent. The group also intends to construct a world-class racing facility that will eventually provide aspiring drivers with the infrastructure they need to compete on a global scale.

    The FIA Formula 3 Championship, which consists of 30 cars, is extremely competitive, with drivers from all over the world attempting to advance to Formula 1. The championship serves as a support race for nine different F1 Grand Prix weekends, and drivers such as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ George Russell have used the series as a stepping stone on their journey to F1.

    The fourth round of the FIA F3 Championship will be held at the historic Silverstone race circuit on the weekend of July 1-3 and will be ‘Live’ for Indian audience on Star Sports Select 2, HD channels.

  • McLaren Formula 1 Test for Jehan Daruvala at Silverstone

    McLaren Formula 1 Test for Jehan Daruvala at Silverstone

    Mumbai, 20 June 2022: Mumbai Falcons is proud to announce that Indian racer Jehan Daruvala will take part in a test with world championship-winning team McLaren this week in their 2021 Formula 1 car. Jehan will drive the MCL35M car at the Silverstone circuit in England.

    “For a dream that has been over 13 years in the making, this is a huge milestone. Jehan, as with all recent F1 recruits, will be testing a previous year’s car as part of the process of getting to Formula 1. He will test last year’s McLaren to begin with, at the Silverstone circuit. Jehan will however continue to remain part of the Red Bull Academy,” said an excited Rayomond Banajee, who is credited with spotting and nurturing Jehan in his early days leading to the karting lad’s selection to the Kingfisher one-in-a-billion dream that kick-started the Mumbai talent’s road to to the top.

    The test will give Jehan, who is currently third in the Formula 2 standings, his first taste of driving a Formula 1 car. It marks an important step in his aim to become only the third Indian to race in Formula 1.

    Jehan continues to remain a part of the Red Bull Junior Team which he became part of in 2020.

    Mumbai Falcons, who are the driving force behind making the motorsport ecosystem in the country more accessible to young Indians and are also supporting Jehan in Formula 2. “Jehan has been the leading figure in Indian motorsport for the past 10 years and is just one step away from every Indian’s dream of having a competitive Indian driver in Formula 1. Our mission at Mumbai Falcons is to showcase the best of Indian motorsport talent to the world. We are proud supporters of Jehan’s 2022 Formula 2 title bid and are just as excited about the testing opportunity being given to him by McLaren. This is a huge moment for Indian motorsport fans and of course for Jehan himself as working with a prestigious team like McLaren will help him take the next step in his development towards becoming only the 3rd Indian to compete in Formula 1,” said a Mumbai Falcons representative through a Press Release.

    Jehan said, “I’m incredibly grateful to be getting this opportunity. Testing in Formula 1 is extremely limited and opportunities like these are not easy to come by, especially with a championship-winning team like McLaren. It will be my first experience in a Formula 1 car, which I’m sure will be special. The support that I have received from the Red Bull Junior Team, my family and sponsors like Mumbai Falcons, coupled with this opportunity that McLaren have given me will enable me to prepare myself better to achieve my childhood dream of competing in Formula 1.”

  • Supercross Nationals: Jinan reclaims title-lead with a grand double

    Supercross Nationals: Jinan reclaims title-lead with a grand double

    Coimbatore, 19 June 2022: Evergreen rider from Kerala, CD Jinan of Petronas TVS Racing captured both the motos in the Feature event to reclaim the Championship lead in the third round of the MRF MoGrip fmsci National Supercross Championship 2022 at the CODISSIA ground which attracted over 15,000 crowd, here on Sunday. TVS hoisted their flag winning all the podium places in both the motos and Jinan bagged the Rider of the Day honours.

    Jinan won Moto1 of the prestigious SX1 Foreign Open class in the morning and backed it up winning Moto2 too, making clever use of the Joker lane and put paid to the hopes of youngster Rugved Burguje, who got boxed and tipped over a berm midway through the 8-lap Moto2.

    However, the Pune champion quickly recovered and joined back to take the final place on the podium redeeming some valuable points. But it was Jinan’s day as the 46-year old multiple National champion bagged a grand double on his factory-prepared TVS RTR 300on a track that saw the return of Jokerlane this year. The Kerala star began on the left side and was found wanting as Barguje took the hole shot in the second Moto but after the initial dilly-dally, he took the lead and later had an easy outing with Barguje suffering a fall. Making the most of the fight between the table-toppers, Prajwal Vishwanath, the talented youngster bagged a creditable second place to pool in good points with a double podium. Prajwal earlier came third behind Satara’s Ikshaan Shanbagh who exhibited fine riding skills in the first moto.

    “With the nature of the track prompted me to be careful and was very cautious. I managed to take the lead and later on I just had to bring the bike home,” said the veteran rider. Earlier in the morning, the current championship leader Barguje could only finish fourth and that paved the way for Jinan to take back the lead which he enjoyed after the first round.

    Another youngster from Pune, fresh from 2w Road Racing last week, Sarthak Chavan, also clinched a grand double in the SX2 class while another Pune talent Akshat Hupale, continued his dominance in the Junior SX2, winning both the races.

    Petronas TVS Racing made a clean sweep of the Indian Experts class with Imran Pasha taking a fine victory beating teammate from Mizoram Banteilang J while Nataraj R, also from TVS, had to be content with a third place. In Class 4 for Locals, Karankumar M won with Asaruddin S in second followed by Shailesh Kumar in third.

    Promoters GodSpeed Racing pulled off another successful round with a huge crowd witnessing the popular event and seven-time National champion Shyam Kothari who spread out a technical track for the Coimbatore round was immensely happy. “Supercross remains ever popular and the crowds today are a testimony. Safety is our first priority and we are happy to finish another successful round,” he concluded.

    Provisional Results – Round 3:

    Class 1: SX1 Moto1: 1. CD Jinan (Petronas TVS Racing-RTR300); 2. Ikshaan Shanbagh (Petronas TVS Racing-RTR300); 3. Prajwal V (Petronas TVS Racing-RTR300).

    Class 1: SX1 Moto2: 1. CD Jinan (Petronas TVS Racing-RTR300); 2. Prajwal V (Petronas TVS Racing-RTR300); 3. Rugved Barguje (Petronas TVS Racing-RTR300).

    Class 2: SX2 Moto1: 1. Sarthak Chavan (KX250F- Pune); 2. Shlok Ghorpade (KTM150- Satara); 3. Jinendra Sangave (KX250F- Ichalakaranji);.

    Class 2: SX2 Moto2: 1. Sarthak Chavan (KX250F- Pune); 2. Jinendra Sangave (KX250F- Ichalakaranji); 3. Ajay Srinivas (KX250F- Bengaluru).

    Class 3: Novice Upto 260cc: 1. Jinendra Sangave (TVS Racing – RTR200); 2. Sachin D (TVS Racing – RTR 200); 3. Arun T (Impulse – Privateer/ Hassan).

    Class 4: Locals: 1. Karan Kumar M; 2. Asaruddin S; 3. Sailesh Kumar (All on Impulse from Coimbatore).

    Class 5: Indian Experts: 1. Imran Pasha; 2. Banteilang J; 3. Nataraj R (All from TVS on RTR 200).

    Class 6: Private Experts: 1. Karan Kumar M (Cbe); 2. Arun T (Hassan); 3. Asaruddin (Cbe). All on Impulse.

    Class 7: Junior SX1 Moto1: 1. Sarthak Chavan (Pune); 2. Shlok Ghorpade (Satara); 3. Jinendra Sangave (Ichalakaranji).

    Class 7: Junior SX1 Moto2: 1. Sarthak Chavan (Pune); 2. Shlok Ghorpade (Satara); 3. Jinendra Sangave (Ichalakaranji).

    Class 8: Junior SX2 Moto1: 1. Akshat Hupale (KTM85 -Pune); 2. Yash Shinde (KTM85 -Pune);  3. Sujan J (KTM65-  Coimbatore).

    Class 8: Junior SX2 Moto2: 1. Akshat Hupale (KTM85 -Pune); 2. Aleena Shaikh (Husqvarna -Bengaluru); 3. Agastya (KTM65 – Bengaluru).

  • Racing Promotions to promote F4 and Indian Racing Festival

    Mumbai, 17 June 2022: Powered by a vision to revive motor-sports in India, Indian motorsports company, Racing Promotions Pvt Ltd (RPPL)today announced the debut of the Indian Racing Festival. The festival which will bring in multiple franchise into the format will enthrall the audience on weekends in multiple cities including all kinds of exciting racing tracks and even a street circuit. The festival will begin from the weekend of November 11th and run every weekend until the weekend of December 10th across 5 weekends across multi-city locations including the former F1 track at BIC Greater Noida, the debut of the India’s first street track at Hyderabad, Coimbatore and MMRT Chennai.

    The Indian Racing Festival RPPL will host 3 race events – Formula Regional Indian championship, Formula 4 Indian Championship and the Indian Racing League. Formula Regional Indian championship and the F4 Indian championships will be certified by the FIA; championship winners will be awarded FIA Super License points. However, these three championships are not the only ones on the horizon. RPPL has great intentions to establish racing infrastructure and begin developing talent from the ground up!


    Details for the racing events are mentioned below –

    Races/EventsDateVenue
    Formula Regional + F4 Indian + IRL (pre-season testing)8 – 10 NovemberBIC Greater Noida 
    Formula Regional + F4 Indian + Indian Racing League11 – 13 NovemberBIC Greater Noida 
    Formula Regional + F4 Indian + Indian Racing League19 – 20 NovemberHyderabad 
    Formula Regional + F4 Indian + Indian Racing League25 – 27 NovemberCoimbatore 
    Formula Regional + F4 Indian + Indian Racing League2- 4 December MMRT – Chennai 
    Formula Regional + F4 Indian + Indian Racing League10 – 11 DecemberHyderabad

    Akhilesh Reddy, Director MEIL and Chairman, RPPL (Racing Promotions Pvt Ltd) says, “Our ambition for the Indian Racing Festival is to put India back on the map of motorsports and to provide opportunities for young Indian racing drivers to take up the sport more seriously by providing them with a platform to advance to the top right in their own hometown. We are pleased to have drivers like Aditya Patel and Armaan Ebrahim in our team to guide us, we are also planning to reach out to various colleges as well to promote the sport. Indian Racing Festival featuring Formula Regional Indian championship, Formula 4 Indian Championship and the Indian Racing League, will attract the international racing fraternity to India, and subsequently, suppliers to the global auto-racing industry. Racing Promotions’ vision and initiatives in Formula Regional and F4 are steppingstones towards taking an all-Indian team to F1 in the next 5-7 years and an all-Indian women’s team to F2 in the next 10-12 years.”

    The representatives of Indian Racing Festival attended the UK based GB3, GB4 and the British F4 championship and there are further plans to promote the Indian Racing Festival at prominent motorsports events around the world including becoming the first Indian registered company to exhibit at the mecca of motorsport -Goodwood Festival of Speed event in the UK. The team will also be in attendance at European events such as the Spanish F4, Formula Regional Europe championship by Alpine, Italian F4, French F4, German F4, FIA CIK event and ACCR F4.

    The distinction of Indian racing will rise in the global rankings by holding not one, but two FIA sanctioned championships, which will attract spectators and contribute to economic success over the following 4-5 years.

    About RPPL

    Racing Promotions Pvt Ltd (RPPL) is owned by two multi-billion-dollar businesses MEIL and Gadhoke Group. In 2021, Indian racers Aditya and Armaan, along with their partners at RPPL- with Akhil Reddy as the Chairman, launched the Formula Regional Indian Championship as well as the F4 Indian Championship that will run along with the all new Indian Festival League in 2022 across 4 cities over 5 weekends.