INDIA in F1

Category: General

  • Mad Croc’s Mihaldinecz wins Race 1 in F4-S: Powerboat Racing World Championship

    Mad Croc’s Mihaldinecz wins Race 1 in F4-S: Powerboat Racing World Championship

    F4 S winner on Saturday. A F1H2O image

    Amaravati (AP, India) 17 Nov 2018: Veteran driver Rudi Mihaldinecz used all his experience to take victory in the first of this weekend’s two races in the F4-S Championship in Amaravati, the support race for the UIM F1H2O powerboat racing World Championship at Vijayawada on Saturday.

    In a highly entertaining race Mad Croc BABA Racing’s Hungarian driver led the race from pole position, but a mistake on lap 4 allowed series debutant Jeff Jelf to take the lead for Team Amaravati which he held onto until lap 12 when yellow flag was raised to allow race marshals to remove the stationary Blaze Performance driver Max Stilz.

    At the restart on lap 16 Mihaldinecz immediately jumped Jelf to retake the lead, going on to win the 20-lap race by 5.22s with Jelf in pursuit but coming up short.

    The middle order produced a great scrap before and after the yellow, Stilz running in third from F1 Atlantic’s Sam Whittle until both were passed on lap 9 by Victory’s Ahmed Al Fahim.

    The yellow flag bunched up the pack with Whittle making up a place after Al Fahim hooked and dropped to sixth, with Emirates Racing’s Tom Chaippe also taking advantage as well as getting the better of Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed Al Mehairbi to move up and take fourth.

    For full classifications:

    https://www.f1h2o.com/results/2018/grand-prix-of-india/f4-s

  • F1 powerboat racing champinship inaugurated; Team India’s Anderson 2nd fastest in extra FP

    F1 powerboat racing champinship inaugurated; Team India’s Anderson 2nd fastest in extra FP

    Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu poses with Amaravati Team India after inaugurating the event on Friday. An F1inIndia image

    Amaravati (AP, India), 16 Nov 2018:  US driver Shaun Torrente representing Abu Dhabi team was the fastest topping the time-sheets in the Extra Free Practice session that was held after the inauguration in the as the UIM F1H2O Grand Prix of India in Amaravati, started on Friday.

    After a colourful inauguration by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, the event began with an extra FP. Free Practice and Qualification will be held on Saturday while the races will be on Sunday. F4 race will also be on Saturday.

    Team Abu Dhabi trio was the best in the opening session and  Torrente ran 16 laps with a best time of 45.64s around the 2.125km 5-pin circuit on the Krishna River waters, I.40s quicker than teammate and championship leader Thani Al Qemzi. “The session went well and backed up the testing that we did earlier this month in Abu Dhabi,” Torrente said. “I didn’t have to run too many laps and the engine is not a 100 percent yet and as it was practice I didn’t want to push too much or take any risks. Now we just have to try to figure out what the weather is going to do over the next couple of days. Today it wasn’t great!”

    Erik Stark who sits between the two in the overall standings was limited to just two laps due to an electrical issue and failed to post a competitive time.

    Team India’s Anderson finishes opening session time sheets in second

    Jonas Andersson gave the enthusiastic home crowd something to cheer posting a 46.25s lap in his Team Amaravati DAC to go second quickest, 0.61s off top spot, with teammate Erik Edin struggling with engine issue and down in 14th. “I took it easy at the beginning and was struggling to find the right setting on the engine but in the end it was good,” he said. “Now I am just going to check everything is okay and decide which engine to use tomorrow.”

    Alex Carella gave Victory Team a much-needed boost of confidence running 32 laps in the new boat and setting the third fastest time of the session with a 46.58s lap, teammate Ahmed Al Hameli four-tenths back in eighth. “Today was really encouraging for us. I have a very good feeling in this new boat which we tested in Dubai and then shipped out here,” said Carella. The set-up was pretty good and I just really felt comfortable in the boat. For me it is the best boat we have run this season.”

    Despite some issues with a power drop off when she went tight into the turns Emirates Racing’s Marit Stromoy was still able to pull off the fifth quickest time with a 47.13s lap and edging teammate Bartek Marszalek by 0.06seconds.

    Peter Morin was the best of the CTIC F1 Shenzhen China duo in seventh with Philippe Chiappe in tenth and ahead of Mad Croc BABA Racing’s Sami Selio who ran both his boats and was relieved to get through a session without breaking anything.

    Today’s session, which marked the return of the UIM F1H2O World Championship to India for the first time in 14 years, was flagged off by the Chief Minister of the State of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naido, who was accompanied by Nicolo di san Germano, President of H2O Racing and Dr. Raffaele Chiulli, President of the Union Internationale Motonautiqe (UIM), the sport’s World Governing Body and who was recently confirmed as the new head of The Council of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).

    Saturday’s practice session is at 11:15hrs [local] with BRM Official Qualifying starting at 15:30hrs.

  • Danial Frost, Max Defourny share honours on Day One in MRF Challenge

    Danial Frost, Max Defourny share honours on Day One in MRF Challenge

    Danial Frost, winner of Race-2 on Friday. Photo: Anand Philar

    Dubai, 16 Nov 2018: Danial Frost from Singapore and Belgian Max Defourny scored a race and a podium apiece to open their accounts in the first round of MRF Challenge at the Dubai Autodrome, here on Friday. Three more races are scheduled for tomorrow.

    Frost, 17, in his second season in the championship, thus notched his maiden win by topping Race-2 after having finished third in Race-1 that Defourny, 20, won from pole position.

    In Race-1, Frost made five places to come in third and in the next outing, climbed from fourth on the reverse grid to win. In contrast, Defourny dominated Race-1 with a lights-to-flag victory and in the next race, sliced his way through from sixth on the reverse grid to finish third behind pole-sitter Czech Republic’s Petr Ptacek who did well to hold off the Belgian over the last couple of laps.

    “I had a good start and made positions in the very first lap before taking the lead. Thereafter, I consolidated my track position and it was quite comfortable in the end,” said Frost.

    Earlier, Defourny put his pole position start to best use in Race-1 and was never seriously challenged even as he nursed his early lead though eschewing risk. Behind him, Jamie Chadwick, 20, who started second, slipped a bit, losing a couple of track positions, but recovered to regain her second spot while Frost drove well to finish third from eighth on the grid.

    India’s Chetan Korada, making his debut in the championship, was placed 10th and 12th in the two races. He started Race-1 from the pitlane following an engine change, but said he was pleased to improve his lap times while getting used to the car.

    After Race-1, Defourny said: “The race wasn’t too bad. Missed the fastest lap as I was trying to be a bit cautious on the tyres because it was the first race of the season. Was saving my tyres in the beginning and was expecting more track improvement as the race progressed. I opened a comfortable gap and did not want to make any mistakes, though I missed the fastest lap in the last two laps, wanting to save the tyres.”

    Earlier, the qualifying session in the morning gradually developed into a two-way battle between Defourny and Chadwick who was provisionally on pole with just a few minutes left on the clock with a 01:57.177. The 20-year old Belgian’s response was a 01:56.819 which eventually ensured him the pole position. Chadwick, also 20, then replied with her best lap of the session, 01:56.937, but had to be content with the second spot on the grid.

    “It was my first time out here and it was ok. We managed to get pole for Race 1 and Race 3. So we are positive. We had some issues with the gearbox leading to loss of speed, but we managed to sort it out. I already have two points for pole position and we hope to take as many points as possible from this round,” said Defourny.

    The results:

    Race-1 (10 laps): 1. Max Defourny (Belgium); 2. Jamie Chadwick (GBR); 3. Danial Frost (Singapore). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Frost; 2. Petr Ptacek (Czech Republic); 3. Defourny.

    Qualifying (30 minutes): 1. Max Defourny (Belgium) (01:56.819); 2. Jamie Chadwick (UK) (01:56.937); 3. Andreas Estner (Germany) (01:57.502); 4. Dylan Young (Australia) (01:57.730).

  • Jamie Chadwick sets the pace in MRF Challenge

    Jamie Chadwick sets the pace in MRF Challenge

    Jamie Chadwick, who topped the free practice sessions on Thursday . Photo: Aditya Bedre.

    Dubai, 15 Nov 2018: Jamie Chadwick, the only female driver on the 12-car grid, put the marker down for the first round of the MRF Challenge championship by topping both the Free Practice sessions at the Dubai Autodrome, here on Thursday.

    Chadwick, 20, from Bath, England, came out on top in the two, 30-minute practice sessions, clocking a best of one minute, 59.218 in the first outing and 01:59.774 in the next around the 5.390 Kms circuit as she made her debut in the MRF Challenge on a high. She survived a tough battle with Czech Republic’s 16-year old Petr Ptaceck who was second fastest in both the sessions, clocking 01:59.581 (FP1)and 01:59.918 (FP2).

    Jamie Chadwick. Photo: Aditya Bedre

    Chadwick, who created history in 2015 when she became the first female and youngest winner of the British GT Championship, and Ptacek exchanged fastest laps in the closing minutes of FP-2. However, Chadwick went quicker on last flying lap to top the time charts. Less than a second separated the top eight drivers.

    “I learnt a lot today – new circuit, new car. I am happy with the way we ended up today in these conditions and I look forward to the races,” said Chadwick.

    In the first free practice session this morning, one second covered 10 of the 12 drivers, promising a close contest over the five races scheduled for the first round of the championship.

    Chadwick recorded her fastest lap of the session on her 14th and final lap as did the rest who all went quicker through the 30-minute practice. The top four, Chadwick, Ptacek, Defourny and Young, all posted sub-two-minute laps.

    For the lone Indian entry, Chetan Korada, 32, from Chennai, it was his first run at the Dubai Autodrome and he focused more on learning the tricky track with its blind crests leading into corners.

    Korada, who was 11th on the time sheets in both the sessions clocking his best laps of 02: 03.734 and 02:04.100, said: “It was my first run on this track and so, it was more about learning the circuit. However, with each lap, I managed to cut my timing. Overall, it was a reasonably good outing, all things considered. I hope to improve as we go along over the next couple of days.”

    The results (Free Practice):

    FP-1: 1. Jamie Chadwick (UK) (01min, 59.218secs); 2. Petr Ptacek (Czech Republic) (01:59.581); 3. Max Defourny (Belgium) (01:59.656); 4. Dylan Young (Australia) (01:59.697).

    FP-2: 1. Jamie Chadwick (UK) (01:59.774); 2. Petr Ptacek (Czech Republic) (01:59.918); 3. Danial Frost (Singapore) (02:00.115); 4. Andreas Estner (Germany) (02:00.276).

  • What is Formula One H2O?

    The UIM F1H2O World Championship is the ‘flagship’ international series of single-seater inshore circuit powerboat racing.

    Highly competitive, intensely challenging, risky and entertaining, the F1H2O World Championship is the ultimate adrenalin rush and regarded as one of the most spectacular and exciting sports in the world.

    The series attracts up to 20 of the world’s leading drivers and is a sport that has to be seen to be believed as these diminutive tunnel-hull catamarans enter hairpin turns at over 90mph and top 140mph on the straights.

    Picture the scene; 18 to 20 sleek, powerful and lightweight catamarans lining up on the start pontoon. Inside each cockpit sits a lone individual peering through a tiny windscreen. One hand grasps the steering wheel, the other poised over the start button. The tension inside the cockpit is intense as the drivers wait for the crucial start. Beyond the cockpit, an eerie silence descends over the entire arena, all attention fixed on the start.

    No sooner does the wait end when 10,000hp of highly tuned brute power bursts into life sending the fleet screaming towards the first corner leaving nothing but a glorious fountain of white spray in its wake.

    Now in its 35th year the four decades of the World Championship have witnessed considerable change and evolution; the seventies and eighties saw multiple promoters and two giant corporations of the sport OMC and Mercury vying for supremacy to be the pinnacle of the sport.

    OMC were touting their 3.5litre V8 package that became known as the OZ class, Mercury pushing their 2.0litre engine and called the ON class, the disparity in power would soon lead to bitter wrangling and infighting amongst competitors.

    The split came in 1981, FONDA was formed running the ON class engine with the OMC backed PRO ONE run series running the OZ class engine, both rival championships claiming the right to use the title World Championship, a dispute settled by the sport’s governing body the UIM later that year awarding the OZ class the accolade.

    1984 saw the beginning of yet another twist as safety became a major concern with engine development and increasing power of the V8s taking its tragic toll and signaled the slow demise of the OZ class internationally, ending in 1986.

    The door was now opening for the existing FONDA World Grand Prix series to reinvent itself. From 1987 to 1989 there was no official UIM World Championship, and with no challenger, the UIM reinstated the World Championship status and in 1990 the FONDA World Grand Prix Series became the UIM F1H2O World Championship, Mercury’s 2.0litre engine the preferred power-plant of the time, the Mercury 2.5litre engine coming in in 2000 and used today.

    Over the last 34 years the sport has played out 273 Grand Prix in 32 countries across five continents, 13 drivers have captured the World title, 47 becoming members of the illustrious Grand Prix winners club.

    Of the 13 World Champions seven are multiple title winners; Italy’s Guido Cappellini is the most decorated winning 10, Italy’s Alex Carella and American Scott Gillman with four, France’s Philippe Chiappe and Italy’s Renato Molinari with three each, Finland’s Sami Selio and Wales’ Jonathan Jones with two apiece.

    While today’s F1H2O catamarans bear a striking resemblance to those in action throughout the 1980’s there is a world of difference in terms of driver protection and general safety.

    The early boats were constructed from thin plywood with drivers sitting in an open, exposed cockpit with the risk of injury a high probability in the case of an accident.

    With safety at the forefront of boat development, British designer and racer Chris Hodges set about improving the situation and constructed a safety cell that was produced from an immensely strong composite material.

    Instead of the cockpit being part of the main structure Hodges’ capsule was separate and was fitted to the hulls and centre section. For the first time drivers were actually strapped into their seats. The idea was that if a boat was involved in an accident, the timber hulls could break up and absorb the impact forces while the driver remained well protected inside his cell.

    In the late 1990’s further developments saw the introduction of an airbag in the cockpit that would inflate in a crash to ensure the capsule wouldn’t sink before rescue crews could attend.

    Over the years boat construction has been developed and today few if any are built of timber, now replaced by modern composites.

    In 2018 nine teams and 19 drivers from 12 countries will compete at Grand Prix in Europe, the Middle East and Asia for the coveted World title, the prestigious number 1 plate will be carried by the defending four-time World Champion, Alex Carella.

  • F1H2O Powerboat racing World Championship returns to India

    F1H2O Powerboat racing World Championship returns to India

    Powerboat World Championship returns to India after 14 years. File photo courtesy F1H2O

    Amaravathi (AP), 13 Nov 2018: Team Abu Dhabi is very much in control of proceedings as the championship heads into the business end of the season, kick-starting the crucial three-race run in to year-end and title honours with the Grand Prix of India, Amaravati on 16-18 November, round 5 of the UIM F1H2O World Championship – the penultimate and final rounds taking place in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in December.

    After 14 years and 99 Grand Prix since the first visit to India and Mumbai in 2004 the championship returns, this time to Amaravati and Vijayawada on the banks of the Krishna River in the State of Andhra Pradesh and time is fast running out for any remaining title hopefuls, other than Abu Dhabi’s imperious trio of Thani Al Qemzi, Erik Stark and Shaun Torrente.

    The Abu Dhabi triumvirate lockout the top three spots in the title race with Al Qemzi perched on top on 54 points with just two points splitting all three teammates and Abu Dhabi a comfortable 42 points clear at the top in the Teams Championship.

    The concern for those in the chasing pack and still in with a shot at the title is that Abu Dhabi has locked out the Grand Prix podium for the last two races; Stark and Torrente each have two poles and two GP wins this season with Al Qemzi picking up three runners-up slots and a fourth. And whilst the inter-team driver vibe is currently very much ‘all for one and one for all’ it may well soon be tested to the limit with all three bidding for a first world crown.

    The CTIC F1 Shenzhen China duo of Philippe Chiappe and Peter Morin are the immediate challengers and best placed to mount a challenge, 20 and 24 points off top spot and if either still harbours any title aspirations the fightback must start in India and a win or at least a podium has to be the target to keep in touch.

    Chiappe and Morin are the only drivers other than the Abu Dhabi trio to make the podium this season, Chiappe in Portimao and both in London and Chiappe, in particular, needs to rekindle all the elements that delivered him three world titles on the bounce if he is going to carry the fight to Abu Dhabi.

    Heading the group of five that currently round out the top ten and split by just six points is Victory Team’s Ahmed Al Hameli who has battled hard for his 15 point tally with two top six slots his best results.

    It has not proved an easy season for the Dubai outfit so far, trialling new boats at the beginning of the year and upgrading with two more at the last Grand Prix but with little reward for all the effort, especially for four-time and defending champion Alex Carella whose season and title defence started well with third in qualifying and fourth in the race, but has since derailed with two crashes and no points to show from the last three Grand Prix and is down in 10th place on nine points.

    Jonas Andersson in seventh place on 14 points heads to India on great form and on the back of his best race weekend of the season after an excellent third in qualifying and fourth in the race in China last time out. The Team Amaravati lead driver is quick and a real fighter and will be optimistic that he can again seriously challenge Abu Dhabi. Keeping him on his toes and a place and a point behind him is teammate Erik Edin who is enjoying a very solid first full term in the championship delivering strong results in qualifying and a career-best fourth place finish in France.

    Emirates Racing’s Marit Stromoy will be itching to get back out on the water and vent her frustrations after power issues in China in both qualifying and the race robbed her of the opportunity to reproduce the form and pace that she showed in practice and move up in the standings. The Norwegian enjoyed a thrilling middle order battle with teammate Bartek Marszalek for the majority of the race before her issues resurfaced and a spin dropped him back to the tenth spot.

    Two-time champion Sami Selio and Filip Roms will be desperate for their fortunes to turn around in India after a season to forget so far, the Mad Croc BABA Racing duo blighted with season-long engines issues and Selio failing to get to the chequered flag last time out and rooted in 11th place with just 7 points. Roms did go the distance but a lack of acceleration and power saw him finish outside the points and he languishes in 17th place and is till to post his first points of the year.

    F1 Atlantic duo Grant Trask and Duarte Benavente will be looking to bounce back after a double DNF in China, with Cedric Deguisne targeting a points’ finish after missing out in China, with rookie teammate Suttiphan Sookbuangbon making just his second start in the championship.

    Both Francesco Cantando and Simone Schuft will have carried out repairs to their boats following a double dose of bad luck in practice in China, Cantando hitting debris out on the circuit and Schuft tipping her boat over, with Cantando heading back to India as the man who won there in 2004.

    The race weekend gets underway with a first practice session on the 2.125km 5-pin circuit on the Krishna River on Friday afternoon, with a second session on Saturday morning and followed by BRM Official Qualifying at 15:30hrs [local]. A final practice session takes place on Sunday morning with the UIM F1H2O Grand Prix of India starting at 16:00hrs [local].

    2018 UIM F1H2O WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS – after round 4:

    1. 5 Thani Al Qemzi (uae) 54pts
    2. 35 Erik Stark (swe/uae*) 53pts
    3. 6 Shaun Torrente (usa/uae*) 52pts
    4. 7 Philippe Chiappe (fra) 34pts
    5. 8 Peter Morin (fra) 30pts
    6. 3 Ahmed Al Hameli (uae) 15pts
    7. 14 Jonas Andersson (swe) 14pts
    8. 15 Erik Edin (swe) 13pts
    9. 50 Marit Stromoy (nor) 11pts
    10. 1 Alex Carella (ita/uae*) 9pts
    11. 11 Sami Selio (fin) 7pts
    12. 9 Grant Trask (aus) 5pts
    13. 10 Duarte Benavente (por) 5pts
    14. 51 Bartek Marszalek (pol) 4pts
    15. 73 Cedric Deguisne (fra) 3pts
    16. 37 Francesco Cantando (ita) 3pts
    17. 12 Filip Roms (fin) 0pts
    18. 36 Simone Schuft (ger) 0pts
    19. 70 Mette Brandt Bjerknaes (nor) 0pts
    20. 74 Suttiphan Sookbuangbon (tha/fra*) 0pts
    21. 35 Rashed Al Qemzi (uae) 0pts
  • MRF Challenge 2018-19 to be held in Dubai, Bahrain and Chennai

    MRF Challenge 2018-19 to be held in Dubai, Bahrain and Chennai

    MRF Challenge file photo by Anand Philar/MRF

    Dubai, 13 Nov 2018: The MRF Challenge, one of Asia’s premier single-seater championships, and an FIA-approved series, is again set to light up the winter season with a clutch of young, exciting talent from Europe and elsewhere in the fray as the seventh edition commences at the Dubai Autodrome here, on Thursday, November 15.

    The MRF Challenge 2018-19, organized by the Madras Motor Sports Club, will comprise three rounds, to be run in Dubai (Nov 15-17), Bahrain (Dec 6-8) and Chennai (Feb 8-10, 2019) with a total of 15 races, and offers cars powered by 2-litre engines producing 230 BHP while almost matching Formula 3 in speed and power

    Mr. Arun Mammen, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, MRF Tyres, said: “It has been an exciting journey for us as we present the seventh edition of the MRF Challenge which, among other things, offer young drivers a platform to showcase their racing talent. We provide identical cars to all the drivers and so, the key differentiating factor is the driving ability. It has also been our constant endeavour to develop the car which is now among the fastest single-seaters in Asia. The MRF Challenge also offers us rich data that in turn helps us to develop further the MRF Z.L.O. slicks and wet tyres.

    “The positioning of the MRF Challenge in the winter months between November and February also offers an opportunity for drivers across the World to keep themselves race-fit during the off-season. As such, we have had some very exciting talent taking part in the MRF Challenge over the years and it will be no different this time around.”

    Mr. J Anand, Managing Director, JA Motorsports, who built the car in technical collaboration with Dallara, said: “We carried out lot of improvements for last year. From the data we collected, we have only refined the aerodynamics package for this season. Apart from that, the car remains the same as last year.”

    The MRF F2000 car with Dallara chassis, is powered by a 2-Litre Mountune Duratec engine producing 230 BHP with advanced aerodynamics. The car boasts of a Hewland six-speed sequential gearbox equipped with Integrated dash and paddle-shift system.

    Europe is expected to have a strong representation as in the previous seasons of MRF Challenge. Several young hopefuls with exposure to junior Formula racing are likely to participate.

    Chennai-based Chetan Korada is the lone Indian in the fray. A regular in the Indian National Championship and one of handful of racers in the World competing with a prosthesis leg, Korada is making his debut in the MRF Challenge. “I have been racing in India for over a decade now and I thought I should step outside to race in higher categories. The MRF Challenge car is far more comfortable in terms of space for leg movement than the F1600 I have been driving in India. My target for MRF Challenge is to be in in front. I am putting in lot of time on the simulator at home, besides daily gym work. So, I feel I am fit and ready for MRF Challenge,” said Korada.

    This year’s MRF Challenge grid will have Australian Dylan Young who has been participating in the championship since its inception. Returning for a second season of MRF Challenge is Singapore’s Danial Nielsen Frost along with Belgian Michelangelo Amendola.

     

  • Amaravathi gearing up for major international speed-boating extravaganza: F1H2O

    Amaravathi gearing up for major international speed-boating extravaganza: F1H2O

    Photo courtesy: F1H2O

    Amaravathi (AP), 3 Nov 2018: The futuristic city and crown jewel of Andhra Pradesh will host a grand sporting extravaganza in UIM F1H2O Grand Prix of Amaravati, a big-time international speed-motoring event on the waters of the Krishna River in Vijayawada from November 16 to 18 and the preparations are going on here, on a massive scale. The fifth round of F1H2O World Championship is bound to set a milestone and a standard for the future events.

    N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of the Government of Andhra Pradesh, wants to attract the world’s attention to the event and so the arrangements are on a grand scale, in his typical organising perfection. The new state’s, first international water sports event is expected to boost the sporting environment of AP and inculcate a culture of sports tourism.

    One of the main attractions for the tens-of-thousands of spectators that are expected to line the banks of the Krishna River will be the boats of Jonas Andersson and Erik Edin running in the colours of Team Amaravati and backed by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation. In the team’s first outing in Amaravati colours Andersson finished on the podium in third place in BRM Qualifying and in fourth place in the Agile Grand Prix, Xiangyang recently.

    Team Abu Dhabi is very much in control of proceedings as the championship heads into the business end of the season, kick-starting the crucial three-race run into year-end and title honours with the Grand Prix of India in Amaravati from November 16 to 18 for the Round 5 of the UIM F1H2O World Championship.

    The Abu Dhabi trio of Thani Al Qemzi, Erik Stark and Shaun Torrente are currently locked in an inter-team battle for title honours, holding the top three spots in the title race and split by just two points, 54 to 52, with the Abu Dhabi outfit comfortably out front in the Teams Championship by 42 points.

    For the remaining title hopefuls, the fight back has to start now, with CTIC F1 Shenzhen China duo Philippe Chiappe and Peter Morin best placed and the closest challengers, 20 and 24 points off top spot.

    Jonas Andersson has confirmed that British driver Ben Jelf will join Team Amaravati for its home Grand Prix.

    The 18-year-old from Kent will compete in boat 41 in the F4-S Championship with the team currently sitting in third place in the standings, 14 points behind Blaze Performance in top spot. “We are pleased to have a great young competitor like Ben driving in F4-S for Team Amaravati and we are sure that he will do his best to try to get a podium finish for us,” said Jonas Andersson. “We have been following Ben’s career for a while and it is great news that he will be joining us in India.”

  • Hamanth Mudappa, fastest in Foreign Bikes category: Vroom Drag Meet

    Hamanth Mudappa, fastest in Foreign Bikes category: Vroom Drag Meet

    Photos: Rahul Reghu

    Hosur (Karnataka), 28 Oct 2018: Hemanth Mudappa, a regular in the National Drag Championship, became the fastest in Foreign Bikes category at the Vroom drag meet organised at the Hosur Taneja airstrip here on Sunday.

    Here are a couple of photos of Hemanth Mudappa from our contributor Rahul Raghu, a motorsports photographer. Servo, Ducati, DriveSpark are some of the sponsors of the event which saw the participation of a huge number of riders which is not seen even in the National championship. However, the event is a private entity.

    Antony A won the 350 cc and above category 12.483 other top performers included Mohammed Riyaz who won the unrestricted in 10.376, besides Joel Joseph who clocked 12.673 in Unrestricted (E); Atta Ulla Baig in 1051cc and above class, Kaleem Pasha in SuperSport Indian Open in 12.718, Iqbal Shaik in 351-550cc class in 13.811 secs, Veekshak KY in Scooter Open class in 18.163, Hussain Khan won in 14.051 in the 131 to 165cc class which attracted a huge number of participants and the start list was restricted to 50 entries. Full results are not received from the organisers.

    Action from Vrrom. Photo courtesy VroomDragMeet Instagram

    The Vroom event, organised by VroomGeneva attracted a lot of participants and crowd in its third edition. Visit the organisers website here for more details.

  • Vicky Chandhok re-elected president of FIA APRC Working Group

    Vicky Chandhok re-elected president of FIA APRC Working Group

    Vicky Chandhok. File photo by INDIAinF1

    Chennai, 24 July 2018: India’s Vicky Chandhok was unanimously re-elected President of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship Working Group for a second two-year term at the annual meeting in Johor, Malaysia, on Monday, July 23.

    Vicky Chandhok said: “It was a bit of a surprise that I was unanimously requested to continue as President for another term. Rallying continues its upward trend in the region and I am honoured to continue what we started two years ago. Our focus will be on expanding to new regions and continue growing the sport at the grass root level.”

    Representatives from Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Indonesia among others attend the meeting and the elections. Also present was Wayne Christie, President of the FIA Rally Commission to share FIA’s thoughts on the future of rallying and to also understand the challenges faced by the APRC and look at possible solutions for the future.

    The members present felt that since the APRC was going through many challenges, it needed continuity at the helm, especially with the plans afoot to meet manufacturers in Japan and China.

    Deviating from the norms, they requested outgoing Vicky Chandhok who was not a candidate for the post to accept the Presidency for another term. Takahito Sugita (Japan) will serve as the Vice-President. Stalwarts Tengku Shaharin Abu Bakar (Malaysia) and Willard Martin (New Zealand) will serve on the executive committee along with Sugita and Chandhok.

    Wayne Christie of the FIA requested Chandhok to join the FIA Regional Rally Working Group which will meet in Paris on August 21 to discuss all the FIA Regional Championships.

    The Working Group meeting also put forward revised regulations, a Media plan and a tentative calendar of six events for 2019 which will be finalised in September of this year. India figures in the list of possible 2019 events.

    eom/db