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Category: Domestic
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Pole for Raghul Rangasamy in MRF F1600: MRF MMSC Racing Nationals
Raghul Rangasamy, who took pole position in the MRF F1600 class at MMRT on Friday. Photos by Anand Philar Chennai, 17 Aug 2018: Raghul Rangasamy from the nearby temple town of Mamallapuram, took a big step towards realising his dream of earning a ticket to the Mazda Road To Indy shootout in the United States later this year, by grabbing his first pole of the current season in the MRF F1600 class as the fourth round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship got underway at the MMRT, here on Friday.
“As I am already 25, this is my last chance to make it to the Mazda Road To Indy shootout and I am giving it everything I have,” said Rangasamy, referring to the upper age limit for participation in shootout whose winner is eligible for a scholarship of USD 200,000.
Rangasamy, who is currently second in the championship, just 12 points adrift of leader Ashwin Datta, clocked one minute, 39.828 seconds, ahead of Sandeep Kumar (01:40.028) and Kolkata’s Arya Singh (01:40.268). Datta, who had started the season with a triple in the first round, had a poor qualifying session and will start the first race tomorrow from eighth position on the grid after clocking 01:41.010.
Reflecting on his qualifying run, Rangasamy said: “I used the tyre strategy to my advantage by doing a couple of hot laps and then cooling off in the pits before going out again. Today, it worked well for me.”
Nabil Hussain, who took pole position in the Formula LGB 1300 on Friday. Photo by Anand Philar Earlier, Chennai’s Nabil Hussain (MSport), who heads the Formula LGB 1300 leaderboard, also qualified for pole position in his category with a hot lap of 01:53.679 followed by Ashwin Datta, also from Chennai, of Momentum Motorsports (01:53.705) and Bengaluru’s Sohil Shah of MSport (01:54.279).
Also grabbing pole position in their respective categories were: Varun Anekar of Race Concepts (Super Stock), Nikhunj Vagh of Team N1 (Indian Junior Touring Cars) and Raghul Rangasamy of Performance Racing (Esteem Cup).
Meanwhile, last year’s champion Arjun Narendran (Arka Motorsports) from Coimbatore, was the quickest in the Free Practice session for high-end Indian Touring Cars as he clocked a best of 01:52.812 ahead of Saturday’s qualifying run.
Kolhapur’s Dhruv Mohite (01:54.959), who tops the Volkswagen Ameo Cup leaderboard, took pole position ahead of his nearest rival Saurav Bandyopadhyay of Mumbai (01:55.719).
The results (Qualifying):
MRF F1600: 1. Raghul Rangaswamy (Chennai) 1 min, 39.828 sec; 2. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (01:40.028); 3. Arya Singh (Kolkata) (01:40.268)..
Formula LGB 1300: 1. Nabil Hussain (M Sport) (01:53.679); 2. S Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motorsports) (01:53.705); 3. Sohil Shah (M Sport) (01:54.279)
Super Stock: 1. Varun Anekar (Race Concepts) (01:56.579); 2.Srinivas Teja (Performance Racing) (02:01.802); 3. RP Rajarajan (Performance Racing) (02:01.818).
Indian Junior Touring Cars: 1. Nikunj Vagh (Team N1) (02:04.564); 2. Prabu AS (Arka Motorsport) (02:04.641); 3. Chris DeSouza (Unimek Racing) (02:05.718).
Esteem Cup: 1. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) (02:02.399); 2. Vinod Subramaniam (Team 1) (02:03.119); 3.Biren Pithawala (Team N1) (02:03.718).
Volkswagen Ameo Cup: 1. Dhruv Mohite (Kolhapur) (01:54.959); 2. Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Mumbai) (01:55.719); 3.Pratik Sonawane (Pune) (01:55.774).
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MRF MMSC Indian Racing Nationals enter crucial phase: 4th Round at MMRT from Friday
File photo of Formula LGB races at MMRT this season. Photo by Anand Philar Chennai, 16 Aug 2018: Teenage sensation Ashwin Datta who began the season with a bank winning all the races in the first round, will look to guard his narrow lead at the top in the MRF 1600 class as the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship resumes amidst mounting excitement and expectations as crucial fourth round starts at the MMRT here on Friday.
The chase for titles in various categories gets more frenetic than ever while the front-runners keep an eye on the leaderboard. Every point won will be worth its weight in gold.
The weekend card has races in the MRF F1600, saloon cars (Indian Touring Cars, Super Stock, Indian Junior Touring Cars and Esteem Cup), and the Formula LGB 1300 besides the Volkswagen Ameo Cup, a one-make championship. Also being run is the Indian National Drag Racing Championship, post-lunch on Saturday and Sunday, for both two-wheelers and cars.
The season, so far, has been so topsy-turvy that Chennai teenager Ashwin Datta (96 points), despite three wins on the trot in the MRF F1600 class, is only 12 ahead of Mamallapuram’s Raghul Rangasamy.
The previous round witnessed three different winners – Rangasamy, Gowtham Parekh (68) and Sandeep Kumar (67) – in the triple-header. With the championship winner in this category eligible for a ticket to the Mazda Road To Indy shootout in the United States, an MMSC initiative, the title contenders have everything to play for. The winner of the shootout is eligible for a scholarship of USD 200,000.
The situation in other categories is no different. Bengaluru’s Ashish Ramaswamy (101) leads his Arka Motorsports team-mate from Coimbatore Nikanth Ram (84) in the premier Indian Touring Cars class that has seen some high-quality driving. If Ramaswamy started the season with a double in the first round, veteran Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) marked his return to racing by winning both the races in the next round while defending champion Arjun Narendran (Arka Motorsports) emulated the feat in the third round. Balu (68) and Narendran (50) are placed fourth and fifth, respectively, behind another veteran from Coimbatore B Vijayakumar of Prime Racing (78).
A mere half-a-point separate leader Srinivasa Teja (Performance Racing) and Varun Anekar (Race Concepts) in the Super Stock category while Vinod Subramaniam (73.5) of Team N1 leads Rangasamy (68) of Performance Racing in the Esteem Cup and Prabhu AS (62) of Arka Motorsports is ahead of Chrys D’Souza (59) of Unimek Racing in the Indian Junior Touring Cars.
Equally competitive has been the Formula LGB 1300 class which is developing into a three-cornered battle involving Nabil Hussain (MSport) who heads the leaderboard with 95 points followed by Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motorsports) and Sohil Shah (MSport) who are tied second with 83 apiece.
Kolhapur’s Dhruv Mohite, with three wins in five starts, leads the Volkswagen Ameo Cup with 220 points but needs all the points he can to stay ahead of Saurav Bandyopadhyay (214) from Mumbai and Hyderabad’s Jeet Jhabakh (204) who have won one race apiece.
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Third round motorcycle Nationals postponed
Chennai, 7 Aug 2018: As a mark of respect for former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Kalaignar Karunanidhi who passed away here today, the Madras Motor Sports Club has postponed the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship scheduled for August 10-12.
Fresh dates will be announced shortly.
The Madras Motor Sports Club has condoled the passing away of the stalwart Dravidian leader Karunanidhi.
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Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif notch up a comfortable win
Coimbatore, 5 August 2018: Indian speed king Gaurav Gill, along with his trusted co-driver Musa Sherif, romped home to a thumping victory in the Rally of Coimbatore, the second round of the Indian national Rally Championship (INRC) as he swept all the special stages winning with ease at the Kethanur windmill farms here on Sunday. He clocked 1:14:30.1 to complete the five Special Stages and won with a clean margin of 1 min 1.1 second.
His teammate Amittrajit (with co-driver Ashwin Naik) has to be content with the second place all through the rally as he appeared to be no match to the leader, but managed to keep his second position. He was off the pace with Gill trailing by 10 to 15 seconds all along and was no threat to Gill at any stage.
The President of the Federation, Akbar Ebrahim claimed the third position in the INRC 1 category, reminding fans and drivers that he has not lost his touch even after nearly 25 years of active rallying.
The 2016 INRC champion, Karna Kadur and co-driver Nikhil V Pai, had to settle for the overall third position as all his efforts to upstage the leaders proved to futile. He managed to claim the INRC 2 category though, making it a 1-2 for Team Arka Motorsports.
His teammate Rahul Kanthraj along with co-driver Vivek Y Bhatt took the second place while Phalghuna Urs and Srikanth Gowda of Snap Racing claimed the third place.
The INRC 3 category too didn’t see any change on the leaderboard with Aroor Vikram Rao and co-driver Anand Somayya of Falkon Motorsports taking a facile win.
Suhem Kabeer and co-driver Jeevarathinam of Team Champions finished second relegating Chetan Shivram and co-driver Rupesh Kholay to the third position on the podium.
Results:
INRC: 1. Gaurav Gill/Musa Sherif (Team Mahindra Adventure; 01:14:30.1); 2. Amittrajit Ghosh/Ashwin Naik (Team Mahindra Adventure; 01:15:31.2); 3. Karna Kadur/Nikhil V Pai (Arka Motorsports; 01:16:24.8).
INRC 2: 1. Karna Kadur/Nikhil V Pai; 2. Rahul Kanthraj/Vivek Y Bhatt (Arka Motorsports; 01:17:36.9); 3. Phalghuna Urs/Srikanth Gowda; Snap Racing; 01:17:40.7).
INRC 3: 1. Aroor Vikram Rao/Anand Somayya (Falkon Motorsports; 01:17:11.8); 2. Suhem Kabeer/Jeevarathinam (Team Champions; 01:17:48.8); 3. Chetan Shivram/Rupesh Kholay (01:17:58.4)
FMSCI 2WD: 1. Adith KC/Suraj K; 2. Suraj Thomas/Sob George; 3. Lokesh Gowda V | Venu Ramesh Kumar.
eom/david
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World-class action in store as Asia Road Racing Championship returns to MMRT
File photo of super sport 600cc race of 2017 at MMRT. Photo by Anand Philar Chennai, 1 August 2018: A refurbished Madras Motor Race Track is all set for some top-drawer action as it hosts the fourth round of FIM Asia Road Racing Championship commencing Friday, showcasing the cream of two-wheeler racing talent in the region and who are expected to set the circuit alight as in the past with riding skills and dare-devilry worth going miles to watch.
A bunch of seasoned campaigners who are no strangers to the MMRT besides a clutch of teenagers will be parading their talent over the weekend in SuperSport 600cc, Asia Production 250cc and the Underbone 150cc categories, alongside two support events, the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (CBR 250, Open) organised by MMSC and the TVS One-Make Championship (Open, Apache R310).
MMSC president Ajit Thomas said: “It has been barely 11 months since we last hosted an ARRC round, but during this period, the MMRT has undergone a sea change. A new paddock, with 20 spacious garages, a viewing terrace, VIP hospitality suites to accommodate nearly 400 people, a second paddock on the western side with its own circuit and a drag strip have all sprung up at a cost of about Rs 20 Crore. It is an edifice we all are proud of. Yet, these are just baby steps in our long-term plans to transform MMRT into a truly World-class facility. I am sure, the ARRC family will have a far more comfortable stay at the MMRT this weekend than at any time in the past!”
Ron Hogg, Director, Two Wheels Motor Racing, the promoters of ARRC, said he was amazed at the new infrastructure made available for this weekend’s races and the progress made by the MMSC. He said he would be happy to see two rounds in India in the future since he felt most comfortable with the professional approach of the MMSC.
On the track, the spotlight will be on the premier SuperSport 600cc category that has the familiar faces of veterans Anthony West (Australia), Decha Kraisart (Thailand), Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (Malaysia) and Tomoyoshi Koyama (Japan) apart from a clutch of young, hungry bucks who have been keeping the established stars on their toes.
Current Championship leader West, who competed in the World Championship for over a decade, and last year’s champion Karmaruzaman, a former Moto2 rider, who trails the Aussie star by 12 points, will no doubt start firm favourites, but as the previous three rounds in Thailand, Australia and Japan suggested, nothing is quite as straightforward. Also in the mix are two Japanese riders, 35-year old Koyama and Keisuke Kurihara, 20, and Yuki Ito, 27, who won Race 2 in Australia.
From India’s perspective, Chennai’s Rajiv Sethu, 20, and Bengaluru-based Anish Damodara Shetty, 24, will be keenly followed in the Asia Production 250cc category that Indonesian Rheza Danica Ahrens has dominated with four consecutive wins in six races.
The two Indians are part of the Idemitsu Honda India Racing team along with Japan’s Taiga Hada, 19, who is competing in the 600cc class. Shetty, in his debut ARRC season, managed to pick up two points by finishing 15th in both the races in Australia while Sethu is still in quest for his first points in his second season. Hada is 13th in the 600cc class with 24 points.
Shetty will also be figuring in the two races of the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (CBR 250, Open) organised by MMSC which he leads with 86 points from Coimbatore’s Senthil Kumar (63), both having won two races apiece in the previous two rounds.
The TVS One-Make Championship (Open) has also been very competitive with four races thus far over two rounds throwing up different winners. The top three riders – Chennai duo Deepak Ravikumar (70) and Vivek Pillai (61), and Bengaluru’s Yashas RL (58) – are involved in a three-way battle with Hyderabad’s Peddu Sriharsha (46) and Amarnath K Menon (45) from Kozhikode not far behind.
Malaysian brave-hearts Md Helmi Azman (94) and Md Izzat Zaidi (93) are locked in a fierce battle in the Underbone 150cc category which attracts the most number of entries and dishes out nail-biting finishes.
About Madras Motor Sports Club
The Madras Motor Sports Club has been the pioneer in developing and promoting motorsport in India since 1953, and we look to further improve in the years to come. It is the club’s endeavour to provide more opportunities for competitors and to this end, it has chalked out a progressive program for 2017. From the days of Sholavaram, MMSC built its own racetrack which was inaugurated in 1979 and secured its FIA Grade-2 international certification in 2015, making it the only club which owns such a facility. The club has organised the Porsche Super Cup, Formula Campos, Formula Asia, Asian touring car championships, Formula 3, Tata Prima Truck racing championship, the Asian 2-wheeler racing championships besides a host of other motorsport events over the years. The club also has active participation for its events from vehicle manufacturers who also use the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) extensively for testing their products.
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Harith Noah claims INRC 2w victory after a tie: Rally of Coimbatore
Coimbatore, 30 July 2018: Harith Noah of Team TVS riding a TVS RTR 450 motorcycle, had tie with Abdul Wahid of the same team, clocking 47 minutes and 33 seconds. Applying the tie breaker rule, Harith Noah who had clocked the fastest time in the first stage was declared the overall winner of the MRF Rally of Coimbatore, the fifth round of the MRF MoGrip FMSCI National Rally Championship for two-wheelers, here on Sunday.
“The route was very challenging and I enjoyed riding the stages,” said Shoranur based winner Harith Noah. “This is one of the best event I haven taken part“, he added.
He clocked 47 min, 33 seconds to complete the challenging Special Stages set around the wind farms near the Kethanur (Palladam) area.
The total distance of the route was approximately 111.11 kms, with the total distance of the Special Stages approximately 56 kms. This time around, unlike last year, there were two Special Stages – the Black Thunder Stage (14.85 km) and the Thunder World Stage (14.45 km).
R. Nataraj, winner of the opening four rounds, came overall third in a time of 49 minutes and 09 seconds.
Seventy Four riders took part in the in the rally organised by Coimbatore Auto Sports Club, while Local lad K. Sasikumar won the Star of Tamil Nadu category exclusively for riders from Tamil Nadu and was placed overall 14 with a time of 58 minutes and 16 seconds.
The ceremonial flag off was from Hotel Gokulam Park by R Kanagaraj, MLA, Sulur Constituency on Saturday, 28 July 2018 at 05.00 PM. Ivan Oswald, Regional Sales Manager, MRF Limited was the chief guest for the prize distribution function which was held at the same venue on Sunday, 29 July at 06.30 PM.
Organisers, CASC would like take this opportunity to thank M/s.MRF Limited and M/s.Godspeed for sponsoring the event as well as the Championship, and look forward to their continued support.
RESULTS
OVERALL WINNER
1st Place Harith Noah (TVS Racing) Shoranur 2nd Place Abdul Wahid (TVS Racing) Mysore 3rd Place R.Nataraj (TVS Racing) Bangalore
WINNER OF C-1 – Super Bike Pro Expert
1. Harith Noah (TVS Racing) Shoranur; 2. Abdul Wahid (TVS Racing) Mysore 3. R.Nataraj (TVS Racing) Bangalore
WINNER OF C-1A – Super Bike Expert
1. Badal Doshi, Privateer, Mumbai; 2. Jatin Jain Privateer Nagpur 3. Aakash Aital, Privateer, Puttur.
WINNER OF C-2 – 130 cc
1. Rakesh Kumar Privateer Bangalore 2. Santhosh Privateer Coimbatore 3. Vignesh Privateer Coimbatore.
WINNER OF C-3 – 165 cc
- J Imran Pasha TVS Racing Mysore 2. V.Thirinesh Privateer Bangalore 3. D. Sachin Privateer Bangalore
WINNER OF C-4 – 260 cc
1. R.E. Rajendra TVS Racing Shimoga 2. Samual Jacob Privateer Hosur 3. Jeeva Rathinam Privateer Bangalore
WINNER OF C-5 – 400 cc
1. Venu Rameshkumar Privateer Coimbatore
2. D. Karthikeyan Privateer Coimbatore 3. Prabhu Chandramohan Privateer Trivandram
WINNER OF C-6 – 550 cc
1. Sreekanth Komana Privateer Trivandram 2.MR Ranjith Privateer Trissur 3. Abijith Joy Privateer Eranakulam.
WINNER OF C-7 – Scooter Class
1. Pinkesh Thakar Aprilla Racing Pune 2. Syed Asif Ali TVS Racing Hosur 3. Syed Zeeshan Privateer Thane
WINNER OF C-8 – Ladies Class
1. U Fazeela Privateer Cochin.
WINNER OF C-9 Star of Tamil Nadu
- K Sasikumar Privateer Coimbatore 2. M. Santhosh Privateer Coimbatore 3. Sam Issiah Privateer Coimbatore.
(Last updated: 21 July 2023)
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Bengaluru drivers excel at MMRT: National Drag Races
Chennai, 22 July 2018: Bengaluru drivers enjoyed a successful outing in the first round of the MMSC fmsci Indian National Drag Racing Championship for four-wheelers at the MMRT, here on Sunday with Vivek Ramachandran scoring a double while Chennai’s veteran racer Radha Selvarajan was the quickest in the competition besides topping the Indian Open (altered body) class.
Vivek Ramachandran topped in the Unrestricted and Indian Open (stock body) classes with fellow-Bengalurean Mithun M in second place in both the categories.
The results:
Unrestricted: 1. Vivek Ramachandran (Bengaluru) (13.120secs); 2. Mithun M (Bengaluru) (13.357); 3. Radha Selvarajan (Chennai) (13.528).
Indian Open (Altered body): 1. Radha Selvarajan (Chennai) (12.693); 2. Jayanth V (Bengaluru) (13.178).
Indian Open (Stock body): 1. Vivek Ramachandran (Bengaluru) (13.247); 2. Mithun M (Bengaluru) (13.363); 3. Shubhodeep (Bengaluru) (14.621).
Indian Touring Cars: 1. Kasha Sai (Salem) (16.699).
Fastest car: Radha Selvarajan (Chennai) (12.693).
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Sandeep, Arjun score fluent wins; Teenagers Nabil, Sohil top LGB1300
- Sandeep Kumar, Arjun Narendran score fluent wins
- Teenagers Nabil Hussain, Sohil Shah top in Formula LGB 1300
Chennai, July 21: Sandeep Kumar (MRF F1600) and Arjun Narendran (Indian Touring Cars) chalked up impressive victories to grab the spotlight in the third round of MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship at the MMRT, here on Saturday.
Starting from pole position, Sandeep Kumar, 24, from Chennai, won virtually untroubled though he trailed Nirmal Umashankar briefly before moving into the lead midway through the first of the eight-lap race. Nirmal, a 16-year old also from Chennai started second on the grid but was subsequently penalised for a jump-start with a drive-through which he failed to obey leading to a 30-second penalty which placed him 12th and last after a spin at Turn-1. Sandeep barely turned a wheel wrong to emerge a comfortable winner.
“It was tough at the start as Nirmal got past me when the lights went out. But I took him midway through the first lap itself and after he spun, I had a good lead. The win helped me to earn some big points (25) after my disappointing run in the first round last month when I finished fourth and had two DNFs in the next two races. Tomorrow, we have two more races and I hope to pick up more points,” said Sandeep, a practicing Corporate lawyer.
Further down the grid, championship leader Ashwin Datta, 19, who had scored a triple in the previous round at Coimbatore, got stuck in the mid-grid bunch and finished a distant seventh in his maiden race at the MMRT while Raghul Rangasamy and Goutham Parekh came in second and third.
An equally impressive winner was Arjun Narendran (Arka Motorsports), the defending champion in the Indian Touring Cars, as he vanquished seasoned Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) in a battle between two Coimbatore stars. Narendran, after sitting out the earlier two rounds, marked his return with a brilliant drive to beat Balu, who had a double in the previous outing at Coimbatore last month. Finishing behind Narendran and Balu was Bengaluru’s Ashish Ramaswamy (Arka Motorsports) who continues to lead the points table with a tally of 83.
Bengaluru’s Varun Anekar led a 1-2 finish for Race Concepts team in the Super Stock class with Abhinay Bikkani in tow and K Srinivasa Teja (Performance Racing) completing the podium. Goa’s Chrys D’Souza (Unimek Racing), Vinod Subramaniam from Erode (Team N1) topped the Indian Junior Touring Cars and Esteem Cup category, respectively, and which were run concurrently with the Super Stock class.
Meanwhile, the Formula LGB 1300 double-header today saw two young guns and MSport team-mates Sohil Shah, 17, a schoolboy from Bengaluru and Chennai collegian Nabil Hussain, 19, winning a race apiece after coming through tight contests. Hussain, thus, consolidated his top position on the leaderboard with 95 points, followed by Shah and Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motorsports), both tied on 83.
Thane’s Saurav Bandyopadhyay, who started second on the grid, notched his third career win in the Volkswagen Ameo Cup with a measure of comfort after initial fight. Finishing behind him were Anmol Singh Sahil from Ghaziabad and pole-sitter Dhruv Mohite (Kolhapur).
The results (Provisional – all 8 laps unless mentioned):
MRF F1600 (Race 1): 1. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai)(13 mins,37.418sec); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (Kancheepuram) (13:40.097); 3. Goutham Parekh (Chennai) (13:40.739).
Formula LGB 1300 (Race 1): 1. Sohil Shah (MSport) (15:03.149); 2. Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motorsports) (15:06.013); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (DTS Racing) (15:06.469). Race 2 (7 laps): 1. Nabil Hussain (MSport) (13:20.115); 2. Sohil Shah (MSport) (13:20.567); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (DTS Racing) (13:22.308).
Indian Touring Cars (Race 1): 1. Arjun Narendran (Arka Motorsports) (15:12.873); 2. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) (15:13.669); 3. Ashish Ramasamy (Arka Motorsports) (15:21.950).
Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race 1): 1. Chrys D’Souza (Unimek Racing) (17:08.455); 2. Prabhu AS (Arka Motors) (17:42.363).
Super Stock (Race 1): 1. Varun Anekar (Race Concepts) (15:59.936); 2. Abhinay Bikkani (Race Concepts)(16:06.246); 3. K Srinivas Teja (Performance Racing)(16:20.505).
Esteem Cup (Race 1): 1. Vinod Subramaniam (Team N1) (16:43.970); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) (17:03.467); 3. Alisha Abdullah (Infinite Piston) (17:34.220).
Turbo (Support Race 1): 1. Karthik Tharani (Chennai) (15:26.086); 2. Rayomand Banajee (Mumbai) (15:41.006); 3. Ishaan Dodhiwala (Hyderabad) (15:42.859).
Volkswagen Ameo Cup (Race 1): 1. Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Thane) (15:49.436); 2. Anmol Singh Sahil (Ghaziabad) (15:54.147): 3. Dhruv Mohite (Kohlapur) (15:54.203).
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Sandeep Kumar grabs pole in MRF F1600; Arjun Narendran quickest in Indian Touring Cars
Chennai, 20 July 2018: Local lad Sandeep Kumar, 24, put the hammer down by grabbing pole position in the MRF F1600 class as the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship commenced at the MMRT, here on Friday.
Sandeep, a practicing corporate lawyer in Chennai, had finished first runner-up in the MRF F1600 last year, thus missing a ticket to the Mazda Road To Indy shootout, and is determined to go one better this time. “I pushed really hard today, almost to the very limit,” said Sandeep after posting a best lap of one minute, 39.999 seconds around the 3.716 Kms track to set himself up for this weekend’s triple-header.
Sharing the front row with Sandeep is another Chennai driver, Nirmal Umashanker (01:40.310) ahead of Goa’s Keith D’Souza (01:40.069) while championship leader 19-year old Ashwin Datta who had won all the three races in the previous round in Coimbatore, will start eighth on the grid after posting a best of 01:40.685.
Meanwhile, defending champion in the premier Indian Touring Cars class, Arjun Narendran (ARKA Motorsports) from Coimbatore, having missed the previous rounds, made an immediate impact on his return to racing by posting pole winning time of 01:52.053, edging veteran Arjun Balu (Race Concepts), also from Coimbatore, who had won both the races in the previous round. Balu, in his first season in five years, clocked 01:52.053 ahead of championship leader Bengaluru’s Ashish Ramaswamy (ARKA Motorsports) who did 01:53.177.
Pole position winners in other categories were: Nikunj Vagh of Team N1 (Indian Junior Touring Cars) from Mumbai, Varun Anekar of Race Concepts (Super Stock) from Bengaluru and Vinod S of Team N1 (Esteem Cup) from Erode.
Dhruv Mohite from Kolhapur, leader in the Volkswagen Ameo Cup following his double in Coimbatore round last month, took pole position ahead of Thane’s Saurav Bandyopadhyay and Anmol Singh Sahil from Ghaziabad.
The results (qualifying):
MRF F1600: 1. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (01min, 39.999secs); 2. Nirmal Umashanker (Chennai) (01:40.045); 3. Keith D’Souza (Goa) (01:40.069).
Indian Touring Cars: 1. Arjun Narendran (Arka Motorsports) (01:52.053); 2. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) (01:52.350); 3. Ashish Ramasamy (Arka Motorsports) (01:53.177).
Indian Junior Touring Cars: 1. Nikunj Vagh (Team N1) (02: 04.493); 2. Chrys D’Souza (Unimek Racing) (02:06.663);3. Prabu AS (Arka Motors) (02:06.684).
Super Stock: 1. Varun Anekar (Race Concepts) (01:58.143); 2. Abhinay Bikkani (Race Concepts)(01:59.945); 3. K. Srinivasa Teja (Performance Racing) (02:00.026).
Esteem Cup: 1. S Vinod (Team N1) (02:01.642); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) (02:02.600); 3. Alisha Abdullah (Infinite Piston) (02:06.878).
Volkswagen Ameo Cup: 1. Dhruv Mohite (Kohlapur) (01:54.713); 2. Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Thane) (01:55.197); 3. Anmol Singh Sahil (Ghaziabad)(01:55.326).
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MRF F1600 triple-header to highlight 12-race card: 4w Racing Nationals
Irrungattukottai, 19 July 2018: The third round of the MRF Indian National Racing Championship which has never failed to dish out high octane action while witnessing emergence of fresh talent, gets off to a start at the MMRT, about 40 km from Chennai, on Friday even as the competition hots up among title contenders in various categories. The Racing Nationals are organised by Madras Motor Sports Club under the aegis of the National governing body for the sport, the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (fmsci).The championship returns to the MMRT after a gap of five months after the first round in February and the next in Coimbatore last month. A card of 12 races has been scheduled for the weekend. The programme includes Volkswagen Ameo Cup besides the first round of the MMSC fmsci Indian National Drag Racing Championship 2018 for four-wheelers which will be run post-lunch on Saturday and Sunday,
The three races in the MRF F1600, now in its seventh season, has proven to be an excellent platform for young guns to showcase their racing talent. The added incentive to the winner of the championship in the MRF F1600 is the chance to participate in the Mazda Road to Indy shootout in the United States later this year which has been organized by the MMSC. The winner of the shootout will receive a scholarship of USD 200,000.
The previous round at Coimbatore witnessed the emergence of 19-year old Ashwin Datta from Chennai who won all three MRF F1600 races in a display of raw pace that blitzed the field and gave himself a head-start in the championship.
The other open-wheel single-seater category, Formula LGB 1300, threw up three different winners – Team MSport’s Nabil Hussain and Sohail Shah, and Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motorsports) – in the season-opening triple-header in Coimbatore last month that accurately reflected the competitiveness of the races.
Among saloon cars, the premier Indian Touring Cars category should witness the more thrilling action. The previous round in Coimbatore was all about returning stars as Coimbatore ace Arjun Balu (Race Concepts), back on track after a five-year break, won both the races to close in on championship leader Ashish Ramaswamy (ARKA Motorsports) from Bengaluru. Just 18 points separate the duo with veteran B Vijayakumar (Prime Racing) and Nikanth Ram (ARKA Motorsports) sandwiched in between.
A fresh addition to this grid is last year’s champion, Coimbatore-based Arjun Narendran (ARKA Motorsports) who returns after sitting out the previous two rounds and his presence is expected to further sharpen the competitive edge.
In the other saloon cars categories, K Srinivas Teja (Prime Racing) heads the Super Stock with one win and four podiums as also Prabhu AS (ARKA Motorsports) in the Indian Junior Touring Cars while Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing), having won four races, is ahead in the Esteem Cup.
The Round 2 of Volkswagen Ameo Cup is again expected to dish out its share of thrillers as witnessed in the previous round at Coimbatore where Kolhapur’s Dhruv Mohite achieved a credible double to take a firm lead in the championship.
About Madras Motor Sports Club: The Madras Motor Sports Club has been the pioneer in developing and promoting motorsport in India since 1953, and we look to further improve in the years to come. It is the club’s endeavour to provide more opportunities for competitors, and to this end, it has chalked out various progressive programmes. From the days of Sholavaram , MMSC built its own racetrack which was inaugurated in 1979 and secured its FIA Grade-2 international certification in 2014, making it the only club which owns such a facility that has been further upgraded with international-standard Paddock, complete with VIP hospitality suites, 20 spacious garages and a separate Paddock on the western side with its own circuit. The club has organised the Porsche Super Cup, Formula Campos, Formula Asia, Asian touring car championships, Formula 3, Tata Prima Truck racing championship, the FIM Asia Road Racing Championships (2-wheelers) besides a host of other motorsport events over the years. The club also has active participation for its events from vehicle manufacturers who also use the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) extensively for testing their products.
