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Category: Non-F1
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Jehan Daruvala joins MP Motorsport for 2023: F2
The 24-year-old will partner former Prema team mate Dennis Hauger
Jehan will combine his F2 campaign with his role as Mahindra Racing’s Formula E reserve
Mumbai, 23 Jan 2023: India’s Jehan Daruvala will race for reigning Formula 2 champions MP Motorsport of Netherlands, as he returns to the Formula One feeder series in 2023.
The 24-year-old, an established front-runner in the category, will drive alongside Norwegian Dennis Hauger, his Prema Racing team mate from last year.
Jehan will combine his F2 campaign with his Formula E role with Indian manufacturer Mahindra Racing, who announced him as their reserve driver in November.
Jehan, a four-time Formula 2 winner, got his first taste of MP Motorsport machinery in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi in November last year. He was immediately on the pace, setting the second-quickest time on the second day of the three-day test, and also gelled well with the team’s mechanics and engineers.
Jehan said, “I’m extremely excited to be racing for MP Motorsport. The team has progressed tremendously and impressed the entire F2 field with their performances last year. They showed consistent front-running pace, wrapped up both the drivers’ and team’s titles and go into the 2023 season as the team to beat. I am confident Dennis and I can build on that success and lead the team to more race wins, podiums and, hopefully, championship glory in 2023.”
MP Motorsport team principal Sander Dorsman said, “At MP, we are delighted to welcome Jehan to our FIA F2 team. He has been a consistent frontrunner right from his debut in the category, taking wins in every F2 season he has competed in. His experience will be of great value to the team, so we are very much aiming for a repeat of last year’s form.”
Headquartered in the Netherlands, MP Motorsport last year became only the second team in Formula 2 history to achieve the title double. The outfit chalked up five races wins with championship winner Felipe Drugovich and also scored seven further podiums.
Jehan made his single-seater motorsport debut in 2015 in the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Championship series. The Indian has won in every category he has raced in and finished third in the 2019 FIA F3 championship. He made the step up to F2 in 2020 and has raced to four wins and 15 podiums. Last year, he successfully completed three Formula One test sessions with former champions McLaren, making him eligible for a Formula One superlicence. Jehan has also been signed up by Mahindra Racing to serve as the Indian manufacturer’s Formula E reserve driver.
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Pune’s 14-year Sai Shiva Makesh gets maiden podium
Chennai, January 22: Fourteen-year-old Sai Shiva Makesh, the youngest among all the drivers in the National Championship, pulled a rabbit out of his hat to clinch his maiden podium, taking a well-defended second place in the Formula LGB class as the third and penultimate round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2022 concluded at the Madras International Circuit here on Sunday.
The 9th Standard student of Bishop’s school in Pune, started on P3 in the reverse grid and defended well to keep his position till the last lap but with the driver ahead of him spinning in the last corner, Sai Shiva clinched a second place in the Formula LGB 1300 Race 2. After making his presence felt in the karting Nationals, Sai Shiva graduated to the Formula cars, only this year making his debut in the last round, the Round 2 of the Championship.
MSport’s Raghul Rangasamy (left) pats rookie Sai Shiva as Team head Fayaz (right, in whites) looks on. Photo by Shajahan The MRF Formula 2000 category had three races today making it four races in this round. And the premier class saw four different winners from four races while Coimbatore ace Arjun Narendran bagged a double in the Indian Touring Cars class
The competition in the MRF F2000 category was fierce with Sohil Shah (Bengaluru), Dillon Thomas Zachariah (Chennai), Sai Sanjay (Salem) and Mohammed Ryan (Chennai) each winning a race over the weekend.
If Sohil Shah had won the first race yesterday quite comfortably, Dillon, Sai Sanjay and Mohammed Ryan had to earn their victories today. Dillon shrugged off an otherwise disappointing weekend, to notch his maiden win of the season while Ryan held off Sohil Shah in the next outing. It was then Sai Sanjay’s turn to edge out Sohil Shah in the fourth race to safeguard his top position in the championship standings.
Arjun Narendran (Arka Motorsports), winner of Race-1 yesterday, swept to another fine win starting from P5 on the reverse grid in the Indian Touring Cars category. Championship leader Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) from Coimbatore who moved up after starting P8, limped behind him for second place with his car suffering from loss of power, while Hyderabad’s Jeet Jabakh (Rayo Racing) finished a distant third in the 12-lap race interrupted by a Safety Car period.
In the Indian Junior Touring Cars category, Akkineni Anand Prasad led a podium sweep for Performance Racing with Raja Rajan and Srinivas Teja coming in second and third, respectively. Another Performance Racing driver, Ritesh Rai, also from Chennai, topped the Super Stock category to complete a double for the weekend.
Earlier, the experienced Raghul Rangasamy (MSport) survived tough competition to notch his third win in the Formula LGB 1300 category after starting from P8 on the reverse grid. Raghul received close attention from Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) before the latter skidded off the track at the last corner when the pair was going wheel-to-wheel.
The incident saw Pune’s Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (MSport) finishing second, followed by Tijil Rao (DTS Racing) from Bengaluru.
Chandigarh’s Angad Mathroo notched his second win of the season in the MRF Saloon Cars (Toyota Etios) category. The victory brought him within 10 points of championship leader Justin Singh (Gurugram) who finished second ahead of Jai Prashanth Venkat (Coimbatore).
Later, Chennai’s Sandeep Kumar completed a clean sweep by winning his fourth consecutive race in the Volkswagen Polo Cup this weekend.
The fourth and concluding round will be held at the same venue on the weekend of January 27-29.
MRF Formula 2000 (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Dillon Thomas Zachariah (Chennai) (15mins, 41.751sec); 2. Divy Nandan (Gurugram) (15:45.155); 3. Mohamed Ryan (Chennai) (15:45.403). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Mohamed Ryan (15:12.845); 2. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (15:13.898); 3. Divy Nandan (15:19.875). Race-4 (10 laps): 1. Sai Sanjay T (Salem) (15:35.461); 2. Sohil Shah (15:36.167); 3. Dillon Thomas Zachariah (15:47.167).
Indian Touring Cars (Race-2, 12 laps): 1. Arjun Narendran (Coimbatore, Arka Motorsports) (27:34.644); 2. Arjun Balu (Coimbatore, Race Concepts) (27:34.913); 3. Jeet Jabakh (Hyderabad, Rayo Racing) (27:52.303).
Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-2, 12 laps): 1. Akkineni Anand Prasad (Chennai, Performance Racing) (28:07.045); 2. Raja Rajan (Chennai, Performance Racing) (28:11.000); K Srinivas Teja (Chennai, Performance Racing) (28:15.481).
Super Stock (Race-2, 12 laps): 1. Ritesh Rai (Chennai, Performance Racing) (29:05.372); 2. Diljith TS (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (29:13.249); Jason Saldanha (Mangaluru, DB Motorsports) (29:14.491).
MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios) (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Angad Mathroo (Chandigarh) (20:52.676); 2. Justin Singh (Gurugram) (20:54.991); 3. Jai Prashanth Venkat (Coimbatore) (21:19.977).
Formula LGB 1300 (Race-2, 9 laps): 1. Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram, MSport) (17:11.423); 2. Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (Pune, MSport) (17:11.572); 3. Tijil Rao (Bengaluru, Momentum Motorsports) (17:20.620).
Volkswagen Polo Cup (Race-3, 8 laps): 1. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (15:43.185); 2. Jeet Jabakh (Hyderabad) (15:47.025); 3. Aditya Swaminathan (Bengaluru) (15:47.891). Race-4 (10 laps): 1. Sandeep Kumar (19:43.676); 2. Raaj Bakharu (Mumbai) (19:48.119); 3. Aditya Swaminathan (Bengaluru) (19:55.032).
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Big wins for Sohil Shah, Arjun Narendran; Double for Sandeep
Chennai, January 21: Sohil Shah from Bengaluru and Coimbatore’s Arjun Narendran won their respective races in the two premier categories, the MRF Formula 2000 and the Indian Touring Cars, respectively, on Day 2 of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2022 at the Madras International Circuit, here on Saturday.
While 21-year old Sohil won untroubled from pole position in a six-car MRF F2000 grid, Arjun Narendran (Arka Motorsports), the 29-year old former National champion, made the best of the situation after pole-sitter and last year’s champion Arjun Balu retired in the second lap with mechanical issues, to post his maiden win of the season.
Defending champion, Bengaluru’s 19-year old Tijil Rao (Momentum Motorsports) won the Formula LGB 1300 race that was red-flagged after five laps following a crash involving two cars (drivers okay).
Meanwhile, Chennai’s Sandeep Kumar achieved a double in the Volkswagen Polo Cup by winning both races today. He topped Race-1 from pole position and the second from P8 on the reverse grid.
Sandeep Kumar at Madras International Circuit on Saturday. Photos Anand Philar Raja Rajan from Chennai (Performance Racing) won ien the Indian Junior Touring Cars category and team-mate Ritesh Rai, also from Chennai, clinched the Super Stock class.
For Sohil Shah, it was a lights-to-flag victory. Starting from pole position, he gradually increased his lead that grew to a little over three seconds at the finish. Behind him, Chennai’s Mohamed Ryan and championship leader Sai Sanjay (Salem) came in second and third.
Gurugram’s Justin Singh consolidated his position in the MRF Saloon Cars (Toyota Etios) category by notching his fourth win in six starts.
The results (Provisional):
MRF F2000 (Race-1, 8 laps): 1. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (12mins, 27.972sec); 2. Mohamed Ryan (Chennai) (12:31.048); 3. Sai Sanjay T (Salem) (12:36.671).
Indian Touring Cars (Race-1, 10 laps): 1. Arjun Narendran (Coimbatore, Arka Motorsports) (18:56.144); 2. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai, Rayo Racing) (19:03.394); 3. Jeet Jabakh (Hyderabad, Rayo Racing) (19:22.955).
Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-1, 10 laps): 1. Raja Rajan (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:30.161); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:31.523); 3. Gurunath Meiyappan (Chennai, Race Concepts) (19:31.882).
Super Stock (Race-1, 9 laps): 1. Ritesh Rai (Chennai, Performance Racing) (18:59.178); 2. Narendran S (Chennai, Redline Racing) (19:15.744); 3. Dilijith TS (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (19:16.928).
MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios) (Race-1, 8 laps): 1. Justin Singh (Gurugram) (16:31.126); 2. Diana Pundole (Pune) (16:36.109); 3. Zahan Commissariat (Mumbai) (16:44.802).
Formula LGB 1300 (Race-1, 5 laps): 1. Tijil Rao (Bengaluru, Momentum Motorsports) (09:35.064); 2. Viswas Vijayraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) (09:35.418); 3. Vinith Kumar (Tirupur, DTS Racing) (09:35.871).
Volkswagen Polo Cup (Race-1, 8 laps): 1. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (15:43.450); 2. Pratik Sonawane (Mumbai) (15:49.732); 3. Jeet Jabakh (Hyderabad) (15:51.490). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (19:47.287); 2. Raaj Bakharu (Mumbai) (19:54.806); 3. Pratik Sonawane (Mumbai) (19:55.983).
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Sohil Shah takes pole position: Car Racing Nationals
Chennai, 20 Jan 2023: Sohil Shah, the 21-year old from Bengaluru, qualified for pole position in the MRF Formula 2000 category as the third and penultimate round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2022 commenced at the Madras International Circuit here on Friday.
In the only other qualifying session, for Volkswagen Polo Cup, Chennai’s Sandeep Kumar, the defending champion, grabbed the pole position to complete a fine day as he was also quickest in the free practice session for the touring cars category (Indian Touring Cars), earlier in the day.
Sohil, a former National karting champion, who sat out the previous five races over two rounds, carried his free practice form into the qualifying session where he put in a lap of one minute, 31.910 secs, to take P1 for tomorrow’s Race-1, ahead of Chennai’s Mohammed Ryan (01:32.062). Championship leader Sai Sanjay (01:32.404) from Salem qualified for P3.
Sandeep Kumar, 30, shaved almost a second off his practice session timing, with a lap of 01:55.729 in the qualifying run. Pune’s Pratik Sonawane, the 2019 VW Ameo Cup vice-champion, filled the front row clocking 01:56.376.
Earlier in the day during practice sessions, Chennai drivers hogged the limelight in the touring cars categories. Sandeep Kumar (Rayo Racing) was the quickest among Indian Touring Cars in a Volkswagen Virtus, clocking a best lap of 01:54.751. Akkineni Anand Prasad (Performance Racing, 01:55.286) topped in the Indian Junior Touring Cars class while team-mate Ritesh Rai (02:04.254) was the best in the Super Stock. Incidentally, championship leader in the ITC category, Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) from Coimbatore sat out the practice session due to engine issues.
In other practice sessions, Mamallapuram’s Raghul Rangasamy (MSport, 01.51,696) headed the timesheet in the Formula LGB 1300 category, while Justin Singh from Gurugram (02:02.422) topped the MRF Saloon Cars (Toyota Etios) field.
The results (qualifying – top 3):
MRF F2000: 1. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (1min, 31.910sec); 2. Mohamed Ryan (Chennai) (01:32.062); 3. Sai Sanjay T (Salem) (01:32.404);
Volkswagen Polo Cup: 1. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (1:55.729); 2. Pratik Sonawane (Mumbai) (1;56.376); 3. Jeet Jabakh (Hyderabad) (1:56.630).
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Chirag Ghorpade tops F2000 race; Double for Arjun, Raghul
Chennai, 8 Jan 2023: Bengaluru’s Chirag Ghropade held his nerve to win his second race of the season in the premier MRF Formula 2000 category on the concluding day of the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2022 at the Madras International Circuit, here on Sunday.
Also in the limelight were Coimbatore veteran Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) and Mamallapuram’s Raghul Rangasamy (MSport) who completed a double each this weekend in the Indian Touring Cars and the Formula LGB category, respectively.
The day’s schedule came to an abrupt end with two remaining races cancelled following the demise of Chennai racer KE Kumar in a hospital where he was attended to for the injuries he suffered in a crash during the saloon cars race.
Ghorpade, 17, did well to survive close attention from Salem’s Sai Sanjay, before crossing the finish line while Mohammed Ryan from Chennai completed the podium.
“It (the win) was a long time coming. I struggled a bit at the start as we had new tyres fitted in. Once the tyres heated up, I managed to open up a good lead, but had to defend my position at certain times,” said Ghorpade.
In contrast, Balu, starting P5 on the reverse grid, showed amazing pace as he jumped into the lead by Turn-4 in the very opening lap of the scheduled 12-lap race which was reduced to nine after it was red-flagged following the incident involving Kumar and then re-started. Thereafter, Balu again went into cruise mode to destroy the field.
Chennai’s Raja Rajan (Performance Racing) topped in the Indian Junior Touring Cars category while another local racer, Narendran S (Redline Racing) won in the Super Stock class.
Rangasamy, who earlier in the day had won the Formula LGB 1300 race after starting form P11 on the reverse grid, continued his winning-ways by topping the next outing to complete a fine double.
The third round of the championship is slated for January 20-22 at the same venue followed by the fourth and concluding round on January 27-29.
The results (Provisional):
MRF F2000 (Race-3, 10 laps): 1. Chirag Ghorpade (Bengaluru) (15mins, 48.752secs); 2. Sai Sanjay T (Salem) (15:49.462); 3. Mohamed Ryan (Chennai) 15:51.211).
Indian Touring Cars (Race-2, 9 laps): 1. Arjun Balu (Coimbatore, Race Concepts) (17:30.324); 2. Ananth Pithawalla (Mumbai, Team N1) (17:43.103); 3. Biren Pithawalla (Mumbai, Team N1) (17:44.389).
Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-2, 9 laps): 1. Raja Rajan (Chennai, Performance Racing) (17:55.058); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Performance Racing) (18:02.406); 3. Akkineni Anand Prasad (Chennai, Performance Racing) (18:06.320).
Super Stock (Race-2, 9 laps): 1. Narendran (Chennai, Redline Racing) (19:18.726); 2. Ritesh Rai (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:23.585); 3. Fahad Kutty (Mumbai, Redline Racing) (19:26.875).
Formula LGB 1300 (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram, MSport) (18:57.069); 2. Diljith Shaji (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (18:57.511); 3. Tijil Rao (Bengaluru, Momentum Motorsports) (18:58.585). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Raghul Rangasamy (15:14.465); 2. Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) (15:14.620); 3. Chetan Surineni (Bengaluru, Momentum Motorsports) (15:17.331).
MRF Saloon Cars (Toyota Etios, Race-3, 8 laps): 1. Justin Singh (Gurugram) (16:44.314); 2. Angad Mathroo (Chandigarh) (16:44.325); 3. Jai Prashanth Venkat (Coimbatore) (16:54.057).
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Racing stalwart KE Kumar succumbs to injuries
Chennai, 8 Jan 2023: K.E. Kumar, 59, a noted and well-respected racer, died at the hospital following a crash in the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2022 at the Madras International Circuit, here on Sunday.
The incident occurred when Kumar’s car came in contact with that of a competitor during the saloon cars race this morning. The car slid across the track and landed on the roof after slamming into a fence.
The race was immediately stopped (red flag). Within minutes, Kumar was extricated from the wreckage and transferred into an ambulance before being shifted to a nearby hospital after a preliminary examination at the track’s Medical Centre. Despite the best efforts of the hospital’s doctors, he succumbed to injuries.
Chairman of the Meet Vicky Chandhok said: “It is a most unfortunate incident. Kumar was an experienced racer. I have known him for several decades as a friend and competitor. The MMSC and entire racing fraternity mourn his passing away and convey heartfelt condolences to his family.”
Chandhok added that the national governing body for the sport FMSCI and the organisers, MMSC, have launched an investigation into the incident. Meanwhile, as a mark of respect to Kumar, who was a life member of MMSC, the remainder of the day’s schedule was cancelled.
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Divy Nandan, Sai Sanjay share honours in MRF F2000
Chennai, 7 Jan 2023: Gurugram’s Divy Nandan and Salem lad Sai Sanjay notched double podium apiece with a win and a third place in the two MRF F2000 races that headlined the opening day of the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2022 at the Madras International Circuit here on Saturday.
Divy Nandan, 20, who enjoyed a great start in the first race for a comfortable win, finished the day with a third-place finish in the next outing starting from P6. Sai Sanjay, also 20, made amends for a disappointing first race with a fine win in the next starting from P4.
Also tasting success today was Nellore’s 24-year old Viswas Vijayraj (DTS Racing) in the Formula LGB 1300 category, with a pole-to-flag effort.
Earlier, 10-times National champion Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) powered to another fluent win in the premier Indian Touring Cars category as he led a Coimbatore sweep of the podium spots, sparing over seven seconds to Arjun Narendran (Arka Motorsports) while 77-year old D Vidya Prakash (Performance Racing), the oldest man in the championship, finished third.
The ITC along with Indian Junior Touring Cars and the Super Stock classes, was run in a combined grid of 27 cars that saw as many as four drivers penalized for jump start resulting in a couple of podium finishers getting demoted.
Local veteran Gurunath Meiyappan (Race Concepts) took the honours in the IJTC class with Narendran S (Redline Racing), also from Chennai, topping the Super Stock category.
Meanwhile, Viswas Vijayaraj chalked up a dominating win from pole to flag in the Formula LGB 1300 category race, easily holding off second-placed Mamallapuram veteran Raghul Rangasamy (MSport) while local ace Deepak Ravikumar (Momentum Motorsports) came in third with a last-lap pass on Bengaluru youngster and team-mate Tijil Rao.
Justin Singh (Gurugram) and Angad Mathroo (Chandigarh) won a race apiece in the MRF Saloon Cars (Toyota Etios) category.
MRF F2000 (Race-1, 8 laps): 1. Divy Nandan (Gurugram) (12mins, 42.224secs); 2. Mohamed Ryan (Chennai) (12:42.715); 3. Sai Sanjay T (Salem) (12:43.385).
Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Sai Sanjay T (16:01.632); 2. Chirag Ghorpade (Bengaluru) (16:03.564); 3. Divy Nandan (16:08.073).
Indian Touring Cars (Race-1, 10 laps): 1. Arjun Balu (Coimbatore, Race Concepts) (19:04.128); 2. Arjun Narendran (Coimbatore, Arka Motorsports) (19:11.427); 3. Vidya Prakash (Coimbatore) (20:07.604).
Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-1, 10 laps): 1. Gurunath Meiyyappan (Chennai, Race Concepts) (19:32.970); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:36.462); 3. Akkineni Anand Prasad (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:52.477).
Super Stock (Race-1, 9 laps): 1. Narendran S (Chennai, Redline Racing) (19:07.337); 2. Ritesh Rai (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:07.867); 3. Angad Mathroo (Chandigarh, Pvt) (19:41.701).
Formula LGB 1300 (Race-1, 8 laps): 1. Viswas Vijayraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) (15:06.989); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (Mahabalipuram, MSport) (15:10.325); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Momentum Motorsports) (15:13.839).
MRF Saloon Cars (Toyota Etios, Race-1, 8 laps): 1. Justin Singh (Gurugram, Redline Racing) (16:34.046); 2. Diana Pundole (Pune, Redline Racing) (16:34.050); 3. Angad Mathroo (Chandigarh, Redline Racing) (16:58.560). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Mathroo (20:55.583); 2. Jai Prashanth Venkat (Coimbatore, Redline Racing) (21:13.776); 3. Zahan Commissariat (Mumbai, Redline Racing) (21:14.940).
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Indian car racing Nationals resumes this week-end
Chennai, 5 Jan 2023: The MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2022 resumes this weekend after a three-month break with the second round scheduled for January 6-8 at the Madras International Circuit.
Monsoon rains and cyclone Mandous led to an enforced break, but despite the longish interval, over 60 entries have been received for the second round which will commence on Friday with free practice sessions, followed by qualifying and 13 races spread over Saturday and Sunday.
It will be a busy month for the competitors as the third and fourth (concluding) rounds are scheduled for January 20-22 and January 27-29, also at the MIC, to complete the 2022 championship.
Meanwhile, in a major initiative, promoters Madras Motor Sports Club, celebrating their 70th anniversary, have taken another step forward by going digital with event information, including results, via the infoboard application “SPORTITY”. Users can access the information with the password “MRFCARS2022”.
Chairman of the Meet and MMSC Vice-President Vicky Chandhok said: “By opting for the Sportity application, we enable racing enthusiasts and fans to access information about the event, including result sheets, from their mobile phones. This will supplement our live streaming of the races. It is another MMSC initiative as we endeavour to keep up with the changing times and embrace technology.”
Undoubtedly, the MRF Formula 2000, among the quickest racing cars in India, will highlight the weekend card with a bouquet of four races, including one held over from the previous round in October that was truncated due to rains.
The other categories – Indian Touring Cars, Indian Junior Touring Cars, Super Stock, MRF Saloon Cars (Toyota Etios) and the Formula LGB 1300 – will all have three races apiece.
As for the competition on track, the races are expected to be close and exciting as was the case in the first round in October. Salem lad Sai Sanjay and Bengaluru’s Chirag Ghorapde won a race apiece in the MRF F2000 where both outings in the first round witnessed wheel-to-wheel competition.
In the premier Indian Touring Cars category, defending champion Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) from Coimbatore, piloting the modified Honda City VTec, was in a league of his own, taking the flag in the only race run in this class.
About Madras Motor Sports Club
Since its humble beginnings in 1953, the Madras Motor Sports Club has grown in stature as the hub of motorsport activity in India. Having moved its racing activities from Sholavaram to its present location, the Madras International Circuit (earlier MMRT), in Sriperumbudur in 1979, MMSC has kept pace with changing times by upgrading facilities. At a cost of about Rs 20 Crore, the MMSC built a pit complex comprising 20 garages, VIP hospitality suites and a viewing gallery, on the eastern side, apart from a second Paddock on the western side with its own short circuit. Parallelly, MMSC imported timing equipment specifically for Drag racing. The Control Room too was upgraded with state-of-the-art hardware while the track itself was improved to meet the exacting FIA standards for Grade-2 certification. MMSC also constructed a 500-capacity grand stand with provision for garages / storage below. In another upgrade, the MMSC installed Digi flags from TAG Heuer Chronolec that will be positioned strategically around the track. The facilities are also extensively used by various vehicle manufacturers for testing their products, displays and corporate days.
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Indian Supercross/Motocross Archives: Hall of Fame
Motocross and Supercross are the popular disciplines of motorsports which enjoyed huge fan following in India. The motocross events attract huge crowds, especially in Bengaluru, Pune and Coimbatore for many years now.
From 2005 onwards, the motocross events gave way to the new nomen clature when the arrival of MRF National Supercross Championships.
Here INDIAinF1 attempts to pool all the articles in one place. It is work in progress and we aim to put together a Hall of Fame for Supercross by the end of the year 2023:
2018:
Round 4: Jaipur: 10 September 2018: In rain Jinan beats Harith Noah.
2017:
Round 4: Kolhapur: 24 August 2017: Karan wins Round 4
Round 5: Goa: 14 October:
Round 6: Bengaluru: 9 December 2017:
2013 – MRF National Supercross Championship
Final, Round 5: Coimbatore: 21 November 2013: TVS Racing’s Aravind KP wins MRF National Supercross Championship
2012 – MRF National Supercross Championship
2011 – MRF National Supercross Championship
Round 1: Bengaluru: 15 May 2011: HK Pradeep bags top honours in MRF Supercross Round 1
Round 2: Coimbatore: 22 May 2011: KP Arvind leads TVS domination in Round 2
2010 – MRF National Supercross Championship
Final Round : Pune: 13 December 2010: CS Santosh blazes away to National Supercross title
2009 – MRF Supercross Challenge
Round 1: Goa: 24 May 2009: Team TVS Racing Sweep First Round Of MRF Supercross Challenge 2009
Round 2: Hyderabad: 31 May 2009: TK Vishwanath, Veer Patel share honours in Foreign Class
2008 – MRF National Supercross Championship
Round 1: Hyderabad: 20 July 2008: CS Santosh wins battles with Veer, crowned champ
2007 – MRF National Supercross Championship
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3: Baroda: 10 June 2007: C S Santosh of TVS Racing capture’s glory
Round 4: Kolhapur: 9 October 2007: TVS’ Karan Kadam ‘best rider of the day’
Round 5: Bangalore: 9 December 2007: Karan Kadam crowned 2007 MRF Motocross champion
2006 – MRF National Supercross Championship
Round 1: Pune: 14 May 2006: Vijaykumar claims honours in Round 1
Round 2: Chennai: 20 August 2006: Vijaykumar, Karan Kadam win a moto each; Vijay, best rider
Round 3: Coimbatore: 8 October 2006: TVS’ Karan Kadam takes honours at Round 3
Round 4: Goa: 29 October 2006: Karan Kadam of TVS Racing declared best rider.
2005 – MRF National Supercross Championship
Round 1: Goa: 8 May 2005: Vijaykumar bags double in top class; TVS Racing Sweeps MRF National Supercross
Round 2: Pune: 15 May 2005: CS Santosh, Eathasham share honours; Vijaykumar keeps lead
Round 3: Vadodara: 23 October 2005: Vijaykumar falls to CS Santosh; Bengalurean wins both motos
Round 4: Chandigarh: 5 Nov 2005: CS Santosh hogs limelight winning ‘Best Rider’.
2004:
Round 1: Chandigarh: 29 Feb 2004: C. Vijay Kumar of TVS Racing excels, awarded ‘Best Rider Of The Day’
Round 2:
Round 3: Chennai: 1 August 2004: Vijaykumar enthralls Chennai, bags best rider award
Round 4: Pune: 26 September 2004: C Vijaykumar consolidates position in Foreign Open class
Round 5:
2003;
Round 6: Bangalore: 23 Dec 2003: C Vijaykumar rated best; TVS Racing wins National Motocross
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Hemanth Muddappa bags 10th National crown; Alimon clinches top class: Drag Nationals
Chennai, 30 Dec 2022: Reigning champion Hemanth Muddappa added one more title to his glittering shelf to join the rare elite club 10-time National champions, as he clinched the National Championship titles in the superbike category in the fourth and final round of the MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Drag Racing Championship 2022 at the Madras International Circuit here on Friday.
As declared yesterday, Bengaluru’s Alimon Saidalavi won the premier Unrestricted class National Championship with an all-win record, winning the final round with ease astride the Kawasaki Ninja H2.
Champions All: (from left) Prashanth, Hemanth Muddappa, Alimon Saidalavi, Saurabh Parab, Bharath Raj and Abdul Shaikh. Photos by Karan Ravi. Muddappa, with three wins in four outings in the Super Sport 4-stroke 1051-1650cc class retained his title astride a Suzuki Hayabusa. Muddappa’s team Mantra Racing bagged the team honours in both these superbike classes. Muddappa and Mantra Racing combination, thus achieved a record 10 National titles.
Chennai-born engineer from Rockers Racing, Bharath Raj hogged the limelight bagging a hat-trick in the 361-550cc class and made it a grand double adding another National title in the Upto 165cc category. He also helped his team Rockers Racing win the team championship in both the classes.
Puducherry’s Lani Zena Fernandez (RACR Castrol Power Ultimate1) won the Round-4 race which helped her to finish on top in the championship standings in the Girls category (Stock 165cc), just three points ahead of favourite Soundari Ananthraj (AS Motorsports) who finished a distant sixth today.
Lani Zena Fernandez of Puducherry made a brilliant comeback to win the Girls title. Mumbai’s Saurabh Parab, with two wins and four podiums, picked up the National crown in the 551-850cc category. Bengaluru’s Abdul Shaikh of G1 Motors Racing finished second behind Chennai’s Madhan Kumar in the 2-stroke upto 130cc class, but that was enough for the 29-year rider to clinch the National title.
Bharath Raj of Team Rockers Racing bags his fifth National title from two different classes. Round-4 – Provisional results:
Unrestricted: 1. Alimon Saidalavi (Bengaluru) (07.732secs); 2. Attaulla Baig (Bengaluru) (07.956); 3. Hemanth Muddappa (Bengaluru, Mantra Racing) (07.968). National champion: Alimon Saidalavi (Bengaluru). Team champions: Mantra Racing, Bengaluru.
4-Stroke Super Sport 1051-1650cc: 1. Hemanth Muddappa (Bengaluru, Mantra Racing) (07.866); 2. Mujahid Pasha (Bengaluru) (07.877); 3. Attaulla Baig (Bengaluru) (08.038). National champion: Hemanth Muddappa. Team champions: Mantra Racing, Bengaluru.
851-1050cc (Support race): 1. Saurabh Parabh (Mumbai) (07.827); 2. Hemanth Muddappa (Bengaluru, Mantra Racing) (07.861); 3. Mohammed Riyaz (Hyderabad) (08.029).
551-850cc 4-Stroke Super Sport: 1. Saurabh Parab (Mumbai) (08.476); 2. Mohammed Riyaz (Hyderabad) (08.510); Hemanth Muddappa (Bengaluru, Matra Racing) (08.664). National champion: Saurabh Parabh. Team champions: Mantra Racing, Bengaluru.
361-550cc (Super Sport Indian): 1. Nadeem Pasha (Bengaluru) (12.003); 2. Anish Shetty (Bengaluru, PRN Motorsports) (12.020); 3. Bharath Raj (Chennai, Rockers Racing) (12.029). National champion: Bharath Raj. Team champions: Rockers Racing, Chennai.
166-225cc (Support race); 1. Badhusha M (Chennai) (13.438); 2. Srikantha P (Bengaluru) (13.647); 3. Aiyaz Rem (Bengaluru) (14.297).
Upto 165cc (Super Sport Indian): 1. Mohammed Fazil (Bengaluru) (14.095); 2. Mohammed Arfath (Bengaluru) (14.214); 3. Yogeshwaran (Chennai) (14.654). National champion: Bharath Raj. Team champions: Rockers Racing, Chennai.
2-Stroke 131-165cc: 1. Prashanth (Bengaluru) (12.822); 2. Ashok S (Bengaluru) (12.995); 3. Abdul Shaikh (Bengaluru) (13.115). National champion: Prashanth. Team champions: Rockers Racing, Chennai.
2-Stroke Upto 130cc: 1. Madhan Kumar R (Chennai) (13.517); 2. Abdul Shaikh (Bengaluru) (13.551); 3. Arvind Ganesh (Chennai, AP Motorsports) (13.611). National champion: Abdul Shaikh. Team champions: AP Motorsports, Chennai.
GIRLS (165cc, Novice): 1. Lani Zena Fernandez (Puducherry, RACR Castrol Power Ultimate 1) (16.461); 2. Nivetha Jessica (Chennai) (16.601); 3. Aditi Krishnan (Bengaluru) (16.619). National champion: Lani Zena Fernandez. Team champions: Axor Sparks Racing, Chennai.
Abdul Shaikh, National champion 2022 Upto 130cc class.
MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcylce Drag Racing Nationals – Champions for 2022
1. Unrestricted:
Alimon Saidalavi (Bengaluru). Team champions: Mantra Racing, Bengaluru.
2. 4-Stroke Super Sport 1051-1650cc:
Hemanth Muddappa. Team champions: Mantra Racing, Bengaluru.
3. 551-850cc 4-Stroke Super Sport:
Saurabh Parabh. Team Mantra Racing, Bengaluru.
4. 361-550cc (Super Sport Indian):
Bharath Raj. Team champions: Rockers Racing, Chennai.
5. Upto 165cc (Super Sport Indian):
Bharath Raj. Team champions: Rockers Racing, Chennai.
6. 2-Stroke 131-165cc:
Prashanth. Team champions: Rockers Racing, Chennai.
7. 2-Stroke Upto 130cc:
National champion: Abdul Shaikh. Team champions: AP Motorsports, Chennai.
8. GIRLS (165cc, Novice):
National champion: Lani Zena Fernandez. Team champions: Axor Sparks Racing, Chennai.
