INDIA in F1

Category: Non-F1

  • Honda kicks off second season of Idemitsu Talent Hunt from Chennai

    Honda kicks off second season of Idemitsu Talent Hunt from Chennai

    Honda 2wheelers India commences 2nd season of ‘Idemitsu Honda India Talent Hunt’ in Chennai recently. A Honda image

    Chennai, 29 July 2019: The Idemitsu Honda India Talent Hunt received a huge response and after a lengthy process 19 talented youngsters were selected and these riders from across India will be trained and groomed for Season 2 at the home of Indian racing, Chennai.

     The Idemitsu Talent Hunt is Honda’s unique initiative which aims to identify racers starting as young as 12 years. Honda 2Wheelers India uses this platform to groom the best of young Indian riders for a racing career both at national and international level.

    The first round in Chennai saw an overwhelming participation of 18 youngsters from Kolhapur, Mumbai, Satara, Puducherry, Tirur, Bengaluru, Patna, Bokaro, and Vizag. The candidates went through rigourous tests at 3 levels. Starting with their physical fitness, and then moving to race orientation and riding skills for the race track, they were judged and selected. This was followed by a one-on-one interview with candidates and parents/guardians to understand both their motorsport passion and family support.

    Md Mikail on a Honda NSF 250R during a race week-end at MMRT, Chennai, recently.

    After shortlisting in phase 1, the top candidates of the Talent Hunt of Delhi and NCR would be trained and given an opportunity to ride on the track in Phase II. It is from this pool of talent that Honda will pick up the best talent for future development. These final riders will then join the 12 selected riders to race in the Honda Talent Cup CBR 150R category in the 2019 season.

    Sharing an overview on Honda’s aim for developing ‘Iconic Indian Riders’, Prabhu Nagaraj, Vice-President, Brand & Communication, Honda Motorcycle, and Scooter India said: “In 2018 we took a big leap to develop racers at a young age on our structural development path. The young talent which we got from last year are already showing phenomenal results. To accelerate their development, we are constantly providing them exposure and have brought the Moto3 machine NSF250R to India. Looking at the immense passion and potential of these riders, we further extend our leap and start the second edition of the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Hunt. This year, the Talent Hunt will travel to four more cities after Chennai to identify India’s next big racing sensations. I am confident that these budding riders will change the scenario of motorsports in India and make the nation proud at the international podiums as well.”

    IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Hunt 2018 and way forward

    Introduced in 2018, Honda conducted the ‘Idemitsu Honda India Talent Hunt’ in seven cities and identified top 19 young riders with immense potential. As the first step for rider development, 11 of these top riders are now part of the India Talent Cup, the CBR150R class. These riders are already proving their potential on the racetrack. Parallelly, the remaining 8 riders are riding the same Honda machine as Moto3 champions in Talent Cup – NSF250R class. Further, Honda fast-tracked the development of top 2 riders from 2018 Honda Talent Hunt to Asia level at Thai Talent Cup.

  • Disappointment for Chirag Ghorpade; Rahul Rangasamy, Vishnu Prasad share the spoils

    Disappointment for Chirag Ghorpade; Rahul Rangasamy, Vishnu Prasad share the spoils

    Chirag Ghorpade celebrates his birthday (Sat) with a double but he was penalised for a jump start on Sunday losing a treble. An INDIAinF1 image

    Coimbatore, 28 July 2019: Teammates and Chennai’s ace racing stars Raghul Rangasamy and Vishnu Prasad of MSport won a race each pushing the other to the second place in the elite LGB Formula 4 category as the 22nd JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship concluded at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Sunday.

    While another Chennai racer Sandeep Kumar of Dark Don Racing came third in the Race 2, young Ashwin Datta, also from Chennai, completed the podium in Race 3. Vishnu bagged the fastest lap in both the races. Ashwin, the 20-year-old BBA student missed a chance slipping to third in the last lap after leading the LGB Formula 4 Race 1 on Saturday.

    Suzuki Gixxer podium

    However, the focus of the day in the JK Tyre Novice Cup over 15 laps was on teenager Chirag Ghorpade of Momentum Motorsports, who won both the races on Saturday to celebrate his birthday. But it was Mohamed Ryan of MSport who was promoted to a victory after the stewards penalised Chirag for a jump start. Earlier, Chirag crossed the line first by a comfortable margin. The 14-year-old Chirag, who made his single-seater debut this year, however, is improving at a fast pace and if groomed well is bound to keep up to his celebrated family name.

    Syed Muzammil Ali of Bengaluru made it a double in the JK Tyre Suzuki Gixxer Cup, winning Race 2, with a lot to spare while Tanay Gaikwad of Pune, finished second once again, way behind the winner. Sidharth Sajan of Coimbatore came third. Ishan Shanbag won the Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup of 10 laps while the other rookies could complete only 9 laps.

    Mira Erda (centre) who won the ladies class on Sunday. Twitter @JKTyreRacing

    Popular Indian woman racer Mira Erda won the women’s category. The MSport driver pushed Mega KS of Ahura Racing to second spot. Diana Pundole, also of Ahura came third.

    Provisional Unaudited Results: Sunday:

    Race 5: LGB Formula 4 (Race 2, 14 laps): 1. Raghul Rangasamy (MSport, Chennai) (18:28.329); 2. Vishnu Prasad (MSport, Chennai) (18:31.673); 3. Sandeep Kumar A (Dark Don Racing, Chennai) (18:32.848); Best lap: Vishnu 1:11.413.

    Race 6: JK Tyre Novice Cup (15 laps): 1. Mohamed Ryan (MSport, Chennai) (23:44.056); 2. Aaroh Ravindra (Momentum Motorsports, Mumbai) (23:47.212); 3. Mihir Avalakki (Birel Art) (23:47.330). Best lap: Aaroh 1:12.988.

    Race 7: JK Tyre Suzuki Gixxer Cup (Race 2, 10 laps): 1. Syed Muzammil Ali (Bengaluru) (14:19.609); 2.Tanay Gaikwad (Pune) (14:25.458); 3. Sidharth Sajan (Coimbatore) 14:27.480. Best lap: SM Ali 1:23.929.

    Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup (Race 2, 10 laps): 1. Ikshan Shanbag (Satara) (15:01.223); 2. Prashanth R 3. Aryan Gurav.

    Race 8: LGB Formula 4 (Race 3, 15 laps): 1. Vishnu Prasad (MSport, Chennai) (20:02.742); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (MSport, Chennai) (20:02.810); 3. Ashwin Datta (Dark Don Racing, Chennai) (20:05.316). Best lap: Vishnu: 1:11.333.

    JK Tyre women’s category (Formula LGB4): 1. Mira Erda (MSport); 2. Mega K.S (Ahura Racing); 3. Diana Pundole (Ahura Racing).

    Note: The report is edited after Chirag Ghorpade was disqualified for a jump start.

  • JK Tyre racing season kicks off at Kari Motor Speedway

    Coimbatore, 26 July 2019: With a focus on nurturing young talent in the country, a new season begins as the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Racing Championship 2019 (JKNRC) kicks off the first round here on Saturday. However, the popular Euro JK Series will not be run this year, but JK promised a bigger `surprise’ before the end of the season.

    The repackaged 22nd edition features the Indian Formula LGB-4 and the LGB Novice Cup as prime attractions. The Suzuki Gixxer Cup will support the novice riders to refine their skills in the 2-wheeler category.

    “JKNRC has been a huge hit with a number of talented drivers emerging over the years. However, we noticed that we were graduating to the international level rather quickly, leaving a void at home,” Sanjay Sharma, Head of JK Tyre Motorsport, said.

    “We decided to plug this gap by giving a wider platform for young drivers through our Formula LGB 4 category,” he added.

    Popular racers like Kolhapur’s Chittesh Mandody (Avalanche Racing), Chennai’s Raghul Rangasamy (MSport) and Sandeep Kumar (Dark Don Racing) will battle it out for top honours in the LGB 4 category this season.

    Another highlight of Round 1 is the pan-India representation across categories, especially among rookies. In addition to the all-girls team, talented newcomers include Mumbai’s Ojasvi Mehta.

    The first three rounds will take place in Coimbatore and the fourth and final rounds will move to Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, near Delhi. And JK Tyre is expected to unveil the next level of the international Formula car which is expected to change the dynamic of this sport and set the stage for the next generation of Indian champions.

    In the 2-wheeler category too, 600 & 1000cc SuperBikes will get a huge boost with a couple of leading global bike manufacturers likely to join the grid.

  • Double for Sohil Shah; Karthik Tharani banned for a race: Car Racing Nationals

    Double for Sohil Shah; Karthik Tharani banned for a race: Car Racing Nationals

    MRF F1600 race winners (L to R) – Nayan Chattjerjee (Mumbai), Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) who won a double and Vishnu Prasad (Chennai) on Sunday. Photos by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 21 July 2019: Bengaluru schoolboy Sohil Shah completed a fine double in the premier MRF F1600 category as the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship drew to a close at the MMRT, here today.

    Elsewhere, VW Motorsport’s Ishaan Dodhiwala from Hyderabad notched his maiden win in the Indian Touring Cars class after his team-mate Karthik Tharani was disqualified for a couple of infringementse.

    Ishaan Dodhiwala

    The stewards subsequently banned for one race, while Bengaluru’s Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) chalked up his third win of the season in the Super Stock category.

    Other winners of the day were Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) in the Formula LGB 1300 race and Mumbai’s Saurav Bandyopadhyay who took the honours in the Volkswagen Ameo Class.

    Sohil Shah, who scored a double in the MRF F1600 category on Sunday.

    The saloon car race was fiery with Tharani being disqualified for his violations. The Stewards subsequently slapped a one-race ban which will take effect for the next round of the championship scheduled for August 16-18. Consequent to the disqualification, team-mate Dodhiwala was declared winner followed by Nikanth Ram (ARKA Motorsports) and Arjun Balu (Race Concepts).

    The Stewards, following the post-ITC race hearing with Tharani, ruled: “The competitor was called to give the explanation as to why he ignored the ‘drive through’ penalty board for five laps and ignored the ‘black flag’ for the remaining three laps of the race.

    “In view of the fact that the competitor is a highly experienced driver and he is also a driver-trainer, the Stewards were of the opinion that exemplary sanctions should be imposed on this driver and a sentence of not being permitted a start in the next race of this championship (One race only).”

    Ireland’s Lucca Allen completed a double by winning both the Formula 4 SEA races to make up for disappointing outings in yesterday’s double-header.

    The results (Provisional – all 8 laps unless mentioned):

    MRF F1600 (Race-3): 1. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (13mins, 28.460secs); 2. A Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (13:34.321); 3. Manav Sharma (Faridabad) (13:34.945). Race-4: 1. Sohil Shah (13:25.572); 2. Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) (13:27.330); 3. Vishnu Prasad (Chennai) (13:30.166).

    Indian Touring Cars (Race-2): 1. Ishaan Dodhiwala (VW, Hyderabad) (15:41.905); 2.Nikanth Ram (Arka Motorsports, Coimbatore) (15:42.130); 3. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts, Coimbatore) (15:51.488).

    Super Stock (Race-2): 1. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) (16:27.646); 2. RP Rajarajan (Performance Racing) (16:28.805); 3.R Rajashekar (Race Concepts) (16:41.742).

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race-2, 7 laps): 1. Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) (17:43.357); 2. Sohil Shah (M Sport) (17:43.957); 3. Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motorsports) (17:46.458).

    Volkswagen Ameo Class (Race-2): 1. Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Mumbai) (15:49.972); 2. Pratik Sonawane (Pune) (15:52.896); 3. Avik Anwar (Bangladesh) (15:53.007).

    Formula 4 SEA (Race-3, 11 laps): 1. Lucca Allen (Ireland) (21:16.050); 2. Shihab Al Habsi (Oman) (21:16.480); 3. Muizz Musyaffa (Malaysia) (21:19.262). Race-4 (13 laps): 1. Allen (21:29.615); 2. Al Habsi (21:31.570); 3. Elias Sappanen (Finland) (21:34.061).

  • Night races after evaluation tests: Chandhok

    Night races after evaluation tests: Chandhok

    Chennai, 21 July 2019: Confirming that night races, the first in India, at the MMRT circuit here were definitely on, Vicky Chandhok, the Chairman of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship and vice-president of MMSC, said the club has earmarked funds to install floodlights at the FIA certified Grade 2 track.

    Vickey Chandhok addressing media at MMRT on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar

    Speaking to the Media here today on the sidelines of the third round of the National car racing championship, Chandhok said: “A very professional lighting expert has given us a quote of Rs.16 Crores do up the lights just like the Singapore circuit. But we are going for low lighting just like they have at Le Mans. We are planning to install basic lighting that can help the Marshals and Officials see the incidents on track so that they make sure that `no one is injured’. Safety is one aspect which I and everyone at the Club, are very particular,”

    To this end, the MMSC has scheduled a “test run” on August 7 between 6 pm and 11 pm to evaluate the possibility of full-fledged night races in the near future, he affirmed.

    Chandhok, the former president of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India, said the Club planned to upgrade many facilities at the MMRT and was keen on taking the green path. On the anvil is a Solar Park to support their needs while a huge compost pit would come up soon.

    “In the long-run, we would like to host a lot of Endurance races and we are also planning to upgrade the track to support racing in the anti-clockwise direction which needs about 56 changes to the track,’’ the veteran administrator who brought F1 to India, said.

    “At MMSC, we have always set the standards. But we will be very conscious of safety. On August 7, we have night testing and once the evaluation process goes through, we will decide if we need more lighting and we will definitely have night races starting with saloon cars,’’ he added.

  • Ashwin Datta leads podium sweep for Momentum Motorsports; Arjun Balu, Vishnu, Nayan win

    Ashwin Datta leads podium sweep for Momentum Motorsports; Arjun Balu, Vishnu, Nayan win

    Chennai, 20 July 2019: Chennai young gun Ashwin Datta spearheaded a momentous podium sweep for his team Momentum Motorsports in the highly competitive Formula LGB 1300 category, holding off two Bengaluru schoolboys while Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) and local challenger Vishnu Prasad won a race apiece in the premium MRF F1600 class on Day Two of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship at the MMRT, here today.

    Also in the limelight was Coimbatore veteran Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) who shrugged off a poor qualifying session where he finished fifth, and won the popular Indian Touring Cars race with a measure of comfort, while Chennai’s RP Rajarajan took the honours in the Super Stock category after a tough fight and Pune lad Pratik Sonawane topped in the Volkswagen Ameo Class race.

    Datta, 20, who was runner-up to Sohil Shah in the LGB 1300 championship last season, overcame a sluggish start when he dropped from second to third before recovering to grab the lead and chalk up his second win of the season. Finishing second and third behind him, respectively, were two Bengaluru schoolboys, Tijil Rao (16), who had started from pole position and Chirag Ghorpade, only 14.

    In the first MRF F1600 race, Chatterjee benefitted from a drive-through penalty for pole-sitter Sohil Shah from Bengaluru for jump start and once in front, he opened up a comfortable lead to win from Chennai’s Nirmal Umashankar and Coimbatore’s Bala Prasath. Sohil Shah, who posted the fastest lap of the race, eventually was placed ninth. In the next race, Vishnu Prasad, starting fourth on the grid, rocketed off the blocks to take the lead in the first lap itself and then hung on to win ahead of two other Chennai drivers, Sandeep Kumar and Raghul Rangasamy.

    Ace drdiver Arjun Balu from Coimbatore after winning the ITC Race on Saturday.

    Earlier, Balu, who had a poor qualifying session due to a technical hitch with his car, was not to be denied when the eight-lap race got underway. Some four corners before the end of the first lap, the Coimbatore star jumped four positions to take the lead and never looked back.

    Behind him, after the initial jostling for track positions, Karthik Tharani (VW Motorsport) seemed content to hold his second spot behind Balu while further back, Nikanth Ram (ARKA Motorsports) won a tight battle with another VW factory driver Ishaan Dodhiwala, to complete the podium.

    Meanwhile, Oman’s Shihab Al Habsi and Finn Elias Seppanen shared the top honours in the two Formula 4 SEA races.

    The results (Provisional – all 8 laps unless mentioned):

    MRF F1600 (Race-1): 1. Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) (13mins, 31.977secs); 2. Nirmal Umashankar (Chennai) (13:34.309); 3. A Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (13:34.805). Race-2: 1. Vishnu Prasad (Chennai) (13:34.363); 2. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (13:35.140); 3. Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram) (13:35.732).

    Indian Touring Cars (Race-1): 1. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) (15:22.141); 2. Karthik Tharani (VW Motorsports) (15:31.209); 3. Nikanth Ram (Arka Motorsports) (15:38.667).

    Super Stock (Race-1): 1. RP Rajarajan (Performance Racing) (16:23.257); 2. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) (16:25.808); 3. Sudanand Daniel (Race Concepts) (16:27.363).

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race-1): 1. Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motorsports) (15:23.678); 2. Tijil Rao (Momentum Motorsports) (15:25.447); 3. Chirag Ghorpade (Momentum Motorsports) (15:33.840).

    Volkswagen Ameo Class (Race-1): 1. Pratik Sonawane (Pune) (15:36.937); 2. Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Mumbai) (15:41.501); 3. Jeet Jhabakh (15:45.786).

    Formula 4 SEA (Race-1, 11 laps): 1. Shihab Al Habsi (Oman) (20:40.847); 2. Elias Seppanen (Finland) (20:43.526); 3. Alister Yoong (Malaysia) (20:44.174). Race-2 (12 laps): 1. Seppanen (19:57.398); 2. Young (19:57.948); 3. Al Habsi (19:58.826).

  • Bengaluru teenagers Sohil Shah, Tijil Rao take pole; Pratik qualifies quickest in VW Ameo Class

    Bengaluru teenagers Sohil Shah, Tijil Rao take pole; Pratik qualifies quickest in VW Ameo Class

    Bengaluru’s Tijil Rao, who qualified for pole position in the Formula LGB 1300 category on Friday. Photos by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 19 July 2019: Bengaluru teenagers Sohil Shah and Tijil Rao took pole positions in the MRF F1600 and Formula LGB 1300 categories, respectively, to set alight the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship at the MMRT, here today.

    Meanwhile, Pune’s Pratik Sonawane qualified for the pole position in the Volkswagen Ameo Class (One-Make Championship) and Coimbatore ace Arjun Balu, driving a Race Concepts-prepared Honda VTec, put the hammer down by emerging the fastest in the two practice sessions in the saloon cars category.

    Sohil Shah, who qualified for pole position in the MRF F1600 class on Friday.

    Sohil Shah, 18, came up with his best lap of one minute, 39.218 seconds, much quicker than his timings in the two Free Practice sessions earlier in the day. Less than one second covered the top eight qualifiers, indicating a close fight in all the four races scheduled for this weekend. In second spot was Nayan Chatterjee, followed by Manav Sharma and Nirmal Umashankar.

    Tijil Rao (Momentum Motorsports), 16, put in a fine performance in the Formula LGB 1300 class with a hot lap of 01:53.523, nearly a second quicker than his best in the practice sessions earlier today. With the top-five qualifiers separated by less than a second, Tijil led a 1-2-3-4 sweep for Momentum Motorsports as Ashwin Datta, Chirag Ghorpade and Deepak Ravikumar were placed second, third and fourth, respectively, ahead of Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing).

    Balu, 44, who made a comeback to racing last year after a long break, scorched the track to top the timesheets in both the practice sessions as he was two seconds quicker than championship leader in the Indian Touring Cars class, Karthik Tharani, who was piloting a factory-prepared Volkswagen Vento. Tharani had scored a double in the Coimbatore round triple-header while Balu was placed third in two races and fifth in another.

    Arjun Balu, quickest in the saloon car class

    “We had turbo issues in the previous round in Coimbatore and it reflected in our performance. For this round, we have put a new turbo and everything seems to be fine. However, race is another matter, but I am happy where we are at this moment. I could have probably gone faster today but for the traffic as the ITC cars are running on the same grid as the Super Stock. So, it was a bit difficult to find clean air in front,” said Balu.

    The VW camp admitted that the Ventos were off the pace as compared to Balu. “We are having a few issues and so, this weekend is a washout for us as we are very much off the pace. However, I will be happy if we could take at least two other podium spots,” said Sirish Vissa, head of Volkswagen Motorsport India.

    In the FIA Formula 4 South-East Asia series, Oman’s Shihab Al Habsi topped the practice session with a flying lap of 01:37.862 while the three Indians in the fray, Yash Aradhya, Mira Erda and Sneha Sharma were fifth, seventh and eighth fastest, respectively.

  • Full grid for MRF Formula 1600 as MMRT gears up to host 14 races: Racing Nationals

    Full grid for MRF Formula 1600 as MMRT gears up to host 14 races: Racing Nationals

    File photo of MRF 1600s in action at MMRT in 2018. Photo by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 18 July 2019: With a clutch of innovative initiatives on the horizon, the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship gets underway, featuring 14 races, at the MMRT here on Friday.

    The programme includes races in the two single-seater categories, the MRF F1600 and the Formula LGB 1300, besides the popular saloon cars which figure in both the premium Indian Touring Cars class and the Super Stock class, besides the Volkswagen Ameo Class which has been accorded National Championship status this year. The four Formula 4 SEA races will also run concurrently.

    Even as the National Championship season is in full swing, the promoters Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) are planning to initiate a slew of long-term plans that include night racing, the first of its kind in India.

    Taking an overview of this weekend’s races, Chairman of the Championship Vicky Chandhok said: “We are offering a racing menu with a variety this weekend. Beginning with the junior level Formula LGB 1300 leading up to the MRF F1600 which is the first step towards Formula racing, besides of course the saloon cars. We will see a galaxy of foreign and Indian racers this unique weekend when MMSC hosts both international and National racing championship at our very own circuit. So, plenty of action for sure.

    “Going forward, we at the MMSC, in keeping with our efforts to move with the changing times, plan to introduce night events with racing under lights. With a view to evaluating the possibilities of night racing, we have planned a test session on Wednesday, August 7, from 18:00 hrs. to 23:00 hrs  Primarily, this first session will be only for saloons with mandatory headlights. Depending on the testing, we will expand it to the 1300cc single-seater cars as well. Further, for the next round (August 16-18), we plan to run the races in the anti-clockwise direction. The response, thus far, has been tremendous.”

    The MRF F1600, a proven platform for young aspirants looking to break into the international arena, will be running to the full grid with four races scheduled, while the Formula LGB 1300, an excellent option for those graduating to single-seater racing, has again attracted 20-plus entries.

    The two categories in the saloon cars, ITC and Super Stock, will be run on the combined grid, and as in the previous round in Coimbatore last month, competition is expected to fierce with the factory-supported turbo-powered Volkswagen Vento cars likely to extend their domination.

  • Clean sweep by Ruhaan; Ishaan Madesh, Nirmal clinch title in their class with a round to spare

    Clean sweep by Ruhaan; Ishaan Madesh, Nirmal clinch title in their class with a round to spare

    Winners all: The Round 4 winners of the X30 Karting Nationals at Meco Kartopia on Sunday

    Bengaluru, 14 July 2019: Ruhaan Alva and Ishaan Madesh stamped their authority in the X-30 Junior and Cadet classes respectively winning all the four races in the Round 4 while 17-year old Nirmal Umashanker found a late challenger in Abhirath Shetty of Bengaluru, who notched off two wins in the 4-race Round 4,  but the Chennai lad came back to win the last race and won the maiden X30 Senior Class Championship for the year 2019 with a round to spare. While Ruhaan has to wait for the last round, Ishaan Madesh too has clinched the Cadet Class Championship title with a round to spare as he enjoys an unbeatable lead of over 40 points.

    Ruhaan wins all 4 races in Junior Class Round 4 on Sunday. An INDIAinF1 photo by arrangement

    Nirmal, a 2nd-year mechanical engineering student, restored some pride winning two of the four races and bagged the inaugural Championship title winning the X-30 Senior Class with a huge unbeatable lead of 56 points going into Round four next month with 40 points on offer. He garnered 137 points with Debarun Banerjee of Delhi trailing in second place with only 81 points.

    The JK Tyre National Karting Championship weekend which concluded at the 1.2km Meco Kartopia circuit, here on Sunday, saw four races each in the X-30 Round 3 and Round 4 that were held together in a three-day weekend from Friday.

    Ruhaan wins all four races in Round 4 on Sunday. An INDIAinF1 image

    Ruhaan Alva, all of 13 years, won all the four races, with ease and grace as he maintained comfortable margins of lead in the Junior category while Ishaan, the younger of Madesh brothers, from Bengaluru continued his unbeaten run winning all the four races in the Cadet category.

    The 10-year old Vidyashilp Academy student suffered a rare loss yesterday to Shriya Lohia of Pune but his dominance on the track goes hand in hand with the playful nature of a tiny-tot, all intact.

    Ishaan Madesh on way to his victory in Race 4 on Sunday.

    Race 1 of all the three categories of Round 4 were held on Saturday. Sunday began with the Junior class and Ruhaan Alva took a commanding lead and was so relaxed with a comfortable lead that Arjun Nair and Ryan Mohammed were left fighting for the second place.

    And Ruhaan, lost the sight of the fastest lap as he won by over four seconds but Arjun pipped Ryan for the second with Ryan forced to be content with the fastest lap.

    Later in both the races, Ruhaan showed his mastery and won the races with the fastest lap to boot. Arjun Nair came second pushing MR Rishon to third in Race 3 while Rishon took the second spot edging out Arjun in Race 4.

    Ishaan Madesh (centre) won all the four races in the Round 4 to lead the X-30 Cadet championship.

    Ishaan Madesh took to the track after the Junior race and he continued to win all the three races in the Cadet class. After a rare loss yesterday, he did well to control the proceedings and won Race1 beating Pune’s Sai Shiva while Raiden Samervel of Mumbai came third, far behind the top two.

    However, it was the lone girl in the class, Shriya Lohia, who caught the eye, with her racing. She gave a tough fight to Ishaan in both Race 3 and 4 and also managed to bag the fastest laps. After the end of Round 4, Ishaan has 153 points and the second-place Shriya Lohia has 107. With four races and 40 points on offer in the last round, Ishaan virtually sealed the title for 2019 in the Cadet Class.

    Today INDIAinF1 features the photograph of the Baby of the Round 4 Arafath Sheikh, the youngest driver on the grid, who displayed amazing guts to overtake three of his more popular and experienced mates before finishing sixth in Cadet Class Race 3. At just 7 years, the young karter has a bright future if groomed well and nurtured properly.

    Baby of the Round, Arafath, in action on Sunday.

    Provisional Unaudited Results: X30 Round 4:

    Senior Class: Race 2 (15 laps): 1. Nirmal Umashanker (Chennai) (14:26.347); 2. Abhirath Shetty (Bengaluru) (14.28.209); 3. Aditya Swaminathan (Bengaluru) (14:28.588). Best Lap: Nirmal 55.322.

    Race 3 (15 laps): 1. Abhirath Shetty (13:56.849); 2. Nirmal Umashanker (13:57.138); 3.Aditya Swaminathan (14:06.852). Best Lap: Nirmal 55.242.

    Race 4 (15 laps): 1. Nirmal Umashanker (14:01.022); 2. A Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (14:05.400); 3.Abhirath Shetty (14:08.818). Best Lap: Nirmal 55.252.

    Junior Class: Race 2 (15 laps): 1. Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru) (13:55.994); 2. Arjun S Nair (Bengaluru) (14:00.210); 3. Ryan Mohammed (Chennai) (14:00.341). Best Lap: Ryan 55.145.

    Race 3 (15 laps): 1. Ruhaan Alva (13:52.519); 2. Arjun S Nair (13: 54.422); 3. MR Rishon (Bengaluru) (13:56.762). Best Lap: Ruhaan 55.228.

    Race 4 (15 laps): 1. Ruhaan Alva (13:52.325); 2. MR Rishon (13:55.129); 3. Arjun S Nair (13:58.400); Best Lap: Ruhaan 55.178.

    Cadet Class: Race 2 (10 laps): 1. Ishaan Madesh (Bengaluru) (11:16.885); 2. Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (Pune) (11:17.245); 3. Raiden Samervel (Mumbai) (11:28.082). Best Lap: Ishaan 1:02.681.

    Race 3 (10 laps): 1. Ishaan Madesh (11:15.186); 2. Shriya Lohia (Pune) (11:15.499); 3. Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (11:21.476). Best Lap: Shriya 1:02.777.

    Race 4 (10 lap): 1. Ishaan Madesh (10:34.220); 2. Shriya Lohia (10:35.078); 3. Raiden Samervel (10:45.089). Best Lap: Shriya 1:02.660.

    ends

  • Team India finishes 4th overall at Asian Gymkhana

    Team India finishes 4th overall at Asian Gymkhana

    The 3-member Team India who bagged the overall fourth place is at the far left on the podium. Photo from Shivani Pruthvi

    Yogyakarta (Indonesia), 13 July 2019: The three-member Indian team bagged a creditable overall fourth place in the first round of the Asia Auto Gymkhana championship 2019 which concluded here on Saturday.

    Representing the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (FMSCI), the Indians came out triumphant reaching the semifinals in the overall championship and took the podium for fourth place. The team consisting of Shivani Pruthvi of Davangere, Sahil Khanna, and Karan Malik (both Delhi) performed well against some strong teams from 11 countries and competed with 39 other drivers for top honours.

    The Indian team at the gala closing ceremony on Saturday.

    The trio managed to come out on to the top-4 brushing aside a stiff challenge from other countries including some strong contingents from Taiwan, Singapore, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, and South Korea, and the host country Indonesia.

    All the competitors were on an identical race-prepared Toyota Agyas (aka Wigo in the Philippines) on multiple gymkhana course layouts in a knock-out format.

    Sahil Khanna was placed fourth in the Solo overall category while the Indian team also managed to take the third place in the doubles category.

    Shivani, a 21-year old from Davangere town in Karnataka, who became the first Indian woman to represent India in a Gymkhana event said: “I’m very lucky enough that I have got an opportunity to represent India. No other feeling in the world can match the thrill and pride of representing one’s country. Holding up the Tricolour high on foreign soil is a dream come true and I will cherish this forever.” Actually, this is the second time Shivani is representing the country abroad. As an active NCC cadet, she had an opportunity to go abroad to Singapore ICEP in 2014 and now motorsport has taken her to Indonesia.

    In September 2018, India’s Achintya Mehrotra won the Solo Championship during the AAGC 2018 held in Thane.

    Edited on 14July2019: Corrected drivers age and place details.