INDIA in F1

Category: Domestic

  • Shahan, Avalakki continue to dominate: JK Tyre Karting Nationals

    Bengaluru, 8 July 2019: Agra’s Shahan Ali Mohsin and Bengaluru’s Mihir Suman Avalakki continued their good form to hold on to the lead after Round 2 of the Rotax Class of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Karting Championship 2019 at the Meco Kartopia on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

    Shahan (MSport) looked at ease over the weekend as he won race 1 and finished second in another to notch up 86 points and take his total tally to 175 points in the Senior Max Category.

    Manav Sharma of Faridabad, who was outperformed by Shahan in the opening round, however, accumulated two more points than him by finishing second in the pre-final and winning the final this time around. The Peregrine Racing driver has a total of 173 points now and is sitting on the second place.

    MSports’ Bala Prasanth finished fifth in both the races to collect 78 points and take the third position with 160 points.

    In the Junior Max Category, it was a clean sweep for Birel Art as they took all the podium places, led by another local lad Mihir. He did not have the best of starts to the round, finishing only fourth in the opening race.

    But he came back to clinch the second place in the final race to pocket 83 points and take his total tally to 172 points. He is tied on points with his team-mate Rishon after two rounds, who won both races of the day to amass 89 points. Ruhaan Alva is on the third spot as he posted two third place-finishes to collect 82 points to take his total tally to 165 points.

    In the Micro Max Category, it was Peregrine Racing’s Ishaan Madhesh who came up with another powerful performance and won both the races to extend his tally to 178 points. His team-mate Jagrat Detroja is on the second spot with 166 points while Anshul Sai Shivkumar is in the third place with 157 points.

    Note: Results were not received from the organisers
    Provisional Standings after Round 2:
    Micro Max:
    1. Ishaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing) 178 points; 2. Jagrat Detroja (Peregrine Racing) 166 points; 3. Anshul Sai Shivakumar (Birel Art) 157 points    Junior Max:
    1. Mihir Avalakkai (Birel Art) 172 points; 2. Rishon (Birel Art) 172 points; 3. Ruhaan Alva (Birel Art) 165 pointsSenior Max:
    1. Shahan Ali Mohsin (MSports) 175 points; 2. Manav Sharma (Peregrine Racing) 173 points; 3. Bala Prasath (MSports) 160 points
  • Double for Sethu, Ravikumar, Abhimanyu; Easy win for Ryhana Bee: MMSC Bike Nationals

    Double for Sethu, Ravikumar, Abhimanyu; Easy win for Ryhana Bee: MMSC Bike Nationals

    Deepak Ravikumar (centre), who scored a double in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc category, flanked by KY Ahamed 2nd (left) and Amarnath Menon 3rd, at MMRT on Sunday. Photos by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 7 July 2019: Bitter rivals on the track, TVS Racing and Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing shared the honours on the concluding day of the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the MMRT, here today.

    Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) and Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) completed a double apiece in contrasting styles. Ravikumar was in a league of his own with an authoritative win by the proverbial country mile in the premium Pro-Stock 301-400cc race, his second of the weekend, while behind him, Amarnath Menon (Team Alisha Abdullah) denied TVS Racing another 1-2 by pipping KY Ahamed.

    Sethu repeated his yesterday’s Race 1 win over TVS Racing’s Jagan Kumar for a double in the Pro-Stock 165cc class. After exchanging leads with Jagan through the race, Sethu made a heart-stopping pass on the last corner of the last lap to pull off a superb win while Ahamed scrambled to third spot.

    Bengaluru-based Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) survived a close fight with Mathan Kumar (Erula Racing) to win the Pro-Stock 200-300cc race with Abhishek Vasudev, also from Bengaluru, a distant third.

    Also achieving a double was Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) in the Novice (Stock 165cc) class, sparing nearly three seconds to Venkatesan I (Motomania) while Mohan Babu (Rockers Racing) completed the podium.


    Ryhana Bee, winner of the Girls race

    Meanwhile, defending champion in the Girls (Stock 165cc) category, Ann Jennifer suffered a rare defeat as she finished third behind her Sparks Racing team-mate Ryhana Bee and Alisha Abdullah (Team Alisha Abdullah) in the five-lap race. It was Bee’s maiden win in the championship as she made capital of a favourable situation that had pole-sitter Jennifer fumbling at the start and then getting caught up in traffic. While Bee disappeared in the distance, Jennifer could not pass Alisha and decided to hold position with an eye on the championship points.

    In the hot mid-afternoon sun, Chennai youngsters Varoon Sadasivam, Kavin Samaar Quintal and Geoffrey Emmanuel finished in that order on the FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R bikes in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup One-Make Championship after favourites, Md Mikail (Chennai), winner of Race-1 yesterday, and Kritik Vasant Habib (Gadag, Karnataka) retired early in the eight-lap race. Mikail crashed at the start, while Habib too went off in the third lap.

    The results (Provisional):

    National Championship:

    Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) (15mins, 31.358secs); 2. Amarnath Menon (Team Alisha Abdullah) (15:45.432); 3. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (15:45.558).

    Pro-Stock 200-300cc (Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (16:22.798); 2. Mathan Kumar (Erula Racing) (16:22.876); 3. Abhishek V (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (16:55.918).

    Pro-Stock 165cc (Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (16:07.033);  2. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) (16:07.152); 3. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (16:09.355).

    Novice – Stock 165cc (Race 2, 6 laps): 1.Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) (13:10.877); 2. Venkatesan I (Team Motomania) (13:13.508); 3. Mohan Babu P (Team Rockers Racing) (13:15.079).

    Girls (Stock 165cc, 5 laps): 1. A Ryhana Bee (Sparks Racing) (11:11.579); 2. Alisha Abdullah (Team Alisha Abdullah Racing) (11:20.990); 3. Ann Jennifer AS (Sparks Racing) (11:21.078).

    One-Make Championship:

    Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – Honda NSF 250R (Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Varoon Sadasivam (Chennai) (14:53.899); 2. Kavin Samaar Quintal (Chennai) (15:03.271); 3. Geoffrey Emmanuel (Chennai) (15:32.943).

    Honda CBR 150 (Race 2, 6 laps): 1. Lal Nunsanga (Aizwal) (13:28.925); 2. Lalrinzuala Tlau (Aizwal) (13:29.167); 3. Samuel Martin (Bengaluru) (13:30.521).

    TVS Open (Apache RTR 310, Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (16:01.298); 2. Karthik Mateti (Hyderabad) (16:16.321); 3. Soorya PM (Chennai) (16:18.106).

    Novice (Apache RTR 200, Race 2, 6 laps): 1. Venkatesan (Chennai) (13:13.644); 2. Manoj Y (Chennai) (13:14.210); 3. Lakshmipathy Balaji (Vellore) (13:15.231).

  • MMRT witnesses historic debut of Moto3 spec bike in Indian Motorsport

    MMRT witnesses historic debut of Moto3 spec bike in Indian Motorsport

    Honda NSF250R, a magic presence on Indian race tracks, a moto3 spec bike, a milestone in Indian Motorsports. Photo by David Bodapati

    The 2019 season augurs well for Indian Motorsports! After a pleasant week-end at the Kari Motor Speedweay in Coimbatore last fortnight where a new generation of cars breathed a whiff of fresh air into the rusty Indian racing scene, with Volkswagen showing the way for future, the week-end at the Madras Motor Race Track of Madras Motor Sports Club in Irungattukottai witnessed another historic milestore with a Moto3 Spec bike making its debut on the Indian soil. Eight young riders took part on these sleek machines in the IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Cup. They are Sarthak Shrikant Chava, the 12-year old baby of the team from Pune, Kavin Samaar Quintal, Geoffrey, Mohammed Mikhail, S Varoon, Mohsin, Charan T, and Kritik Habib. All these riders have been selected from the 2018 Honda India Talent Hunt.

    A new sleek and sophiscated Racing Machine of the new era, a very light machine at 84-kg, compact, high output and high performance, the NSF 250R made its thundering presence and the presence of eight disciplined teenage boys riding with passion provided the kick for the motorsport connoisseur.

    Introduced in Moto3 in 2o12, the bike is powered by a single cylinder 4-stroke engine with 249cc displacement and it is specifically designed for racing purpose. It is not meant to be ridden on the public roads. The NSF250R is a picture model of perfect integration of high-power and rider-friendly beast with a beauty. This light-weight, well-balanced machine offers solid-power and superb performance.

    Honda won the Moto3 constructor’s Championship in 2015 with the NSF250R. The race bike is powered by a 249.3cc single cylinder liquid-cooled engine capable of churning out a maximum power of 47.6 HP at 13,000 rpm and 28 Nm of torque at 10,500 rpm. The engine comes mated to a 6-speed gearbox.

    It is Honda ingenuity, supporting your racing pleasure, for the joy of evolution. Finally, India enters a new era with the all-new NSF250R making its presence in the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship 2019.

    The credit should undoubtedly go to two men, who with passion and committment for motorsport are making a difference in the Indian Motorsports scene. Three cheers to the dedicated duo of Prabhu Nagaraj of Honda Racing Corporation, India and Sirish Vissa of Volkswagen Motorsport India.

    May their tribe increase!

  • Deepak Ravikumar leads 1-2 for TVS Racing in Pro-Stock 301-400cc class; Rajiv Sethu tops 165cc

    Deepak Ravikumar leads 1-2 for TVS Racing in Pro-Stock 301-400cc class; Rajiv Sethu tops 165cc

    The 14-year old Md Mikail, winner of the inaugural Honda NSF 250 race at MMRT on Saturday. Photo by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 6 July 2019: Deepak Ravikumar led a 1-2 finish for TVS Racing in the premium Pro-Stock 301-400cc class, while Rajiv Sethu, fresh from an international outing in Japan, scored a thrilling win in the Pro-Stock 165cc category to bring some cheer for Honda in the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the MMRT, here today.

    Starting from pole position, Ravikumar held off team-mate KY Ahamed for a commanding win, while Sethu, who missed the first round in Coimbatore last month, fought tooth and nail to beat favourite and pole-sitter Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing), sealing the win in the last lap.

    Mathan Kumar (Erula Racing) also chalked up a last-gasp win over Aravind Balakrishnan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) in the Pro-Stock 200-300cc class that was run on a combined grid with the 301-400cc category while Bengaluru’s Abhimanyu Gautam, starting from third on the 39-rider grid, topped the Stock 165cc (Novice) race which went down to the wire.

    Earlier, 14-year old from Chennai, Md Mikail underlined his potential by comfortably winning the inaugural race in the newly-introduced Honda NSF 250R category of the Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup One-Make championship. Varun Sadasivam, also from Chennai, came in second ahead of another 14-year old local schoolboy Kavin Samaar Quintal.

    Ravikumar, starting from pole, gradually increased his lead over Ahamed and had plenty to spare at the finish. Amarnath Menon, who too sat out the first round last month, finished third in his debut race for Team Alisha Abdullah.

    The win was some consolation for Ravikumar who lost a third place battle in the Pro-Stock 165cc race to Bengaluru’s Yashas RL (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) behind Sethu and Jagan after some of the front-runners lost track position due to issues with their bikes.

    Reflecting on his win, Sethu said: “I had problems with the grip levels, and I thought I might go off. But I used my experience to stay behind Jagan and eventually passed him on the penultimate lap at the Bridge Complex left-hander. It was a tough race and I had to fight all the way to win.”

    Jagan, a seven-times National champion in the erstwhile Super Sport 165cc class, said: “I did my very best today and was on the limit, but just couldn’t hold back Rajiv. The bike was fine and there were no issues. Today, this was the best I could do.”

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

    National Championship:

    Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race 1): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) (11mins, 41.479secs); 2. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (11:47.446); 3. Amarnath Menon (Team Alisha Abdullah) (11:48.814).

    Pro-Stock 200-300cc (Race 1): 1. Mathan Kumar (Erula Racing) (12:11.742); 2. Aravind Balakrishnan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:11.774); 3. Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:34.687).

    Pro-Stock 165cc (Race 1): 1. Rajiv Sethi (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (11:59.724); 2. K Jagan (TVS Racing) (11:59.820); 3. Yashas RL (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:11.089).

    Novice – Stock 165cc (Race 1): 1. Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) (13:08.136); 2. Venkatesan I (Team Motomania) (13:08.647); 3. Lokesh V (Team Speedup Racing) (13:09.568).

    One-Make Championship:

    Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup – Honda NSF 250R (Race 1): 1. Md Mikail (Chennai) (11:14.583); 2. Varoon Sadasivam (Chennai) (11:16.963); 3. Kavin Samaar Quintal (Chennai) (11:18.128). Honda CBR 150 (Race 1): 1. Samuel Martin (Bengaluru) (13:18.183); 2. Lalrinzuala Tlau (Aizwal) (13:18.604); 3. Lal Nunsanga (Aizwal) (13:18.754).

    TVS Open (Apache RTR 310, Race 1): 1. Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (11:58.964); 2. Sivanesan Sethu (Chennai) (12:10.737); 3. Arun Muthukrishnan (Chennai) (12:13.757). Novice (Apache RTR 200, Race 1): 1. Venkatesan (Chennai) (13:16.007); 2. Manoj Y (Chennai) (13:16.163); 3. Annish Samson (Bengaluru) (13:24.783). Girls (Apache RTR 200) (5 laps): 1. Nivetha Jessica (Chennai) (11:27.421); 2. Lakiya Lee (Chennai) (12:02.771); 3. Sayali Pawar (Mumbai) (12:10.872).

  • Historic day at MMRT as Moto3-spec Honda NSF 250R bikes up the ante

    Historic day at MMRT as Moto3-spec Honda NSF 250R bikes up the ante

    Md Mikail, the fastest rider on the track, who qualified for pole position in the Moto3-spec Honda NSF 250R class in Chennai on Friday. Photo by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 5 July 2019: Madras Motor Race Track  saw another historic day in the Indian Motorsport as FIM Moto3-spec bikes made their debut in India. The second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2019 was off to a roaring start at the MMRT here on Friday with the FIM Moto3-spec Honda NSF 250R bikes, participating in the Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup, raising the standard bar in a stunning fashion during the qualifying sessions.

    The top-five qualifiers in the NSF 250R were quicker than TVS Racing’s Deepak Ravikumar who took the pole position in the premium Pro-Stock 301-400cc class, with a best lap of one minute, 54.298secs. As against this, Chennai lad Md Mikail, only 14 years old, topped the NSF 250R qualifying clocking 01:48.889, with fifth placed Kavin Samaar Quintal posting a best of 01:53.111.

    Also grabbing pole positions in their respective categories were Mathan Kumar of Erula Racing in the Pro-Stock 201-300cc (01:59.786), Bengaluru’s Samuel Martin (02:11.964) in the Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup CBR 150 and Venkatesan from Chennai (02:10.859) in the TVS RTR 200 (Novice). Venkatesan (02:09.660) also took pole position in the Novice (Stock 165cc) class while Ann Jennifer of Sparks Racing topped in the Girls (02:12.289) category.

    Undoubtedly, the Honda NSF 250R bikes came under considerable scrutiny in their debut outing in India, and they exceeded expectations with all their eight riders, in the age-group of 12 to 18 years, putting in impressive performances.

    Not the least was Sarthak Shrikant Chavan, the 12-year old schoolboy from Pune who qualified eighth in the NSF 250R class, with a flying lap of 02:01.753. It was his maiden outing in track racing after having won a junior motocross event recently.

    While the timings from Free Practice dropped noticeably in the qualifying sessions, Mikail, who raced in Thailand recently along with Karthik Vasant Habib from Gadag, Karnataka, improved by nearly three seconds to take the pole position. Habib qualified second in 01:51.091, ahead of Chennai boys Varoon Sadasivam (01:52.435) and Geoffrey Emmanuel (01:52.801).

  • Honda to debut Moto3-spec NSF 250R in the MRF MMSC fmsci Bike Nationals

    Honda to debut Moto3-spec NSF 250R in the MRF MMSC fmsci Bike Nationals

    Action in the Bike Nationals at MMRT. File photo by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 4 July 2019: Expectations and excitement are on a high as the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2019 commence here at the MMRT on Friday with focus on one of country’s leading two-wheeler manufacturer Honda, who are set to introduce the FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R.

    While the NSF 250R besides the CBR 150, which is part of the Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup, a one-make championship organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club is bound to create a buzz, the attention will be as much on the National Championship races, including the two premium Pro-Stock categories, the 301-400cc and the 165cc. Also in the mix are the two Novice classes, Girls and Stock 165cc, that have been as competitive as the other categories.

    Completing the card this weekend will be TVS Racing’s One-Make Championship in two categories, the Open (TVS Apache RTR 310), and Novice and Girls (TVS Apache RTR 200). Races in all these categories witnessed extremely close competition in the first round at Coimbatore last month and likely to be no different this weekend.

    As in the first round at Coimbatore last month, the number of entries has exceeded 150 with some 15 teams, a record for the National Championship in itself, supporting the riders. Both the Pro-Stock categories will be run on slick tyres provided by the title sponsors MRF Tyres.

    In a bid to fast-track their programme to identify and nurture talent that could break into the international arena, Honda have put an age-cap of 19 for the CBR 150 category while the NSF 250R bikes would be ridden by hand-picked riders who have undergone extensive training.

    TVS have also been on pace in their talent quest, especially in the Girls category where the riders, following a pan-India selection process, have been shortlisted from 33 entrants to 16 who make up the race grid.

    The weekend card has a total of 16 races spread over Saturday and Sunday with qualifying sessions scheduled for Friday.

  • Talented Dean Mascarenhas stops a marauding Gaurav Gill to win INRC opener

    Talented Dean Mascarenhas stops a marauding Gaurav Gill to win INRC opener

    Team Champions’ Dean Mascarenhas(L) & Shrupta Padival(R) after winning the South India Rally at MMRT on Sunday. A Team Champions image

    Irungattukottai (Sriperumbudur), 30 June 2019: Team Champions’ Dean Mascarenhas survived a late but spirited onslaught from three-time APRC winner and WRC2 driver Gaurav Gill to win the opening round of the Champions Yacht Club – FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship here on a nail-biting Sunday.

    Going into the third and final leg with a 10-second overall lead and a handy 1.41 minutes over Gill, Mascarenhas (Shruptha Padival) would have hoped for a pressure-free day in the office. But an errant car and a possessed Gill saw his lead being steadily wiped out from both ends, raising the specter of a sensational last-minute upset.

    However, Team Mahindra’s Gill (Musa Sherif) who finished second in the day’s first stage and won all remaining four, suffered a massive blow in the penultimate stage. Just as he was racing like the wind, a herd of cows came in his path, costing him anything between 7 to 10 seconds.

    Dean gets an affectionate hug from his mother after winning the INRC opening round at MMRT on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar

    He was awarded 10 seconds by the Stewards for the unfortunate delay, catapulting him to the third position in the overall category. It was sufficient to win him the INRC category too but not good enough to dislodge Mascarenhas or Fabid Ahmer.

    Rahul Kanthraj (Vivek Bhatt), however, was edged out of the podium in the overall category by a mere one second.

     

    “We worked very hard to make up for the lackluster first two days,” Gill said. “We changed the tyres and the setup at every opportunity and it paid dividends until bad luck hit us,” he added.

    Gill’s JK Tyre partner Mascarenhas was, however, delighted with his breakthrough victory. “My car had lost one of the four cylinders on Saturday itself and it kept stalling, adding to the pressure. I, however, held my nerves and came through, making this one of my sweetest wins,” he said.

    The South India Rally, Round One of the INRC powered by MRF, turned out to be a thrill-a-minute blockbuster, with the 19-strong Team Champions stunning all and winning almost all the categories.

    Dean and Fabid Ahmer (Sanath G) made it a sensational 1-2 for the Shubhakar Rao-owned team, with Dean also taking the INRC 2 and Fabid the INRC 3. Vaibhav Marate (Arjun SSB) annexed the INRC 4.

    RESULTS

    INRC Overall

    1) Dean Mascarenhas & Shruptha Padival – 1:45.10.800 hr; 2) Fabid Ahmer & Sanath G – 1:45:24.400 hr; 3) Gaurav Gill & Musa Sherif – 1:45:27.800 hr

    INRC
    1) Gaurav Gill & Musa Sherif – 1:45:27.800 hr; 2) Phalguna URS & Srikanth Gowda – 1:48:04.500 hr

    INRC 2
    1) Dean Mascarenhas & Shruptha Padival – 1:45.10.800 hr; 2) Rahul Kanthraj & Vivek Bhatt – 1:45:28.600 hr; 3) Ritesh Guttedar.M & Lokaranjan H.J – 1:53:13.300 hr

     INRC 3
    1) Fabid Ahmer & Sanath G – 1:45:24.400 hr;  2) Arjun Rao & Shanmuga Sundaram – 1:46:40.200 hr; 3)  Daraius Shroff & Sheeraz Ahmed – 1:47:40.700 hr

    INRC 4
    1) Vaibhav Marate & Arjun SSB – 1:53:02.100 hr; 2) Rakshith Iyer & Chandrashekar – 1:54:30.700 hr; 3) Shirole Prakhyat. H & Bharath S.M – 1:59:19.700 hr

  • Team Champions’ Dean Mascarenhas storms into lead on Day 2 of INRC

    Chennai, 29 June 2019: On a day of stunning upsets and rapidly changing fortunes, talented Mangaluru driver Dean Mascarenhas of Team Champions proved to be the man to watch, as he stormed into the lead in the Champions’ Yacht Club fmsci Indian National Rally Championship here on Saturday.

    The INRC 2 driver, supported by JK Tyre, won Stage 3 and took the second position in Stage 6 to finish the Day 2 on a high, taking a 9.3-second lead. He along with navigator Shruptha Padival needed just 54.48.800 minutes to complete the two legs.

    Arka Motorsports’ Rahul Kanthraj (Vivek Bhatt), also an INRC 2 contender, made the most of his brilliant second-place run on Day 1 to rise to the second position in the overall category. INRC 3’s Fabid Ahmer (Sanath G) took the third position, making it a disappointing outing for the heavyweights.

    It began with hot favourite and six-time INRC winner Gaurav Gill, who could only manage the ninth position after struggling with his brand new XUV300. He put up a spirited fight in the latter half of the day, even winning the last stage to show that he was still in the hunt.

    Gill, another JK man, managed one second-place and two fourth-place finishes to be 1:41.500 minutes off the leader. His Mahindra Adventure teammate Amittrajit Ghosh slipped into the lead in the INRC category, although he was sixth in the overall pecking order.

    The South India Rally, Round 1 of the INRC powered by MRF, got off to a stunning start on Friday evening, with Team Champions’ Biku Babu (Milen George) winning the spectacular Triple S stage. He continued his big push in Day 2’s early stages but he dropped out in Stage 4 with a mechanical problem to miss out on a golden opportunity to make a mark.

    Former INRC champion Karna Kadur took the second position and began Saturday on a positive note, claiming the day’s first stage. But he faded out as the day progressed to kiss his chances goodbye in this round.

    Team Akshara’s Chetan Shivram (Dilip Sharan) won two stagesbut had to be content with the second position in INRC 3, although he is just one second behind the leader in this group: Team Champions’ Fabid Ahmer (Sanath G).

    Results (Provisional):

    INRC Overall: 1) Dean Mascarenhas & Shruptha Padival – 54.48.800; 2) Rahul Kanthraj & Vivek Bhatt – 54.58.100 min; Fabid Ahmer & Sanath G – 55:03.000 mins

    INRC: 1) Amittrajit Ghosh & Ashwin Naik – 55.26.100 mins; 2) Gaurav Gill & Musa Sherif – 56:30.300 mins; 3) Phalguna URS & Srikanth Gowda – 56.54.700 mins

    INRC 2: 1) Dean Mascarenhas & Shruptha Padival – 54.48.800; 2) Rahul Kanthraj & Vivek Bhatt – 54.58.100 min; 3) Younus Ilyas – 55:18.300 mins

    INRC 3: 1) Fabid Ahmer & Sanath G – 55:03.000 mins;2)  Chetan Shivram & Dilip Sharan – 55:04.300 min; 3) Sahil Khanna & Rajit Kadian – 57.15.700 mins

  • Gaurav Gill bids for seventh INRC title in new avatar

    Chennai, 28 June 2019: The all-new Champions Yacht Club-FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2019 got off to an explosive start here on Friday, with a record number of cars led by the country’s most celebrated driver Gaurav Gill squaring up for an epic faceoff.
     
    As many as 51 top rallyists from across the country, fielded by five major teams, including 19 by Team Champions, and many privateers, took off  in front of a big crowd to set the tone for an exciting season. The clashes began with a first-of-its-kind Super Special Stage at the MMRT, giving spectators a rare glimpse of all the action from close proximity.
     
    It’s a new beginning for three-time APRC and six-time INRC champion Gill too as he made the shift from MRF to JK Tyre in the hope of conquering new frontiers. The Mahindra Adventure driver, with Musa Sherif by his side, will be competing in a new car, the XUV300, adding a new dimension to the competition.
     
    “I am looking forward to this season as I will not only be in a new car but also on new tyres,” Gill said, at the press conference, a few hours before the opening stage. “I have tested the car and it’s the best in the class. I am sure it’s going to suit my style of driving,” he added.
     
    The South India Rally, Round 1 of the INRC powered by MRF, will see the teams fight it out over a total distance of 298.70 kms, with as many as 117.33 kms earmarked for 11 special stages on gravel and dirt tracks. After the SSS on Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 will see five stages each, providing the drivers as well as the spectators ample fun.
     
    “This is a perfect start to the championship,” promoter Vamsi Merla said. “We have already had the most number of entries and the biggest crowd at an INRC, making it that much more thrilling for all of us,” he added.
     
    Like always, Team Mahindra will have a second car in fray too, with former racing and rallying champion Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik) making it a formidable duo for them in the INRC 1 category. They will, however face stiff competition from another INRC champion Karna Kadur (Nikhil V Pai) of Arka Motorsports, who was brimming with confidence.
     
    The INRC 2 category also looked highly competitive, with Team Champions’ Dean Mascarenhas (Shruptha Padivel) and Race Concept’s Younus Ilyas (Harish Gowda) pitted against each other. Both are supported by JK, making it that much more interesting.
     
    INRC 3 has as many as 22 contenders, with Arjun Rao, Chetan Shivram  and Daraius N Shroff among the favourites. Two ladies will also be seen in action, Shivani Pruthvi and Garima Avtar (INRC 4) as they aim to prove their mettle. A total of eight drivers will also feature in the junior INRC category.
  • Double for Karthik Tharani as VW Ventos dominate; Sohil Shah, Jeet Jhabak too win a brace

    Double for Karthik Tharani as VW Ventos dominate; Sohil Shah, Jeet Jhabak too win a brace

    Sohil Shah (24), who won two races in action in the Formula LGB 1300 races on Sunday. Photos by Anand Philar

    Coimbatore, 23 June 2019: Piloting the turbo-charged VW Vento, Karthik Tharani authored a dream script for Volkswagen Motorsport’s sensational weekend with a grand double in the premium ITC category while Bengaluru school boy and defending champion Sohail Shah notched up a brace in the LGB 1300 class as the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship concluded at the Kari Motor Speedway, here on Sunday.

    Also scoring a double were Hyderabad’s Jeet Jhabak in the VW Ameo Class and Bengaluru schoolboy Sohil Shah (M Sport) in the Formula LGB 1300 category as he took the top honours in Race 1 and 3 while Nellore’s Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) won Race 2. RP Rajarajan (Performance Racing) won a close Super Stock race that went down to the wire.

    For the factory-supported VW Motorsport team, making their debut in the Indian Touring Cars category, it was a highly-successful weekend as they won all the three races. Incidentally, races in all categories, except VW Ameo Class, today were run on wet tyres in view of forecast of rains which, however, stayed away.

    The two ITC races highlighted the Sunday’s proceedings with extremely close contests and incidents in Race 3 bringing out the Safety Car. Having finished second behind team-mate, Kolhapur’s Dhruv Shivaji Mohite in the first of the ITC triple-header yesterday, Chennai-based Tharani led a 1-2-3 finish for VW Motorsport in Race 2 and followed it up with a thrilling win in Race 3 in the afternoon, ahead of Mohite and Arjun Balu (Race Concepts).

    In both the races today, Mohite finished second while team-mate Ishaan Dodhiwala took the third spot in Race 2, but spun off in the next outing that led to a Safety Car period, and where Balu came in a creditable third, his second of the weekend.

    While the podium finishers hogged the limelight, it was 77-year old D Vidyaprakash who stole the hearts with stirring drives that saw him finish fourth in both the races today. His defending the third spot in Race-2 until late in the last lap against Dodhiwala, 29, before letting the youngster pass, earned him high praise for clean racing. “I just can’t believe that someone at his age can drive like that. I couldn’t pass him until the last lap when he didn’t stop me from overtaking after I put the nose on the inside line,” gushed Dodhiwala after his third place finish.

    The Championship moves to the MMRT track, Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, where Round 3 will be held from July 19 to 21.

    The results (Provisional, all 10 laps unless mentioned):

    Indian Touring Cars (Race 2): 1. Karthik Tharani (VW Motorsports) (11mins, 55.229secs); 2. Dhruv Shivaji Mohite (VW Motorsports) (11:55.572); 3. Ishaan Dodhiwala (VW Motorsports) (12:06.826). Race 3: 1. Karthik Tharani (VW Motorsports) (15:31.576); 2. Dhruv Shivaji Mohite (VW Motorsports) (15:31.717); 3. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) (15:32.087).

    Volkswagen Ameo Class (Race 2): Overall – 1. Avik Anwar (Bangladesh) (11:58.554); 2. Aiman Sadat (Bangladesh) (11:58.841); 3. Anmol Singh Sahil (Delhi) (11:59.304). Pro: 1. Anwar; 2. Sahil; 3. Siddharth Mehdiratta (Lucknow) (12:00.233). Junior: 1. Sadat; 2. Viraj Jairaj Jhala (Nashik) (12:05.775); 3. Chetan Surineni (Bengaluru) (12:24.817). Race 3 (Overall and Pro): 1. Jeet Jhabakh (Hyderabad) (11:58.422); 2. Anmol Singh Sahil (Delhi) (12:00.219); 3. Pratik Sonawane (Pune) (12:02.872). Junior: 1. Aiman Sadat (Bangladesh) (12:09.235); 2. Kaushik Mohan Raja (12:10.360); Viraj Jairaj Jhala (Nashik) (12:18.809).

    Super Stock (Race 2): 1. RP Rajarajan (Performance Racing) (13:05.322); 2. R Rajashekar (Race Concepts) (13:05.926); 3. Prateek Benya (Race Concepts) (13:06.209).

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race 1): 1. Sohil Shah (M Sport) (10:43.682); 2. Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motor Sports) (10:50.180); 3. Kunal Maini (M Sport) (10:56.683). Race 2: 1. Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) (14:16.398); 2. Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motor Sports) (14:16.661); 3. Sohil Shah (M Sport) (14:16.770). Race 3: 1. Sohil Shah (M Sport) (11:56.907); 2. Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motor Sports) (11:59.205); 3. Chirag Ghorpade (Momentum Motor Sports) (12:07.927).