INDIA in F1

Category: Non-F1

  • Kari grabs the honours in free practice, Maini 9th fastest: GP3 Series

    Niko Kari has laid down a marker for his rivals for the final round of the 2017 season by claiming the top spot on his final lap of the Yas Marina Circuit in this morning’s free practice session, biding his time before claiming the honours when his rivals had no chance to usurp him for a lap time that was less than a tenth faster than Dorian Boccolacci and Nirei Fukuzumi. Meanwhile, Indian driver Arjun Maini of Jenzer Motorsports, was 9th fastest.
    The Finn’s best time of 1:55.796 after the chequered flag had dropped was the quickest of a string of fast laps that came in the final minutes of a session which saw times tumbling throughout but was otherwise quiet, with no major off-track drama given the short gap before this afternoon’s qualifying session.
    The track opened to warm and sunny conditions, with a number of drivers spending time on the top of the timesheets: Fukuzumi was the first person under the 2 minute mark with Kari, Dan Ticktum and Leonardo Pulcini swapping P1 between them until Boccolacci grabbed the top spot just before the 20 minute mark and held on until late into the session as everyone worked on their race simulations.
    With 5 minutes remaining everyone turned up the wick once more: Anthoine Hubert picked up the pace ahead of a string of drivers swapping the top spot between them, with Giuliano Alesi, Kevin Joerg, George Russell, Kari and Fukuzumi rotating through before Boccolacci reclaimed P1 with 2 minutes remaining. Ticktum went purple in sector 1, soon overtaken by Boccolacci, and it looked like the Frenchman had done enough as he slowed in the 2nd sector only to hear that Kari had claimed P1, leaving him no time to improve as he rolled to the flag.
    Behind the top 3 Ticktum, Russell, Hubert, Raoul Hyman, Pulcini and Arjun Maini were among the 14 drivers within a second of the top spot, promising fireworks in this afternoon’s qualifying session in just a few hours’ time.
    Provisional Qualifying Classification
    Driver
    Team
    Laptime
    Laps
    1.
    Niko KARI
    Arden International
    1:55.796
    19
    2.
    Dorian BOCCOLACCI
    Trident
    1:55.865
    18
    3.
    Nirei FUKUZUMI
    ART Grand Prix
    1:55.886
    18
    4.
    Daniel TICKTUM
    DAMS
    1:56.006
    16
    5.
    George RUSSELL
    ART Grand Prix
    1:56.071
    18
    6.
    Anthoine HUBERT
    ART Grand Prix
    1:56.159
    18
    7.
    Raoul HYMAN
    Campos Racing
    1:56.225
    16
    8.
    Leonardo PULCINI
    Arden International
    1:56.323
    19
    9.
    Arjun MAINI
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:56.558
    18
    10.
    Steijn SCHOTHORST
    Arden International
    1:56.607
    19
    11.
    Marcos SIEBERT
    Campos Racing
    1:56.608
    17
    12.
    Kevin JOERG
    Trident
    1:56.612
    17
    13.
    Giuliano ALESI
    Trident
    1:56.640
    17
    14.
    Jack AITKEN
    ART Grand Prix
    1:56.641
    18
    15.
    Ryan TVETER
    Trident
    1:57.068
    16
    16.
    Bruno BAPTISTA
    DAMS
    1:57.255
    18
    17.
    Juan Manuel CORREA
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:57.885
    18
    18.
    Alessio LORANDI
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:58.723
    18
    19.
    Julien FALCHERO
    Campos Racing
    1:58.820
    14
    20.
    Tatiana CALDERON
    DAMS
    1:59.345
    9
  • Tough debut for Jehan Daruvala at Macau Grand Prix as he finishes 10th

    Tough debut for Jehan Daruvala at Macau Grand Prix as he finishes 10th

    Jehan Daruvala finishes 10th at Macau World Cup. 19 Nov 2017; Photo by James Gasperotti

    Macau: Jehan Daruvala of the Sahara Force India Academy, overcame numerous hurdles, while gaining valuable experience, on his debut at the FIA F3 World Cup. The nineteen year old Indian finished a commendable tenth in his rookie race at the Macau Grand Prix. The notoriously unforgiving street circuit witnessed high drama throughout the weekend with most sessions witnessing either a red flag or a safety car, due to multiple accidents.

    Jehan’s weekend at the Macau Grand Prix began with the Indian teenager finding his way around his the circuit during his first time on track. The Grand Prix in Macau deviates from the normal racing format, with the average of 2 qualifying sessions deciding the start position for a qualifying race, which in turn decides the grid for the Grand Prix race.

    The 6.1 Guia street circuit is considered as one of the toughest circuits in the World and numerous F1 stars have raced and won here, enroute to F1. The circuit has no run-off at most corners, while metal armco barriers or walls, line the edge of the narrow circuit for most of its length. The added twist of the extremely high speeds that can be achieved, often result in mayhem with multiple crashes in all categories.

    Jehan’s progress was hampered after crashes in practice 1 and qualifying 1, as it was for numerous other experienced and rookies alike. However the young Indian improved significantly in the second practice session which saw him just 1.1 seconds off the pace, in tenth position. Qualifying 2 undid his efforts after a crash on his first quick lap left him down in nineteenth. Jehan started nineteenth in the qualifying race, but unfortunately by then he had damaged too many tyres in his accidents. He was forced to use an old set for the race and could do little in terms of progressing up the order and eventually finished the race in sixteenth.

    The FIA F3 World Cup Race at the Macau Grand Prix proved to be the most exciting. Jehan finally on fresh tyres immediately made a move once the lights went out. He was unfortunately forced wide and once again hit the barriers. Luckily the only damage that Jehan had was a slow puncture. He soon had to make an unscheduled pit-stop to change the punctured tyre and then resumed his race on track. He was fortunate to pit during a safety car period which meant he did not lose too much ground to the leaders.

    Jehan joined the race in last and put his head down to close the gap. He soon started overtaking cars and also benefitted from others crashing. Jehan eventually took the chequered flag in a commendable tenth position, 10.45 seconds behind the race winner. Up ahead, the race was one of the most exciting races in the history of the Macau GP. The early leaders crashed in the first few laps after which Jehan’s teammate, Habsburg from Austria took the lead from Brazilian favourite, Sergio Camara on the last corner of the last lap! Ironically however, both crashed as they exited the last corner and handed victory to British racer Daniel Ticktum who started from eighth.

    “I expected a mixed weekend – and it was exactly that. It was a steep learning curve with absolutely no margin for error. My qualifying race was compromised because ran out of tyres. At the start of the GP race I was forced into the barriers, which was a shame because I had good pace. Considering all the set-backs, I am happy with the pace I managed at the end, in my first Macau GP. I have learnt a lot and would definitely love to come and race here again next year” said Jehan after his top ten finish in the FIA F3 World Cup.

    Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard are some of the Formula 1 winners who have won the Macau Grand Prix in the past besides, numerous other F1 racers who have participated but were unable to win.

    eom/Press Release

  • Double for Drugovich in MRF Challenge opener

    Bahrain, 17 Nov, 2017: Felipe Drugovich, the 17-year-old Brazilian, got his 2017 MRF Challenge campaign off to a perfect start by winning both races in the season opener at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, here on Friday.

    Drugovich pulled off a last lap move on Manuel Maldonado, cousin of former F1 racer Pastor Maldonado, to win Race 2. Presley Martono also passed Maldonado on the run up to the chequered flag to beat the Venezuelan by 0.010 secs to take second spot. In Race 1, Drugovich benefitted from race leader Rinus van Kalmthout’s retirement to win ahead of Martono and Dylan Young.

    Earlier in the day van Kalmthout was dominant in qualifying to put his car on pole position by almost half a second. He set a 2:00.754 to set the fastest time of the weekend. Drugovich qualified 2nd, albeit 0.461secs off with Karkosik in 3rd place. Falchero qualified in 4th place ahead of Martono and Friday pace setter Pavan Ravishankar.

    The season got underway with van Kalmthout having the perfect start from pole position to lead into the first corner. Drugovich followed him in 2nd place with Dylan Young jumping from 7th to 3rd after getting a brilliant start. Drugovich managed to stay with van Kalmthout for the first few laps before the Dutch driver started pulling away at the front. Meanwhile Martono passed Young for 3rd and started catching Drugovich. It was heartbreak for van Kalmthout as he was forced to retire from the lead with 2 laps to go due to a mechanical problem. Meanwhile Martono closed up right behind Drugovich and the two cars were side by side as they headed down the main straight. Martono tried to get past but Drugovich held on to win the first race of the season. Young crossed the line in 3rd place to take only his second podium in championship. Alex Karkosik finished in 4th place ahead of Maldonado, Julien Falchero and Robert Megennis.

    In the reverse grid based Race 2, Maldonado jumped Falchero to lead into the first corner. Drugovich had a strong start from 6th on the grid to slot into 3rd behind the fast starting Karkosik. Karkosik and Drugovich put pressure on Maldonado but the Venezuelan did well to stay in front. Van Kalmthout, who started last, sliced through the field and was upto 6th place on lap 5. Martono passed Falchero into the first corner on lap 6 while 2nd placed man Karkosik was forced to retire with a mechanical problem. On the last lap Drugovich out braked Maldonado to take the lead, with Martono close behind. Coming out of the last corner and heading into the start finish straight Martono managed to get his nose ahead to beat Maldonado by 0.010secs. It was heartbreak for Maldonado who slipped from 1st to 3rd on the last lap. Behind the top 3, Falchero finished in 4th ahead of the charging van Kalmthout, with Megennis and Ravishankar rounding off the top 7.

    Double winner Felipe Drugovich, commented, “I am really happy to win both races today. In qualifying we were still trying things with the setup. We were lucky to win Race 1 with Van Kalmthout retiring. In race 2 I had a great start and managed to get behind Maldonado. He made a small mistake into the final corner and I took advantage to pass him into the first corner. It has been a great start and I hope we can do the same tomorrow.”

    Presley Martono impressed with a double podium finish in the season opener. He commented, “The car was great today and I felt that we really nailed the setup. I have to improve my starts and then I feel I can challenge for the win. Overall I am very happy with today’s performance.”

    Race 3&4 will take place tomorrow.

    MRF Challenge 2017, Round 1, Bahrain, Qualifying:

    1. Rinus Van Kalmthout – 2:00.754
    2. Felipe Drugovich – 2:01.215
    3. Alex Karkosik – 2:01.533
    4. Julian Falchero – 2:01.900
    5. Presley Martono – 2:01.961

    MRF Challenge 2017, Round 1, Bahrain, Race 1:

    1. Felipe Drugovich – 20:33.897
    2. Presley Martono – 20:34.546
    3. Dylan Young – 20:38.456
    4. Alex Karkosik – 20:40.984
    5. Manuel Maldonado – 20:43.096

    MRF Challenge 2017, Round 1, Bahrain, Race 2:

    1. Felipe Drugovich – 20:33.019
    2. Presley Martono – 20:34.689
    3. Manuel Maldonado – 20:34.699
    4. Julian Falchero – 20:36.847
    5. Rinus van Kalmthout – 20:39.456

    eom/press release

     

    eom/press release

     

  • JS group South Lake TSD rally successfully completes 7 editions

    JS group South Lake TSD rally successfully completes 7 editions

    Bengaluru, 13 Nov 2017: After a thrilling battle for top honours Vinay Prasanna and co-driver Ravi Kumar BM logged 18.46 penalty points to narrowly win the annual JS Group 7th South Lake TSD Rally organised by Startline Motorsports here on Sunday.

    Balaji Shetty along with navigator Natarajan were close behind in the TSD Challenge class with a penalty of 18.50 to take second behind Vinay and Ravi while the pair of Naveen and Lenin Joseph came third in 20.18. Mohan and Chandran duo won the Stock Amateur category with 40.49 penalty points. The drivers and organisers carried the messages of road safety and protection of lakes on the cars and promotion materials.

    Three categories were run in the TSD Endurance class. Akshay and Aprameya won the Corporate class. Supree Sagar along with co-drier Anushree won the couple class while Minaxi and Rajaratna claimed the all-Ladies class.

    Provisional results: TSD Challenge: Pro Expert: 1. Vinay Prasanna & Ravi Kumar BM 18.46 penalty points; 2. Balaji Shetty & Natarajan 18.50; 3. Naveen & Lenin Joseph 20.18. Pro Stock: 1. Mohan & Chandran 27.51; 2. Sai Prasad & Arun 37.56; 3. Pavan Kumar & Pradeep Nagaraj 46.02.

    TSD Endurance: Stock Amateur: 1. Shiva Kumar & Vignesh 40.49; 2. Manjunath & Shivaprasad 41.37; 3. Sachin & Vinay Prasad 44.09. Corporate: 1. Akshay & Aprameya 20.50; 2. Ponappa & Chengappa 23.20; 3. Prajwal Gowda & Devkanth GM 26.30. Couple: 1. Supreet Sagar & Anushree 15.30; 2. Abbas Anil & Aini Anil 18.37; 3. Suresh B & Manjushree 37.54. All ladies: 1. Minaxi & Rajaratna 15:14; 2. Noopur Agrawal & Nilofer Ibrahim 3:12.00; 3. Fernandes Dominic & Sonia Kaveriappa 3:32.00.

    eom

    Winners all: Winners of all the categories pose for a group picture after the PD in Bangalore on Sunday. Photo by Startline Motorsports

  • Indian-based MRF Challenge to feature updated car influenced by Adrian Newey  

     

    Chennai, 6 Nov 2017: The sixth edition of the MRF Challenge 2017 will once again kick off in Bahrain in November alongside the final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The FIA sanctioned MRF Challenge 2017 championship is the leading winter series for young motorsport drivers from across the globe. The MRF Challenge 2017 will feature 4 rounds with 16 races in Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Chennai. This year will also see an updated car featuring inputs from legendary Formula 1 designer, Adrian Newey.

    The Indian-based series, which features Formula 3 style cars, is developed and promoted by tyre giant MRF Tyres. It continues to be the only Indian-based series racing not only internationally but also at F1 venues. Both Bahrain and Abu Dhabi are on the Formula One calendar with the latter playing host to the F1 finale in in November.

    Arun Mammen, Managing Director, MRF Tyres, commented: “We are extremely excited to announce the launch of the sixth season of the MRF Challenge. It is very rare for championships to go down to the wire but last year we saw the eventual winner clinching it on the final lap of the final race. MRF Tyres thrives on the constant need to develop and innovate and this year’s car is another step forward from the previous season. We will continue to showcase India as a key hub for R&D and development in motorsport. Racing is in our DNA and we are thrilled to offer young drivers a platform to showcase their abilities. We provide drivers with identical cars so that talent plays a key role and this also helps drivers develop. This season features another exciting line-up and we are confident of some exciting wheel-to-wheel racing.”

    The MRF Challenge 2017 F2000 car will feature an updated car. For the first time the car will have a Hewland 6-speed sequential gearbox with integrated dash and paddle shift system. The car will also feature advanced aerodynamics with underbody diffuser. The car is powered by a 2-litre Mountune Duratec engine with max power of 230 bhp and shod on MRF Z.L.O. tyres. The Formula 3 style car has been built by JA Motorsport in technical collaboration with Dallara, and is considered to be the fastest of its kind in Asia.

    J Anand, Managing Director, JA Motorsports, said: “For the sixth season of the MRF Challenge we have focused on making the cars even faster, while also ensuring it is more enjoyable for the drivers. Mr Adrian Newey has been kind enough to share some thoughts with us for increasing the downforce with the new diffuser design. We have also introduced paddle shift gearbox for the first time. This has been received well during testing so we are confident that the car can be even faster this year. The series has been gaining a lot of traction internationally so it is heartening to see an Indian series getting so much attention.”

    This year there will be a full grid of 18 cars. Returning drivers include Italian F4 runner up and title favourite Felipe Drugovich, Dylan Young, Manuel Maldonado and Rinus Van Kalmthout. They will be joined by yet another F1 driver Bertrand Gachot son, Louis Gachot. Former drivers of the MRF Challenge include F3 drivers Harrison Newey, Mick Schumacher, Joey Mawson, V8 Championship leader Pietro Fittipaldi, Indycar driver Conor Daly etc.

    MRF Challenge 2017 Calendar:

    Round 1: November 16-18, 2017, Bahrain, Bahrain International Circuit (WEC Support Race)

    Round 2: December 7-9, 2017, Dubai, Dubai Autodrome

    Round 3: December 13-15, 2017, Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi

    Round 4: February 2-4, 2017, Chennai, Madras Motor Race Track

    Driver Line-up:

    1. Nazim Azman (Malaysia)
    2. Harri Jones (Australia)
    3. Richard Wagner (Germany)
    4. Robert Megennis (USA)
    5. Henning Enqvist (Sweden)
    6. Julien Falchero (France)
    7. Daniel Nielsen Frost (Singapore)
    8. Rinus Van Kalmthout (Netherlands)
    9. Perdana Putra Minang (Indonesia)
    10.  Kurt Hill (Australia)
    11.  Dylan Young (Australia)
    12.  Pavan Ravishankar (Singapore)
    13.  Alex Karkosik (Poland)
    14.  Michelangelo Amendola (Belgium)
    15.  Felipe Drugovich (Brazil)
    16.  Presley Martono (Indonesia)
    17.  Louis Gachot (France)
    18.  Manuel Maldonado (Venezuela)

    eom/MRF Press Release

  • Commanding show, including a hat-trick, gets maiden title for Aaroh Ravindra; Rayo Racing tops

    Commanding show, including a hat-trick, gets maiden title for Aaroh Ravindra; Rayo Racing tops

    Aaroh Ravindra and Aanjan Patodia (right) with their trophies on 15 Oct 2017 in Bangalore. Photo by Rayo Racing

    Bengaluru : Aaroh Ravindra from Rayo Racing, clinched his maiden National Karting Championship, with a 2nd place finish in Round 5 of the Meco FMSCI National Rotax Karting Championship.

    The Mumbai youngster has consistently dominated the championship ever since his victory in round 1 at Hyderabad. He completed a hat-trick of victories at the end of Round 3 and already had a commanding lead of 27 points in the National Championship by then.

    Aaroh qualified 2nd as the weekend began, after Nirmal USB of M Sport clinched pole position with a lap time of 54.694, a mere 2 hundredths of a second ahead of Aaroh. Manav Sharma was third. Heat 1 saw Nirmal lead from pole & win the heat, while Aaroh won the 2nd heat, ahead of Nirmal.

    The pre final saw Nirmal from Chennai, once again start from pole & win ahead of Aaroh & Manav. Aaroh’s earned enough points in the pre final, to be practically assured of the title, irrespective of the outcome of the final. However, Aaroh was not content with merely finishing.

    he final saw Nirmal pulling away as soon as the green flag dropped, while Aaroh fell to third. He regained second, coming out of corner 2 but lost ground immediately to Akash. Soon, it was Rayo Racing 2nd & 3rd as both Aaroh & Aanjan overtook Akash on lap 3. Mid-way through the race, Nirmal picked a puncture which promoted the Rayo Racing duo into 1st & 2nd. Aanjan being quicker, soon passed Aaroh for the lead & won a really close race. Aaroh crossed the line a mere 0.3 seconds behind Aanjan, while local lad Akash finished 3rd, ahead of another Bengaluru lad – Danesh Vakharia from Rayo Racing.

    Bengaluru’s Chirag Ghorpade from BPC racing won the junior finals ahead of M Sport Racing boys, Shahan Mohsin from Agra & Yash Aradhya from Bengaluru. Bengaluru boys sealed the Micro Max podium as Ruhaan Alva of Birel Art won the finals ahead of Rohaan Madhesh of Peregrine Racing & Rishon MR from Birel Art.

    Aaroh’s domination in the Senior National Championship saw him pick the award for most wins in the entire championship. His worst finish of the season being a 2nd place, he won the National Title with a lead of 33 points & earns himself a ticket to represent India in the World Finals at Portugal in November.  Aaroh’s participation in the series came as a result of his sponsorship from Tata Motors, JK Tyres, Rayo Racing & IndiKarting after finishing runner up in the JK Tyre IndiKarting National Series last year. The winner of that series – Aanjan Patodia, finished 3rd overall behind Nirmal USB in spite of not finishing a couple of races. He tied on points with Rayo Racing Teammate – Danesh Vakharia.

    Yash Aradhya of M Sport, with 2 victories in the season, won the junior title by 9 points from Chirag Ghorpade & Shahan Mohsin. Arjun Rajiv won the Micro title by 8 points, ahead of Ruhaan Alva & Rishon MR.

    “It was an amazing start to the year, with a hat trick of victories. A double runner-up finish in the last 2 rounds was not bad either. It has been hard work by everyone involved & I really want to thank Steve for his efforts, as well as all our sponsors & my family for their support” said an ecstatic Aaroh after the prize distribution ceremony.

    He continued, “I have had very limited track time over the last 2 years due to the lack of a budget. The World Finals are going to be tough competing against the 72 best drivers from around the world, but I will be working hard over the next few weeks to prepare in the best possible way.”

    As reported earlier, Aaroh Ravindra, Yash Aradhya and Ruhaan Alva, will represent India, in the World Rotax Finals in Portimao, Portugal from 5th to 11th November, as the champions from over 50 countries will vie for the title of World Rotax Champion 2017. Over 300 competitors will race at this prestigious World Finals.

    eom/with inputs from Rayo Racing

  • Maximilian Gunther finishes runner-up in the F3 Euro championship

    Event: 10 Hockenheim
    Session: Race 3
    Track: Hockenheimring / DEU
    Pole position: Maximilian Günther (Prema Powerteam)
    Race winner: Maximilian Günther (Prema Powerteam)
    Weather: sunny, 16.2 °C

    With his fifth win of the year, Maximilian Günther (Prema Powerteam) concluded his third season in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. At the 4.574 kilometres long Hockenheimring, the 20-year-old German took the chequered flag ahead of Joel Eriksson (Motopark) and Guanyu Zhou (Prema Powerteam). That was enough for the Swede to secure second place in the final FIA Formula 3 European Championship drivers’ standings behind newly-crowned European Champion Lando Norris (Carlin).

    In the final race of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship season, one of the things that still had to be decided was the battle for second place in the final drivers’ standings for 2017. The candidates for the runner-up position were Joel Eriksson and Maximilian Günther and both put in their best performances. Günther started the race from pole position and took the lead at the start. Eriksson started from fifth place, was fourth after the opening lap, third after lap two and second after another lap.

    On lap six, Ferdinand Habsburg (Carlin) crashed into the tyre stacks which led to a ‘full course yellow’, during which all drivers have to reduce their speed and overtaking is prohibited. This temporarily stopped the Swede’s progress. But as racing resumed, the BMW junior was also unable to significantly reduce his gap of slightly more than four seconds to Mercedes protégé Günther. The latter drove an undisputed victory home while Eriksson took the flag in second place. Thus, the Motopark driver, who had won last year’s FIA Formula 3 European Championship rookie title, ended up second in the drivers’ standings after his second season in the series.

    Chinese driver Guanyu Zhou, a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, claimed the final podium slot as he demoted the new FIA Formula 3 European Champion to fourth. Callum Ilott (Prema Powerteam), Jake Hughes (Hitech Grand Prix), Pedro Piquet (Van Amersfoort Racing), Nikita Mazepin (Hitech Grand Prix), Joey Mawson (Van Amersfoort Racing) and David Beckmann (Motopark) finished in the following positions. As Hughes had been too fast during the FCY (‘full course yellow’) phase, he was given a five second time penalty after the race. Thus, the Brit dropped back to eighth place behind Piquet and Mazepin.

    Maximilian Günther (Prema Powerteam): “Winning this race was all I could do to keep my chances of becoming second in the drivers’ standings. My start was very good and I was able to pull a gap straight away. Later, I kept my advantage and tried to save my tyres. Winning in front of my home crowd is a nice way to conclude a season that didn’t always go like I wanted it to. We didn’t have the best package, but I think I have made the most out of it.”

    Joel Eriksson (Motopark): “I am really happy to have secured runner-up position in the drivers’ standings. After having had problems last year, we worked hard over the winter. The first part of the season went well, but we again had troubles in the middle of the year. However, we were able to solve these as well and eventually, we were back on top again. Today, I knew that I at least had to finish third, because Maximilian was in a very good position to win the race. When I was in second place, I backed off a bit.”

    Guanyu Zhou (Prema Powerteam): “For the first time, I have managed to score two podium finishes in one Formula 3 weekend. At the start of the race, I even was in second place, but Joel was faster and overtook me. From lap 15 till the end, I had to be careful to keep Lando Norris at bay, so I couldn’t make a mistake and had to be consistently fast.”

    eom/FIA press release

  • Ruhaan Alva, Yash Aradhya, Aaroh Ravindra for World Rotax Grand Finale in Portugal

    Bangalore, 15 Oct 2017: Ruhaan Alva (Micro Max), Yash Aradhya (Junior Max) and Aaroh Ravindra (Senior Max) will represent India in the World Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals at Portugal from November 4-11 according to sources. Portimao in Algarve will be the venue for the 16th edition where 288 of the best kart drivers in the world will compete in four categories supported by independent chassis partners.

    Meanwhile, in the Nationals, Arjun Rajiv of Birel Art India won the Micro Max Championship while Yash Aradhya (MSport) and Aaroh Ravindra of Rayo Racing won the Junior Max and Senior Max Championships respectively. Team Rayo Racing won the team championship while Nirmal Umashankar became the best driver of the year.

    Ruhaan Alva, won the final race of the fifth and final round in the Micro Max class at the Meco Kartopia in the Rotax Max Karting National Championship organised by Meco Motorsports under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (fmsci) here on Sunday.

    However, the 11-year old Bengaluru boy, who recently won the second runners-up place in the Italian EasyKart 60cc championship, was given a third place after the stewards’ ruling following a protest. That did not, however, deny him a second place in the Micro Max championship.

    Aaroh Ravindra, Senior Max National Champion. Photos by Srinivasa Krishnan
    Ruhaan reacts at the Meco Kartopia on Sunday after hearing the news of World finals. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan, commissioned for INDIAinF1.

    Ruhaan’s teammate Arjun Rajiv could only finish sixth and fifth in the two races this week-end but that was enough for him to garner a total tally of 416 points, eight more than Ruhaan, to win the Championship crown. Rishon MR, also of Birel Art India, came third for a clean sweep by the Birel team. Both Ruhaan and Rishon had 408 points.

    In the Senior Max championship, it was Aaroh Ravindra of Rayo Racing who won the National title with 436 points after he finished second in both the races in the last round here. Nirmal Umashankar of MSport was second with a tally of 403 points while Aanjan Patodia, also of Rayo Racing, got the second runners-up with 388 points.

    It was Yash Aradhya of MSport who won the National Championship in the Junior Max category with 432 points edging out Chirag Ghorpade, who won both the pre-finals andn finals this week-end but fell short by six points in his last-round dash with only 423 points. Yash came third in the pre-final and second in the last race of the season. Shahan Ali Mohsin MSport came third with 405 points with a second and third place this week-end.

    Championship winners:

    Micro Max

    1. Arjun Rajiv – 416 – Birel Art India
    2. Ruhaan Alva – 408 – Birel Art India
    3. Rishon M R – 408 – Birel Art India

     Winning Team Champion  – Peregrine Racing

    Junior Max

    1. Yash Aradya – 432 – MSPORT
    2. Chirag Ghorpade – 423 – BPC Racing
    3. Shahan Ali Mohsin – 405 – MSPORT

     Winning Team Champion  – MSPORT

    Senior Max

    1. Aaroh Ravindra – 436 – Rayo Racing
    2. Nirmal Umashankar – 403 – MSPORT
    3. Aanjan Patodia – 388 – Rayo Racing

    Winning Team Champion – Rayo Racing

    Maximum Number of Pole Position – Ruhaan Alva

    Maximum Number of Wins – Aaroh Ravinda

    Best New Corner – Rishon M R

    Best Driver of the Year – Nirmal Uma Shankar

    Akbar Ebrahim Most Improved Karter of the Year – Rohaan Madhesh

    eom/with inputs from official results

    edited at 11.15 am on 16 Oct 2017 correcting names following an official revisions

     

     

  • Bengaluru girl Aishwarya fourth in Raid de Himalaya: Xtreme category Group B bikes

    Bengaluru girl Aishwarya fourth in Raid de Himalaya: Xtreme category Group B bikes

    Photos courtesy Aishwarya Pissay
    Aishwarya in action at Raid de Himalaya 2017 in Group B Xtreme class.

    Leh (J & K), 13 Oct 2017: Aishwarya Pissay, riding a factory-supported TVS Apache RTR 200, endured the grueling 19th Maruti Suzuki Raid de Himalaya Rally to finish a creditable fourth in the “Xtreme” category for Group B bikes here on Friday.

    She is the only female rider to complete the course in the week-long event in  her second attempt this year.

    The Raid, which has earned notoriety for breaking the hardiest of men and machines, is considered to be among the toughest rallies in the World as the participants have to negotiate treacherous terrain and high altitude mountain passes.

    Aishwarya, the 21-year old from Bengaluru and first-ever National champion among girls in both racing and rallying, was in line for a podium finish, but a couple of crashes cost her precious time.

    Reflecting on her performance, Aishwarya said: “I am delighted to have finished such a grueling rally, and it was an improvement over my debut last year when I had to retire on the very first day. Today, the gap was too much to make up and I focused on finishing the course, though fourth in Group B.

    “It was a very challenging event which tested my mental and physical limits. There were times, especially when I crashed a few times, my body wanted to give up, but I pushed myself to continue. I also had to endure extreme cold and high altitude. So, overall, I am extremely happy to have crossed the finish line.”

    After a smooth start to her campaign which was flagged off from Manali on October 8, Aishwarya, who is supported by TVS Racing, had to endure tough moments. In her bid to catch up with front-runners yesterday, she fell heavily. In fact, she covered the last 20 Kms of Stage on just two gears, first and second, and having to bend down to move the gear lever with her hand.

    “I had a good start with trouble-free runs on Days 1 and 2 though the terrain was really rough. Only about 25 of the 43 bikes which had taken the start finished Day 2.

    “On Day 3, I had some issues with my bike as there was not enough intake of oxygen into the carburetor and the engine kept stalling, but I managed to pull through and was running third in my Group B class.

    “I survived a couple of crashes on Day 4 when we did the Leh to Kargil run and dropped one spot to fourth. Yesterday, Day 5, was very stressful. We had a 65Kms of Competitive Section followed by 85 Kms of Special Stage. In the latter half of the run, I fell heavily as I pushed too hard trying to catch up with a couple of bikers ahead of me.

    “The bike suffered some damage and kept dragging to the left. Over the last 20 Kms or so, I had to bend down to change the gears with my hand. There were only first and second gears available, but somehow I managed to finish the Stage at the end of which the TVS service crew did a fantastic job of repairing the bike.

    “We had to return to Kargil by the same route as the next Stage was cancelled due to technical reasons. I had a 4 am flag-off and I think, I rode for nearly 11 hours, covering some 400-plus Kms!”

  • 6th championship for Jagan Kumar of TVS Racing: Motorcycle Nationals

    6th championship for Jagan Kumar of TVS Racing: Motorcycle Nationals

    National champions (Left to Right) – Sai Rahil Pillarishetty, Aishwarya Pissay, Jagan Kumar, Aravind Balakrishnan and Amarnath Menon on Oct 1 at MMRT. Image by Anand Philar
    Satyanarayana Raju, winner of the Honda CBR 150 Championship at MMRT on Sunday. Portraits by Srinivasa Krishnan

    Chennai, October 1: TVS Racing’s mascot Jagan Kumar notched his sixth straight title in the premier Super Sport Indian (165cc) class on a rain-affected day to bring down the curtain on the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2017 at the MMRT track, here on Sunday.

    In the girls stock 165cc class, Aishwarya Pissay bagged her first national championship defeating Ryhana Bee in the final race. The 21-year-old thus finished her year in style and is looking forward to move to bigger thingsf in future.

    The day’s original programme of seven races looked to be in jeopardy following a massive downpour in the early hours of today. However, the Madras Motor Sports Club officials came up with a herculean effort to get the club circuit (short loop, 2.1 Kms) ready for racing with the full circuit (3.7 Kms) not available due to water-logging. Thus, three of the seven races were cancelled since the championships in those categories were already decided.

    The changes had little impact on Jagan Kumar. Going into today’s race, Jagan enjoyed a six-point lead over Honda Ten10 Racing’s Rajiv Sethu, but the expected challenge did not materialize as the latter crashed at Turn-2 in the very first lap. Thereafter, Jagan was on a cruise mode and seemed content to finish second behind Sethu’s team-mate Mathana Kumar who eased past in the last lap. Harry Sylvester (TVS Racing) came in third.

    It was a splendid comeback by Jagan who, at one point in the season, trailed Sethu by 33 points but three back-to-back wins, including one yesterday, put the TVS Racing rider’s campaign back on track as he clinched the title in this class, previously known as “Group B”, for the sixth year in a row by a comfortable 24-point margin.

    Aravind Balakrishnan (Honda Ten10 Racing) took the title in the Pro-Stock class though he finished a distant eighth in the race won by his team-mate Anish Shetty. Balakrishnan thus finished with 138 points, 13 ahead of Aravind Ganesh (Moto-Rev).

    The National champions:  Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing , Super Sport Indian 165cc), Aravind Balakrishnan (Honda Ten10 Racing, Pro-Stock), Amarnath Menon (Gusto Racing, Super Sport Indian 300-400cc), Sai Rahil Pillarishetty (Sparks Racing, Novice 165cc), Aishwarya Pissay (Apex Racing, Girls 165cc).

    Team championship: Gusto Racing (Super Sport Indian 300-400cc); TVS Racing (Super Sport Indian 165cc); Honda Ten10 Racing (Pro-Stock); Sparks Racing (Novice, 165cc); Apex Racing (Girls, 165cc).

    MMSC One-Make Championship winners: Rajiv Sethu (Honda CBR 250), Satyanarayana Raju (Sparks Racing, Honda CBR 150), S Sivanesan (TVS Apache RTR 200 Open), Anup Kumar (TVS Novice) and Nitish Kumar (Yamaha R15 Novice).

    The results (Provisional):

    Super Sport Indian (165cc) – Race 2 (10 laps): 1. Mathana Kumar (Honda Ten10 Racing) (11mins, 50.428secs); 2. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) (11:54.499); 3. Harry Sylvester (TVS Racing) (11:57.121).

    Pro-Stock (165cc) – Race 2 (10 laps): 1. Anish D Shetty (Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:16.808); 2. Naresh Babu J (12:17.075); 3. S Sivanesan (Team Alisha Abdullah) (12:19.512).

    Girls (Stock, 165cc, 8 laps) : 1.Aishwarya Pissay (Apex Racing) (10:21.373); 2. Ryhana Bee A (Speed Up Racing) (10:26.541); 3. Shruthi Nagarajan (Chennai) (10:31.314).

    MMSC One-Make Championship (Novice) – Yamaha R15 (Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Nithish Kumar M (Coimbatore) (10:40.813); 2. Sai Rahil Pillarishetty (Hyderabad) (10: 41.037); 3. Akshay VM (Pallagat) (10:41.661).

    TVS One-Make Championship (Novice) – Apache RTR 200 (Race 2, 8 laps): 1. KB Rajkamal (Neyveli) (10:14.340); 2. Anup Kumar M (Chennai) (10:14.570); 3. Yashvin Kumar (Chennai) (10:23.061).

    eom/AP Media Communications press release