INDIA in F1

Category: Non-F1

  • Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif seal fourth National rally title

    By Vivek Phadnis

    Bengaluru, 22 Nov 2014

    Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif in action in the Beta stage on the opening day of the Mahindra Adventure presents IMG 40th K-1000 Rally near Tumakuru on Saturday. Photo by Vivek Phadnis
    Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif in action in the Beta stage on the opening day of the Mahindra Adventure presents IMG 40th K-1000 Rally near Tumakuru on Saturday.
    Photo by Vivek Phadnis

    : Team Mahindra Adventure’s Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif, driving a Mahindra XUV 500, have assured themselves of the 2014 Indian Rally Championship Overall title after the first leg of the Mahindra Adventure presents IMG 40th K-1000 Rally near Tumakuru on Saturday. Local star Arjun Rao Aroor-Satish Rajagopal, who are second in the Overall standings, had a bad day and retired after barely starting the first stage of the day. Their rally-specific Volkswagen Polo R2 suffered an engine failure.

    Gill-Sherif have 145 points, while Aroor-Rajagopal have 78 and Sidhu-Murthy 62 with one round remaining at Chikkamagaluru next month. This will be Gill-Sherif’s fourth National title, despite them trailing teammates Sunny Sidhu-PV Srinivasa Murthy by two seconds after Saturday’s leg one. Sidhu-Murthy’s total time after leg one was one hour, five minutes, 12.2 seconds, while Gill-Sherif were 01:05:14.4. Their teammates Amittrajit Ghosh-Ashwin Naik were third Overall with a time of 01:06:42.0.

    “It was not a great day,” said Gill. “We had a comfortable lead but there were electrical problems with the cooling fan and the car began to overheat. Due to this, we had to nurse the car but managed to stay in second place. Hopefully, we will be able to get the lead on Sunday.”

    A disappointed Aroor said: “We were barely 300 metres into the first stage of the day when the engine packed up. It is going to be very difficult to get the car back in action tomorrow. We will have to try our best in the last round in Chikkamagaluru next month.”

    In the IRC 2000 class, Karna Kadur-BS Sujith Kumar, in a Mitsubishi Cedia, led after leg one with a time of 01:07:26.4, while championship leaders Rahul Kanthraj-Vivek Bhatt were 01:08:19.0.

    The IRC 1600cc class saw Phalguna Urs-Anoop Kumar, in a Volkswagen Polo, take the first leg lead with a time of 01:06:50.5, while Hrishikesh Thackersey-Ninad Mirajgaonkar were second with 01:08:48.8.

    In the FMSCI 1600 class, Adith KC-Harish KN are in the lead with a time of 01:09:18.9 in their Honda City VTec.

    In all, 10 out of the 41 cars retired on Saturday.

    In the Super Special Stage, held at the Bangalore International Exhibition grounds under floodlights on Friday, Abhilash PG-Sanjay Agarwal were the fastest (one minute, 33.2 seconds) in a Mitsubishi Evo XI. Gill-Sherif were second fastest with 01:34.5, while Sidhu-Murthy were third with a 01:35.9.

    Results (leg one, provisional and unaudited):

    IRC: 1. Sunny Sidhu/PV Srinivas Murthy (Team Mahindra Adventure, Mahindra XUV500, 01:05:12.2); 2. Gaurav Gill/Musa Sherif (Team Mahindra Adventure, Mahindra XUV500, 01:05:14.4); 3. Amittrajit Ghosh/Ashwin Naik (Team Mahindra Adventure, Mahindra XUV500, 01:06:42.0).

    IRC 2000: 1. Karna Kadur/BS Sujith Kumaar (Mitsubishi Cedia, 01:07:26.4); 2. Rahul Kanthraj/Vivek Bhatt (Mitsubishi Cedia, 01:08:19.0); 3. Byram Godrej/Somayya AG (VW Polo, 01:09:06.8).

    IRC 1600: 1. Phalguna Urs-Anoop Kumar (VW Polo, 01:06:50.5); 2. Hrishikesh Thackersey-Ninad Mirajgaonkar (VW Polo, 01:08:48.8); 3. Vikram Devadasen-Chandramouli (VW Polo, 01:10:13.7).

    FMSCI 1600: 1. Adith KC-Harish KN (Honda City Vtec, 01:09:18.9); 2. Aniruddha Rangnekar-Nitin Jacob (Maruti Baleno, 01:15:15.20); 3. Parag C Dhiwar-Aditya R Dhiwar (Maruti Baleno, 01:15:35.0).

    Ends/KMSC press release

     

     

    Pic caption: Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif in action in the Beta stage on the opening day of the Mahindra Adventure presents IMG 40th K-1000 Rally near Tumakuru on Saturday.

  • Will Ameya Bafna remain the champ? Donison for Spain; Aradhya wins JK Tyre Micro Max Karting Nationals

    Visakhapatnam, 16 Nov 2014: Mumbai teenager Ameya Bafna won the Karting Nationals for the year 2014 in the Senior Max category but his result was proclaimed as provisional owing to a protest which may change the winner in the premium category. Since the winner of the championship is expected to take part in the Rotax Max World Finals, it is important for the Indian Federation to announce the stewards decision in a few days time.

    “The winners from about 70 countries will take part in the 15th Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals 2014 from November 25 – 29, and the winners of Junior and Senior category from India are expected to take part,” said Akbar Ebrahim, chairman, Racing Commission, Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), here on Sunday. The amazing track of Kartódromo Internacional Lucas Guerrero Chiva in Valencia, Spain will host the karting highlight of the year!

    (Left to Right) Ricky Donison (Junior Max), Yash Aradhya (Micro Max) and Ameya Bafna (Senior Max), winners of the championships in their respective categories in the 11th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Karting Championship which concluded in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.Image courtesy Anand Philar
    (Left to Right) Ricky Donison (Junior Max), Yash Aradhya (Micro Max) and Ameya Bafna (Senior Max), winners of the championships in their respective categories in the 11th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Karting Championship which concluded in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.Image courtesy Anand Philar

    Meanwhile, Bengaluru boys Yash Aradhya and Ricky Donison emerged champions in Micro Max and Junior Max categories respectively in the 11th JK Tyre Karting Nationals, the 5th and final round of which concluded at the V-1 track on the Vizag-Bheemli beach road, here on Sunday, adds an official press release.

     

    Aradhya, the 12-year old sixth standard student of Bishop Cotton’s in Bengaluru, had a virtually untroubled run in the Micro Max final as he built an early lead starting from pole position and nursed it to the finish line to clinch the championship in style with his fourth win in five rounds.

    The Junior Max final was bitterly contested as pole-sitter Donison was quick off the blocks and led until Kush Maini, having started fourth, caught up with him. The two Bengaluru boys fought tooth and nail until Maini made a fine move to go into the lead that he kept to the finish.

    Despite the second place finish, London-born 16-year old Donison, a student of Bangalore International School, still clinched the championship, albeit by just four points while Maini finished second.

    The Senior Max Finals saw Chittesh Mandody of Mohite’s Racing snatching the lead from pole-sitter and team-mate Dhruv Mohite to win comfortably. Finishing second behind Mandody was Rayo Racing’s Nayan Chatterjee who slipped past Mohite in the latter half of the race.

    Staying away from the battle ahead, 19-year old Bafna kept his wits about him and seemed content to finish fourth which earned him sufficient points to claim the championship in his class.

    Earlier, Aradhya pulled off another brilliant win in the Pre-Final to consolidate his lead in the class championship while Maini could manage only fourth following a racing incident he was involved in as Donison, Ravindra and Akash Gowda finished ahead of him.

    The Senior Max Pre-Finals saw Mohite coming up with a late move on front-runner Mandody to win the race while Bafna, driving well within himself and with an eye on his championship, came in third.

    The results: Finals – Micro Max: Yash Aradhya (MECO Racing) 1; Chirag Ghorpade (BPC Racing) 2; Paul Francis (MECO Racing) 3. Championship winner: Aradhya (196 points)

    Junior Max (provisional): Kush Maini (Dark Don Racing) 1; Ricky Donison (BFC Racing) 2; Aaroh Ravindra (Rayo Racing) 3. Championship winner: Donison (183 points).

    Senior Max: Chittesh Mandody (Mohite’s Racing) 1; Nayan Chatterjee (Rayo Racing) 2; Dhruv Mohite (Mohite’s Racing) 3. Championship winner: Ameya Bafna (Rayo Racing, 181 points).

    Pre-Finals – Micro Max: Yash Aradhya 1, Arun S Nair 2, Chirag Gorphade 3. Junior Max: Ricky Donison 1, Aaroh Ravindra 2, Akash Gowda 3. Senior Max: Dhruv Mohite 1, Chittesh Mandody 2, Ameya Bafna 3.

     

    For all the latest news, photos, videos, and updates, please visit us at:

    www.jktyremotorsport.com

    www.flickr.com/jkmotorsport

    www.twitter.com/JKTyreRacing

    www.facebook.com/jktyremotorsport

  • Pole for Mandody, Maini and Aradhya: JK Tyre Karting Nationals

    JK Tyre Karting Natioinals at Visakhapatnam on Saturday. Photo by Anand Philar
    JK Tyre Karting Natioinals at Visakhapatnam on Saturday. Photo by Anand Philar

    By Anand Philar

    VISAKHAPATNAM: Kolhapur’s Chittesh Mandody and Bengaluru lads Kush Maini and Yash Aradhya set the V-1 Track alight by dominating the heats to take pole positions in the fifth and concluding round of the 11th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Karting Championship, here on Saturday. The Pre-Finals, followed by the Finals, are scheduled for Sunday.

    Aradhya of MECO Racing, heading the Micro Max leaderboard, put in a fine performance to win both the Heats and qualify for pole position ahead of fellow-Bengalureans and team-mates Arjun S Nair and Paul Francis.

    Mandody (Mohite’s Racing), lying tied third in the Senior Max category championship, all but destroyed the field to win both the heats in a commanding fashion to qualify for pole position.

    Occupying the second spot behind Mandody in Sunday’s Pre-Finals will be championship leader Ameya Bafna (Rayo Racing) from Mumbai while Kolhapur’s Dhruv Mohite (Mohite’s Racing) will start third.

    Maini of Dark Don Racing, aided by pain-killers, braved a sprained muscle on his right arm following a crash during Friday’s practice and also dominated the two Heats in the Junior Max category where he is trailing championship leader and fellow-Bengalurean Ricky Donison by four points.

    “The doctor actually advised me not to race, but I decided to go ahead by taking pain-killers. It does hurt, but otherwise, I am ok,” said Maini who will be chased by Donison (BPC Racing) and Mumbai’s Aaroh Ravindra (Rayo Racing) on the Pre-Finals grid.

    The V-1 track located on the outskirts of this port city and hosting the mega event for the first time, proved rather bumpy and very physical, but the attributes only added to the challenge.

    Provisional grids for Pre-Finals (top 3):

    Micro Max: Yash Aradhya (MECO Racing) 1, Arjun S Nair (MECO Racing) 2, Paul Francis (MECO Racing) 3. Junior Max: Kush Maini (Dark Don Racing) 1, Ricky Donison (BPC Racing) 2, Aaroh Ravindra (Rayo Racing) 3. Senior Max: Chittesh Mandody (Mohite’s Racing) 1, Ameya Bafna (Rayo Racing) 2, Dhruv Mohite (Mohite’s Racing) 3.

    For all the latest news, photos, videos, and updates, please visit :

    www.jktyremotorsport.com

    www.flickr.com/jkmotorsport

    www.twitter.com/JKTyreRacing

    www.facebook.com/jktyremotorsport

     

  • Raj Bharath pips Ryan Cullen to take pole: MRF Challenge in Bahrain

    Raj Bharath takes pole at Bahrain. An Adrenna image
    Raj Bharath takes pole at Bahrain. An Adrenna image

    Bahrain, 13 Nov 2014:  Raj Bharath continued his brilliant form to qualify on pole position for Race 1 of Round 2 of The MRF Challenge 2014 at Bahrain International Circuit. GP3 driver Ryan Cullen traded fastest laps with Bharath but had to settle for 2nd place on the grid, albeit just 0.076secs off pole position. Championship leader Toby Sowery will start from 3rd position while it was a good day for Indian fans with Vikash Anand enjoying his best ever qualifying session in the MRF Challenge to start 4th on the grid. Round 2 of the MRF Challenge is the main support race for the second biggest motorsport series in the world, the FIA World Endurance Championship.

    After a highly competitive Round 1, which was held under floodlights in Qatar as a night race, the action continued from where it left off with the top 10 drivers close to each other. Bharath started off qualifying with a strong first lap but Cullen was quick to match it and go faster. This went on for the next 5 laps with both drivers exchanging fastest laps and almost nothing to choose from them. With 15 minutes to go the red flag came out after a racing incident between Tarun Reddy and Advait Deodhar, ruining both their sessions.

    When the session resumed it was the same story with Bharath leading Cullen by 0.033secs. Both drivers still managed to go faster with Bharath managing to hold on to pole after a brilliant session. The gap between 3rd and 8th place was 0.203 with Sowery starting in 3rd position ahead of Vikash in 4th place. Dylan Young will start in 5th position with Camren Kaminsky in 6th position.

    Bharath was ecstatic after taking his first ever pole position. He commented, “The car has been great from the beginning and i have been confident ahead of qualifying. It was a really close session and even after the red flag I felt we had the pace to go faster. Cullen was close and it was a great battle for pole position. I am confident ahead of tomorrow and look forward to fighting for the win.”

    Earlier in the day Free Practice 1 saw Australian driver Dylan Young fastest ahead of Sowery, Cullen and Bharath. The times got even faster in Free Practice 2 with Cullen taking over the top spot in a highly competitive session. The top 12 drivers were covered by less than a second. Tarun Reddy was 2nd fastest with Sowery and Bharath completing the top 4.

    Out of the 5 Indians on the grid, 4 drivers have graduated from the MRF 1600 category, which runs with the MMSC National Racing Championship. Tarun Reddy won the 2014 MRF 1600 Championship, with Advait Deodhar, Lee Keshav and Vikash Anand finishing in 2nd, 3rd and 4th places respectively. Raj and Tarun were both race winners in Round 1 in Qatar, and are currently lying 2nd and 5th in the Championship respectively.

    18 year Toby Sowery currently leads the Challenge with 86 points. He finished on the podium in all 4 races in Round 1 which included 2 wins. The battle for 2nd is tied with Raj Bharath and GP3 driver Ryan Cullen on 53 points. Kyle Mitchell is 3rd on 51 points with Tarun Reddy on 49 points.

    MRF Challenge

    In its third year, the MRF Challenge 2014 will feature 16 MRF Formula 2000 race cars, which have been made in India by JA Motorsport based in Coimbatore, in collaboration with Dallara, world’s largest racing car manufacturer and also Jayem Automotives Ltd, which is a strategic partner for Tata Motors Ltd. 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. The MRF Formula 2000 is powered by a 2.0 litre 210 BHP Renault Sport Engine and will have a Hewland 6-Speed sequential gearbox. The race car has also been crash tested to FIA F3 safety standards and will race with MRF ZLO slick and wet tyres.

    The MRF Challenge has fielded a strong driver line-up in the last two seasons, with drivers going on to win races in GP2 and British Formula 3. The MRF Challenge Alumni include GP2 drivers like Arthur Pic, Tio Ellinas, Jon Lancaster, Conor Daly, GP3 drivers like Ryan Cullen and Carmen Jorda, Former Formula 2 Champion Luciano Baccheta and British Drivers Harry Tincknell (WEC) and Rupert Svendsen-Cook.

    MRF Challenge 2014 Calendar:

    Round 1: October 17-18, 2014, Doha, Losail International Circuit (Night Race)

    Round 2: November 14-15, 2014, Bahrain, Bahrain International Circuit (World Endurance Championship Support Race)

    Round 3: January 24-25, 2014, Chennai, Madras Motor Race Track

    ends/Adrenna release

  • Team Tata Motors dominate Spirit of Kalinga III, sweep the podium

    Bhubaneswar, November 9: Team Tata Motors continued to dominate the 2014 Indian National TSD Rally Championship as they scored a 1-2-3 in the Pro Stock category in the Spirit of Kalinga III, the sixth round, here on Sunday.

    Sourav Chatterjee and Ashoke Kumar Basu topped the Pro Stock class after garnering a total time penalty of three minutes, 47 seconds. Second were Rajiv Sarkar and Moulinath Ghosh (7:43). Bangalore’s two-time and defending champions Chidananda Murthy and BS Sujith Kumar, with a penalty of 10:51 minutes, finished third.

    However, Murthy and Sujith Kumar, who had 106 points before this round, earned 18 points here and still continue to lead the Pro Stock championship table with 124 points. The duo had won four continuous rounds before this weekend’s event.

    “It was unfortunate that we were unable to continue our winning form in Bhubaneswar. But, the good thing is what we are still leading the championship,” said Chidananda Murthy.

    Sujith Kumar added: “This was a bit of a disappointment because we had a very good run till now. However, we will try to bounce back in the next round in Kolkata next weekend.”

    In the Pro Expert class, Karthik Maruthi and Sankar Anand won. They were also the Overall winners. Team Tata Motors entries of Ganesh Moorthy and T Nagarajan and Ajgar Ali and Mohammad Musthafa finished second and third respectively. Ali-Musthafa still lead the championship with 111 points.

    Results (top three):

    Pro Stock: 1. Sourav Chatterjee/ Ashoke Kumar Basu (Team Tata Motors, 3:47 minutes); 2. Rajiv Sarkar/ Moulinath Ghosh (Team Tata Motors, 7:43 minutes); 3. Chidananda Murthy/ BS Sujith Kumar (Team Tata Motors, 10:51 minutes).

    Pro Expert: 1. Karthik Maruthi/ Sankar Anand (00:50 seconds); 2. Ganesh Moorthy/ T Nagarajan (Team Tata Motors, 01:03 minutes); 3. Ajgar Ali/ Mohammad Musthafa (Team Tata Motors, 1:15 minutes).

    Ends

    Chidananda Murthy and BS Sujith Kumar in action on Sunday. A Tata Team image
    Chidananda Murthy and BS Sujith Kumar in action on Sunday. A Tata Team image

  • Chidananda Murthy-BS Sujith Kumar looking for fifth consecutive victory

    Bhubaneswar, November 8: The sixth round of the 2014 Indian National TSD Rally Championship, the Spirit of Kalinga III, is all set to start here on November 9, Team Tata Motors is all geared up and hopes to continue its winning form.

    The highlight of the championship so far has been the dominating show by Team Tata Motors entrants. The lead entry from Team Tata Motors is driver Chidananda Murthy and co-driver BS Sujith Kumar from Bangalore. The duo is taking part in the Pro Stock category and has won four rallies in a row. The wins came in Jaipur, Bangalore, Coimbatore and Goa and the duo is leading the Championship points table with 106 points.

    Murthy and Sujith Kumar have been the Pro Stock National champions in 2012 and 2013 and they hope to make it a hat-trick by winning in 2014.

    “Winning four rounds of the INTSDRC on the trot is a great thing for us and we hope to make it five in a row here. This will help us get closer to the 2014 title,” said Chidananda Murthy.

    Sujith Kumar added: “The break after the fifth round of the INTSDRC has refreshed us. We look forward to the event this weekend and a win is just what we are looking at in order to bag the National title for the third consecutive time.”

    Another Team Tata Motors entry of Saurav Chatterjee and Ashoke Kumar Basu is second in the Pro Stock championship.

    In the Pro Expert category, Team Tata Motors is fielding three teams. Here too, as in the Pro Stock category, the Team Tata Motors pair of SK Ajgar Ali and MK Mohammad Musthafa is leading the championship with 96 points. Needless to say, Ali and Musthafa are looking to win.

    The other two entries from the Indian automobile giant are Ganesh Moorthy-T Nagarajan and M Chandrashekar-Srikanth Gowda and they too hope to do a good job in the Spirit of Kalinga III.

    The ceremonial flag-off was held on Saturday evening from the Kalinga Stadium. Thirty cars and 10 motorbikes have entered the event which will be mostly on tarmac.

    Ends

    Chidananda Murthy and BS Sujith Kumar gunning for hattrick of titles. A Tata Motors image
    Chidananda Murthy and BS Sujith Kumar gunning for hattrick of titles. A Tata Motors image

  • Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif win Rally de Bengal with ease

    Kolkata, 7 Nov 2014: Speed king Gaurav Gill and experienced navigator Musa Sherif of Team Mahindra Adventure continued their domination winning the Indian Rally Championship class in Rally de Bengal, the fourth round of the Indian National Rally Championship at Jhargram, about 167km from here, on Sunday.

    After winning the first two rounds in Nashik and Coimbatore, Gill piloted his Mahindra XUV500. to a victory once again to take a comfortable lead in the championship. The spectacular performance of the Super XUV500 driven by current APRC champion Gaurav Gill (co-driver Musa Sheriff) while the current Desert Storm Champion Sunny Sidhu along with co-driver PVS Murthy, came third.

    Vivek Nayer, Chief Marketing Officer, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited said: “This victory by the Mahindra vehicles is a testimony to the tough and rugged ‘Mahindra DNA’. Having won top positions in the first three rounds of the Indian Rally Championship, our win at the ‘Rally De Bengal 2014’, has continued to keep us in the lead. Time and again our vehicles are proving their mettle against the competition and we will continue to do so during the rest of the upcoming IRC season this year.”

    The Rally De Bengal is a round of FMSCI Indian Rally Championship (IRC). It is run in compliance with the International Sporting Code of the FIA, the General Prescriptions for rallies (4W) of the FMSCI and all relevant Regulations concerning IRC championship. It runs special stages of 108km.

    Note: Other winners to be added.

  • Mangalore youngster, Dean Mascarenhas wins Toyota EMR Trophy

    Noida, 28 Sept 2014: It was action galore at the 2014 MMSC-FMSCI National Racing Championship (NRC) at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida the 2014 Championships were finally sealed. After Tarun Reddy & Arjun Narendran had won their respective titles yesterday, it was the turn of VJ Senthil & Dean Mascarenhas to win the Indian Junior Touring Car (IJTC) and Toyota Etios Motor Racing (EMR) Trophy. Delhi boy Lee Keshav also took his first win in the MRF FF1600 Championship with

    In Race 1 of the MRF FF1600 Kartik Tharani Singh had a great start and got past pole sitter Siddharth Trivellore to lead into the first corner. Lee Keshav slotted into 3rd place as 2014 Champion Tarun Reddy struggled with a throttle problem and dropped down to 6th place. He lost 2 more place before finally retiring from the race. Arjun Narendran retired from the race on lap 2 which brought out the Safety Car. As the Safety Car came in Lee Keshav got a great run on Karthik and overtook him into turn 1 to take the lead. Karthik kept up with Lee but could never make a move with an impressive Dhruv Behl behind the duo. Lee Keshav took his first win with Karthik in 2nd place and Dhruv in 3rd place.

    In R

    MRF FF1600cc race at BIC on Sunday. An Adrenna Communications image
    MRF FF1600cc race at BIC on Sunday. An Adrenna Communications image

    ace 2 of the MRF FF1600 things were back to normal with Tarun Reddy getting off to a brilliant start and leading from start to finish. Behind him it was once again Lee Keshav and Karthik battling it out for the podium spot. It was a tight battle all the way with Lee Keshav taking his third podium of the weekend and 3rd position in the Championship, ahead of Vikash Anand. With Tarun’s win, he made it 11 wins out of 14 races and also became the youngest winner of the Championship.

    Arjun Narendran completed his domination of the ITC Championship after taking his 9th win of the season. Ashish Ramaswamy was once again his closest competitor and finished in 2nd place with Sivaramakrishnan getting on the podium yet again. C Rajaram, who finished in 5th position, took 3rd in the ITC Championship.

    In the Toyota EMR Race 1, Hisham took his second win of the season after a close battle with Dean Mascarenhas. It was a three-way battle for most of the race with championship contender Varun Anekar. While all three men were in with a chance, it was Hisham who crossed the finish line ahead of Dean by 0.448secs with Varun in 3rd place.

    Dean Mascarenhas sealed the title in the last race when he won ahead of Hisham and Mezaan Anees. Dean got revenge on Hisham and beat him by 0.347secs in yet another thriller. Dean has won the 2014 Toyota EMR Trophy ahead of Varun Anekar and Hisham.

    VJ Senthil took his first ever title when he won the IJTC race after a race long battle with Charen Chandran and Feroze Khan. 2013 Champion Feroze was running in 2nd place but lost out to Charen and ended up in 3rd place. It was a great season long battle between Senthil and Feroze with the former being crowned a worthy champion.

    Race Classifications

    Indian Junior Touring Cars

    1. VJ Senthil
    2. Charen Chandran
    3. Feroze Khan

    Toyota EMR – Race 3

    1. Hisham
    2. Dean Mascarenhas
    3. Varun Anekar

    Toyota EMR – Race 4

    1. Dean Mascarenhas
    2. Hisham
    3. Mezan Anees

    Superstock – Race 3

    1. Balavijay
    2. Joel Joseph
    3. Rajarajan

    Indian Touring Cars – Race 3

    1. Arjun Narendran
    2. Ashish Ramaswamy
    3. Sivaramakrishnan

    MRF FF 1600 – Race 2

    1. Lee Keshav Gupta
    2. Kartik Tharani Singh
    3. Dhruv Behl

    MRF FF 1600 – Race 2

    1. Tarun Reddy
    2. Lee Keshav Gupta
    3. Kartik Tharani Singh

    2014 MMSC-FMSCI NATIONAL RACING CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS

    MRF FF 1600

    1. Tarun Reddy
    2. Advait Deodhar
    3. Lee Keshav Gupta

    Indian Touring Cars

    1. Arjun Narendran
    2. Ashish Ramaswamy
    3. C Rajaram

    Superstock

    1. Balavijay
    2. Joel Joseph
    3. Chandresh Tolia

  • Arjun Narendran double ensures maiden Indian Touring Car championship

    Arjun Narendran wins the Indian Touring Car Championship 2014 with a double win at BIC on Saturday. An Adrenna image
    Arjun Narendran wins the Indian Touring Car Championship 2014 with a double win at BIC on Saturday. An Adrenna image

    Buddh International Circuit (Noida), 27 Sept 2014: Arjun Narendran took his first ever title when he sealed the Indian Touring Car Championship with 2 wins at the 2014 MMSC-FMSCI National Racing Championship (NRC) at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida. The battle for supremacy in the Indian Junior Touring Car (IJTC) will come down to the last race after reigning champion Feroze Khan won ahead of Siddharth B and VJ Senthil to keep lead by 3 points.

    Tarun Reddy headed into Race 1 of the MRF FF 1600 series as Champion after his main contender Advait Deodhar pulled out of the finale after suffering from illness. Tarun, starting on pole once again, had a great start and went into the lead ahead of Lee Keshav and Karthik Tharani Singh. There was action on Lap 1 with Anshul Shah and Adnan Lehri collided resulting in the Safety Car coming out. After 3 laps under the safety car the racing resumed and it was Tarun pulling away from the rest of the field again. Behind him Lee Keshav and Karthik were running very close together with the latter unable to find a way past. Behind them there was a close battle between Niranjan Todkari, Siddharth Trivellore, Dhruv Behl and Abhinav Bikkani with Trivellore getting the best of the them and finishing in 4th place. Tarun went on to win ahead of Lee Keshav and Karthik.

    Arjun Narendran started on pole position in the ITC category and had a clean getaway to lead into the first corner ahead of Ashish Ramaswamy. Ashish kept up with Arjun for the first few laps but could not hold on as the latter was too fast. Arjun won by a convincing 13secs with Ashish in 2nd place and veteran driver Vidya Prakash in 3rd place. In Race 2 of the ITC category it was Arjun again as he pulled away comfortably from the chasing pack. Ashish Ramaswamy did not have it so easy as he spent all race battling with Sivaramakrishnan and just managed to hold off him as they crossed the finish line.

    VJ Senthil started on pole position in the IJTC race but was quickly passed by Feroze Khan and Siddharth B. Senthil had a 7 point lead heading into the finale but will now start 3 points behind with one race to go. However for tomorrow’s decider, Senthil will start on pole again with Feroze Khan starting behind in 6th position, which is based on 2nd fastest qualifying time. 

    The Toyota Etios Motor Racing Trophy (EMR) provided some thrilling racing with Varun Anekar winning both races and thereby taking the lead in the championship. In Race 1 Varun beat Hisham 0.533 with Dean Mascarenhas further behind in 3rd position. Race 2 was even closer with a race long battle between Varun and Dean as both drivers battled for the championship. Varun caught Dean by lap 2 and both cars put on a great show for the lead. Varun finally got past Dean on the back straight but with one lap to go almost lost the lead but managed to stay ahead. As they crossed the finish line both drivers were side-by-side as Varun edged ahead by 0.011 seconds.

    Race Classifications – ALL RESULTS ARE PROVISIONAL

    Indian Junior Touring Cars

    1. Feroze Khan
    2. Siddharth B
    3. VJ Senthil

    Toyota EMR – Race 1

    1. Varun Anekar
    2. 2.        Hisham
    3. 3.        Dean Mascarenhas

    Toyota EMR – Race 2

    1. Varun Anekar
    2. 2.        Dean Mascarenhas
    3. 3.        Prashant Tharani

    Superstock – Race 1

    1. Balavijay
    2. Rajarajan
    3. Joel Joseph

    Superstock – Race 2

    1. Balavijay
    2. Joel Joseph
    3. Rajarajan

    Indian Touring Cars – Race 1

    1. Arjun Narendran
    2. Ashish Ramaswamy
    3. Vidyaprakash

    Indian Touring Cars – Race 1

    1. Arjun Narendran
    2. Ashish Ramaswamy
    3. Sivaramakrishnan

    MRF FF 1600 – Race 1

    1. Tarun Reddy
    2. Lee Keshav Gupta
    3. Kartik Tharani Singh

  • Daruvala into the lead after Kerpen dominance: German Karting Championship

    Jehan Daruvala. Image courtesy Sahara Force India Academy
    Jehan Daruvala. Image courtesy Sahara Force India Academy

    Kerpen, 18 Sept 2014: Sahara Force India Academy driver Jehan Daruvala jumped into the lead of the German Karting Championship standings with a commanding performance in Kerpen. He came third twice and won the last race. (Centre in pic)

    The fourth round of the calendar, running on the track that saw Formula One World Champions Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel hone their skills as young drivers, marked an excellent weekend for the Indian racer, who was quick from the get-go, qualifying third in a very competitive field of 32 drivers.

    Starting on the dirty side of the track alongside Championship leader and main rival Martijn van Leeuwen, Jehan dropped some position at the start of the first heats, but a solid display of racing saw him move all the way up to third by the flag. Our Academy driver’s recovery drive was even more aggressive in the second race of the weekend, when he had to claw his way from 10th after the first corner to claim another third spot at the line. This was crucial as it guaranteed Jehan a good position on the grid for the first final – third and on the ideal side of the track.

    With van Leeuwen able to get off cleanly at the start, Jehan took the first few laps of Final 1 to clear all other opponents and throw himself in the leader’s pursuit. Despite the large gap, the Indian racer clawed away second after second and managed to put a move for the lead by the halfway mark. A fierce, but clean, fight ensued, with the two Championship protagonists exchanging positions several times; finally, with three laps to go in the 23-rounds race, Jehan claimed the lead and took good defensive lines to hold back his rival until the chequered flag. In a post-race interview, the One From A Billion graduate stated he felt it was one of the best races he had ever driven.

    Final 2 promised to be another tight battle between the two drivers, but fate had other plans. With most of the field, unlike Jehan, on fresh tyres, the race appeared to be very close for the top seven; on lap three, as Jehan was leading and van Leeuwen was trailing in third place, the Dutchman’s kart ground to a halt. The remainder of the event, however, wasn’t going to be straightforward for the Sahara Force India Academy racer either, as he fell to sixth, behind drivers mounting fresh tyres. As that advantage faded, Jehan set out to relentlessly close the gap and, one overtake after the other, he regained the lead of the drivers eligible to score points and crossed the line in second overall.

    With a full 50-points loot for the weekend, Jehan rises to 147 points, 12 ahead of his Dutch rival with one round left in the Championship. The two worst results for each driver will be dropped, meaning the gap between the two remains small: all is set for a grand finale showdown in Genk (Belgium) on October 3-5.

    Jehan will return to action in the CIK FIA World Championship in Essay (France) next weekend.

    eom/Press Release from Jehan’s Manager