INDIA in F1

Category: Non-F1

  • Adamski & Mancinelli win in Germany

    Hockenheim, 31 Aug 2013: It was a clear cut victory for local man Dirk Adamski in the first race of the Coppa Shell championship at the Hockenheim circuit. Young Italian driver, and title contender, Daniel Mancinelli took the win in a controversial first race for Trofeo Pirelli.

    It was overcast and cooler in Hockenheim when 25 Ferrari Challenge cars lined up for the first Coppa Shell race of the day. Adamski had secured pole, after a disappointing day yesterday where the team achieved practically no running. The Autohaus Saggio team worked through the night to finally identify one small wire that was causing all the problems. Vincenzo Sauto, Eric Prinoth and Oliver Mayer completed the front two rows.

    Adamski showed the chasing pack nothing but his rear bumper for the entire race, followed by Sauto, Thomas Kukucka and Andrii Lebed. Lebed eventually snatched third position from Kukucka and the leading trio began to pull away from the pack. In the closing stages of the race third place was contested between Kukucka, Sauto who eventually came together at the second to last turn, handing the third place to Massimiliano Bianchi.

    “I am really really happy,” Said Adamski on the Podium. “To win so close to home and with all my friends and family here to see it is great, especially after all the hard work my team put in to fix my car.”

    Adamski extends his lead in the championship with 131 points over nearest rival David Gostner with 108 points after finishing eighth today. Sauto is third with 102 points.

    The Trofeo Pirelli race would prove to be controversial from the very start. As Dario Caso lead the field away Giacomo Stratta was missing from his 5th place on the grid due to a gear box problem. Philip Baron used the start to his advantage and appeared in second position from eighth on the grid after just one lap and his pace was clear when he passed Caso for the lead just two laps later. Despite pulling out a clear lead Baron’s place at the front was soon under threat as the stewards investigated him for a false start – the subsequent drive through penalty pushed him down to fourth.

    Meanwhile Daniel Mancinelli had taken third position, followed by Sergey Chukanov who had started ninth. In the closing stages of the race Caso and second placed Mancinelli touched, allowing Mancinelli through to take the lead. Chukanov suddenly spun into the gravel, after he had limped home to the pits a broken front right suspension was his undoing. Mancinelli pulled out a clear lead to take the win, followed by a disgruntled Baron (protesting his drive through penalty) and Caso taking third.

    This action means that Chukanov retains his lead in the championship with 109 points, but now by only 3 points from Mancinelli. Caso has certainly not ruled himself out from the title currently standing on 96 points.

    Race two for Coppa Shell is flagged off at 13:30 local time tomorrow with Trofeo Pirelli following at 15:25.

    ends

    Ferrari Challenge race photo by Ferrari
    Ferrari Challenge race photo by Ferrari

  • Ferrari Racing Days, the Festival of Ferrari arrives in Germany

    Hockenheim, 30 Aug 2013: The Festival of Ferrari that is the Ferrari Racing Days has arrived in Europe for the event at Hockenheim Circuit. Crowds can expect three days of stunning Ferrari action with races for Ferrari Challenge Europe, test sessions for the XX programme and for the F1 Clienti cars. There will also be the F1 show, a Press Release from Ferrari said.

    Ferrari Challenge will take part in the fifth race of an exciting season in both the Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell categories. The man to watch in Coppa Shell is current points leader and local man Dirk Adamski, after a disappointing last round in Portugal he leads the championship by just 5 points.

    David Gostner will be determined not to let him use his home advantage as he aims to take home valuable championship points to boost his second position in the championship.

    In Trofeo Pirelli, it is fast charging Ukrainian Sergey Chukanov who leads the charge with 107 points over Italy’s Daniel Mancinelli on 85 points after missing out on vital championship points after a qualifying crash ruled him out of the Le Mans event.

    Joining the Ferrari Challenge on the circuit for test sessions will be eleven 599xx and three FXX cars. The crowds can also expect an exciting show from the six F1 cars taking part in the F1 Clienti programme – the cars range from 1998 to 2008.

    The Ferrari Racing Days starts on track at 9am on today (August 30th) with a test session for Ferrari Challenge and the action continues throughout the weekend.

    ends

  • K-1000, scheduled on the Indian GP race day, postponed

    Bangalore, 29 Aug 2013: The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) on Thursday confirmed the postponement of Round 4 of the India National Rally Championship (INRC), the K-1000 rally to be held Bangalore, Karnataka. The K-1000, India’s oldest running rally, which has been running for 38 years, will be postponed to November 8-10, 2013 due to operational reasons. The K-1000, which is organized by the Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC), was supposed to be held on September 21-22.

    Though the Federation release states that the K-1000 is postponed due to operational reasons, it is a foregone conclusion from the very day the calendar was announced that the Bangalore leg would be postponed as FMSCI goofed up once again by clashing the dates of K-1000 with the F1 race in Delhi. Most of the motorsports lovers, including many of the drivers, were regular visitors to the Formula One race. In the first year, many of the senior officials of K-1000 were on duty as Marshals in different capacities at the Budh International Circuit for both the F1 and support races. However, the controversial selection of Marshals saw that many experienced marshals were dropped from the line-up for the second year.

    The official version, however, is given here from the FMSCI Press Release:

    President Vicky Chandhok said: “This is unfortunate that we have to postpone the Rally. The INRC has had a fantastic first half and we want to continue in the same vein. The Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC) is committed to putting on a good show and we have all the confidence that the magic of the K-1000 will continue this year.” 

    Though KMSC President Bharath Raj said he was disappointed with the postponement, he added: “We are excited about ensuring the event lives up to the hype in November. Due to operational reasons we have had to postpone the K-1000. We have already informed all participants and they have been very supportive. The K-1000 is extremely popular among

    File photo of a Subaru Impreza, driven by Zuhin A and Musa Sherif
    File photo of a Subaru Impreza, driven by Zuhin A and Musa Sherif

    all rallying drivers and fans and we are committed to putting on a great event come November. The K-1000 will have a completely new route this year which will challenge the competitors even more.”

    The 5th and final round of the 2013 Indian National Rally Championship will be held in Chikmagalur on November 29 – December 1.

    ends

  • Ashwin Sundar, Yudai win a race each in MRF 1600 races

    Chennai, 25 Aug 2013: Yudai Jinkawa and Ashwin Sundar shared  honours winning a race each in the MRF 1600 races at Round 4 of the MMSC-FMSCI National Racing Championship held at the MMRT in Chennai. S Narendran continued his unbeaten streak in the LGB F4 category while Deepak Chinappa won his second race of the weekend in the LGB FS category. N Leelakrishnnan put on a flawless display to win in t he ITC category while Feroz Khan Japanese driver Yudai Jinkawa claimed pole position for tomorrow’s MRF 1600 race ahead of Tarun Reddy and Ashwin Sundar, an Adrenna Communications Press Release said.

    Ashwin Sundar wins a race. Photo by Adrenna
    Ashwin Sundar wins a race. Photo by Adrenna

    The first MRF 1600 race saw Tarun Reddy jump Yudai Jinkawa at the start before the safety car came out due to a collision between Advait Deodhar and Arjun Narendran. Both drivers retired on the spot. Tarun continued to lead till the last lap when Jinkawa pulled off a brilliant move to pass the young India. Tarun had to settle for 2nd place and was pushed to the line by a charging Vikash Anand, who managed to pass championship Ashwin Sundar earlier in the race.

    In the second MRF 1600 race of the day championship leader Ashwin Sundar won a chaotic race ahead of Vikash Anand and Advait Deodhar. Ashwin starting on pole position, lost out at the start to a fast starting Tarun Reddy. Ashwin reclaimed the top sport few corners later and almost collided with Tarun on the next straight as he tried to re-pass him. Tarun, while trying to overtake Ashwin at the end of the straight spun off bringing the safety car on to track. The race was red-flagged soon after as Kizuki Hirota failed to see the Safety Car board and crashed in to the back of Arjun Narendran on the start finish straight. At the re-start Ashwin got away cleanly and pulled away from the rest of the pack to extend his championship lead. Vikash followed him across the finish line ahead of Advait.

    N Leelakrishnan won his second race of the weekend with a commanding win in the ITC race. The battle behind him was a three way battle that went down to the wire. V Ramnarayan managed to take second place ahead of Arjun Narendran and Ashish Ramaswamy with less than a second separating the three. Arjun Balu continued to struggle with his new Volkswagen Vento and could only manage to finish in 5th position. Race 3 of the ITC finished in the same order with Leelakrishnan taking yet another convincing win ahead of Ramnarayan and Arjun Narendran, who were left to fight it out for second position.

    S Narendran made it 8 wins in 8 races after winning the first race of the day in the LGB Formula 4 category. Behind him Jigar Muni fought off Sudanand DR to claim second place. In the LGB Formula Swift category Deepak Chinappa once again stood on the top step of the podium with another win. He was followed closely by Rahul Ramaswamy who tried in vain to get past. He finally finished less than half a second behind the leader. Prashanth K had a lonely race and ended up in third place.

    In the Race 2 of the Indian Junior Touring Cars category, Feroze Khan was once again the class of the field as he took his second win of the weekend. VJ Senthil finished in second place with Charen Chandran finishing in third place. Feroze Khan made it a clean sweep in  Race 3 of the IJTC and finished ahead of Biren Pitwala and VJ Senthil.

    Results: (Timings were not provided by the Organisers)

    Race 3, LGB Formula 4

    1. S Narendran
    2. Jigar Muni
    3. Sudanand DR

    Race 3, LGB Formula Swift

    1. Deepak Chinappa
    2. Raghul Ramaswamy
    3. Prashanth K

    Race 2, Indian Junior Touring Cars

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

    Race 2, Indian Touring Cars

    1. N Leelakrishnan
    2. Ramnarayan V
    3. Arjun Narendran

    Race 1, MRF 1600

    1. Yudai Jinkawa
    2. Tarun Reddy
    3. Vikash Anand

    Race 3, Indian Junior Touring Cars

    1. Feroze Khan
    2. Biren Pitawala
    3. Dr VJ Senthil

    Race 3, Indian Touring Cars

    1. N Leelakrishnan
    2. Ramnarayan V
    3. Arjun Narendran

    Race 2, MRF 1600

    1. Ashwin Sundar
    2. Vikash Anand
    3. Advait Deodhar

    ends

  • Leela tops championship standings in Touring Cars; Deepak Chinappa wins

    Chennai, 24 Aug 2013: N Leelakrishnan went to the top of the Indian Touring Cars championship standings after a convincing win in the opening race of Round 4 of the National Racing Championship held in Chennai. S Narendran continued his unbeaten streak in the LGB F4 category while Deepak Chinappa and Suhail Sabharwal took honours in the LGB FS category. Japanese driver Yudai Jinkawa claimed pole position for tomorrow’s MRF 1600 race ahead of Tarun Reddy and Ashwin Sundar, according to an Adrenna press release.

    N Leelakrishnan qualified on pole position for the ITC race. He managed to fend off V Ramnarayan and Arjun Narendran at the start but the two kept up with the veteran driver putting pressure on him for the entire race . Arjun Balu continued to struggle with his new Volkswagen Vento and could only manage to finish in 5th position.

    S Narendran continued his perfect championship run in the LGB Formula 4 category with another convincing win in Race 1. After a great start he never looked back and took the chequered flag over 20 seconds ahead of second placed Jigar Muni. Sudanand DR took the final step of the podium. In Race 1 of the LGB Formula Swift category Deepak Chinappa took only his second win of the season to extend his championship lead. Suhail Sabharwal finished in an impressive second place ahead of last round winner Prashanth K.

    In the Indian Junior Touring Cars category, Feroze Khan, who is unbeaten this season, continued

    Deepak Chinappa. Photo by Adrenna Communications.
    Deepak Chinappa. Photo by Adrenna Communications.

    his great run of form with another win in Race 1. VJ Senthil finished in second place with Charen Chandran finishing in third place.

    In Race 2 of the LGB F4 race Narendran won yet again but this time had to work hard for it. C Rajaram finished in second place with Emmanuel Jebaraj in third place. The LGB FS battle for first place ended in a crash with championship contenders Deepak Chinappa and Prashanth K colliding with each other while fighting for the top spot. This gave Suhail Sabharwal the win with Deepak making it back to second spot ahead of Rahul Rangaswamy. Prashanth K finished in 4th position. 

    Earlier in the day Japanese driver Yudai Jinkawa put in a brilliant lap to qualify on pole position for the MRF 1600 race. 15 year old Tarun Reddy qualified in 2nd position ahead of championship leader Ashwin Sundar. Vikash Anand and Advait Deodhar will start in 4th and 5th positions respectively. Both races in the MRF 1600 category will be held on Sunday.

    Results:  (Timings were not received)

    Race 1, LGB Formula 4

    1. S Narendran
    2. Jigar Muni
    3. Sudanand DR

    Race 1, LGB Formula Swift

    1. Deepak Chinappa
    2. Suhail Sabharwal
    3. Prashanth K

    Race 1, Indian Junior Touring Cars

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

    Race 1, Indian Touring Cars

    1. N Leelakrishnan
    2. Ramnarayan V
    3. Arjun Narendran

    Race 2, LGB Formula 4

    1. S Narendran
    2. C Rajaram
    3. Emmanuel Jebaraj

    Race 2, LGB Formula Swift

    1. Suhail Sabharwal
    2. Deepak Chinappa
    3. Raghul Ramaswamy

     

    ends

  • F1 legend Michael Schumacher back for Race of Champions (RoC) 2013

    • The world’s most successful racing driver Michael Schumacher will compete at the 2013 Race Of Champions in Bangkok on December 14-15
    • The German holds the all-time records for Formula 1 world championships, grand prix victories and pole positions
    • Schumacher will now look to add a ‘lucky’ seventh consecutive victory for Team Germany in the ROC Nations CupSeven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher is the first driver in the line-up for the 2013 Race Of Champions at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium on the weekend of December 14-15.The end-of-season contest, held every year since 1988, brings together the world’s greatest drivers from motor sport’s main disciplines – including Formula 1, world rally, touring cars, Le Mans, MotoGP, IndyCar and the X-Games – and sets them free to battle head-to-head in identical machinery.

      Schumacher has more titles (7), wins (91) and pole positions (68) than anyone else in the history of Formula 1. The German retired from full-time competition at the end of 2012 but he also has a mighty record at the Race Of Champions, having partnered reigning F1 world champion and compatriot Sebastian Vettel to ROC Nations Cup glory in each of the last six years. To rub it in, the pair won ten races out of ten en route to victory last December.

      Now Schumacher will aim to extend that run even further, sending out an ominous warning to any rivals standing between him and his ‘lucky number’ seven: “I am sorry to say but of course we want to win it again! The fact that it will be the seventh title this year makes it even more interesting, at least for me. So be prepared for a hot Team Germany in the ROC Nations Cup.

      “This year I am still spending a lot of time on four wheels, but obviously not in F1. I still do a lot of karting as this is my ‘old’ love, and I have been driving the Mercedes AMG SLS GT3 which was a really good experience. It is obviously different when you are racing every other weekend but I am still quite used to it.”

      Schumacher takes pride in the 2013 fortunes of his old team Mercedes, which is now a regular F1 front-runner, adding: “I am happy for the progression the team has quite clearly made. It means the work we did in the past years was not bad, as indeed we managed to set the basis we wanted to find to then increase the performance. It is cool to see that the step the team took is probably even bigger than expected from last year to this year, and I think I have good reasons to be happy about it.”

      The Race Of Champions brings together stars from all over the world – and the rest of this year’s line-up will be announced in the run-up to December’s event. Along with Schumacher and Vettel’s total of ten Formula 1 world championships, the 2012 field featured a haul of seven MotoGP championships courtesy of Jorge Lorenzo and Mick Doohan, plus greats from Le Mans (Tom Kristensen), touring cars (Andy Priaulx), IndyCar (Ryan Hunter-Reay), V8 Supercars (Jamie Whincup) and more.

      Race organiser Fredrik Johnsson added: “We are proud that Michael so enjoys the Race Of Champions he keeps coming back for more. He may have officially retired from F1 but we all know that hasn’t dimmed his competitive spirit. This will be a rare chance to see the world’s most successful racing driver take on the best of today’s talent in identical machinery. We hope fans from Thailand and around the world will grab this unique opportunity to see this driving legend in action once more.”

      Ticket details will be released shortly. For further information and access to high-resolution imagery please visit www.raceofchampions.com. Sign up for all the latest updates at www.raceofchampions.com, @raceofchampions on Twitter or Race Of Champions on Facebook.

      File photo of Shumacher from Race of Champions organisers
      File photo of Shumacher from Race of Champions organisers

  • 15-year Tarun is youngest winner of MRF 1600 race

    Irungattukottai, (Chennai) 28 July 2013: The 15-year-old Tarun Reddy won in only his third racing round ahead of Japanese driver Yudai Jinkawa and Ashwin Sundar in Race 2 of the MRF 1600 race at Round 3 of the National Racing Championship in Chennai on Sunday.

    Ashwin Sundar finished first in Race 3 ahead of Shinya Michimi and Yudai Jinkawa to further extend his championship lead. Indian rallying champion Gaurav Gill continued his impressive comeback to the Indian Touring Car championship with convincing victories in both races, according to a Press Release from Adrenna Communications for the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI)Ashwin Sundar, Tarun Reddy, Yudai Jinkawa with Narain Karthikeyan.

    Prashanth K and S Narendran continued their perfect weekend in the LGB Formula Swift and F4 categories respectively with yet another win. Diljith won Race 3 of the the Toyota Etios Motor Racing (EMR) Trophy while Feroze Khan continued his unbeaten run with yet another victory in the Indian Junior Touring Cars.

    In the first race of the day Prashanth K won comfortably ahead of Deepak Chinappa and Suhail Sabharwal to win in the Formula Swift category. S Narendran put on yet another flawless display to win by over 27 seconds ahead of C Rajaram and Sudanand DR.

    Race 2 saw the MRF 1600 take to track with Jinkawa starting on pole ahead of Tarun Reddy and Ashwin Sundar. Tarun had a great start and went around the outside of Jinkawa in the first corner to take the lead with  Ashwin in third. Ashwin then went off track and dropped back to sixth place at the end of the second lap. Tarun pulled away from Jinkawa at an impressive pace at over a half a second a lap. Ashwin meanwhile made up 3 positions to get back into 3rd position. Tarun crossed the line in first position to become the youngest winner at the MMRT with Jinkawa in 2nd and Ashwin in 3rd place.

    Diljith won Race 3 of the Toyota EMR Trophy ahead of Abhinay Bikkani and karting graduate Akhil Rabindra. Diljith started on pole position and led from start to finish comfortably. The battle behind him was very close with four cars fighting for the remaining two podium spots. In the Abhinay and Akhil managed to hold off the challenge from Keith D’Souza and Arjun Narendran to finish on the podium.

    Gaurav Gill won Race 1 of the Indian Touring Cars while championship leader Arjun Balu struggled in his new Volkswagen Vento and was forced to retire. His title rival N Leelakrishnan finished in second place ahead of Ashish Ramaswamy. Gill led comfortably and was not matched all race long.

    Feroze Khan finished a perfect weekend when he led from start to finish in Race 3 of the Indian Junior Touring Cars. Behind him R Rajan finished in second place ahead of Vidyuth Iyer. There was a great battle for 4th position with 5 cars involved in a close battle. Fahad Kutty finally won that battle to finish in 4th place.

    Ashwin Sundar got back to the top step of the podium with a win in the MRF 1600 category. Ashwin had a good start and battled with Jinkawa for the top spot in the first three laps before pulling away. Jinkawa and Race 2 winner Tarun Reddy were battling for second position before the both went off and lost places. Japanese driver Shinya Michimi took advantage of the situation to finish in second place. Jinkawa and Tarun recovered to finish in third and fourth places respectively.

    In the last race of the weekend Gaurav made it two out of two with another commanding win on a damp track. Title contenders Arjun Balu and N Leelakrishnan could not match Gill’s pace and had to settle for second and third position.

    ends 

  • Alonso, Pedro de la Rosa launch Shell Lego Challenge

    Scuderia Ferrari Official Driver Fernando Alonso and Test Driver Pedro de la Rosa launch the Shell LEGO Challenge
    Scuderia Ferrari Official Driver Fernando Alonso and Test Driver Pedro de la Rosa were on hand in the Ferrari motorhome today to help launch the Shell LEGO Challenge. The drivers went head to head to see who could build the Ferrari F1® model LEGO car in the quickest time. De la Rosa was in impressive form and took an early lead, never looking back as he took the chequered flag with an impressive time of 2:45.44, Alonso coming in a close second with a time of 4:08.68. This meant de la Rosa took his place in pole position on the Shell leader board with Alonso joining him on the front row.

    Throughout the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix race weekend, Shell will also be putting members of the accredited media through their paces as they too attempt the #ShellLEGOChallenge. Media will strive to beat the Scuderia Ferrari duo’s times, as well as each other’s. They will battle it out to take pride of place at the top of the Shell leader board with a chance to win some fantastic Shell LEGO prizes.

    Shell has worked closely with both Ferrari and LEGO to produce six exclusive Ferrari model LEGO cars based on some of the most iconic vehicles in Ferrari’s motoring history: the Ferrari 150° Italia, the Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta short wheel base, the Ferrari F40, the Ferrari FXX, the Ferrari 458 Italia and a Scuderia Ferrari Truck. The Shell LEGO promotion is available in a number of countries – contact Shell’s Motorsport Press Officer, Amanda Hunt, for more details.

    Alonso commented after the challenge: “The Shell LEGO Challenge was a lot of fun; obviously there was a great deal of pressure to build the car as quickly as possible. It was a close contest, but Pedro got a great start and I wasn’t able to catch him to take pole on the Shell leader board grid.”

    The results of the #ShellLEGOchallenge will be announced on Saturday 27 July and the winners will be presented with their prizes on Sunday 28 July at 10:30, before the race, by Scuderia Ferrari Official Driver Felipe Massa and Test Driver Marc Gené.

    ends

  • Tamada double in SuperSports 600cc Asian Road Race at Chennai

    Chennai, 14 July 2013: Musashi Boon Honda Racing achieved a perfect weekend in India as riders, Makoto Tamada recorded a double victory with teammate, Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman in tow in the action-packed SuperSports 600cc races in the third round of the 2013 PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship at Irrungattukottai near here today.

    Tamada earned his maiden victory for the season in Race 1. Despite making a slight mistake at the start of the 16-lap race, the former MotoGP rider caught up with Azlan who was tussling for P1 with PETRONAS Yamaha rival, Mohd Zamri Baba, according to an Adrenna Communications Press Release.

    Azlan and Zamri aggression saw them lost pace after coming into contact in lap-9 and Tamada capitalized on the opportunity to steal lead and claim his first win with 15’36.927s. Azlan settled for second and Zamri third, 15’37.218s and 15’38.166s respectively.

    Race 2 did not fare so well for the Japanese as he high-sided after piloting the race for 9-laps, forcing race officials to call out the red-flag and ultimately call off the race.

    Despite all the drama, Tamada was still crowned champion as results were taken based on riders’ position in lap 9, but with half points. Tamada came in first with 15’36.927s followed by Azlan with 15’37.218s and Zamri third, 15’38.166s.

    “Race 2 felt a bit off, from the start I felt the grip was not strong enough. Nevertheless, I could still ride comfortably. But somehow, I lost control of the bike and crashed coming out of a turn. My back and leg still hurts from the impact but I consider myself lucky to escape without any major injuries,” he said.

    Tamada went on to talk about his first outing at the Madras Motor Race Track and commented, “Overall, it was a good weekend. Although it ended on the wrong note, I still finished first in both races and Azlan is now back on top of the championship standings. The team is very happy and we will continue to work hard for the remaining rounds left this season.”

    Picking up 30 points from this leg, Azlan now leads the SuperSports 600cc standings with 120 points followed by Tamada second, 88.5 points while Zamri sits in third place with 81 points.

    Meanwhile, Ahmad Afif Amran regained control of the Underbone 115cc points table thanks to a victory and a second place finish.

    The PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha rider who broke the lap record yesterday won Race 1 within 19’59.312s, 0.024s ahead of Indonesian title contender, Hadi Wijaya (R9 Racing Team) who finished second with 19’59.536s. Completing the podium steps was Hadi’s teammate, Ferlando Herdian with 20’00.256s.

    Feeling extremely motivated, the 18-year old Afif was hoping to further extend his championship lead in Race 2 with another possible win but instead found himself outgunned by compatriot, Mohd Affendi Rosli (Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing) who took the chequered flag with 20’06.603s in the final seconds of the race.

    Afif was forced to settle for second place with 20’06.635s while Hadi Wijaya finished third, 20’06.912s.

    Bagging 45 points from this leg, Afif steals the lead from Hadi Wijaya with 104 points, a one-point advantage over the latter (103 points). Norizman Ismail sits in third overall with 82 points.

    “Words cant express how happy I feel to get back on top of the standings. The team prepared extensively for this round so it feels really good to achieve what we came here to do,” said Afif.

    He went on to elaborate on the race, “I tried to pull away early in Race 1 but the other riders were really fast. So I kept close with the frontrunners and attacked in the final lap and our efforts paid off when I won the race ahead of Hadi.”

    “The same thing happened in Race 2, only these times there were a lot more riders in the front. There was no way I could escape so I opted to keep a steady pace. I was close to overtaking Affendi at the final turn but my bike lost power when exiting. I was quite disappointed but still content to still finish on the podium,” he said.

    Lastly, Hiroki Ono bagged a double win in the Asia Dream Cup.

    The Japanese rider took victory in Race 1 with total time of 19’33.885s followed by by Dwi Satria second with 19’34.057s and Khairul Idham Pawi third, 19’34.202s.

    Ono then went on to bag his second win for the day in Race 2 with 15’48.891s to edge over Gerry Salim in second place and Mohd Fitri Ashraf Razali third, each with 15’49.197s and 15’49.840s respectively.

    Round 4 of the PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship will take place at the iconic Suzuka International Circuit in Japan from 30th August to 1st September.

    Results

    SuperSports 600cc

    Race 1

    1.Makoto Tamada (Honda) 27’47.541s 2.Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (Honda) 27’47.776s 3.Mohd Zamri Baba (Yamaha) 27’53.879s 4.Thitipong Warokorn (Honda) 27’59.974s 5.Tomoyoshi Koyama (Honda) 28’00.378s

    Race 2

    1.Makoto Tamada (Honda) 15’36.927s 2.Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (Honda) 15’37.218s 3.Mohd Zamri Baba (Yamaha) 15’38.166s 4.Yuki Ito (Yamaha) 15’38.428s 5.Ryuta Kobayashi (Honda) 15’33.367s

    Overall Standings

    1.Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (Honda) 120 points 2.Makoto Tamada (Honda) 88.5 points 3.Mohd Zamri Baba (Yamaha) 81 points 4.Katsuaki Fujiwara (Kawasaki) 80.5 points 5.Tomoyoshi Koyama (Honda) 53 points

    Team Standings

    1.Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing 127 points 2.PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha 95 points 3.BEET Kawasaki Racing 80.5 points 4.Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing 51.5 points 5.Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing 51 points

    Underbone 115cc

    Race 1

    1.Ahmad Afif Amran (Yamaha) 19’59.312s 2.Hadi Wijaya (Yamaha) 19’59.536s 3.Ferlando Herdian (Yamaha) 20’00.256s 4.Harlan Fadhillah (Yamaha) 20’00.374s 5.Mohd Affendi Rosli (Honda) 20’01.371s

    Race 2

    1.Mohd Affendi Rosli (Honda) 20’06.603s 2.Ahmad Afif Amran (Yamaha) 20’06.635s 3.Hadi Wijaya (Yamaha) 20’06.912s 4.Amirul Ariff Musa (Honda) 20’07.166s 5.Harlan Fadhillah (Yamaha) 20’07.232s

    Overall Standings

    1.Ahmad Afif Amran (Yamaha) 104 points 2.Hadi Wijaya (Yamaha) 103 points 3.Norizman Ismail (Honda) 82 points 4.Harlan Fadhillah (Yamaha) 75 points 5.Kazuki Masaki (Honda) 62 points

    Team Standings

    1.Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing 127 points 2.PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha 104 points 3.R9 Racing Team 103 points 4.Pertamina Enduro Nissin R9 Cargloss 75 points Kawasaki KYT Rextor Manual Tech 64 points

    Asia Dream Cup

    Race 1

    1.Hiroki Ono (JPN) 19’33.885s 2.Dwi Satria (INA) 19’34.057s 3.Khairul Idham Pawi (MAS) 19’34.202s 4.Nakarin Atiratphuvapat (THA) 9’43.650s 5.Jakkrit Swangswat (THA) 19’44.600s

    Race 2

    1.Hiroki Ono (JPN) 15’48.891s 2.Gerry Salim (INA) 15’49.197s 3.Mohd Fitri Ashraf Razali (MAS) 15’49.640s 4.Dwi Satria (INA) 15’49.867s 5.Jakkrit Swangswat (THA) 15’50.316s

    Overall Standings

    1.Hiroki Ono (JPN) 145 points 2.Mohd Fitri Ashraf Razali (MAS) 82 points 3.Gerry Salim (INA) 81 points 4.Khairul Idham Pawi (MAS) 79 points 5.Jakkrit Swangswat (THA) 69 points

    ends

    For more info log on to the PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship official website, www.asiaroadracing.com

    SuperSport 600cc Race 1 podium at Irangattukottai, near Chennai, on Sunday. An Adrenna photo
    SuperSport 600cc Race 1 podium at Irangattukottai, near Chennai, on Sunday. An Adrenna photo

  • Azlan Shah snatches pole in ARRC

    Irungattukottai, 13 July 2013: With track temperatures soaring at the Madras Motor Race Track, all signs are pointing to a scorcher of a race for the third leg of the PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship.

    The 600cc riders power-slid their way around the 3.717km circuit with Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman quickly putting his marker on the coveted pole position with a new lap record of 01:42.909s, a Press Release from Adrenna Communications said.

    And only a day after predicting a Yamaha-advantage, Azlan’s team mate Makoto Tamada powered his own Honda to second on the grid with 01:43.593s. This makes it Tamada’s best start in the race to date, after struggling with bike setting issues for the past two rounds. Mohd Zamri Baba, who has been consistently fast the entire weekend, will take up the third spot on the front row with 01:43.713s.

    “Pole position is perhaps the most important winning-factor in this round. The circuit is tight and there are very few overtaking opportunities, especially in the 600cc class. After clocking in fastest during the morning session, I was even more determined to take the pole position. The new lap record was a bonus,” said Azlan.

    Rafid Topan’s Underbone lap record that stayed intact in the first day was quickly erased as the second day of practices commenced. Harlan Fadhillah beat the record by 0.346 seconds in Free Practice 3 with a fastest lap of 01:59.474s.

    Ahmad Afif Amran quickly bested that time during the opening minutes of the qualifying session with 01:58.672s. But the riders’ momentum was interrupted when the red flag came out on the 18th minute following a crash between Mohd Hafieenaz Mohd Ali and Mohd Adib Rosley. Both riders were reported to be OK. Hafieenaz rode back to the paddock on his own power but Adib fared a little worse, suffering from a sprained ankle.

    However, momentum interrupted, there were no more record-breaking charges by the Underbone riders. Afif scored pole position with his new lap record and will be joined on the front row by defending champion Hadi Wijaya who was second fastest with 01:58.703s and Ferlando Herdian third fastest with 01:59.248s.

    “For the most part, I did my quick lap with a clear track around me. But I did caught up to other riders at the last few corners and slipstreamed my way into pole position,” said Afif. “With the top five riders all clocking below the 2-minute mark, the pole position advantage is really very minimal.”

    Indian riders Sumit Lucas Prabhu will start 11th on the grid with Arunagiri Prabhu starting in 14th place.

    Results: SuperSports 600cc Practice 3 
    1. Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (MAS), 1:43.417s; 2. Md Zamri Baba (MAS), 1:43.500s; 3. Katsuaki Fujiwara (JPN), 1:43.964s; 4. Yuki Ito (JPN), 1:44.304s; 5. Makoto Tamada (JPN), 1:44.347

    SuperSports 600cc Qualifying 
    1. Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (MAS), 01:42.785s (new lap record); 2. Makoto Tamada (JPN), 01:43.593s; 3. Md Zamri Baba (MAS), 01:43.713s; 4. Katsuaki Fujiwara (JPN), 01:43.954s; 5. Peerawat Wongthananon (THA), 01:44.031s

    Asia Dream Cup Practice 2 :
    1. Dwi Satria (INA), 01:57.075; 2. Nakarin Atiratphuvapat (THA), 01:57.240; 3. Hiroki Ono (JPN), 01:57.306; 4. Md Fitri Ashraf Razali (MAS), 01:57.694; 5. Jakkrit Swangswat (THA), 01:57.924

    Asia Dream Cup Qualifying :
    1. Hiroki Ono (JPN), 01:56.230s; 2. Md Dwi Satria (INA), 01:56.600s; 3. Nakarin Atiratphuvapat (THA), 01:57.068s; 4. Md Fitri Ashraf Razali (MAS), 01:57.643s; 5. Khairul Idham Pawi (INA), 01:57.882s

    Underbone 115cc Practice 3:
    1. Harlan Fadhillah (INA), 1:59.474s; 2. Ahmad Afif Amran (MAS), 1:59.794s; 3. Gupita Kresna Wardhana (INA), 2:00.725s; 4. Ferlando Herdian (INA), 2:00.953s; 5. Md Amirul Ariff Musa (MAS), 2:01.097s

    Underbone 115cc Qualifying 
    1. Ahmad Afif Amran (MAS), 01:58.672s (new lap record); 2. Hadi Wijaya (INA), 01:58.703s; 3. Ferlando Herdian (INA), 01:59.248s; 4. Gupita Kresna Wardhana (INA), 01:59.728s; 5. Harlan Fadhillah (INA), 01:59.744s

    ends

    Note: Race begins on Sunday, 14th July at 10am with the action packed races expectedat the MMRT.

    Azlan Shah in action in the 600cc Superbikes qualies. Photo by Adrenna
    Azlan Shah in action in the 600cc Superbikes qualies. Photo by Adrenna