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Hamilton quickest but Bottas will start on Pole; Max on P2
Istanbul, 9 October 2021: Lewis Hamilton set the fastest lap of Qualifying for the 2021 FIA Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix, but it’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas who will claim pole position for the race after Hamilton takes a 10-place grid penalty for taking a fourth ICE of the year. Hamilton’s chief title rival Max Verstappen will start alongside Bottas on the front row after qualifying third.
Ahead of Q1 the weather forecast predicted rain early in the opening session and desperate to bank an early dry tyre time, drivers formed a long queue at the pit exit in the final minutes before the green lights started the session.
The expected rain began to fall close to five minutes into the session but never with the steadiness predicted and as a result the 18-minute proved to be frantic as drivers pushed to get the best from their soft tyres, balancing extended running in case of running with tyre wear and the risk of pitting for new rubber.
In the end it was Hamilton who topped the opening session, with the Briton beating Verstappen who required a late flyer to climb from P12 to P2 thanks to a lap of 1:24.592. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly took third place ahead of the second Red Bull of Sergio Pérez and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
In the crucial final moments it was Daniel Ricciardo who lost out. The McLaren driver looked less than comfortable in the session but appeared to be safe when the chequered flag was flown. However, despite a guaranteed back of the grid start due to PU penalties, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz put in a full session, completing 12 laps, and his final flyer bounced Ricciardo out of the session in P16 along with Nicholas Latifi of Williams, Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen and Haas’ Nikita Mazepin.
In the second segment, the bulk of the field opted for medium tyres, looking to start the race on that compound. Hamilton was again to the fore with the Mercedes driver posting a best time of 1:23.082. Bottas again took second place, almost half a second behind his team-mate, while Verstappen was again third with a lap of 1:23.732. Gasly continued to impress with fourth place ahead of Leclerc, while Alpine’s Fernando Alonso also caught the eye with fifth place.
Eliminated at the end of the middle segment were Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Williams’ George Russell, Haas’ Mick Schumacher and Sainz who completed just a single out lap in Q2.
In the first runs of Q3, Hamilton was first on track, a full five minutes before the end of the session, with the Briton targeting multiple flying laps as he sought to minimise the damage caused by his impending penalty.
He found most time on his second flier to take P1 with a time of 1m22.868. Bottas was 0.005s ahead of Hamilton by the end of the second sector, but he lost time in the final third and wound up 0.13s behind his team-mate. Verstappen also lost time in the final corners and finished 0.328s down on Hamilton’s benchmark time.
Leclerc delievered a fine final flyer to rise to fourth place a little over five hundredths of a second ahead of Gasly. Alonso continued his good form with sixth place ahead of Perez. Eighth place in qualifying went to McLaren’s Lando Norris with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll ninth ahead of the AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda.
2021 FIA Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:22.868 8 231.896
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:22.998 0.130 0.157 6 231.533
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:23.196 0.328 0.396 6 230.982
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:23.265 0.397 0.479 8 230.790
5 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:23.326 0.458 0.553 6 230.621
6 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:23.477 0.609 0.735 6 230.204
7 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 1:23.706 0.838 1.011 6 229.574
8 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:23.954 1.086 1.311 6 228.896
9 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:24.305 1.437 1.734 6 227.943
10 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 1:24.368 1.500 1.810 6 227.773
11 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:24.795 1.713 2.062 9 226.626
12 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:24.842 1.760 2.118 8 226.501
13 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:25.007 1.925 2.317 8 226.061
14 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:25.200 2.118 2.549 8 225.549
15 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1
16 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:25.881 1.296 1.532 10 223.760
17 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:26.086 1.501 1.775 10 223.227
18 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:26.430 1.845 2.181 11 222.339
19 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:27.525 2.940 3.476 11 219.557
20 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 1:28.449 3.864 4.568 10 217.264 -
Historic DTM silver for Arjun Maini
Nuremberg, 9 October 2021: Ace Indian racing star Arjun Maini of Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed won his maiden DTM podium with silver in the Saturday’s race. Thus, he became the first Indian on a DTM podium and accolades poured in for the Indian star, who embraced this form of motorsports at the beginning of the season by becoming the first Indian to take part in DTM series.
Watch the Video here, courtesy DTM.
Watch Arjun Maini’s short interview here, courtesy DTM.
The Omega Seiki and J.K.Tyre backed driver was justly rewarded for the pace he has shown throughout the season with the Indian managing to hold off a strong challenge from championship leader Liam Lawson towards the end of the race.
As expected going into the weekend, Maini was able to make full use of his prior knowledge of the Norisring race circuit from his Formula 3 days. The Indian finished second in Free Practice 2 before qualifying fourth for the weekend’s first race. While the Indian was overtaken by Mercedes stablemate Maximillian Gotz at the start, he managed to keep out of major trouble, despite banging wheels with Lawson and mildly damaging his front right suspension.
It took Arjun many laps to get used to the damage and yet retain a reasonable pace.
A cleanly executed pitstop from the GetSpeed racing team further aided the Indian’s effort, with Maini leapfrogging Lawson and settling in behind Gotz, a position he would go on to maintain for the remainder of the race.
“I’m absolutely delighted with the result,” a clearly jubilant Maini stated.
“We’ve worked so hard throughout the year and while our qualifying pace has been good, we’ve never been able to stitch together a clean race. Today was just one of those days where everything came together, our pace was good and GetSpeed executed a well-judged pitstop.
“We have one more race to go tomorrow so I won’t be celebrating too much, but I have to say it feels good to finally achieve my aim for the season.”
The result also marked GetSpeed’s first podium in the championship, the team made their DTM debut this season with Maini and the pair have performed admirably over the course of the season given their relative lack of experience.Earlier, in DTM Norisring powered by BWT, the ultimate showdown is imminent on Sunday. With his victory on Saturday, Maximilian Götz has made the three-way battle for the coveted DTM title even more thrilling. With the Mercedes-AMG run by the HRT team, the driver from Uffenheim scored his second win of the season. Points’ leader Liam Lawson secured third place with the Red Bull Ferrari behind Indian Arjun Maini with the GetSpeed Mercedes while Kelvin van der Linde finished fourth with the ABT Audi at the 2.3 kilometres long Norisring.
With this thrilling outcome of the race, Lawson, now leading with a total of 224 points, extended his margin to 18 points over Kelvin van der Linde (206), but Götz (205) reduced his gap to only one point to van der Linde and 19 to Lawson. In total, there are still 28 points up for grabs, three in qualifying and 25 in the deciding race on Sunday. Arjun Maini, who was plagued by mechanical failures and engine issues earlier, is 13th in the standings with 40 points.
Arjun Maini with his Silver at DTM Series on Saturday. Photo courtesy Twitter @ArjunMaini The Bengaluru-born Maini, began the week-end on a confident note posting a 49.842 sec in Free Practice on to finish 7th , just 0.256 second off the pace of P1, and put on a good 42 laps with only Esteban Muth putting more laps, and derived good data to set up the car. He did another 43 laps in Free Practice 2 and was the second quickest posting a time of 49.405, missing the top entry on the timesheets by just 0.030sec. He continued the good run improving the time below 49s but could only get a P4 on the start grid for the Saturday race as the top-8 were all in 1/100th of a second. Maini P4 is just 0.007off the pole man as he clocked 48.938. The Indian bagged 18 points to take his tally to a decent 40 points despite all the hiccups with the mechanical issues.
“What an incredible race! It’s a big day for @ArjunMaini, the first Indian on a DTM podium,” tweeted Mercedes AMG official handle with a hashtag #DTM2021″ and tagged Maini. “Thank you guys! The care was mega,” was the Indian star’s reply.
“Yes, we did it. P2. I am so happy to get my first podium in DTM (series) here in Norisring and also the first podium for India,” Maini said after the race and thanked all his supporters, his team Mercedes AMG and GetSpeed,for the car, on the Social Media. `”Raring to go for tomorrow’s race,” he quipped.
THE LONG WAIT IS OVER: Arjun Maini gets his first chance to spray champagne and celebrate at DTM Series on Saturday after winning a Silver.
The season’s final qualifying session and race can be streamed on AutoCar India’s YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/autocarindia1) with Qualifying flagging off at 1 pm IST with the race starting at 5 pm IST. -
Hyderabad’s Rahil Shetty trumps quality field; Ahamed leads TVS podium sweep
Chennai, 9 October 2021: Hyderabad’s Rahil Pillari Shetty of Gusto Racing and local ace KY Ahamed of TVS Racing scored resounding victories in the two premier Pro-Stock categories on an action-packed day in the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2021, at the MMRT, here on Saturday.
The 23-year old Rahil Shetty marked his comeback after a season’s absence with a superb win in the Prostock 301-400cc category ahead of veteran Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power Racing), the championship leader in this category, and TVS Racing’s Deepak Ravikumar.
Ahamed registered his first win of the season in this category as he finished in front of team-mates Deepak Ravikumar and defending champion Jagan Kumar for a podium sweep for TVS Racing.
Earlier, Rockstar Racing’s Anfal Akdhar from Thrissur, registered his second win of the season in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category that had a massive grid of 38 riders.
Rahil, who missed the 2020 season due to family business commitments, rode a near flawless race on a KTM 390 starting from his maiden pole position in this category to beat a high-quality field.
Except for running wide in the penultimate lap to drop to second, Rahil dictated the pace for much of the six-lap race. Rahil, who had held out promise as a teenager, made a decisive pass on Rajini Krishnan, who had started from P6, at Turn-9 on the last lap for a deserving win.
Later, Ahamed, who had lost the championship to Jagan Kumar last season by just one point, survived a contact with pole-sitter Deepak Ravikumar on the very first lap, but staged a remarkable recovery to move to the front of the pack. Thereafter, Ahamed held off Ravikumar and Jagan for a fine win.
Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing’s Rajiv Sethu, starting from P3 following this morning’s qualifying session, yielded ground and lost a close battle to Jagan to finish fourth.
Earlier, in a battle between two riders from Thrissur in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category, Anfal Akdhar snatched a thrilling, last gasp win over Allwin Xavier (Sparks Racing) with just 500th of a second separating the two on the finish line after trailing the leader for much of the six-lapper. Finishing some four seconds behind the pair was Hubballi’s Sarvesh Balappa (Sparks Racing).
Starting from P4 on the 38-bike grid, Akdhar cut his way through to tuck in behind pole-sitter Alwin Sundar (AS Motorsports) before moving to the front. On the last lap, the two made contact and Sundar slammed into the tyre barrier while Akdhar carried on, but his bike lost the drive. Xavier then gave a hot chase to Akdhar who held his nerve to win the race.
The results (Provisional – 6 laps unless mentioned):
National Championship – Prostock 301-400cc Open (Race-1): 1. Rahil Shetty (Gusto Racing, Hyderabad) (11mins, 18.000secs); 2. Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power Racing, Chennai) (11:18.246); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) (11:18.340).
Prostock 165cc Open (Race-1): 1. Ahmed KY (TVS Racing, Chennai) (11:44.563); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing, Chennai) (11:44.697); 3. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing, Chennai) (11:45.057).
Novice (Stock 165cc) Race-1: 1. Anfal Akdhar (Rockstar Racing, Thrissur) (13:03.524); 2. Allwin Xavier (Sparks Racing, Thrissur) (13:03.577); 3. Sarvesh Balappa (Sparks Racing, Hubballi) (13:07.658).
One-Make Championship organised by MMSC:
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250R (Race-1): 1. Sarthak Chavan (Pune) (11:10.598); 2. Kevin Quintal (Chennai) (11:10.751); 3. Mohsin Peramban (Malappuram) (11:12.621).
Honda Novice (CBR 150): 1. Ikshan Shanbhag (Satara) (13:10.362); 2. Prakash Kamat (Bokaro Steel City) (13:10.401); 3. Theopaul Leander (Chennai) (13:19.412).
Honda Hornet 2.0 (Race-1): 1. Kevin Kannan (Chennai) (13:24.412); 2. Alwin Sundar (Chennai) (13:25.148); 3. Ullas Santrupt Nanda (Chennai) (13:25.661).
TVS Rookie (Apache RTR 200) Race-1: 1. Shreyas Hareesh (Bengaluru) (12:50.036); 2. Vignesh Goud (Hyderabad) (12:50.143); 3. Jinendra Kiran Sangave (Kolhapur) (12:50.220).
TVS Girls (Apache RTR 200, 5 laps): 1. Rakshita Dave (Chennai) (11:21.032); 2. Adlin Seles (Chennai) (11:21.720); 3. Aditi Krishnan (Bengaluru) (11:22.140).
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Harith Noah begins Dakar prep with Rallye du Maroc
Zagora, 7 October 2021: Five-time Indian National Champion, Harith Noah, who completed a tremendously successful Dakar 2021, will begin his preparations with the Rallye du Maroc for the next six days. The ace Indian champion, backed by TVS, has left India a fortnight ago to acclimatise and is raring to go. Last Dakar, his brilliant riding and navigation saw him become the first Indian to finish in the top-20 of the toughest cross-country rally in the world.
“I am back on the rally bike after a long and time and all-set in competition mode. Looking forward for a week of racing in Morocco. It has not been the best of places for me. Let us see how it goes this time around. It is basically to shrug off the lethargy and switch gears in preparation for the Dakar,” said India’s youngest and best finisher at Dakar, Harith Noah, talking to this website.
Action in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies resumes this week with the fourth event in this year’s series, Rallye du Maroc scheduled to run from October 7 to 13. Based around a central bivouac in Zagora, south of Ouarzazate, the five legs take in a wide range of technical, fast and sandy tracks, as well as dunes, and will be the setting for world-class action on the 21st anniversary event running in the Draa River valley in the southeast of Morocco.
Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov head an impressive entry list in their MINI John Cooper Works Rally. The Russians, leading the series with two second positions overall this season, are however in the thick of a battle with Nasser Al Attiyah and Matthieu Baumel who are just half a point adrift in the FIA World Cup standings. The Qatari/French Toyota pairing, returning to action in the series for the first since the opening round in Spain, are not only multiple champions in the discipline, but have an imposing history of five victories on Rallye du Maroc (2014-2018).
Lucio Alvarez and Armand Monleon hold joint third in the series alongside Mattias Ekström, the Argentine/Spanish pairing having claimed the win in Kazakhstan. Ekström and Emil Bergkvist will also be fighting hard for top honours and, on equal points and with just two separating them and Al Attiyah/Baumel, the Swedes will be looking to close the gap and better their third-place finish on Rally Kazakhstan in June. Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Michael Orr also return to action in their Toyota Hilux Overdrive. The Saudi Arabian/British duo have had a fine run on recent events in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas, with Al-Rajhi leading the series with one round remaining. With a fifth place finish in Morocco in 2019, when the event last ran due to the pandemic, they need to capitalise on the momentum to reduce the eight point deficit to the lead in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.
The French crew of Ronan Chabot and Gilles Pillot have one fourth place finish to their names this season, and the Polish/German pairing of Jakub Przygonski and Timo Gottschalk join the contenders for the first time this year. They finished third on the event in 2019. A host of other top cross-country drivers also join the action in Morocco, including Paulo Ferreira, Sebastian Halpern and Mathieu Serradori, who so nearly claimed a maiden victory with the Century CR6 in Kazakhstan.
The 13-strong field of T3 contenders is headed by Cristina Gutierrez, who is co-driven by Frenchman François Cazalet. The Spanish OT3 driver is leading the category by 20.5 points after winning in Spain and Kazakhstan and her nearest rival, Fernando Alvarez, will again be pushing hard after claiming two second positions in T3 this season.
No fewer than 25 crews have entered in T4 with the top three series rivals going head to head. American, Austin Jones, leads the category with a 27.5 point advantage over Dutchman Kees Koolen, while Eugenio Amos trails by a further seven points. All three will be fielding Can-Am Mavericks with the chasing pack looking to topple their top results.
RALLY DATA
Total distance 2,686.80 km Selective section distance: 1,633.52 km (60.8 %) Number of selective sections: 6 LEADING ENTRIES
Denis Krotov/Konstantin Zhiltsov MINI John Cooper Works Rally Nasser Al Attiyah/Matthieu Baumel Toyota Hilux Overdrive Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist MINI John Cooper Works Rally Yazeed Al Rajhi/Michael Orr Toyota Hilux Overdrive Ronan Chabot/Gilles Pillot Toyota Hilux Overdrive Jakub Przygonski/Timo Gottschalk MINI John Cooper Works Buggy Paulo Rui Ferreira/David Monteiro Toyota Hilux Overdrive Sebastian Halpern/Bernardo Graue MINI John Cooper Works Buggy Mathieu Serradori/Loic Minaudier Century CR6 Lucio Alvarez/Armand Monleon Toyota Hilux Overdrive RALLYE DU MAROC – TIMETABLE & MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES
Thursday October 7 Scrutineering From 09:00 hrs Pre-event press conference 19:00 hrs Friday October 8 – Leg 1/Section 1 Start of the rally/SS1A (10 km) 16:42 hrs Saturday October 9 – Leg 1/Section 2 Start of SS1B (288.24 kilometres) 11:33 hrs First car arrives bivouac 15:48 hrs Sunday October 10 – Leg 2 Start of SS2 (334.66 kilometres) 11:48 hrs First car arrives bivouac 17:05 hrs Monday October 11 – Leg 3 Start of SS3 (342 kilometres) 11:08 hrs First car arrives bivouac 18:01 hrs Tuesday October 12 – Leg 4 Start of SS4 (367.43 kilometres) 11:03 hrs First car arrives bivouac 16:57hrs Wednesday October 13 – Leg 5 Start of SS5 (291.19 kilometres) 10:58 hrs First car arrives Parc Fermé 15:12 hrs Podium/Prize-Giving 20:30 hrs FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies – Classifications:
https://www.fia.com/events/world-cup-cross-country-rallies/season-2021/classifications-2 -
Rajini Krishnan Vs Jagan Kumar, who will conquer Round 3
Chennai, 6 October 2021: The MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2021, boasting of over 100 entries, resumes after a month’s interval as the third round gets underway at the MMRT, here on Friday, October 8, with promise of thrilling action as the front-runners seek to consolidate their respective positions in the points table.
Much of the attention in this weekend’s 19-race card that will be gone through with Covid-19 safety restrictions in place, would be on the two premier Pro-Stock Open categories, the 301-400cc and 165cc, dominated by the pair of Chennai stars, Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power Racing) and Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing), respectively, both having won three of the four races over two rounds so far.
Further down the field, two other riders from Chennai, collegian Alwin Sundar (AS Motorsports) and Ryhana Bee (RACR Castrol Power Racing) head the championship standings in the Novice and Girls categories (Stock 165cc), respectively. Sundar, with two wins from four starts, enjoys a two-point lead over Thrissur’s Anfal Akdhar (Rockstar Racing). Ryhana, having won both races, leads by 20 points over her nearest rivals.
A clutch of teenagers have been making waves in the One-Make Championship organised by MMSC. Kolhapur’s Jinendra Kiran Sangave, only 12 years old, and local rider Rakshita Srihari Dave, 13, remain unbeaten in the TVS Rookie and Girls categories (both Apache RTR 200), respectively, while experienced Amarnath Menon, with two wins, heads the TVS Open class (Apache RR 310).
Likewise, in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup Chennai schoolboy Kavin Quintal, with four wins from as many starts, and Bokaro Steel City’s Prakash Kamat (two wins) lead the points table in the Honda NSF 250R and Honda CBR 150 categories, respectively.
MMSC president Ajit Thomas said: “It is a good sign that MMSC’s two-wheeler National Racing Championship is thriving with talented youngsters who are taking to the sport in increasing numbers, despite the many challenges that the pandemic has posed. While MRF Tyres continue to support us in a big way, we are also indebted our country’s top manufacturers, TVS, Honda, Yamaha and KTM, for their active participation, not to forget the Media for extending coverage.”
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 its racing activities from Sholavaram to its present location, the MMRT circuit 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. Parallelly, MMSC imported timing equipment specifically for Drag racing. 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. MMSC also constructed a 500-capacity grand stand with provision for garages / storage below. In another upgrade, the MMSC purchased Digi flags from TAG Heuer Chronolec that will be positioned strategically around the track. The facilities are also extensively used by various vehicle manufacturers for testing their products, displays and corporate days.
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Dr Shivani Pruthvi, Deeksha Balakrishna, only ladies in Rally of Himalaya
Manali, 6 October 2021: Ace rally driver Dr Shivani Pruthvi and Deeksha Balakrishna will be making their debut in the Rally of Himalayas, the toughest cross-country rally in the country which has attracted as many as 100 top rallyists from across the country to Himachal for the first-ever “Rally of Himalayas”, one of the most challenging motorsports events of the world in dangerous terrains of the state from October 7 to 10.
Creating ripples
Dr Shivani and Dr Deepthi Pruthvi, the daughter-mom pair from Davangere have been making ripples in the motorsports circles by taking part in the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) for the last three years. But Shivani, who completed her MBBS, last year despite all her motorsports activity, has just finished two INRRC rounds, the revived TSD Nationals at Hampi and the previous week, she was racing at Chennai’s Madras Motorsports Race Track. Dr Deepthi is an expert pathologist and a busy lady at the hospital as she chose to serve in her district itself but has been calling the pace notes for Shivani for some time now. But the multi-faceted Shivani who is known for her focus and hardwork even in her college days has managed tough schedules that a doctor’s course demands. She was also a multiple participant in the Republic Day Parade as an NCC cadet.
Deeksha joins to strengthen the only ladies team
She choose to rally with Deeksha as she is taking part in the extreme Cross-Country rally for the first time. Deeksha Balakrishna, is another talent from Southern India, who made her INRC debut, in style, with Pragathi Gowda in Arunachal Pradesh last December and made many take notice. Deeksha, also grew up in motorsports culture, listening to her dad Balakrishna’s tales. Popularly known as BK, he has been at the helm of motorsports activity in Karnataka and is currently the go-to man in fmsci for any of the sporting needs. Deeksha, naturally fits the bill Shivani feels. “She is the right choice as we enter as the only ladies team in the Rally of Himalayas,” she added. It keeps the FMSCI Women in Motorsport concept alive in the toughest rally of the country. Deeksha, who proved to have a strong will and steady mind, is equally thrilled. “It is definitely a challenging and tough.. the mother of all rallies. We are on our maiden mission to tame the elements as we prepare for a big test of endurance, cold temperatures and high altitude, both for the car and the team. Definitely a Mmighty Himalayan task and look forward to many more thrilling drives with Shivani,” said Deeksha.
Inspired by Dad’s tales, the Pruthvi effect
The Karnataka duo, finished the recce and will be looking forward to some challenging but enjoyable experience. “I am looking forward to driving here as I heard many tales from my dad about how one can overcome any challenge if you are in sync with the nature. I am going with a positive mind and my target is to finish the rally. We are game for it,” said the young doctor from Davangere in Karnataka. Pruthvi, her father, who introduced her to rallies was an yesteryear star for JK Tyres. Pruthvi, along with Shivu Shivappa, the FMSCI vice-president, had many tales to tell, when they took part in the inaugural Raide de Himalaya in 1999. Their story and run to the finish lane in a gypsy is a tale every enthusiast would love to hear. We shall will keep it for another day.
Organised by Himalayan X-Treme Motorsports Club, the rally will be flagged off by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur from Kullu on October 7 and the prize distribution ceremony will be held at Solang in the presence of Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur on October 10. The thrilling motorsport event will cover the challenging terrains of Hamta and Spiti which will test the stamina and skills of the rallyists.
Ten-time Raid de Himalaya rally winner Suresh Rana, who is president of the hosting club said: “Record 70 bikers are participating in this rally. This is the record as such a high number of participants has never been recorded before. Besides this, 30 cars including 4X4 vehicles will be vying for the title. We are putting our everything to make this rally successful and popular worldwide.”
A group of rallyists and motorsports enthusiasts are the members of the organising club backed by the government. As the rally will cover major portions of Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti districts, the administration from both the districts is also helping in successful conduct of the rally. The general traffic movement will be stopped at many stretches to ensure public safety. The health department will station ambulances at regular stretches.
Air Himalayas, Himachal based helicopter service, is also partnering with the rally and will station its helicopter to help air evacuation in case of a medical emergency.
“The extreme motorsports lovers were disappointed as no rally event was being organised for a long time. Finally, after working for months and talking to the top rally teams of the country, we managed to bring this event together with the support from the government. Finally we are ready to tread the Himalayan terrains,” Rana added. The first and special state of the rally will go to Hamta after the flag-off ceremony by the CM. Then the rally will move to Kaza in Spiti via Atal tunnel, Gramphu and Kunzum pass. The final leg of the rally will end at Solang where prizes will be distributed among the winners by Union Minister Anurag Thakur.
This article is first published by here before it was edited and published in INDIAinF1.
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Vinay-Ravi, Santosh-Nagarajan split Overall honours in JK Tyre INRRC
Hosapete (Karnataka) Oct 4: Santosh Kumar and co-driver Nagarajan from Tamil Nadu conquered the first round while Vinay Kumar, ably assisted by navigator Ravi Kumar took the overall honours in the premier class in the second round as the JK Tyre FMSCI Indian National Regularity Run Championship (South Zone) concluded the first event of Utsav de Hampi, here on Sunday.
Favourites and three-time National champions Karthik Maruthi and Sankar Anand of Erode had to be content with a second place and a fourth overall as another TN pair, Keerthy Prasad and co-driver Sakthivel did well to bag overall second on Day 1. But it was the ladies, Aparna Pathak and Lalitha Gowda, the techies from Bengaluru, who maintained average speeds as they not only won the Ladies Class in both the rounds but beat many stalwarts in the process and even won the corporate class in the first round besides 3 more podiums. Mangalore duo Ashwin Pinto and Sandeep D’Silva came back to beat Pruthvi Reddy and co-driver Anoop KV, after losing to the latter, in the first round to become the Stars of Karnataka. Father-son duo of Anil and Amal Abbas won the Corporate category in Round 2. Col. Joshua and Anita won a double in the Couple Class.
Neha Tiwary, Communications Manager, JK Tyre, and Santosh HM Rohit Gowda and Karan Rajesh from Motorsports Academy of Vijayanagar, flagged off Rally de Hampi, the first event of Utsav de Hampi at Royal Orchid here on Sunday. ”But it was the Karnataka Tourism concept of Road Safety that brought focus on to motorsports and Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES) rightly chipped in to make Utsav de Hampi as part of the district inauguration festival,” Shivayogi Kalsad, IAS, MD, KSRTC, who gave away the trophies along with Sunny of JK Tyres, and Umesh Kulkarni of Royal Orchid.
All the athletes were unanimous in praising the local organisers Motorsports Academy of Vijayanagar, especially Santosh, Rohit and their efficient teams, for a well-organised event. “We love to come to Hampi, for the events are thrilling and well-administered,’’ said a shy Aparna Pathak, a techie from TCS and her navigator Lalitha Gowda from HCL, nodded in agreement.
The next of the four events will be Utsav de Hampi, an exciting 4X4 off-road, before the Indian National Rally Championship 2-wheeler arrives at the Heritage site as FMSCI is yet to announce the dates for INRC 4w.
Provisional Results: Round 2: INRRC class: 1. Vinay Kumar BP/ Ravi Kumar BM (Bengaluru) (00:34); 2. Keerthy Prasad/Sakthivel (00:48); 3. Sandeep Mukherjee/ Prakash M (0:50); 4. Karthick Maruthi/S Sankar Anand (Erode) (00:58); 5. Anil Abbas/ Amal Abbas (01:02); 6. Santosh V/Nagarajan T (01:02).
Open Class: 1. Vinay Kumar BM/Ravi Kumar BM (00:34); 2. Jaiprashanth Venkat /Sugumaran (01:15); 3. Aparna Pathak/Lalitha Gowda (01:24);
Ladies Class: 1. Aparna Pathak/Lalitha Gowda (01:24); 2. Jasmeet Ka
ur/Jyothi Iyengar (01:50); 3. Dr Pruthvi/Dr Deepthi Pruthvi (03:16)
Star of Karnataka: 1. Ashwin Pinto/Sandeep D’Silva (01:12); 2. Pruthvi Reddy N/Anoop KV (02:08); 3. Dilnith/Lohith (03:30). Couple Class: 1. Joshua/ Anita (04:48); 2. David Sharon/ Sampath (05:00). Corporate class: 1. Anil Abbas/ Amal Abbas (01:02); 2. Aparna Pathak/Lalitha Gowda (01:24); 3. Jasmeet Kaur/Jyothi Iyengar (01:50);
Round 1: INRRC class: 1. Santhosh Kumar/Nagarajan (00:36); 2. Karthick Maruthi/ S Sankar Anand (01:10); 3. Jaiprashanth Venkat/ Sugumaran (01:19); 4. Aparna Pathak/ Lalita Gowda (01:36); 5. Keerthi Prasad/ Sakthivel (01:38).
Open Class: 1. Jaiprashanth Venkat/ Sugumaran (01:19); 2. Aparna Pathak/ Lalitha (01:36); 3.Vinay Kumar BM/Ravi Kumar BM (01:42).
Ladies Class: 1. Aparna Pathak/ Lalita (01:36); 2. Jasmeet Kaur/Jyothi Iyengar (04.24); 3. Dr Pruthvi/Dr Deepthi Pruthvi (07.50). Corporate: 1. Aparna Pathak/ Lalita (01:36); 2. Anil Abbas/ Amal Abbas (03:28); 3. Umashankar/ Vishwak Kasturi (03:36). Couple Class: 1. Joshua/ Anita (04:46); 2. David Sharon/ Sampath (05:30).
Star of Karnataka: 1. Pruthvi Reddy N/Anoop KV (02:08); 2. Ashwin Pinto/Sandeep D’Silva (04:08); 3. Dilnith/Lohith (06:56).
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Marquez pulls the pin for magnificent seventh win at COTA
The King of COTA returns to his throne with a dominant show of power, Quartararo celebrates second like a win and Bagnaia completes the podium
Austin, 4 October 2021: The King of COTA is back! A faultless display from Marc Marquez saw the Repsol Honda Team rider take a magnificent seventh win at the Circuit of The Americas as the number 93 stormed to a second victory of 2021. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) extended his World Championship lead with a valuable second place at the Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas, with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) taking third but now 52 points shy of the Frenchman with three races to go…
Plan A was executed to perfection by Marc Marquez from third on the grid, the number 93 grabbing the holeshot as Quartararo also got the better of polesitter Bagnaia. The latter then lost another place to the fast-starting Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) on the opening lap, with Pecco then demoted to P5 as Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) carved his way past on Lap 2 too.
Then, Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) was the first crasher of the race, the Japanese rider sixth when he tumbled out on Lap 2. Further back on Miller watch, Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) was making good progress on the hard rear Michelin tyre from 10th on the grid, and the Aussie grabbed a two-for-one deal at Turn 12 to pass Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) on Lap 3 for sixth .
After dispatching Rins, Martin was a formidable nuisance for Championship leader Quartararo as Marc Marquez started to stretch his lead to a second for the first time. Miller, having passed teammate Pecco, was now ahead of Rins in P4 too and the Aussie was the man on the move. Bagnaia, in turn, was struggling to keep up with the top five, initially down in sixth.
Lap 8 of 20 ticked by and Marc Marquez slammed in a 2:04.368, his lead was now up to a second and a half over Quartararo. By 11 to go, that gap had been stretched to 2.3, with Quartararo, in turn, a second clear of Martin. Miller was only half a second down on his fellow Ducati rider and 1.3 behind came Pecco, who had started to find some rhythm – the Italian soon passing Rins.
Pecco then latched onto the back of teammate Miller, before the latter allowed his teammate through – with every point in the title race absolutely critical at this stage, especially with Quartararo up ahead on second. Now, the question was: could Bagnaia catch and pass Martin for third? With four laps to go, the gap was suddenly nothing, with Martin seemingly looking down at his dashboard a few times. Was the rookie struggling, or were Ducati intervening? It wouldn’t matter in the end, with Martin being handed a Long Lap Penalty for not losing enough time at Turns 4 and 5 when he had a front end moment and ran off.
In the end though, Captain America returned to reign once again in Austin. Marc Marquez gave the Repsol Honda Team their 450th premier class podium with a classy ride at COTA, as Quartararo takes a second place that gives him his first match point of the season next time out at Misano. Bagnaia recovered well to claim P3, but its ground lost in the Championship chase… although Misano went pretty well last time for the Italian.
Rins was able to finish P4, profiting from Martin’s Long Lap Penalty, the latter unlucky to finish fifth after another fantastic ride but still top Independent Team rider. Sixth place went the way of Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama), who once again impressed as his form rolls on. He also benefitted from a clash between Mir and Miller on the final lap, and the Rookie of the Year battle is close still between Martin and Bastianini heading into the final three races.
The Mir-Miller clash earned the Suzuki rider some post-race interest from both Miller and the FIM MotoGP™ Stewards Panel. The number 36’s move on Miller at Turn 15 saw the reigning World Champion make contact with the Ducati and he received a one place penalty. Mir crossed the line in P7 with Miller P8, that result is switched after the penalty.
Binder and Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) completed the top 10, with Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) taking home a lonely P11 but some good points. Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol), Andrea Dovizioso (Petronas Yamaha SRT), Luca Marini (Sky VR46 Avintia) and Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) round out the points, The Doctor scoring in his final Grand Prix appearance in America.
Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) and Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) crashed out unhurt on Sunday afternoon, joining Nakagami on the list of DNFs.
So that’s that from Texas. A dream return to COTA for Marc Marquez sees the King reclaim his Austin crown. And equally as happy is Quartararo, with that 52-point advantage meaning he could now win the 2021 title next time out at Misano. Could…
MotoGP podium
1 Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda – 41’41.435
2 Fabio Quartararo – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha – +4.679
3 Francesco Bagnaia – Ducati Lenovo Team – Ducati – +8.547Top Independent Team rider
5 Jorge Martin – Pramac Racing – Ducati – +11.752 -
‘Lightning’ strikes MMRT as Hemanth Muddappa breaks National Drag record
Chennai, October 3: Seven-time National Drag Champion Hemanth Muddappa of Mantra Racing stormed to a National record, breaking his own mark with a triumphant double gold in the ribbon events in the second round of the MMSC FMSCI Indian National Drag Racing Championship here on Sunday. Touching a top speed of 230kmph, he extended his Championship lead in the premier 4-stroke Above-1051cc Class at the 303-metre Madras Motor Race Track.
The 31-year Coorgi, based in Bengaluru, nicknamed LightningR1, did his magic once again to prove his critics wrong as he dashed to a gold beating his own National record in the 4-stroke 850 to 1050cc SuperSport Class set in 2019. Hemanth also holds the National drag record in the top above-1051cc Class.
“I am so happy to set the National record in this category. Seven National titles won’t come by luck. We have put in hardwork and practised hard, testing and improving after every run. I dedicate this gold to my friend Riyaz’s mom, who is on a ventilator. Despite that he came here and clocked an eight. Hats off to him,’’ said a delighted Hemanth, who runs 1Up Nutrition, a top brand Nutrition supplements for sportspersons.
“Winning is in the DNA of Mantra Racing from 1954. We have been tuning Mudappa’s bikes for all his National titles and I am glad he got the much-awaited record today. We brought some upgrades but it was the hard work and practice he put in at the air strip near Bengaluru that brought him success,” said Sharan Pratap of Mantra Racing, who tunes the champion’s bikes.
Hemanth astride a green #93 BMW s1000rr was lightening quick to post a stunning 7.914 to beat the National Drag record in this class despite being a fraction of a second slower in reaction at the start to Hyderabad’s Mohd. Riyaz, who did 8.058 seconds. Sugan Prasad, also from Bengaluru, clocked 8.421 to take the bronze.
In the top class of 4-stroke Above-1051cc Super Sport, riding a black Suzuki Hayabusa, Hemanth clocked 8.061sec. “With others posting only in 8s, I took it easy and won at a relaxed pace,’’ the passionate bodybuilder added.
In other classes, Bharath Raj (226-360cc), Madhan Kumar (upto 165cc) and Aiyaz Rem (361-550cc) won the gold.
Results (provisional): 4S Above-1051cc Class: 1. #97 Hemanth Muddappa (Bengaluru) 8.061sec; 2. #98 Hafizullah Khan (Bengaluru) 8.396; 3. Vignesh Purushottham (Bengaluru) 8.409;
4S 851 to 1050cc Super Sport: 1. #93 Hemanth Muddappa (7.914); 2. #96 Mohd. Riyaz (Hyderabad) (8.058); 3. Sugan Prasad (Bengaluru) (8.421);
4S 226 to 360cc SS Indian: 1. #74Bharath Raj (12.427); 2. #75 Mohamed Shakir (12.655); 3. #77 Yogeshwaran (13.014);
4S upto 165cc SS Indian: 1. #71 S Madhan Kumar (13.826); 2. #73 K Kannan (13.990); 3. #91 S Kannan (14.472);
4S 361 to 550cc SS Indian: 1. #85 Aiyaz Rem (12.368); 2. #83 Yogeshwaran (12.620); 3. #84 D Anish Samson (12.658).
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Nakamura and Taponen win the World Karting titles
The wet conditions on the Campillos circuit on Sunday were an important element in the running of the 2021 FIA Karting World Championship – OK & Junior. The last Qualifying Heats had already brought some surprises, but the Finals were full of twists and turns before rewarding Japan’s Kean Nakamura Berta in Junior and Finland’s Tuukka Taponen in OK.
Campillos, 31 October 2021: For the third consecutive year, the FIA Karting World Championship – OK & Junior was rained out. In Campillos, the rain was not too heavy, but the track remained wet throughout Sunday. Both Finals were run on MG Tires rain tyres. Once again, karting at its highest level offered an incomparable spectacle. The control of the drivers in these tricky conditions as well as the ability of the teams to make the right technical choices, especially concerning the tyre pressure, enabled us to witness an intense competition and the crowning of the two brilliant World Champions.
NAKAMURA JUNIOR CHAMPION AFTER SLATER’S PENALTY
The favourite until then, James Egozi (USA – Tony Kart/Vortex/MG) lost the lead in his last Qualifying Heat and poleman David Walther (DNK – Tony Kart/Vortex/MG) regained the lead ahead of Tomass Stolcermanis (LVA – Energy/TM Racing/MG) while Marcus Saeter (NOR – Tony Kart/Vortex/MG) climbed up to 3rd position ahead of Keanu Al Azhari (DEU – Tony Kart/Vortex/MG) and Egozi. Kean Nakamura Berta (JPN – Exprit/TM Racing/MG) had come back from 25th to ninth position. Freddie Slater (GBR – Kosmic/Vortex/MG), who was delayed the previous day due to a retirement, still managed to finish in 13th place.
The start of the Final was given after two unsuccessful attempts on a slippery track. Amongst the many early exits, Egozi retired on the second lap. Walther and Stolcermanis battled for first place. Slater quickly moved up to fifth then moved up to third place on lap 3. Determined, he attacked Walther and then Stolcermanis to take 1st place on the sixth of the 16 laps, a significant improvement of 12 places. Nakamura followed the same path to move up to second place on lap 10. From there Slater stopped increasing his lead to 4,4”. Stolcermanis and Walther were still fighting for third position, but they were not protected from Anatoly Khavalkin (RAF – Parolin/TM Racing/MG) who came back to third with three laps to go. Slater must have realised that he would be penalised because of his spoiler that had come off in the fight and was desperately trying to push his advantage beyond 5″ to retain the title. Unfortunately for him, this did not happen and Nakamura’s second place finish turned into a world title win by 0.256″. The disappointment for Slater, who had given his all in a tough challenge, was sad to see. On the contrary, Nakamura was exultant to bring home a World Junior Championship title to his country thanks to the Forza Racing team.
2021 FIA Karting World Championship – Junior standings
1- Kean Nakamura Berta (JPN)
2- Freddie Slater (GBR)
3- Anatoly Khavalkin (RAF)
4- David Walther (DNK)
5- Tomass Stolcermanis (LVA)TAPONEN THE FAULTLESS WINNER OF THE OK FINAL
Leader of the provisional ranking on Saturday evening, Ugo Ugochukwu (USA – KR/IAME/MG) confirmed his domination with another victory on Sunday morning, as well as his direct pursuer Oscar Pedersen (SWE – Tony Kart/Vortex/MG). Poleman Gabriel Gomez (BRA – CRG/IAME/MG) secured an excellent third place against his compatriot Rafael Camara (BRA – KR/IAME/MG). In fifth place, Tuukka Taponen (FIN – Tony Kart/Vortex/MG) had gained 11 places.
At the time of the Final, the track remained wet with light rain. Camara rushed to the front of the race ahead of Ugochukwu, Taponen and Arvid Lindblad (GBR – KR/IAME/MG). Pedersen and Gomez were already behind. Camara was then slower and Taponen quickly joined him to take the lead on lap five, followed by Lindblad on the next lap. Camara retired three laps later. Shortly after the halfway point, Ugochukwu had to give up third place to Luigi Coluccio (ITA – Kosmic/Vortex/MG), who had set a very good pace, while Nikola Tsolov (BGR – KR/IAME/MG) moved into the top five. Taponen had a great race right to the end and gave the Tony Kart Racing Team its second world crown of the year after the KZ title won by Noah Milell (SWE) in Sweden. Lindblad crossed the finish line 7” later, but his spoiler, which had been unhooked since the formation lap, cost him a 5” penalty and second place went to Coluccio. Ugochukwu finished fourth, well ahead of Tsolov.
FIA Karting World Championship standings – OK 2021
1- Tuukka Taponen (FIN)
2- Luigi Coluccio (ITA)
3- Arvid Lindblad (GBR)
4- Ugo Ugochukwu (USA)
5- Nikola Tsolov (BGR)
