INDIA in F1

Category: Racing

  • Shahan Ali Mohsin impressive at Rotax Final in Italy

    Shahan Ali Mohsin impressive at Rotax Final in Italy

    Shahan Ali Mohsin in action in Italy on Sunday. Photo for INDIAinF1

    Sarno (Italy), 27 October 2019: Shahan Ali Mohsin once again impressed with his performance in the 2019 Rotax Grand Final in Sarno, Italy, last Sunday but missed the final by a whisker, with two retirements hurting him. Representing India, the youngster from Agra raced in the Senior category, at the world stage after winning the 2019 Indian National Karting Championship.

    The week-long competition had 76 racers from around the globe competing in the Senior category, where Shahan qualified in the Top-10 and became the first Indian to do so in a Rotax Grand Final. Racing for Dan Holland Racing from England, Shahan qualified 10th overall in his #317 kart after finishing sixth in his group.

    Holding Indian flag is always a matter of huge pride, says Shahan.

    Heat 1 saw Shahan running well before a contact with another kart resulted in an axle bend, forcing him to retire from the race. However, it was a mighty comeback in Heat 2, where he finished fourth after running at second for a few laps, the best for an Indian in the Rotax Grand  Finals again. The Indian was only 0.043 of a second behind the third-placed finisher.

    It was a close fight again in Heat 3 where he was seventh, only 0.100s behind the sixth-placed driver. His fantastic run though came to a sad end in Pre-Final by the tiniest of margins. He was well on-course to make it into the Final, where the Top-36 make the cut from the 72 finalists.

    Couple of contacts damaged his steering column and tie rod which forced him to retire on Lap 11. He missed the Final by just two points in the end, with the two retirements making the difference. It was mighty close but luck wasn’t with him. He was well received by his fellow competitors though.

    “I felt a lot of emotions as I carried the Indian flag, which is always a matter of pride for me when I represent India. Taking part in the Rotax Max Grand Finals, which is recognised as Olympics of Karting on a weekend where everyone is celebrating Diwali put me on a high,” said Shahan. “It was another superb experience and every time I feel better prepared for the future.

    “One drawback is not competing the full year but the urge to excel is even bigger in Finals when you have so many experienced racers together eyeing for the world No.1 tag. Racing with the best drivers of the world is always full of excitement and it was also a great chance for learning for me.

    Shahan during heats.

    “I’ll say, of all the Finals I have attended, this year it was different as I felt prepared right from the word `go’. The conditions were superb as the usual adjustment took time. We managed to improve every session and also set a benchmark for other Indians with best results in qualifying and heats.

    “The only downer is the two retirements, especially in the Pre-Final which hampered my chance in the Final as I was set to make it in with the points in the two Heats. Anyways, it was a full weekend and now it is all about preparing for 2020 for another year of racing.”

    “I would like to thank Mr Akbar Ebrahim and Meco Motorsports for giving me the opportunity to race in this event and thanks a lot to my team Dan Holland Racing, UK for the technical support,” Shahan concluded.

     

  • Kush Maini secures Rookie win in Abu Dhabi night race

    Kush Maini secures Rookie win in Abu Dhabi night race

    Kush Maini on the podium. Photo for INDIAinF1

    Abu Dhabi, 26 Oct 2019: Kush Maini drove a brilliant Race 1 to bring home the Rookie Win in his first-ever night race at Abu Dhabi also achieved an overall sixth position in the Formula Renault Euro Cup at Yas Marina Circuit on Friday.

    Starting P6 on the grid, Maini managed to get ahead of Sebastian at the start and into the first corner. Maini then kept his fifth position for several laps before having to move back to P6 ahead of all the Rookies. From then on, he kept a steady pace to complete the race ahead of Patrik Pasma and Caio Collet.

    Kush was happy about the Rookie win and commented, “It was nice to have a Rookie win under the lights here in Abu Dhabi. There is such a big difference in temperatures which makes the event very interesting.“

    Kush finished the season 2nd in the Rookie championship and 6th in the overall championship with 102 points.
  • Ryhana Bee, Ann Jennifer for Asia Cup Road Racing Round 2

    Ryhana Bee, Ann Jennifer for Asia Cup Road Racing Round 2

    Ryhana Bee, right, and Ann Jennifer pose with FIM Asia vice-president Sujith Kumar before their races on Saturday. Photo FB @BSSujith

    Chennai, 12 Oct 2019: Ryhana Bee, the new 165cc Ladies Class National Champion, rushed to the airport straight from the awards function after receiving the award on Friday night to reach in time for the Round 2 of the FIM Asia Cup Road Racing championship 2019 to be held in Thailand on Sunday.

    Ryhana will have Ann Jennifer as teammate as the top two Indian riders will represent India as team FMSCI at the Road Racing event again. Jennifer was the National Champion for the year 2018 in the same class.

    Both the Indian riders will be seen in action at the Thailand Circuit, Nakhonchaisri
    as the event runs from October 11 to 13. FIM Asia vice-president Sujith Kumar (in the photo) is also present at the event.

    “We have taken up a lot of activities and have also promoted Women In Motorsports events in India. For every event, we are now sending a woman entry and even in domestic events, safety aspects are being given prime importance. In the near future, we expect a lot of improvements for the riders and in terms of infrastruture,” felt Sujith Kumar BS.

    I wanna thank FIM Asia, FMSCI, FIM WomenIn MOtorsport, Sujith Kumar for giving us an opportunity to run at the Asia level,” said Ryhana Bee. She sent her special thanks to Suresh Franklin who supported her in Team India. “It is always proud to represent the country and carry the Indian Tricolour,” she concluded.

  • Gala time at sparkling MMSC Awards Night


    Winners of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship titles (Cars and Motorcycles)

    Chennai, 12 Oct 2019: The Madras Motor Sports Club reiterated its decision to introduce night racing for saloon cars next year after successfully conducting India’s maiden night test session in August at the MMRT.

    Speaking on the occasion of MMSC 2019 Circuit Racing Annual Awards function here last night, MMSC president Ajit Thomas said: “In addition to continuing the highly successful mainstream events, we plan to introduce interesting alternate events like Night Racing after successfully conducting the first-ever night test session for saloon cars at the MMRT in August.

    “We also have plans to further upgrade our infrastructure at the track with a permanent Grand Stand and a karting track, after having invested in building two new paddocks, a permanent Drag Racing strip, the only one of its kind in India, state-of-the-art timing equipment, Pit display system, etc.”

    The glitzy evening saw chief guest Mr Arun Mammen, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, MRF Ltd., presenting trophies to the podium finishers of just-concluded Indian National Racing Championships for four-wheelers and two-wheelers – Individual, Team and Manufacturers. Trophies were also presented to the top three finishers in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup and TVS One-Make Championship.

    Raghul Rangasamy, winner of the MRF F1600 Championship and Dhruv Shivaji Mohite of Rayo Racing, champion in the Indian Touring Cars, will be participating in one-off races in the UK and South Africa, respectively.

    Reiterating MRF’s commitment to motorsports, Mr Mammen said: “As you are all aware, MRF is India’s No.1 Tyre Company for more than 32 years and has been one of the pioneers in the field of motorsports. MRF has not just grown as a company but has nurtured motorsports in India, whether it is Racing, Rallying, Supercross or Karting.

    “Our efforts to give the best tyres has fructified and today the national motorcycle championship has seen the country’s first slick motorcycle tyres. This has received positive response from the participants of the National Championship including the manufacturers who are keenly putting their efforts into making better machines to race on track. We do not intend to stop with that, we push ourselves to raise our products performance and see that we take Indian racing to the next level.”

    Reflecting on the 2019 season, MMSC Vice-President and former FMSCI chief Vicky Chandhok said: “At the outset, we would like to thank MRF for their continued support and commitment. MRF’s active involvement in our racing activities has helped us to take the sport to the next level as was evident this season when we witnessed exciting season marked by close racing. We saw a quantum increase in number of participants from across India, giving our championships a truly National flavour. We had 260 participants from 18 States and Union territories in two-wheeler championships, 90 representing 15 teams in four-wheeler championship. The season also heralded several emerging young talents in the age-group of 12-18. We also acknowledge and appreciate the participation of manufacturers TVS, Honda, Volkswagen and Yamaha.”

    Mr Indu Chandhok, one of the founders of the sport’s governing body in India, FMSCI, emphasised efforts to focus on road safety through motorsport thus supporting FIA’s move in this direction.

  • A fighting Advait Deodhar misses overall 3rd narrowly in the 2019 Euro Nascar Championship

    A fighting Advait Deodhar misses overall 3rd narrowly in the 2019 Euro Nascar Championship

    Advait Deodhar fights in the rain in the last round at Zoldar and finishes 4th overall in the Euro NASCAR series. Photo for INDIAinF1

    Zoldar, 8 Oct 2019: The London-based Indian racing driver Advait Deodhar started the weekend in contention for overall third place in the 2019 NASCAR Whelen Euro Championship Elite 2 class but missed out narrowly and had to settle for the overall fourth after a thrilling final race here in Belgium on Sunday, the 6th of October.

    In Race 1, after some stellar performance, sitting in 3rd and fighting for a win, Advait lost out on the very last lap, 2 corners before the finish line. The last 300 meters of Race 1 impacted the outcome of P3 in the Championship as Advait was also given a 60-second time penalty.

    Race 2 started under extremely wet conditions. After a good start and on the pace, the rain stopped and the extreme wet setup the team opted for, started working against the changing track conditions. With the car being a handful to drive, Advait brought home his Chevrolet SS in a lonely 6th place clocking 37:51.569.

    Advait Deodhar poses with Gian Luca Guiglia, his CAAL Racing team manager.

    After the successful end of a long season where Advait had to struggle for every race looking for sponsors, he managed admirably to complete the season fighting for a top-three place despite missing a round. Looking back at the season, the racer who works as a Yacht broker to fund his racing activity, said: “It’s been a surreal journey and racing this year has happened against all odds. I have not been able to raise sponsorship but managed to race this year with no sponsorship by working extremely hard on my day job and risked it all to fund it through my earnings, and using up all credit and savings. I drove for three teams due to budget constraints, missed one round, lived in uncertainty and confirmed each round only a few days before each race weekend.”

    Fans of Advait before the race.

    Advait drove against a very competitive grid and managed to somehow make it all work and the fact that he was fighting for overall third till the last corner is a great achievement when compared to the support and resources enjoyed by the other drivers. “A top-3 should have been possible under different circumstances but I’m very proud of the achievement this year,” he quipped.

    “I think it’s about time I secure a sponsor and get some support from Indian companies as I race on the international stage,” said Advait even as he looks at 2020. “I want to come back to the Championship in 2020 with a full budget and race seat confirmed. I will fight for the title and accept nothing less,” he concluded with conviction. It is time Indian corporates and many sports-loving promoters look at this rare talent and support him in his journey. Last year Advait Deodhar won the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series in October.

  • Advait Deodhar all set for the final week-end with an outside chance for the title

    Advait Deodhar all set for the final week-end with an outside chance for the title

    File photo of European Nascar series in progress. INDIAinF1

    Zolder (Belgium), 4 Oct 2019: Advait Deodhar is currently 4th overall, and just 2 points behind third-placed Vittorio Ghirelli the final round of the 2019 European NASCAR Championship begins in Zolder, Belgium. The first race is scheduled for 8.30 pm (IST) on Saturday.

    The fight for P3 in the Championship is going to be intense, with five drivers from P3 to P7, separated by less than 30 points.

    File photo of Advait Deodhar (left)

    Advait also has an outside chance to fight for the overall Championship as a maximum of 160 points are still on offer in the two races, but it is probably a difficult task for the Indian.

    However, he is looking for a good performance in the final round and is raring to go to get the best out of the week-end for a top-3 finish.

    In the earlier round in Hockenheim on Sept 23, Advait’s week-end did not go a planned. In Race 1, Advait bent his steering arm after an unavoidable crash in front of him as too was forced to collide with another two cars and ended up 10th. In Race 2, he bagan 10th but could onoy manage a P7.

    Saturday
    Qualifying : 9.30 am GMT
    14.00 India time.
    Race 1 : 16.00 GMT
    20.30 India time.
    Sunday
    Race 2 : 9.50 am GMT
    14.20 India time.

  • Deepak, Venkatesan crowned Champs; Sarath, Ryhana play safe to clinch Championship titles

    Deepak, Venkatesan crowned Champs; Sarath, Ryhana play safe to clinch Championship titles


    National champions (L to R) – Ryhana Bee (Girls), Sarath Kumar (Pro-Stock 165cc) and Venkatesan (Novice) on Sunday. Photos Anand Philar

    Chennai, 29 Sept 2019: Deepak Ravikumar of TVS Racing annexed the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc title on a day dominated by Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing as the fifth and final round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2019 concluded at the MMRT, here today.

    Ravikumar’s win today, his fourth this season, denied Honda a clean sweep of titles in the Pro-Stock category. While TVS had something to celebrate, Honda riders, Anish Shetty (Pro Stock 201-300cc) and Sarath Kumar (Pro-Stock 165cc) won the championship in their respective categories. Shetty, who had sealed the championship yesterday itself, finished the season with a double and seven wins on the trot, while Sarath won his first National championship title in nine years despite finishing third in his race.


    Deepak Ravikumar (centre), winner of Race-2 in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc category flanked by second-placed Karthik Mateti (left) and third-placed Rahil Shetty

    The other National champions to emerge on the concluding day were Chennai riders Venkatesan I of Team Moto Maniacz in the Novice (Stock 165cc) and Ryhana Bee of Sparks Racing in the Girls category.

    While Ravikumar had to fight hard for his crucial win, Sarath played it smart to finish third behind Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) and a charging Kevin Kannan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing).

    Likewise, Ryhana Bee rode carefully and was content to finish third that earned her sufficient points to win the championship. Finishing ahead of Ryhana in the race were 2018 champion Ann Jennifer (Sparks Racing) and Alisha Abdullah (Alisha Racing).

    “I am absolutely delighted to win a National championship after a lapse of nine years. We had a strategy for today’s race and I am happy that it worked well,” said Sarath Kumar who had a brief stint in the FIM Moto3 World Championship a few years ago before a knee injury severely affected his racing career as the healing process took much longer than expected.

    The Pro-Stock 165cc race turned out to be a two-man show with Kannan and Jagan exchanging lead through the eight laps while Sarath seemed content to be in a lonely third spot while behind him, championship contender Rajiv Sethu, who had won six races on the trot earlier this season, gradually faded from the contest. By finishing third, Sarath picked up sufficient points to clinch the title ahead of Sethu and Jagan Kumar.

    The Girls race saw defending champion Ann Jennifer hitting the front and go on to win with a measure of comfort with Lani Zena Fernandez (Demonz Racing) and Alisha Abdullah (Alisha Racing) following home. Ryhana Bee finished fourth. However, after the post-race scrutiny, Lena was disqualified for “technical violation” and Ryhana was elevated to third place. Ryhana, thus, finished with a tally of 123 and secured the championship while Jennifer (108) was placed second.

    “Since I had a bad qualifying session, I started only fourth on the grid and with the championship in stake, I was intent on collecting points without taking any risks. This is my first National championship title and I am extremely happy. My thanks to my team, Sparks Racing, Yamaha and all the mechanics who worked behind the scene,” said Ryhana.

    In the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup came from Chennai’s Md Mikail notched eight consecutive wins for the title in the NSF 250R class (FIM Moto3 spec bikes). Aizwal’s Lal Nunsanga who finished with seven wins, including a double in the final round, emerged champion in CBR 150 class.

    The results (Provisional):

    National Championship:

    Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race-2, 7 laps): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) (13mins, 31.612secs); 2. Karthik Mateti (Gusto Racing) (13:32.042); 3. Rahil Shetty (Sparks Racing) (13:35.414). Championship winners: Deepak Ravikumar (Rider), TVS Racing (Team), TVS (Manufacturer).

    Pro-Stock 201-300cc (Race-2, 7 laps): 1. Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (13:55.497); 2. Naresh Babu (Eneos Honda Chandra Racing) (13:55.727); 3. Aravind Balakrishnan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (14:04.454). Championship winners: Anish Shetty (Rider), Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing (Team), Honda (Manufacturer).

    Pro-Stock 165cc (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) (15mins, 59.392secs); 2. Kevin Kannan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (15:59.592); 3. Sarath Kumar (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (16:10.802). Championship winners: Sarath Kumar (Rider), Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing (Team), Honda (Manufacturer).

    Novice (Stock 165cc) Race-2: 1. Venkatesan I (Motomaniacz Racing) (13:09.759); 2. Manoj Y (Motomaniacz Racing) (13:09.871); 3. S Aravind (Rockers Racing) (13:10.028). Championship winners: Venkatesan I (Rider), Sparks Racing (Team), Yamaha (Manufacturer).

    Girls (Stock 165cc, 5 laps): 1. Ann Jennifer (Sparks Racing) (11:07.846); 2. Alisha Abdullah (Alisha Racing) (11:16.374); 3. Ryhana Bee (Sparks Racing) (11:17.256). Championship winners: Ryhana Bee (Rider), Sparks Racing (Team), Yamaha (Manufacturer).

    One-Make Championship organised by MMSC:

    Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250R (Race-2): 1. Md Mikail (Chennai) (11:04.901); 2. Kavin Samaar Quintal (Chennai) (11:09.254); 3. Charan Thangavel (Chennai) (11:24.314). Race-3: 1. Md Mikail (14:26.574); 2. Kritik Vasant Habib (Gadag) (14:51.658); 3. Kavin Samaar Quintal (15:04.385). Rider champion: Md Mikail.

    CBR 150 (Race-2): 1. Lal Nunsanga (Aizwal) (13:11.665); 2. S Rajdaswanth (Trichy) (13:12.646); 3. Samuel Martin (Bengaluru) (13:19.680). Rider champion: Lal Nunsanga (Aizwal).

    TVS Open (RR 310) (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. Anand R (Chennai) (15:56.785); 2. Aravind Ganesh (Chennai) (15:58.363); 3. Soorya PM (Chennai) (15:58.607). Rider champion: Aravind Ganesh.

    Novice (RTR 200) Race-2: 1. Venkatesan I (Chennai) (13:17.268); 2. Manoj Y (Chennai) 13:17.325); 3. Anish Samson (Bengaluru) (13:21.648). Rider champions: Venkatesan I (Chennai, Boys) and Nivetha Jessica (Chennai, Girls).

    Media Championship: Jehan Darukhanawala (champion rider).

  • Mumbai’s Aaroh wins Novice Cup; Chennai’s Vishnu, Pune’s Tanay back in lead of JKNRC

    Mumbai’s Aaroh wins Novice Cup; Chennai’s Vishnu, Pune’s Tanay back in lead of JKNRC

    The JK Tyre Novice Cup Championship winner Aaroh Ravindra is flanked by Chirag Ghorpade, 2nd, Left, and Mohamed Ryan, 3rd at Coimbatore on Sunday. A IndiainF1 image

    Coimbatore, 29 Sept 2019: Chennai’s Vishnu Prasad and Pune’s Tanay Gaikwad regained the pre-eminent positions in the JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship 2019, shooting to the top of the table in their respective categories as Round 3 concluded here on Sunday.

     
    Mumbai’s Aaroh Ravindra too stamped his authority in the championship, claiming the JK Tyre Novice Cup title that drew to a close.
     
    MSport’s Vishnu Prasad, who didn’t enjoy the best of luck in the second round and had slipped from the top position, reasserted his supremacy, winning one race and taking the second position in the other one. In all, he collected 23 points over the weekend to become the championship leader with 68 points.
     
    Vishnu toppled teammate Raghul Rangasamy, who picked up only 16 points to muster a total of 63 after this round. Raghul stole the second place in the final race to redeem himself but two fifth positions in the other two races held him back.
     
    Dark Don’s Diljith TS, who began the round with a resounding win, finished sixth and fifth in Sunday’s races to hold on to his third position on the table with 48 points.
     
    Meanwhile, Pune’s Tanay Gaikwad stormed into the lead in the JK Tyre Suzuki Gixxer Cup, wrapping up the round with a victory and a second-placed finish.
     
    Tied on 36 points with Syed Muzammil Ali, he enjoyed a stroke of luck as Muzammil logged a DNF on Saturday. He added 8 more points on Sunday to amass 54 points for a handsome 8-point lead.
     
    Muzammil came back strongly to win Race 2 but that was good enough to give him only 46 points. It still gives him an outside chance to win the title in the fourth and final round at the BIC in November. Siddhart Sajan held on the third position after finishing on the third podium in both the races, taking his total tally to 31 points.
     
    Momentum Motorsports Aaroh Ravindra, who began with a 13-point advantage, showed nerves of steel to win the Novice Cup title.  He didn’t enjoy the best of Saturdays, failing to pick up a single point, thanks to a DNS and then a DNF. He, however, collected 4 points in the concluding race to corner the champion’s trophy.
     
    Aaroh had a total of 56 points, which was good enough to pip Chirag Ghorpade (52) and Mohamed Ryan (48) in the title race. 
     
     
    The Momentum Motorsports driver came into the championship round with a lead of 13 points and it was expected to be a cakewalk for him. But things did not go as per the plan and he could log in a single in either of the races on day 1, which spiced up the title hunt and made it a three-way fight between him, his team-mate Chirag Ghorpade and MSport’s Mohammed Ryan on the final day.
     
    Ryan won one race but a DNF and a 11th-place finish deprived him of the title.
    Round 3 Final Day Provisional Results: 

    JK Tyre LGB Formula 4 (Race 2): 1. Balaprasath AS (MSport) 18:09.374; 2. Vishnu Prasad (MSport) 18:12.358; 3. Ashwin Datta (Dark Don Racing) 18:15. 824
    LGB Formula 4 (Race 3):  1. Vishnu Prasad (MSport) 19:25.872; 2. Raghul Rangasamy (MSport) 19:26.830; 3. Ashwin Datta (Dark Don Racing) 19:27.810
    JK Tyre Novice Cup: 1 (Race 2): 1. Chirag Ghorpade (Momentum Motorsports) 18:24.314; 2. Aditya Swaminathan (MSport) 18:29.654; 3. Himanshu Thukral (MSport) 18:35.245
    JK Tyre Suzuki Gixxer Cup (Race 2): 1. Syed Muzammil Ali (Bangalore) 14:12.167; 2. Tanay Gaikwad (Pune) 14:12.445; 3. Sidharth Sajan (Coimbatore) 14:13.942
  • Anish Shetty, Mohamed Mikail crowned champions for 2019

    Anish Shetty, Mohamed Mikail crowned champions for 2019

    Chennai, 28 Sept 2019: Bengaluru-based fitness trainer Anish Damodara Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) posted his sixth win in a row to annex the Pro-Stock 201-300cc title in the fifth and final round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the MMRT, here today.

    Meanwhile, 15-year old Mohamed Mikail from Chennai chalked up his sixth consecutive win and seventh from eight starts in the NSF 250R (FIM Moto3-spec bikes) category of the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup with two races to spare and which would be run tomorrow. Finishing second behind Mikail was 12-year old Sarthak Shrikant Chavan from Pune ahead of Gadag’s 19-year old Kritik Vasanth Habib.

    Abhimanyu Gautam celebrating his win in the Novice (Stock 165cc) Race on Saturday.

    Also scoring a decisive win was Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) from Jind, Haryaya, in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category to move to the top of the leaderboard in this class.

    Experienced Sarath Kumar (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) eked out a close win over TVS Racing’s Jagan Kumar to jump into championship lead in the Pro-Stock 165cc category. He leads team-mate Rajiv Sethu by six points. Sethu finished fifth. Kevin Kannan ensured a double podium for Honda by coming in third ahead of TVS Racing’s KY Ahamed after the six-lap race was red-flagged and reduced to four following a big crash involving two riders, Akash C and Anand R (both riders ok) at the back of the field.

    The 24-year old Shetty, who hails from Hubballi, Karnataka, took an unassailable lead in the championship standing with a tally of 190 points, 67 clear of second-placed team-mate Abhishek Vasudev, with one more race to be run tomorrow and a maximum of 50 points at stake. Incidentally, it is Shetty’s second championship, having won the Pro-Stock 165cc title last year.

    The race was reduced to four laps from scheduled six following a crash involving Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) and Satyanarayana Raju (Gusto Racing) who were competing in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc category that was run on the same grid as the 201-300cc class.


    Md Mikail (Chennai), who sealed the NSF 250R title in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup

    After the race, Gusto Racing’s Karthik Mateti from Hyderabad was declared winner (301-400cc) ahead of fellow-Hyderabadi Rahil Pillari Shetty (Sparks Racing) and Chennai’s KY Ahamed (TVS Racing). Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing), who finished fourth, continues to head the championship with a 12-point lead over Ahamed with Mateti a further 11 points behind in third spot.

    “At the start of the season, my goal was to win the championship in my category and I am happy that could achieve that. My thanks to my entire team, especially owner Ramji Govindarajan sir who all worked hard towards my success. My aim is to compete and win all formats of two-wheeler racing. Earlier this year, I won the Desert Storm (Cross-country Rally) and now this.

    “Today, I knew if I win, I would seal the championship. Initially, I rode hard, seeing I had a good lead, I eased up. To win six races in a row is just amazing!” said a beaming Shetty.

    The results (Provisional, all 6 laps unless mentioned):

    National Championship:

    Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race-1, 4 laps): 1. Karthik Mateti (Gusto Racing India) (07:43.694); 2.Rahil PIllari Shetty (Sparks Racing) (07:45.529); 3. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (07:45.650).

    Pro-Stock 201-300cc (Race-1, 4 laps): 1. Ansih D Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (08:02.611); 2. Mathana Kumar S (Honda Erula Atomic Racing) (08:04.556); 3. Mithun Kumar PK (Honda Erula Atomic Racing) (08:06.279).

    Pro-Stock 165cc (Race-1, 4 laps): 1. Sarath Kumar s(Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (08:05.465); 2.K Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) (08:05.639); 3. K Kannan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (08:06.066).

    Novice (Stock 165cc) Race-1: 1. Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) (13:05.011); 2. Manoj Y (Team Motomaniacz Racing) (13:08.802); 3. Annish Samson (Team Speed-Up Racing) (13:08.970).

    One-Make Championship organised by MMSC:

    Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250R (Race-1): 1. Md Mikail (Chennai) (11:07.289); 2. Sarthak Shrikant Chavan (Pune) (11:10.531); 3. Kritik Vasant Habib (Gadag) (11:10.624). CBR 150 (Race-1): 1. Lal Nunsanga (Aizwal) (13:11.576); 2. AS James (Chennai) (13:14.024); 3. Samuel Martin (Bengaluru) (13:15.938).

    TVS Open (RR 310) Race-1): 1. Soorya PM (Chennai) (11:56.038); 2. Anand R (Chennai) (11:57.899); 3. Sivanesan Sethu (Chennai) (12:00.715). Novice (RTR 200) Race-1: 1. Anish Samson (Bengaluru) (13:13.028); 2.Manoj V (Chennai) (13:13.061); 3. Ullas Santrupt (Bengaluru) (13:13.188). Girls (RTR 200) 5 laps: 1. Lakiya Lee (Chennai) (11:29.416); 2. Nivetha Jessica (Chennai) (11:39.457); 3. Haritha Muralikrishnan (Chennai)(11:40.534).

  • Diljith,Tanay and Ryan take honours on Day 1

    Diljith,Tanay and Ryan take honours on Day 1

    Dark Don Racing and Kerala’s Diljith TS in action during Day 1 of Round 3 of the 22nd JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship here in Coimbatore on Saturday. A JK Racing photo

    Coimbatore, 28 Sept 2019: The Chennai duo of Diljith TS & Mohammed Ryan and Pune’s Tanay Gaikwad stole the honours on Day 1 of the JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship 2019 here at the Kari Motor Speedway on Saturday.

    Diljith (Dark Don Racing) made the most of the day to take the maximum possible 10 points in the Formula LGB-4 after clocking a time of 20:52.145 minutes.

    Diljith’s teammates, Sandeep Kumar A (20:52.462 minutes) and Ashwin Datta (20:55.619 minutes), took the other two places on the podium. Vishnu Prasad had to settle for a fourth-place finish, while championship leader Raghul Rangasamy had to settle for the fifth place.

    In the JK Tyre Suzuki Gixxer Cup, Pune’s Tanay Gaikwad made the most of Bengaluru’s Muzammil Ali misfortune. The two riders, tied at the top of the leader-board at the start of the round, were engaged in a keen tussle in Race 1 before Muzammil fell off the bike to clear the path for his closest rival.

    Tanay clocked a total of 14:10.820 minutes to complete his stipulated 10 laps to finish ahead of the pack and go atop the charts. Bengaluru’s Jagadeesh N finished just two seconds off Tanay to take the second place while Sidharth Sajan of Coimbatore took 14:17:570 to finish third on the podium.

    Meanwhile, Mohammed Ryan of MSport stormed into the lead in the JK Tyre Novice Cup,

    winning both his races in style. His team-mate Chirag Ghorpade finished second behind him in Race 1 while Mihir Avalakki of Birel Art took the third position.

    Himanshu Thukral of MSport finished second in Race 2 while Kishore of DTS Racing claimed the third position. Championship leader after the first two rounds fell behind, suffering a DNS and then a DNF on a disastrous Saturday.

    JKNRC Round 3, Day 1 Provisional Results:

    JK Tyre Novice Cup (Race 1) – 1. Mohamed Ryan (MSport) 12:15.739; 2. Chirag Ghorpade (Momentum Motorsports) 12:19.626; 3. Mihir Avalakki (Birel Art) 12:25.387

    JK Tyre Novice Cup (Race 2) – 1. Mohamed Ryan (MSport) 14:15.956; 2. Himanshu Thukral (MSport) 14:18.548; 3. Kishore (DTS Racing) 14:19.647

    JK Tyre Suzuki Gixxer Cup (Race 1) – 1. Tanay Gaikwad 14:11.820; 2. Jagadeesh N 14:16.047; 3. Sidharth Sajan 14:17.570

    JK Tyre Formula LGB 4 (Race 1) – 1. Diljith TS (Dark Don Racing) 20:52.145; 2. Sandeep Kumar A (Dark Don Racing) 20:52.462; 3. Ashwin Datta (Dark Don Racing) 20:55.619