Category: Racing

Jehan Daruvala misses pole by a whisker: F3 qualifying session

Le Castellet (France), 21 June 2019: Jake Hughes pulled off the ultimate final lap to steal pole position at the death in FIA Formula 3 qualifying here on Friday. Indian racer Jehan Daruvala thought he had sealed the spot, but the Briton seared around the track on his final attempt to leap up the grid and earn HWA RACELAB their first ever F3 pole, with Robert Shwartzman in third.

Temperatures had cooled slightly since the morning session and Max Fewtrell was the first out onto the Circuit Paul Ricard, but it was PREMA who once again set the tone with Daruvala and Shwartzman topping the early timesheets.

Niko Kari had led Free Practice this morning, but his first time was only good enough for seventh. His second shot was more fruitful and he joined the PREMA duo in third. Daruvala was proving stern in first place and Christian Lundgaard twice saw attempts on the position fail, forcing him to settle for second at the midway point.

Shwartzman had a second attempt on his teammate’s time, as did Leonardo Pulcini, but once again the duo came up short behind the inspired Indian. Despite his domination out in front, it was proving incredibly tight further behind, with less than a second separating the top seventeen.

Having improved upon his own lap, Daruvala appeared confident out in front when the chequered flag was waved, after his Russian teammate had once again failed to lap quicker. With most of the cars having already passed the line, Hughes quietly went about his business and achieved a feat the others had not, by beating the Indian in every sector to earn his first pole position of the season.

Hughes and Daruvala finished ahead of Shwartzman, Pedro Piquet, Marcus Armstrong, Leonardo Pulcini, Jüri Vips, Bent Viscaal, Kari and Alex Peroni.

2019 FIA Formula 3 – Round 2 Qualifying

	DRIVER	TEAM	LAPTIME	LAPS
1	Jake Hughes	HWA RACELAB	1:49.519	13
2	Jehan Daruvala	PREMA Racing	1:49.606	12
3	Robert Shwartzman	PREMA Racing	1:49.758	12
4	Pedro Piquet	Trident	1:49.944	13
5	Marcus Armstrong	PREMA Racing	1:50.066	12
6	Leonardo Pulcini	Hitech Grand Prix	1:50.095	13
7	Juri Vips	Hitech Grand Prix	1:50.128	13
8	Bent Viscaal	HWA RACELAB	1:50.192	13
9	Niko Kari	Trident	1:50.253	12
10	Alex Peroni	Campos Racing	1:50.316	14
11	Logan Sargeant	Carlin Buzz Racing	1:50.345	12
12	Christian Lundgaard	ART Grand Prix	1:50.378	12
13	Richard Verschoor	MP Motorsport	1:50.451	12
14	Max Fewtrell	ART Grand Prix	1:50.456	13
15	Liam Lawson	MP Motorsport	1:50.468	14
16	Ye Yifei	Hitech Grand Prix	1:50.491	13
17	Lirim Zendeli	Sauber Junior Team by Charouz	1:50.510	14
18	Felipe Drugovich	Carlin Buzz Racing	1:50.549	11
19	Devlin DeFrancesco	Trident	1:50.566	13
20	Simo Laaksonen	MP Motorsport	1:50.585	12
21	Teppei Natori	Carlin Buzz Racing	1:50.673	12
22	David Beckmann	ART Grand Prix	1:50.716	13
23	Fabio Scherer	Sauber Junior Team by Charouz	1:50.749	13
24	Raoul Hyman	Sauber Junior Team by Charouz	1:50.791	12
25	Keyvan Andres	HWA RACELAB	1:51.068	13
26	Sebastian Fernandez	Campos Racing	1:51.272	14
27	Yuki Tsunoda	Jenzer Motorsport	1:51.987	12
28	Andreas Estner	Jenzer Motorsport	1:52.066	14
29	Alessio Deledda	Campos Racing	1:54.226	13

June 22, 2019

Kari Motor Speedway set for MRF MMSC fmsci Car Racing Nationals 2019

Action from the 2018 National Championship. File photo by Anand Philar.

Coimbatore, 19 June 2019: The eagerly-awaited MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2019 resumes at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Friday, June 21, in a new avatar following a rejig of regulations designed to make racing more competitive and exciting than ever before. The weekend card will see 59 entrants, from across India, competing in 11 races.

In a significant development, the Volkswagen Ameo Cup has received the status of National Championship and rechristened as the Ameo Class. The eventual winners (Pro and Rookie categories) after four rounds and 10 races spread across four race weekends, will be declared National champions. Volkswagen Motorsport India had launched their one-make series in 2010 through the Polo Cup before progressing to the Vento and now the Ameo.

Apart from the Ameo Class races, the weekend will witness competitions in the popular and premium Indian Touring Cars (ITC), the Super Stock and the entry-level Formula LGB 1300 which has attracted the most number of entries of 19 young aspirants. However, the MRF 1600 races are expected to start only from the next round in Chennai.

MMSC Vice-President and Chairman of the Meet Vicky Chandhok said: “At the outset, MMSC would like to acknowledge and appreciate MRF’s unstinted commitment and active involvement in the National Championship, be it two-wheeler or four-wheeler races. In fact, MRF has been the backbone of motorsport in India due to the support they have extended and continue to do so, for all formats of the sport. With MRF’s support, MMSC has been able to take racing a notch higher with every season. This year, we welcome Volkswagen Motorsport into our National Championship by way of the Ameo Class which we expect to be as competitive as before when it was called the Ameo Cup.”

For the Super Stock and the Formula LGB 1300 categories, this weekend’s outing will be Round 2 after the season-opener in February at the MMRT, Chennai, when they were run on the same card as the MRF Challenge international series, while the other classes join the National Championship.

There will be three races each for the ITC, Ameo Class and the Formula LGB categories, and two in the Super Stock class.

The weekend action commences on Friday which is entirely devoted to Free Practice sessions, while qualifying and five races are scheduled for Saturday, followed by six more races on Sunday.

About Madras Motor Sports Club

Since its humble beginnings in 1953, the Madras Motor Sports Club has grown in stature as the hub of motorsport activity in India. Having moved from Sholavaram to its present location in Sriperumbudur in 1979, MMSC has kept pace with changing times by upgrading facilities. At a cost of about Rs 20 Crore, the MMSC built a pit complex comprising 20 garages, VIP hospitality suites, and a viewing gallery, on the eastern side, apart from a second Paddock on the western side with its own short circuit. The Control Room too was upgraded with state-of-the-art hardware while the track itself was improved to meet the exacting FIA standards for Grade-2 certification. The facilities are also extensively used by various vehicle manufacturers for testing their products, displays and corporate days.

June 19, 2019
Sarath Kumar takes a win after a long time: Pro-Stock 165cc

Sarath Kumar (69) leading the pack en route to winning the Pro-Stock 165cc race in Coimbatore on Saturday.. Photo by Anand Philar

Coimbatore, 8 June 2019: Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) and Sankar Sarath Kumar (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) survived a day of drama and crashes to post deserved wins in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc and Pro-Stock 165cc categories, respectively, as the first round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2019 sparked to life at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Saturday.

The results are provisional as a late evening protest is yet to be decided by the stewards.

Starting sixth, Ravikumar, nursing injuries he suffered during last week’s testing, overcame pain and discomfort to score a merited win in the premium Pro-Stock 301-400cc race after pole-sitter Prabhu Arunagiri (Team Alisha Abdullah) and Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) came together in the second of the 10-lap race. While Arunagiri retired, Jagan Kumar, who had started second on the grid, got up and continued to finish eighth.

In second place behind Ravikumar was TVS Racing’s KY Ahamed, followed by Gusto Racing’s Satyanarayana Raju who was nursing a collar-bone fracture.

Earlier, the two outstanding riders in the Pro-Stock 165cc race were the eventual winner Sarath Kumar and third-placed Jagan Kumar. Sarath, 26, overcame a poor start that pushed him to sixth before he climbed his way to the front for a comfortable win by over five seconds.

Behind him, seven-times Super Sport National champion Jagan, starting from the pit-lane after the chain snapped during the formation lap, requiring quick repairs, rode like the wind as he cut through the field to finish third behind team-mate KY Ahamed who also did extremely well after starting eighth on the grid following this morning’s qualifying session.

Reflecting on his first win in three years, Sarath said: “It feels great to win a race after I think three years. I did not have a good start and was running sixth going into Turn-1, but I was confident of making up and by the second lap, I was ahead. Thereafter, it was fairly comfortable.

“It has been a frustrating three years during which I was part of the development programme. I also put on weight during that time, going up to 76 Kgs which is far too heavy for a 165cc bike. So, I reduced my weight to 66 Kgs, but still concede about 12 Kgs to Jagan. I had a strategy today, but unfortunately, he had a technical issue, so, I didn’t need to employ that strategy. Tomorrow, I know, he will be with me, but I am confident.”

Jagan, who was chaired to the garage after the post-race weigh-in by his team members, said: “The chain snapped and so I had to start from the pitlane after repairs. Otherwise, it was a good race and am happy to finish third considering the circumstances. Hopefully, I will have a better race tomorrow.”

The day started with Sparks Racing’s Vijay S taking the honours in the Stock 165cc (Novice) race that was red-flagged after just two laps following crashes.

Varoon (Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup, CBR 150), Anish Samson (TVS 200 RR, Novice), Lani Zena Fernandez (TVS 200 RR Girls) and Anand R (TVS 310RR Open) were the other winners of the day.

The results (Provisional):

National Championship – Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race 1, 10 laps): 1. Deepak Ravi Kumar (TVS Racing) (11 mins, 40.315 secs); 2. KY Ahemed (TVS Racing) (11:41.960); 3. Satyanarayana Raju (Gusto Racing) (11:58.709).

Pro-Stock 165cc (Race 1, 10 laps): 1. Sarath Kumar (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:23.441); 2. Ahamed KY (TVS Racing) (12:26.672); 3. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) (12:27.061).

Stock 165cc (Race 1, 7 laps): 1. Vijay S (Sparks Racing) (09:29.877); 2. Manoj Y (Pvt) (09:31.371); 3. Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) (09:36.358).

One-Make Championship – Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup (CBR 150) Race 1 (10 laps): 1. Varoon (13:31.952); 2. Lalrinuala Tlau (13:51.910); 3. Charan T (14:11.186).

TVS (Open, RR 310) Race 1 (10 laps): 1. Anand R (12:17.045); 2. Aravind Ganesh (12:18.822); 3. Soorya PM (12:18.865).

Novice (RR 200) Race 1 (4 laps): 1. Anish Samson (05:34.808); 2. Manoj Y (05:34.860); 3. Ullas Santruptnanda (05:36.011).

Girls (RR 200): 1. Lani Zena Fernandez (04:19.084); 2. Nivetha Jessica (04:19.766); 3. Shifa Shabir Ahmed (04:35.568).

June 8, 2019
Prabhu Arunagiri takes Pro-Stock 301-400cc class pole: MRF Bike Racing Nationals

Prabhu Arunagiri takes Pro Stock 301-400 cc pole on Friday. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan

Coimbatore, 7 June 2019: Prabhu Arunagiri of Team Alisha Abdullah scorched the track at the Kari Motor Speedway as he qualified for pole position in the premium Pro-Stock 301-400cc class as the first round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship commenced here today.

Arunagiri came up with the flier in his very second lap, clocking one minute, 09.241 seconds, while TVS Racing duo of Jagan Kumar (01:09.269) and KY Ahamed (01:09.270) completed the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s race. Finishing a close fourth was young Rahil Shetty (Sparks Racing) with a best of 01:10.130.

TVS Racing’s Jagan Kumar yet again underlined his caliber and class with a brilliant performance to top the practice session in the Pro-Stock 165cc class with a flying lap of 01:13:529 ahead of Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing’s Sarath Kumar (01:13.544) and team-mate KY Ahamed (01:13.688). The trio was separated by less than a second, pointing to an exciting battle tomorrow when the qualifying and first of the two races are to be run.

Jagan, who last season clinched his seventh National title in the Super Sport Indian 165cc class which was not in the first round here, has since moved to the Pro-Stock category, but adapted himself well to top the timesheets. Sarath and Ahamed also participated in the Super Sport category last year.

There was plenty of action elsewhere with riders in the Honda and TVS One-Make Championships, and the Novice class entrants getting a feel of the conditions during the practice sessions that occupied much of the day’s programme.

About Madras Motor Sports Club

Since its humble beginnings in 1953, the Madras Motor Sports Club has grown in stature as the hub of motorsport activity in India. Having moved from Sholavaram to its present location in Sriperumbudur in 1979, MMSC has kept pace with changing times by upgrading facilities. At a cost of about Rs 20 Crore, the MMSC built a pit complex comprising 20 garages, VIP hospitality suites and a viewing gallery, on the eastern side, apart from a second Paddock on the western side with its own short circuit. The Control Room too was upgraded with state-of-the-art hardware while the track itself was improved to meet the exacting FIA standards for Grade-2 certification. The facilities are also extensively used by various vehicle manufacturers for testing their products, displays and corporate days.

June 7, 2019
178 entries as new season set to begin in Coimbatore: Motorcycle Racing Nationals

File photo of National Bike Championship at Coimbatore in 2018. Image by Anand Philar

Coimbatore, 6 June 2019: The 2019 season of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship, commencing at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Friday, June 7, will move up a couple of notches in quality and competitiveness with country’s leading 2-wheeler manufacturers Honda and TVS, playing key roles in the process.

With 178 entries and a record 15 teams, the highest-ever in the championship’s history, in the fray, the weekend card has 17 races scheduled. The National Championship will be headlined by the Pro-Stock 301-400cc class, besides Pro-Stock 165cc, Pro-Stock 201-300cc and Stock 165cc (Novice and Girls). That apart, the One-Make Championships by Honda (Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup, CBR 150) and TVS Racing (Apache RTR 310 Open, RTR 200 Novice, and Girls), will be run concurrently.

Title sponsors MRF will provide slick tyres for Pro-Stock 165cc and Pro-Stock 301-400cc classes. The slicks were introduced for the 2018 season and met with immediate approval and appreciation from the riders for the better grip, especially through the corners.

MMSC President Ajit Thomas said: “We at the MMSC have been actively working towards our vision of providing a strong platform for young riders to express their talent on the race track before moving on to the next level. In this regard, we acknowledge the active involvement of our long-time partners MRF Tyres who have spared no effort to provide us with high-quality racing tyres. The MMSC also have kept pace with changing times by constantly upgrading equipment and infrastructure to make racing more safer and competitive.”

Over the past couple of seasons, the competition in every category has become sharper and closer, resulting in exciting fare, and there are pointers that it would be even more so in the new season.

The two top manufacturers, Honda and TVS, have also contributed hugely to the National championship with their respective one-make series. This season, in a landmark move, Honda will be introducing FIM Moto3 spec NSF250R that will replace the CBR 250 in their One-Make Championship from the next round. It is part of the Honda India Talent Cup programme designed to unearth young talent that can be groomed for participation in various international events, including the World Championship.

The Honda Novice class (CBR 150) will see a grid of 15 riders, all under 19 years of age, thus emphasising the focus on young talent with a long-term development programme.

Similarly, TVS Racing, through their talent-spotting programme, have shortlisted riders for their Novice and Girls categories through an exhaustive selection process. The grid for the Girls race will have 16 riders who were chosen from 33 entrants who received training from TVS Racing’s experienced riders prior to the selection run.

About Madras Motor Sports Club

Since its humble beginnings in 1953, the Madras Motor Sports Club has grown in stature as the hub of motorsport activity in India. Having moved from Sholavaram to its present location in Sriperumbudur in 1979, MMSC has kept pace with changing times by upgrading facilities. At a cost of about Rs 20 Crore, the MMSC built a pit complex comprising 20 garages, VIP hospitality suites, and a viewing gallery, on the eastern side, apart from a second Paddock on the western side with its own short-looped circuit. The Control Room too was upgraded with state-of-the-art hardware while the track itself was improved to meet the exacting FIA standards for Grade-2 certification. The facilities are also extensively used by various vehicle manufacturers for testing their products, displays and corporate days.

June 6, 2019
14-year Shahan Ali Mohsin youngest to start MRF F1600 race

Shahan Ali Mohsin on the grid as he becomes the youngest to take part in MRF 1600 races at Chennai on Feb 10. Image Shahan Media.

Chennai, 12 Feb 2019: Shahan Ali Mohsin entered in his first-ever single-seater competition this past weekend, where he became the youngest at the age of 14-years, to race in FMSCI Indian National Championship’s MRF Tyres-backed MRF F1600 race.

With the 2019 series to start later in the year, an invitational round was held as a support event to the international MRF Challenge (F2000) series where plenty of international drivers were racing at the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) in Chennai.

The race weekend gave Shahan a valuable insight as he made his single-seater debut.Shahan was up against some of the experienced campaigners in the Indian racing scene in the F1600, which is equivalent to Europe’s Formula Renault and Formula 4 level. The idea for the weekend was to gain experience and understand the nuances of a single-seater car.

He started off the weekend with the two practice sessions and a qualifying. The initial running was devoted to getting used to the new machine as he went into qualifying with more knowledge and qualified ninth overall ahead of the three races.

The Race 1 ended up on a short note when while battling with another car on Lap 2, Shahan spun out and was forced to retire, thereby having an anti-climatic end on his single-seater debut race. The Race 2 was more like it as he finished eighth in the 10 laps.

Shahan Ali Mohsin

He finished eighth again in Race 3 as he maintained a consistent 1m41s lap time, which was a stark improvement from the practice session. Overall, it was a fun and learning first weekend for Shahan, which wouldn’t be possible without the help of Armaan Ebrahim and Aditya Patel.

“It was an amazing experience in the MRF F1600 series,” says Shahan. “Not only my first time in the Formula 1600 car but also my first competitive single-seater run. I am elated with the conversion from karting to single-seater, which isn’t an easy task as you feel so-so different on the track in a single-seater car than a kart”.

“It was a weekend of learning and I managed to adapt well with help of my coaches Armaan Ebrahim and Aditiya Patel. It took some laps to get used to the steering wheel and also the power of the car especially in the corners. My lap times got better over the weekend which was the aim and I hope to get stronger by the end of the season.”

Following his extensive karting career where he has won five titles in all, Shahan has stepped up to single-seater racing and will compete in the full MRF F1600 championship going forward in 2019 and will also race in the Euro JK (Formula BMW) series which is backed by JK Tyre Motorsport.

In addition, Shahan intends to race in selected kart events in India as well. With the Indian National Karting Championship only starting in June, the decision on whether to continue racing full-time in karts hasn’t been taken yet.

February 12, 2019
Jamie Chadwick becomes first female driver to win MRF Challenge

Jamie Chadwick celebrates after winning the MRF Challenge championship in Chennai on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar

Chennai, 10 Feb 2019: Jamie Chadwick from Bath, England, scripted history in the MRF Challenge by becoming the first female driver to annex the championship in seven seasons as she finished the third and final round of the international series with a triple crown, including two back-to-back wins, at the MMRT, here on Sunday.

Chadwick, 20, who had won three of the five races in the previous round in Bahrain, survived a long day and 58 laps, by winning two while Finland’s Patrick Pasma took the honours in the other as the MRF Challenge 2018-19 drew to a close.

While Chadwick ended the championship with 280 points, including two bonus points for the fastest lap in the last race, Belgium’s Max Defourny who came into the final round here with an 18-point advantage, failed to consolidate and ended up with 243 points. Pasma took the third spot in the championship with 186 points, ahead of German Andreas Estner (181).

An elated Chadwick said: “It (winning the championship) hasn’t sunk in yet. I would like to thank my team too and am happy that everything came together this weekend. In the last race, I made some mistakes which cost me a bit of the lead, but I quickly composed myself and made sure I won.

“I came into MRF Challenge for some experience and exposure, and not to win the championship. But after winning three races in Bahrain, I realised I was in with a chance and so went for it this weekend.”

Earlier, Pasma (Finland) had to work hard for his second win of the weekend in Race-3 which was briefly interrupted by a Safety Car period after Joshua Mason spun and blocked the track in the seventh lap. Pasma, starting from pole position, built up a comfortable, if not commanding lead, over Belgian Michelangelo Amendola before the pack bunched up behind the Safety Car. On re-strart, Pasma was harried all the way by Amendola, but managed to hang on and post his second win of the weekend. Finishing third behind Amendola was Swede Linus Lindqvist, the 2018 British F3 champion.

However, from the championship title perspective, the focus was on the battle between Chadwick and Defourny with the British youngster managing to finish ahead of the Belgian in fifth position. Defourny came in seventh which helped Chadwick to extend her lead by five points with two races remaining.

Chadwick expanded her championship lead over Defourny to 18 by winning Race-4 that was stopped and restarted following two incidents in the very first lap leading to retirement of three cars and the race distance reduced to 18 laps from scheduled 20. Chadwick had a fine start from P2 on the grid, moving past pole-sitter Jack Doohan (Australia) and then defended her position to chalk up her second win of the weekend. Defourny registered his best finish of the weekend by coming home fourth behind Chadwick, Amendola and Doohan.

In the final race of the championship, Chadwick was again off to a superb start, squeezing into the lead from third position, past pole-sitter Pasma and Defourny, even as the pack dived into Turn-1. With each lap, Chadwick increased her lead even as Defourny dropped down the order and eventually finished sixth. In the latter part of the race, Chadwick was closely pursued by Pasma and Amendola, but the British girl hung on to her advantage to chalk up her sixth win in 15 starts.

In the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship that was run concurrently, Chirag Ghorpade (Momentum Motor Sports) topped the Formula LGB 1300 class race while P Raja Rajan (Performance Racing) won in the Saloon car (Super Stock) category.

The results:

MRF Challenge (F2000): Race-3 (20 laps): 1. Patrick Pasma (Finland) (35mins, 35.212secs); 2. Michelangelo Amendola (Belguim) (35:35.569); 3. Linus Lindqvist (Sweden) (35:36.281). Race-4 (18 laps): 1. Jamie Chadwick (UK) (27:39.087); 2. Michaelangelo Amendola (Belgium) (27:40.106); 3. Jack Doohan (Australia) (27:46.896). Race-5 (20 laps): 1. Jamie Chadwick (UK) (30:46.505); 2. Patrick Pasma (Finland) (30:47.574); 3. Michelangelo Amendola (Belgium) (30:48.164).

MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship – Formula LGB 1300 (Race-3, 10 laps): 1. Chirag Ghorpade (Momentum Motor Sports) (15:35.070); 2. Tijil Rao (Momentum Motor Sports) (15:35.528); 3. K Suriya Varathan (M Sport) (15:36.030).

Saloon Cars (Super Stock – Race 2, 10 laps): 1. P Raja Rajan (Performance Racing) (20:26.602); 2. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) (20:34.767); 3. Joel Joseph (Race Concepts) (20:41.701).

Support Race – MRF F1600 (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Lee Deegan (UK) (16:54.757); 2. A Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (16:55.452); 3. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (16:55.654). Race-3 (10 laps): 1. Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) (16:40.939); 2. A Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (16:49.098); 3. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (17:00.516).

February 10, 2019
Brilliant win for Ashwin Datta; Jamie Chadwick takes narrow lead with a win: MRF Challenge

Jamie Chadwick (No.55), winner of Race-2 in MRF Challenge in action on Saturday.

Chennai, 9 Feb 2019: Jamie Chadwick, one of only two female drivers on the grid, scored a fine win to move into the championship lead, just one point ahead of Max Defourny, in the third and final round of the MRF Challenge, at Irungattukottai, near here on Saturday. With three more races to be run on Sunday, Chadwick from UK, who has won four races in 12 starts, has 218 points to Belgian Defourny’s 217.

Chadwick, 20, starting Race-2 second on the reverse grid, had a brilliant start as she moved past pole-sitter Dylan Young of Australia and over the 20 laps, built up a sizeable lead for a deserving win, her fourth in 12 starts in the championship. Young finished second, almost a second behind Chadwick, while German Andreas Estner took the third spot.

For Defourny, 20, it has been a disappointing weekend thus far, having garnered just 10 points from two races today, having finished seventh and sixth.

“I had a good start today and went into the lead. I then managed to hold on to my advantage. In the context of the championship, every point matters to me. So, I am happy. Tomorrow, with three races to be run, it is going to be a long day and I hope I can collect the points,” said Chadwick.

Earlier, in Race-1, Pasma, starting from pole position, had a great start and after surviving strong challenge in the first lap, gradually pulled away to complete a comfortable win, his second in the championship. “I had a good start and managed to open a big gap. I am very happy that I scored my second win of the championship,” said 18-year old Pasma from Finland.

Behind the leader, Michelangelo Amendola (Belgium) also came through for second spot without being seriously challenged while 16-year old Jack Doohan (Australia), the son of former five-time World 500cc champion Mick Doohan, completed the podium with an impressive drive.

Championship leader Defourny finished a forlorn seventh, the same position he had started the race from, while his arch-rival Chadwick, did well to gain a spot to finish fifth and collect crucial points to narrow the leeway with the Belgian.

Ashwin Datta, who won Race-2 in Formula LGB 1300 category after starting from 11th position on Saturday. Photos by Anand Philar

Meanwhile, Chennai collegian, 20-year old Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motor Sports), pulled off a sensational win in the second race of the Formula LGB 1300 category of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship, after starting 11^th on the grid. Off to a blistering start, Datta sliced his way into the lead by the end of the second of the 10-lap race and then held off a fighting Karthik Krishna (Hasten Performance) with K Suriya Varathan (M Sport) coming in third.

Race Concepts enjoyed a 1-2-3 finish in the Super Stock (Saloon cars) class with Rithvik Thomas finishing ahead of team-mates Joel Joseph and Prateek Benya.

The results:

MRF Challenge (F2000): Race-1 (20 laps): 1. Patrick Pasma (Finland) (30min, 42.140sec); 2. Michelangelo Amendola (Belgium) (30:47.192); 3. Jack Doohan (Australia) (30:53.293). Race-2 (20 laps): 1. Jamie Chadwick (UK) (30:51.643); 2. Dylan Young (Australia) (30:52.669); 3. Andreas Estner (Germany) (30:53.260).

MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship – Formula LGB 1300 (Race-1, 8 laps): 1. Tijil Rao (Momentum Motor Sports) (20:04.219); 2. Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motor Sports) (20:05.309); 3. K Suriya Varathan (M Sport) (20:06.090). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motor Sports) (19:50.799); 2. Karthik Krishna (Hasten Performance) (19:51.142); 3. K Suriya Varathan (M Sport) (19:51.332).

Saloon Cars (Super Stock – Race 1, 10 laps): 1. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) (20:33.163); 2. Joel Joseph (Race Concepts) (20:39.841); 3. Prateek Benya (Race Concepts) (20:59.922).

MRF F1600 (Race-1, 10 laps): 1. Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) (16:47.925); 2. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (16:57.206); 3. Arya Singh (Kolkata) (16:57.719).

February 9, 2019
Patrick Pasma grabs pole position in MRF Challenge; P1 for Tijil Rao in Formula LGB 1300

Patrick Pasma, takes pole position in MRF Challenge on Friday. Image by Anand Philar

Chennai, 8 Feb 2019: Patrick Pasma, the 18-year old from Finland, upstaged the MRF Challenge field with a blistering lap of one minute, 30.559 seconds at the MMRT track here today, to grab the pole position ahead of tomorrow’s race.

Pasma, who is currently fifth in the championship having won just one race in 10 starts in the first round at Dubai in November last year, did well to shrug off two difficult free practice sessions, including a puncture in the first, to take P1 in the 30-minute qualifying run.

Pasma finished well ahead of championship front runners, Max Defourny from Belgium (01:31.119) and UK’s Jamie Chadwick (01:31.103), who slotted in mid-grid positions.

Finishing second behind Pasma was Belgian Michaelangelo Amendola (01:30.682) followed by last year’s British Formula 3 champion Linus Lundquist from Sweden (01:30.810) who had earlier topped both the Free Practice sessions, and Aussie teenager Jack Doohan (01:30.928).

Reflecting on his performance today, Pasma said: “It was alright, though it wasn’t perfect. In the first free practice we had a flat tyre, so it was really tricky. In the second free practice, we made a few changes and it was better. So, the pole position is a good base for tomorrow’s race.

“The track was really technical for us and you really have to be precise. There is no scope for any errors.”

Mumbai’s Nayan Chatterjee put in a hot lap of 01:40.346 to top the first of the two free practice sessions in the MRF F1600 category and carried forward the form into the second session which also he topped with a best of 01:39.744.

Rithvik Thomas of Race Concepts (Bengaluru) was the quickest among the Saloon cars (Super Stock) in the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship with a flying lap of two minutes, 02.116 seconds in the second of the two free practice sessions, while team-mate Joel Joseph topped the time sheets in the first, clocking a best of 02:02.396.

Former FMSCI president Akbar Ebrahim dominated both the free practice sessions in the Indian Touring Cars category, stopping the clock at 01:57.880 and 01:57.077 in the two outings.

The results:

MRF Challenge (F2000): Qualifying – 1. Patrick Pasma (Finland) (01min, 30.559secs); 2. Michelangelo Amendola (Belgium) (01:30.682); 3. Linus Lundquist (Sweden) (01:30.810).

Free Practice-1: 1. Linus Lundqvist (Sweden) (1:31.611); 2. Jamie Chadwick (UK) 1:31.662; 3. Max Defourny (Belgium) (01:31.705). Free Practice-2: 1. Linus Lundqvist (Sweden) (01:31.871); 2. Patrick Pasma (Finland) (01:31.943); 3. Max Defourny (Belgium) (01:31.962).

MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship: MRF F1600 (Free Practice-1): 1. Nayan S Chatterjee (Mumbai) (01:40.346); 2. A. Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (01:41.176); 3. Arya Singh (Kolkata) (01:41.484). Free Practice-2: 1. Nayan S Chatterjee (Mumbai) (01:39.744); 2. A Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (01:40.455); 3. Arya Singh (Kolkata) (01:40.631).

Formula LGB 1300 (Qualifying): 1. Tijil Rao (Bengaluru) (01:53.714); 2. Ashwin Datta (Chennai) (01:54.925); 3. K Suriya Varathan (Coimbatore) (01:54.993).

February 8, 2019
MRF Challenge poised for an exciting finish; 2019 Indian racing season set to begin

Raghul Rangasamy (No.99), 2018 champion in MRF F1600 category. File photo by Anand Philar

Chennai, 7 Feb 2019: One of Asia’s top single-seater racing championships, the MRF Challenge that, over the past seven seasons has evolved into an incubator of talent, is coming home to the MMRT here this weekend when the third and concluding round of the winter series will be held from Friday.

The two flyaway rounds in Dubai (November) and Bahrain (December) showcased the skills of emerging talent such as Belgium’s Max Defourny and British girl Jamie Chadwick. The two 20-year olds between them have won six of the 10 races in the two rounds. Defourny leads the championship with 201 points ahead of Chadwick (183) and German teenager Andreas Estner (124). As such, there is plenty at stake in the final round with five races to be run.

Joining the championship for the final round are Saudi Arabia’s rising female talent Reema Al Juffali who recently won the TRD 86 Cup race in Abu Dhabi, and 17-year old Glenn van Berlo, from the Netherlands, who is moving to single-seater racing from karting.

The busy weekend will also witness the first round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship 2019 with the MRF Formula 1600, saloon cars in three categories, including the top-end Indian Touring Cars, and the Formula LGB 1300 which has attracted 20 entries.

Mr Arun Mammen, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, MRF Ltd, said: “The MRF Challenge once again comes ‘home’ to the MMRT this weekend for the grand finale which will witness another round of close and exciting races as was the case in the two previous outings in Dubai and Bahrain. For the current season, we have provided a slightly upgraded car and tyres that won the approval of the contestants. For the drivers, it will be a first time on the highly technical MMRT circuit and their major challenge will be to learn the track quickly. MRF is also proud to present three FMX riders from abroad who will entertain and thrill the spectators with their aerial acrobatics. All these factors, I am sure, will contribute to a weekend of high-octane action that is not to be missed.”

The MRF Challenge, organized by the Madras Motor Sports Club, has entrenched itself as one of the leading winter series in the region as it offers a car powered by a 2-Litre Mountune Duratec engine producing 230 BHP with advanced aerodynamics. The car boasts of a Hewland six-speed paddle-shift gearbox equipped with Integrated dash and paddle-shift system. Fitted with the MRF Z.L.O. slick tyres, the F2000 is among the fastest racing cars in the region, and has, in the past, attracted many talented young drivers, notably Mick Schumacher, who is poised to break into Formula One.

The races in Dubai and Bahrain dished out extremely close contests up and down the grid, though Defourny and Chadwick have dominated the front-runners. The Belgian has been the most consistent driver with three wins and six podium finishes in 10 outings while Chadwick also has never held back on the track, winning three races, all of them in the Bahrain round, besides as many podium spots.

One of the highlights of the weekend card is the trio of topnotch FMX riders, Hannes Akermann (Germany), and Australians Shaun Webb and David Ford who will be performing heart-stopping aerial stunts.

ABOUT MRF TYRES

Motorsports in India is synonymous with MRF. In fact, the development and popularity of various forms of the sport could be directly attributed to the pioneering efforts of the company, be it racing, rallying, motocross or karting. To encourage motorsport enthusiasts MRF has spared no money in offering World-class facilities. The development of MRF Power House – a modern motorsports facility has been a boon to the Indian drivers, who wished to compete and test themselves against international standards. The centre is a testament to the commitment of MRF to raising the bar of Indian motorsports.

Being the largest promoters of motorsports in India, MRF has the added advantage of being able to use the racetrack to test the tyres. MRF is the only tyre company in India to have developed formula car tyres, world- class rally tyres for tarmac and dirt, motocross tyres and also FIA-CIK karting tyres. Today, the company caters to almost all segments of the tire industry and is proud to be the manufacturer of the largest range of tyres. Heavy-duty truck and bus tyres, passenger car tyres, two-wheeler tyres and farm tyres are just some of the tyres that MRF manufactures.

The one thing that puts MRF head and shoulders above its competition is the fact that MRF is the only tyre company in India without any foreign technical collaboration. The company is where it is today, thanks mainly to its knowhow and its ability to develop indigenous technology. With this technology, MRF now supplies original equipment tyres to multinational manufacturers such as Volvo, Honda, General Motors, Suzuki and Ford. In total, MRF exports to more than 65 countries. MRF has been the undisputed leader in the tyre industry for almost a decade now, notwithstanding the competition from various multinational tyre brands.

February 7, 2019