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  • Max Verstappen on pole as Red Bull lockout front row: F1 season opener

    Max Verstappen on pole as Red Bull lockout front row: F1 season opener

    Defending FIA Formula One world champion Max Verstappen took his first pole of 2023 with the quickest time in Qualifying for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Pérez took second place to as Red Bull locked out the front row. Charles Leclerc took third place, though the Ferrari driver missed the final run of Q3 as he opted to save a set of tyres for the race.

    At the start of Q1, Leclerc was one of the first to kick off a flying lap but as the Ferrari driver began his lap a piece of his right wheel brow broke off and then, as he locked up into Turn 1, a second element flew off the underside of his car. 

    With debris on the racing line, the session was red-flagged with four minutes on the clock. 

    Following an eight-minute delay, the session resumed and the Red Bulls were quickly on track, along with the rest of the field. Verstappen climbed to the top of the timesheet with a lap of 1:31.295, but the Dutchman was almost immediately eclipsed by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and then by Leclerc. It was the Ferrari star’s team-mate Carlos Sainz who staked the biggest claim to top spot in the opening runs with the Ferrari driver taking P1 with a lap of 1:30.993. 

    In the final runs of the opening segment Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg and William’s Alex Albon all jumped into the top 10 but despite their advances, Sainz took top spot from Russell and Leclerc. 

    There was no place in Q2, though, for Williams’ Logan Sargeant. The Williams rookie was eliminated in P16 ahead of Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri, AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly who had his final time deleted for track limits in Turn 15. 

     In the opening runs of Q2, Verstappen took control, with the Dutchman taking P1 with a lap of 1:30.503, 0243s ahead of Pérez who slotted into P2. Verstappen’s lap left him 0.398s clear of third-placed Hamilton, with his Mercedes team-mate George Russell in fourth place ahead of Alonso and the Ferrari duo of Sainz and Leclerc. 

    Red Bull opted to keep its drivers in the garage for the final runs of Q2 and when the final times arrived, it was Leclerc who took top spot with a time of 1:30.282. Verstappen’s opening time was good enough to hold on to second place, while Russell took third ahead of Hamilton, Sainz and Alonso. That left Pérez with seventh place and the Q3 order was rounded out by Hulkenberg, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Stroll. Out went McLaren’s Lando Norris in P11, Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunodo and 15th-placed Albion. 

    Verstappen again set the pace in the opening runs of the final segment. The Dutchman went purple in the first and final sectors to set a P1 time of 1:29.897, with Leclerc second on 1:30.000. Pérez slotted into third place, 0.234 off his team-mate, while Alonso took fourth place ahead of Russell. 

    Leclerc oddly opted to sit out the final runs, choosing instead to save a set of tyres for the race start, and that left the door open for Verstappen to stretch away from the field. The Dutchman obliged and thanks to a strong middle sector he found almost two tenths of a second to claim pole with a lap of 1:29.708. Pérez also found time to leapfrog Leclerc and take P2 to lock out the front row for tomorrow’s race. 

    2023 FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix – Qualifying 
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:29.708 
    2 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing 1:29.846 0.138
    3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:30.000 0.292
    4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:30.154 0.446
    5 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:30.336 0.628
    6 George Russell Mercedes 1:30.340 0.632
    7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:30.384 0.676
    8 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:30.836 1.128
    9 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:30.984 1.276
    10 Nico Hulkenberg Haas 1:31.055 1.347
    11 Lando Norris McLaren 1:31.381 1.673
    12 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1:31.443 1.73
    13 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1:31.473 1.765
    14 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:32.51a0 2.802
    15 Alexander Albon Williams – –
    16 Logan Sargeant Williams 1:31.652 1.944
    17 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:31.892 2.184
    18 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:32.101 2.393
    19 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri 1:32.121 2.413
    20 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:32.181 2.473

  • Jehan Daruvala 6th, Kush Maini 7th; both Indian in points at Bahrain GP

    Jehan Daruvala 6th, Kush Maini 7th; both Indian in points at Bahrain GP

    Sakhir, 4 March 2023: Indian racing drivers Jehan Daruvala and Kush Maini performed well in the season opener F2 Sprint race in the first round of the FIA Formula 2 World Championship held on the F1 race-weekend here on Saturday.

    Mumbai’s Jehan Daruvala of MP Motorsport finished 6th after starting from 11th, as he had a good start to P8 and later fought well with ART driver Theo Pourchaire but with waning tyres had to be content with the sixth. Meanwhile, the other Indian in the fray, Bengaluru’s Kush Maini, who began in P6, fell back and later recovered admirably to finish behind his compatriot in 6th place. Daruvala bagged 3 points to Maini’s 2. In Sprint races, the winner gets 10 points, followed by 8, 6, 5, 3, 2 and 1 points respectively for places 2 to 8. Only top 8 drivers get points. There will be 11 Sprint races and 11 Features races on Sundays for the season.

    Ralph Boschung converted reverse grid pole into his first win in Formula 2 in an overtake-filled first race of 2023. The Campos Racing driver kept his lead out of Turn 1 and left the field behind him to fight to the end.

    Experience counted for Dennis Hauger, and he claimed P2 late on, overtaking Victor Martins on the penultimate lap. The Frenchman opened his F2 account with a great drive from eighth on the grid to take the final podium place.

    AS IT HAPPENED

    Ralph Boschung kept his lead from pole while Roman Stanek bogged down in P2 and was fourth by the first corner. DAMS teammates Arthur Leclerc and Ayumu Iwasa battled side-by-side from Turns 3 to 6 for second, with Iwasa prevailing and taking the spot.

    Martins compounded Stanek’s struggles, sweeping around the outside of the Trident car at Turn 11 to take fourth. A wide moment at the final corner to end the opening lap allowed Hauger through on the Czech driver for P5.

    Théo Pourchaire was next through, sliding his ART Grand Prix car down the inside of Stanek at Turn 10 under braking, moving up to sixth having started 10th. It was synchronised overtakes for the ART pair into Turn 1 on Lap 3, Martins taking third from Leclerc and Pourchaire mirroring the move on Hauger for fifth. A dose of DRS on lap five got Pourchaire in range of Leclerc and a daring dive into Turn 1 gave the Frenchman fourth position.

  • Kush Maini aiming for a clean sprint race on debut: F2

    Kush Maini aiming for a clean sprint race on debut: F2

    Bahrain, 3 March 2023: Indian hope Kush Maini put together an impressive Qualifying session on debut for Campos Racing, ending the session sixth-fastest in the Qualifying session of the Formula 2 World Championship opening round here on Friday.

    The other Indian in F2, Jehan Daruvala is perhaps trying to have a last go in the F2 season but has already laid plans for Formula E. Today he qualified P 11. Being one of the favourites last season, Daruvala failed to lived up to his own standards due to various reasons that hindered his progress, some which were not in his hands.

    The 22-year old Indian admitted he was a little bit more nervous than usual, owing to the fact he was confident that there was a good performance within both himself and the car.

    Following post-season and pre-season testing as well as the Free Practice session on Friday, Maini said that knowing a strong result was on the cards made his Qualifying a little more critical. But after securing a strong starting position, the Campos driver says proving it to himself is another bonus at this early stage of his F2 career.

    “It was a nerve-wracking session. I knew from testing and since I’ve driven this car that it suits my driving style, and I know that the Campos cars are really good. I knew that if we put everything together, we could be in the mix and that’s what made it more stressful.

    “I’m super happy. I did some good laps. Both were good enough for P6 I think. We did a one-lap strategy on both sets, so we have good tyres for the races and I’m looking forward to it. Now that all the weight is off my shoulders, I feel a lot more confident. I always knew I could fight with the best in the world, so it felt good to be up there,” added the Bengaluru driver.

    As usual, there was a level of track evolution that played out during the Qualifying session, though the degree in which the track improved caught Maini by surprise. Not because of a huge leap in available grip between runs, but the lack of improvement versus what had been predicted.

    It meant that the field was tightly bunched fighting for a top 10 starting position. Maini highlighted pre-season testing as the factor that made a good grid slot tough to come by due to the knowledge levels teams and drivers had developed.

    “Track improvement was not as much as I thought. All the times were any tight except P1 because we’ve been here for four days now, so it’s going to be tight and every tenth is going to be massive. I think the average improvement was like two-tenths from the first set to the second, and I thought with the fuel burning off and driving improvements, it would be at least half a second. So it was quite surprising, but it was the same for everyone,” continued the younger of the two Maini brothers.

    Along with teammate Ralph Boschung, both Campos drivers made it inside the top 10. Boschung is set to start the Sprint Race from reverse grid pole, meaning there’s a good possibility of strong points finishes on the table for both drivers.

    Maini highlighted the importance of getting off the mark early in the season and securing valuable points where possible.

    “Campos has always been strong. They went through some difficult patches last year, but when I signed for the team, I knew I wasn’t just signing to be on the grid, I was signing to fight. I’m just happy we could finally show that potential. I think we had a bit more, but we’ll take it. Ralph is on pole tomorrow and we can get some good points this weekend, so I’m really happy for the boys.

    “Tomorrow will be the first F2 race for me, so we obviously did the race runs in Practice so we have an idea of how to pursue it from the start. I’m just gonna keep it clean, keep it on the road, no crazy risks and hopefully bring some points.”

  • Jehan Daruvala heads in another F2 season with high hopes, qualifies P11

    Jehan Daruvala heads in another F2 season with high hopes, qualifies P11

    Mumbai, 3 March 2023: Indian racing star Jehan Daruvala heads into this weekend’s Bahrain Formula 2 season-opener with high hopes as a last-ditch effort in his endeavours to enter F1. However, his opening day of the season saw him qualify in P11.

    The other Indian racer in the F1, Kush Maini qualified P6 today.

    Returning to the track where he scored his first-ever F2 win, the 24-year-old, who will race for reigning champions MP Motorsport this season, will be looking for a change in fortunes. He raced to victory in 2020 around the venue’s outer loop layout having already taken a third-place finish around the more traditional 5.4-km long configuration a week earlier.

    Jehan followed that up with two second places in 2021 and last year. Heading into this weekend, he has his sights firmly set on extending that podium streak to kick off a campaign Jehan hopes will see him become the first Indian to win the F2 title. 

    Jehan said, “I can’t wait to go racing again. I enjoyed the break but now, batteries recharged, I am really excited about starting this new journey with MP Motorsport. We go into the weekend on the back of a strong, productive three days of testing. I’m feeling comfortable in the car, our long run pace looks good, which is always crucial around a track like Bahrain and I love racing around here. It’s a layout that suits my driving style and I’m optimistic we can come away with another strong result this weekend.”

    Jehan DARUVALA, of MP Motorsport file photo of pre-season test at Sakhir. Photo by Sebastiaan Rozendaal / Dutch Photo Agency

    Jehan has established himself as a front-runner in Formula 2 with a haul of four wins and 15 podiums over three seasons in the series. He is also eligible for a Formula One superlicence having successfully completed three F1 test sessions with former champions McLaren.

    The 24-year-old is also a Formula E reserve for Indian manufacturer Mahindra Racing, a role he will combine with his F2 campaign.

    Headquartered in the Netherlands, MP Motorsport last year became only the second team in Formula 2 history to achieve the title double. The outfit chalked up five races wins with championship winner Felipe Drugovich and also scored seven further podiums.

  • Ashish Raorane comes out in flying colours with a P11 finish in Rally2

    Ashish Raorane comes out in flying colours with a P11 finish in Rally2

    Abu Dhabi, 3 March 2023: Ace Indian star Ashish Raorane completed the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge successfully finishing the final day’s Stage 5 at Overall P20 for a creditable Rally2 class ranking of 11th, here on Friday.

    Ashish Raorane of Xraids Experience, astride a 450 Rally Factory Replica, clocked a total time of 25:09.05 for his Overall P20 and P11 in Rally2.

    “Stage 5 is done and dusted with some painkiller help and with that the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is in the bag. We finished at P11 in Rally2 category, I am happy with the result and more importantly gained a lot of meaningful experience each day. Thank you for following along and all the messages over the past week, it really helps to keep going. Thank you to all partners for the support!” said Ashish Raorane on his Instagram handle. He is supported by Rynox Gears, Dosmoto Design, Lazyass Bikers.

    The Indian began well but went through harrowing time but with great determination he came back strongly to complete the daunting cross country rally raid competition successfully. He suffered the fuel-range anxiety with a lost front fuel tank in Stage 1 at around 204-km mark and also saw the air bag deployed during the hard landing and ended the day’s competitive section withn fumes in the rear fuel tank.

    The next day in Stage 2, it was another big challenge spotting the drop-offs around noon time and as everything looked flat the Indian was caught out coming off a dune crest and “the earth below disappeared”. Later that day he said: “Lost about 15 mins getting myself unstuck in one of the dunes in this section, thanks to Justin Gerlach for stopping to save (me). Later I too, got an opportunity to pay it forward just 10Km ahead helping another rider upright his downed machine.”

    The SMILE IS BACK: Ashish Raorane finishes an incredible and grueling rally at a respectable P11 in Rally2 class despite all the obstacles in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge on Friday. Photo Instagram @Ashish_Raorane

    The worst was on Stage 3 on March 1, but the brave Pune mariner successfully completed one more day despite a fall as he recovered admirably and rode with a ruptured bicep muscle and an extremely painful arm for about 160Km. After close to five and a half hours of racing, completed the timed special with grit and determination.

    Then yesterday, the pain reduced a bit and he was cruising before another obstacle hit the rider. He lost his road book and had to manually do it. After sometime, with a straight path in front, he rode on but was taken back by a speed zone and was penalized 9 minutes.

    Nevertheless, the Indian came out with flying colours and the finish was as sweet as any for the Rynox Gears supported athlete.

    Adrein Van Beveren wins ADDC: Moto

    Adrien Van Beveren seized the lead of the ADDC in stage 2 and held onto the top spot until the end of the high-stakes finale. Following his late-season triumph in Andalusia last year, the Frenchman’s victory in Abu Dhabi makes it two wins out of four since he moved to Honda. He also added his name to the list of winners of the ADDC after finishing as runner-up in 2021. Much like VBA, Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna Factory Racing) defended his second place until the end. Toby Price unleashed a barrage of attacks over more than 200 km to secure third stage overall.

    The absence of the reigning world champion, Sam Sunderland, and the victor of the fist round, Kevin Benavides, both of whom were injured in the week before the ADDC, paved the way for Toby Price to surge to the top of the championship standings, now with 46 points. VBA brought his tally to 42 —the lucky number he sports in every race! Kevin Benavides is still on the podium thanks to the 38-point haul from his victorious Dakar campaign. His brother, Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna Factory Racing), is fourth with 35 points after bagging two specials this week. The red bikes prevailed in this round of the manufacturer championship, courtesy of VBA’s triumph and Nacho Cornejo’s fourth place, but KTM held onto the overall lead with 84 points to Honda’s 74. Husqvarna is third with 69.

    In the Rally2 category, Tobias Ebster (SRG Motorsports), the nephew of Heinz Kinigadner, a legendary rider for KTM who took the inaugural edition of the ADDC motorbike race back in 1995, made a strong impression and seems poised to light up the remaining legs of the championship, although he was not eligible for the classification. The Austrian, an entrant in the Road to Dakar challenge held in every round of the W2RC, earned a ticket to the 2024 Dakar. In the W2RC, Jean-Loup Lepan (Duust Diverse Racing) took home the trophy ahead of Paolo Lucci (BAS World KTM Racing), who led the ADDC until a crash in stage 4. Toni Mulec, the Italian’s teammate, came in third. Lucci remains in command of the ranking with 50 points to Lepan’s 45. Romain Dumontier (HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing), who came out of the Dakar in the overall lead, is now third with 38 points. Mulec is fourth with 30.

    The Emirati Abdulaziz Ahli (Abu Dhabi Team) claimed his third win in a row in the quad race after firing a blank in the Dakar. He proved stronger than Laisvydas Kancius (AG Dakar School), who only managed to snatch one stage from the local hero. The Lithuanian rose to the top of the championship standings with 44 points to Copetti’s 38 and Varga’s 30. Ahli scaled up to fourth with 25 points. Two other Lithuanians, Gančierius (16 points) and Kanopkinas (11 points), opened their account, as did Rodolfo Guillioli (13 points), one of the sensations of the previous season.

    AL Rajhi prevails as Loeb tightens his grip

    Yazeed Al Rajhi took his maiden victory in the ADDC, becoming the first Saudi winner of the race to boot. It was also his first ever W2RC triumph and the second consecutive win for a Hilux this season, following Al Attiyah’s success in the Dakar.

    Martin Prokop repeated his performance from last year to finish second in his Ford Ranger. In another echo of 2022, a Red Bull Off-Road Jr Team USA T3 claimed third place. After “Chaleco” López last year, this time round it was Seth Quintero who came out on top in his South Racing / Can-Am. The top three drivers in the championship following the Dakar all ran into big trouble in the ADDC, but Guerlain Chicherit (GCK Motorsports) and Al Attiyah, second and third going into the second leg of the season, paid a heftier price than the leader.

    They went home from the race empty-handed, whereas Loeb padded his lead by 14 points thanks to a series of strong performances in the last three stages. the Frenchman now has 101 points to Al Attiyah’s 85. Prokop gained one position and is now third with 64 points. Al Rajhi was the biggest winner, leaping from tenth to fourth with 63 points. Jan Cruz Yacoponi (Overdrive Racing), fifth, and Chicherit, sixth, have 49 points apiece. Sebastián Halpern (X-raid Mini JCW) is seventh with 43. The setbacks experienced by the three former leaders of the ranking allowed their pursuers to narrow the gap. In the manufacturer ranking, Toyota Gazoo Racing benefited from Al Rajhi’s victory and Yacopini’s fourth place to increase its lead to 120 points to BRX’s 79.

    In the T3 category, Seth Quintero (Red Bull Off-Road Jr Team USA) clinched the race ahead of Austin Jones (Red Bull Can-Am Factory) after a series of exciting duels with Mattias Ekström, who had two off days. His teammate Cristina Gutiérrez was also unlucky, paving the way for the other woman in the field, Aliyyah Koloc (Buggyra ZM Racing), to finish third in the W2RC standings for this leg. The championship ranking is singing a full-throated rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner”, with Quintero in the top spot with 127 points to Jones’s 121 and Guthrie Jr.’s 81.

    Meanwhile, Rokas Baciuška (Red Bull Can-Am Factory) dominated Pau Navarro (FN Speed) in the T4 race. The reigning world champion wrapped up the ADDC in the lead with 134 points to his name. The Dakar champion, Eryk Goczał (Energylandia Rally Team), has 86. Navarro is third with 73. Shinuke Umeda and his Polaris, another big attraction of the week, gained ground and is now sixth with 44 points.

  • Subir Roy & Nirav Mehta champs; Aparna-Lalitha claim maiden title: TSD Nationals

    Subir Roy & Nirav Mehta champs; Aparna-Lalitha claim maiden title: TSD Nationals

    Bengaluru, 26 Feb 2023: Subir Roy and co-driver Nirav Mehta of Kolkata were crowned the National champions for 2022 winning the Overall honours in the finals of the ProSports FMSCI Indian National TSD Rally Championship 2022 (INTSDRC) while Bengaluru pair from IT sector, Aparna Pathak and Lalitha Gowda, clinched their maiden National title in the Ladies Class here on Sunday.

    The National Championship is run as part of Southern Safari. The Nationals is promoted by PROSPORTS and the Grand finale is organized by Karnataka Motor Sports Club.

    Another Bengaluru pair Harish and navigator Chandrashekar won the INTSDRC2 class while Aritra Chakraborthy and navigator Soham Pal from Kolkata won the Novice class National title. With the completion of the TSD Nationals, FMSCI has successfully completed 12 Nationals for the year 2022.

    Veteran pair, Subir and Nirav hit jackpot

    Subhir Roy (left) and Neerav Mehta after receiving the National Championship Overall winners award for 2022 in Bengaluru on Sunday.

    Subir Roy and Nirav were rallying together for 12 years now and the 59-year Subir, who made his debut in the local Kavi Guru rally at Kolkata in 2002, is a veteran of many events including some cross-country rallies like the Desert Storm, Dakshin Dare and the Himalayan rally. He has also participated in the Indo-ASEAN Rally organized by the Ministry of Defence. From 2016, he has been taking part in the TSD Nationals with consistent podium finishes but the title has been eluding the duo. Finally, the Kolkata duo laid their hands on the National Championship in a Volkswagen Polo 1.6 with 12 zeros and managed 24 secret TCs and difficult Time Controls to pip defending champions, compatriots Ajgar Ali and Mustafa, on a tie-breaker. The result shows the tough competition for a TSD rally where navigation plays a crucial role with or without a ‘tabulating’ meter.

    “It was a pleasure to win the National title. Nirav and I stood on the podium many times in the 12 years we were together, but this is special. I want to give many thanks to the Karnataka Motorsports Club and CoC Sujith for organizing such a technical and transparent rally with great hospitality. I thank my family and all my supporters,” said Subir Roy, in his hour of glory.

    Maiden title for Aparna & Lalitha as they dominate ladies class

    Aparna Pathak and Lalitha Gowda, the two lady drivers from Bengaluru are a well-known team in TSD scene.

    Though no one in their families is into motorsports, a chance drive in the Times Women’s Drive in 2018 saw Aparna get hooked to the rallies and she found Lalitha, who began her career with the Mumbai to Lavasa TSD rally in 2009 in Mumbai, as her navigator. The pair won many rallies and partnered together for a number of podiums after coming together for the Rally of Chikkamagalur in 2019. They made their debut in the TSD Nationals in 2021 at Siliguri and clinched their maiden title this year. They also become the inaugural Ladies Class National winners.

    Aparna Pathak (left) and Lalitha Gowda after receiving the National Championship winners award (Ladies Class) from Sujith Kumar BS, Head of PROSPORTS, the Promoters.

    “We feel very delighted to win the first INTSDRC women’s championship. It was a very close competition and all the teams have given their best. The route was extremely scenic and well-planned. It gave a glimpse of the rich landscape of Karnataka from dams to coffee estates, and the green cover,” said Aparna Pathak.

    “We would like to thank FMSCI, Women in Motorsports (WIM), all the motorsport clubs for organising qualifying rounds and bringing the national-level championship back.  A special thanks to ProSports and KMSC for the exciting grand finale,” echoed Lalitha and Aparna together.

    Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) has changed the nomen clature of the TSD Championship and went back to the old, INTSDRC for 2022. Last year, the name was Indian National Regularity Run, which was sponsored by JK Tyre and was held in 17 qualifying venues. However, FIM Asia Vice-President and multiple National TSD Champion navigator Sujit Kumar BS, did all the hard work behind the screens as Promoter ProSports salvaged the dying Nationals by accepting to conduct the delayed Nationals. They took up the responsibility and successfully completed the three zonal qualifying rounds in South, East, and West and the finals.

    With a thrust on improving the opportunities for women through Women in Motorsport concept, the Federation, for the first time provided the status of a National Championship to the Ladies Class. The other Championship were the Ladies Class was given the National status this year is Sprint (2w).

    This year there were 20 qualifiers and the Finals were held in Bengaluru. “The Club”, on Mysore road near Rajarajeswari Nagar, an old venue which saw, the start and end of, many a National rally in their halcyon days, was once again the venue where the ceremonial start was held. After the flag-off on Friday, the 700-Km rally went to Hassan on Saturday and the novel night stage was introduced after many years again and it went through the coffee estates in a loop nearby Hassan on Saturday night. On the second leg on Sunday, the participants went through scenic routes and picturesque locales passing through Virajpet and returned to Bengaluru, where the Prize Giving was held at “the Club” again.

    The 40 undisclosed Time Controls (TC) were placed strategically, and many provided surprises to make the rally a thrilling experience. The route was set by experienced Sujith and Bhaskar of Karnataka Motor Sports Club, who organized the Southern Safari, the name given to the final round of the TSD Nationals.

    Novice class National Champions Harish and Chandrashekar with the Chief Guest.

    Clerk of the Course and multiple former National TSD champion Sujith Kumar said: “The popular TSD Nationals received huge response in all the three zones and 20 finalists fought for honours in the Grand Finale which ran from Bengaluru to Hassan and back to the Garden City. We are happy to keep the TSD culture alive as it is the entry-level gateway to bigger things in motorsports.”

    The Nationals sponsored by Annapoorneshwari  Developers, Maithri Estates, Sidvin, Vamcy Merla and Vammudi Vijay offered a total Prize money was about Rs. 2.3 lakhs and four National titles.

    INTSDRC is one of the 12 National Championships conducted by fmsci in different motorsports disciplines, for both 2-wheelers, four-wheelers and Karting. Gymkhana, Dirt Track, four-wheeler Drag and Sprint Nationals were not held this year.

    Final Results: (Car # number)

    1. INTSDRC: 1. #4 Subhir Roy and Neerav Mehta (Penalty time: 00:01min, 33seconds); 2. #10 Ajgar Ali & Mustafa (01.33); 3. #6 Ganesh Moorthy & T Nagarajan (02.26); (Tie broken by number of zero TCs: Subir 12; Ajgar 9)

    2. INTSDRC-2: 1. #18 Harish & Chandrashekar (02.03); 2. #8 Anil Abbas & Amal Abbas (02.22); 3. #9 Aparna Pathak & Lalitha Gowda (02.32);

    3. INTSDRC –WOMEN: 1. #9 Aparna Pathak & Lalitha Gowda (02.32); 2. #11 Sheena Sabarwal & Trupti Gupta (03.38); 3. #14 Gitika Pant & Neena Jain (04.03);

    4. INTSDRC- NOVICE: 1. #24 Aritra Chakraborthy & Soham Pal (27.17); (Lone finisher).

    Fmsci Indian National Champions (TSD):

    1. INTSDRC: Subhir Roy and Neerav Mehta;
    2. INTSDRC-2: Harish & Chandrashekar;
    3. INTSDRC –WOMEN: Aparna Pathak & Lalitha Gowda;
    4. INTSDRC- NOVICE: Aritra Chakraborthy & Soham Pal.
  • Sergio Perez quickest in FP1: F1 Season Opener

    Sergio Perez quickest in FP1: F1 Season Opener

    Bahrain, 3 March 2023: Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Pérez went quickest in first practice for the opening race of the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship, the Bahrain Grand Prix, beating Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso by almost half a second. Defending champion Max Verstappen finished in third place in the other Red Bull car. 

    Pérez staked his claim to P1 early in the session, posting a time of 1:35.069 before Alonso bypassed that as Verstappen joined the fray with a third-place time almost four tenths shy of his team-mate’s. 

    Alonso held sway for the first 10 minutes of running before Pérez once again moved ahead with a lap of 1:34.343. 

    But as the session headed for its half way point, the Mexican driver bolted on a set of soft tyres and posted a lap of 1:32.758 to put some distance between himself and his rivals. Verstappen followed soon after, but the defending champion was only to get to a time just over six tenths off the pace set by Pérez. 

    McLaren’s Lando Norris then moved to third place on soft tyres, though the Briton was 1.4s down on Pérez’s benchmark, and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc made his way to fourth place. 

    Both were demoted, though, when Alonso moved to soft tyres and he set a time of 1:33.196 to take P3 0.438s off Pérez.

    With Leclerc fifth, sixth place went to Lance Stroll who was at the wheel of the Aston Martin AMR23 for the first time after suffering hand injuries in a pre-season bicycle accident. The Canadian worked his way into the session slowly but eventually made his way to 1:34.298 a tenth of a second ahead of Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.

    Zhou Guanyu was eighth quickest for Alfa Romeo with team-mate Valtteri Bottas just behind. 

    Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top 10 order with team-mate George Russell in P11 though either attempted a soft tyre run in the session 

    New-season rookie Oscar Piastri was 12th for McLaren ahead of AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, while F1 returnee Nico Hülkenberg was 14th for Haas. Esteban Ocon took 15th place of Alpine ahead of full-season rookie Nyck de Vries of AlphaTauri and Pierre Gasly finished in P17 ahead of new Williams recruit Logan Sargeant, who beat team-mate Alex Albon. The timesheet was propped up by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. 

    2023 Bahrain Grand Prix – Free Practice 1 
    1 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:32.758 21 210.043
    2 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:33.196 0.438 22 209.056
    3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:33.375 0.617 21 208.655
    4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:34.165 1.407 21 206.904
    5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:34.257 1.499 17 206.702
    6 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:34.298 1.540 17 206.613
    7 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:34.402 1.644 20 206.385
    8 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:34.575 1.817 18 206.007
    9 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:34.689 1.931 20 205.759
    10 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:34.917 2.159 13 205.265
    11 George Russell Mercedes 1:34.966 2.208 20 205.159
    12 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:34.997 2.239 24 205.092
    13 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1:35.015 2.257 20 205.053
    14 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1:35.043 2.285 22 204.993
    15 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:35.105 2.347 20 204.859
    16 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1:35.402 2.644 25 204.222
    17 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:35.455 2.697 22 204.108
    18 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 1:35.749 2.991 24 203.482
    19 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:36.018 3.260 15 202.911
    20 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:36.072 3.314 21 202.797

  • Pune mariner Ashish Raorane completes Stage 4 in P28

    Pune mariner Ashish Raorane completes Stage 4 in P28

    Abu Dhabi, 2 March 2023: Indian star Ashish Raorane, the mariner from Pune, continued his onward march completing one more day with guts and determination braving an injury and finished Stage 4, a noteworthy 28th Overall, in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge on Day 5 on Thursday.

    The gutsy rider clocked 5 hours, 37min, 50seconds and was 1hr,50:42sec behind the leaders including a penalty time of nine minutes but his daring feat carrying a painful arm made it all the more sweet. The Indian needs to finish the last stage tomorrow to put one more international rally raid event under his belt.

    He finished 15th in Rally2 class today for a cumulative standing of 11th in his class and Overall P28 today and his 28th in the Overall standings remains as it is.

    Earlier in the morning, a thick blanket of fog descended upon the penultimate stage, delaying the start of the motorbike race by two hours and shortening the car special to 173 kilometres.

    The #34 Xraids Experience rider has encountered a fall on Day 2 and met his worse incident yesterday where he suffered a ruptured bicep muscle but bravely recovered and continued for another about 100Km. Today the disciplined warrior lost a bit of time but successfully conquered the marathon stage.

    Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna) claimed his second win in the motorbike category, while Pablo Quintanilla, who started the stage in second place overall, is out of contention after his Honda gave up the ghost 250 km into the special. His teammate Adrien Van Beveren still tops the leader board.

    In the cars section, Sébastien Loeb (Bahrain Raid Xtreme) took the car stage. Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing) is more than 10 minutes clear of Martin Prokop (Benzina Orlen Team) and 20 minutes ahead of Denis Krotov (X-raid Mini JCW) in the overall.

    FIM: Hero’s Ross Branch third

    Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna Factory Racing) grabbed his second stage win after dominating the special from A to Z. Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Honda), who seized the overall lead two days ago, finished second on the day at 3′22″.

    Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports) came in third at 4′06″. Toby Price (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) finished seventh at 9′01″ after opening the way this morning. Benavides surged up the general standings, where he is now the Frenchman’s closest pursuer at 2′58″.

    The Chilean Nacho Cornejo has finally placed his Honda on the provisional podium, 6′14″ behind his teammate. Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports) is fourth at 6′38″. Skyler Howes (Husqvarna Factory Racing) sits in fifth place at 7′16″.

    Toby Price slipped down to sixth at 8′35″. Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda) is seventh at 8′52″. Less than 9 minutes separate the top 7. Benavides will be starting tomorrow’s stage right before the overall leader —an unenviable position for the Argentinian to find himself in.

    However, other riders are in with a shout too, with the next five competitors in the standings a mere 6 to 9 minutes off the pace. The race is still wide open among the top 7, who will settle their differences in a finale stretching for more than 200 kilometres.

    In the Rally2 category, Paolo Lucci, the hegemon of the race since Day 1, conceded buckets of time following a crash with 20 kilometres to go. The BAS World KTM Racing rider surrendered the lead to Jean-Loup Lepan (Duust Diverse Racing) and is now almost 11 minutes down.

    In the quad race, Abdulaziz Ahli (Abu Dhabi Team) picked up his third victory by over 16 minutes on Laisvydas Kancius (AG Dakar School), padding his overall lead and all but wrapping up his third title in a row.

  • Heroic effort sees Ashish Raorane complete Stage 3 with a bicep muscle rupture

    Heroic effort sees Ashish Raorane complete Stage 3 with a bicep muscle rupture

    Liwa City (Abu Dhabi), 1 March 2023: Ace Indian Rally-raid rider Ashish Raorane of Xraids Experience, astride a KTM 450 Factory Rally Replica successfully completed one more day despite a fall as he recovered admirably and rode with a ruptured bicep muscle and an extremely painful arm for about 160Km in the Stage 3 of the 2023 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge here on Wednesday. After close to five and a half hours of racing, Raorane, the marine engineer from Pune, completed the timed special with grit and determination taking an overall 29th place among 45 riders that started the stage, including World Championship riders, and overall 12th among 29 riders in his class, the Rally2 category.

    “The day witnessed flowy tracks with soft & technical dunes. I missed a double caution on a fast section and took a bad tumble. I hurt my arm but managed to recover and ride the remaining 160Km, although the pain in the techincal dunes was excruciating. The bicep muscle is ruptured so let’s see how we go tomorrow.” said Ashish Raorane on Social Media after finishing Stage 3.

    Later, as the doctors cleared him for the further stages, the Pune rider will start the stage tomorrow, which is the longest and toughest of the rally, a 306-km of dunes in a tough zone, an ‘empty-quarter’. Two more Stages are left in the Cross-country rally raid that also serves as a qualifier for the Dakar 2024 and is the second round of the World Rally Raid Championship. The #34 biker is in Rally2 category.

    Ashish Raorane’s time 05hours 31minutes and 37seconds, on another toughest day, riding over the loop around Liwa City, for a 266-kilometer timed special was physically demanding and one of the toughest days of the event so far. He could not have completed it but for his strong will. The terrain was rougher and more technical than the previous days and it was a daunting task even for the experienced and fit, but the Indian managed to navigate and finish much of the route before the fall and later in deep pain.

    The rider supported by Rynox Gears, who finished Stage 2 yesterday in Overall 25th and P8 in his Rally2 class, slipped to 29th overall, but it was a creditable performance on the tricky soft and technical terrain that challenged the best of the riders and finishing the task for an Indian who does not have much of seat time on the bike is such a terrain and despite the bothering arm, is a significant achievement.

    Earlier in the morning, the opening teams have noted many broken dunes and the competitors were warned of, by the race officials in the briefing. The 403 km stage ran a loop around Liwa City. After a short liaison of 2 km, synonymous with sleeping in, to get out of the bivouac, the competitors started the 266-km special stage composed of 52% of dunes and 48% of soft sandy tracks. The 35-km liaison then allowed them to return to the bivouac.  

    Day’s Winners – for the record

    The day saw Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Toby Price claim victory, securing his first stage win of the event with just 16-second lead. The Australian now lies third overall, just under three minutes down with two days left to race. Paolo Lucci (BAS World KTM Racing) won the Rally2 category once again. He is ahead of Jean-Loup Lepan (Duust Diverse Racing) by 6’37”and Tobias Ebster (SGR Motorsports) by 8’37”. Toni Mulec, the winner’s teammate, is 4th at almost 11 minutes behind.

  • Ashish finishes despite fumes in fuel tank and an airbag pop-out!

    Ashish finishes despite fumes in fuel tank and an airbag pop-out!

    Qsar Al Sarab (Abu Dhabi), 27 Feb 2023: Pune mariner Ashish Raorane, the lone Indian rider at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge overcame all odds in the first stage to post a creditable time of 1hour, 17min, 44seconds for the 404 km stage of the day between Al Dhannah city and Qasr Al Sarab in the Liwa desert that also included a first liaison of 59 km here on Monday.

    The Indian finished Stage 1 in a hard-fought 10th place in his Rally2 class and was 23rd Overall after starting from P24 despite all the hiccups on Day 1 as he completed 242 km of timed run. Meanwhile, the Hero MotoSports Rally team Ross Branch finished overall fourth, a mere three seconds behind Toby Price. Branch finished third but after the route openers bonuses were added, he dropped to fourth.

    Starting 24th, Ashish, the fifth Dakar athlete from India, began the day well but after about 100km suffered a jolt when he lost his front petrol tank. due to a broken fuel hose and was forced to slow down with a view to complete the remaining distance of about 140km of competitive run. But at the 192km-mark, the Indian faced another bombarding shock of a hard landing that opened up his airbags. Undaunted, the rally-raid athlete supported by Rynox gears, Dosmoto design, Gaerne and Lazyass Bikers continued his Day 1 sojourn and completed the Stage 1 of 242 km that was timed between Ghiyathi, which included some steep drops amidst the vast and daunting dunes, and the finish was judged near Tal Mor’eb. Later, he had to do a 103-km liaison, to joine the bivouac in the middle of the dunes.

    “The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is living up to its name from the word go. The 242km of sand and dunes with some really hard to spot drop-offs saw many riders run out of fuel. The fuel-range anxiety was real today. After I lost my front fuel tank at around 204-km mark, I eased up and made the 192-km refueling mark on fumes in the rear fuel tank. Also the air bag getting deployed during the hard landing was a shocker which I was not expecting. Overall, it was a great physically demanding day on the bike,” said Ashish Raorane, the fifth Indian who gained the Dakar experience. He will be qualifying for the Dakar 2024 with this ADDC.

    Tomorrow, the Stage distance would be 257 km and the transport section would be about 108 km.

    Ashish Raorane Parters: Spares & Accessories partner: MotoUsher (Insta – @motousher)
    Technical partner: Slipstream Performance (Insta – @slipstreamperformance)

    Key points of the Rally:

    ·        The winners of the prologue in the car and motorbike categories successfully navigated the first stage of the ADDC, held on a never-seen-before course, and stayed in control of the race following the opener.

    ·        Toyota dominated the car stage, with Nasser Al Attiyah preceding Yazeed Al Rajhi and Henk Lategan. Meanwhile, at BRX, Sébastien Loeb failed to finish the special due to a mechanical and Guerlain Chicherit withdrew from the race after falling ill in the dunes.

    ·        Just like yesterday, Pablo Quintanilla prevailed over Adrien Van Beveren in the motorbike stage. The two Honda riders continue to top the leader board, with Toby Price third overall.

    FIA: AL ATTIYAH LAYS DOWN A MARKER

    Nasser Al Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing) was probably braced for a fierce competition with his main rivals for the championship. The overall leader, Sébastien Loeb (Bahrain Raid Xtreme), ground down to a standstill with coolant hose issues a mere 39 kilometres into the race. His subsequent withdrawal from the race spells the end of his ADDC title challenge and echoed his nightmare from last year, when he also had to throw in the towel on day one. However, this time round, his Qatari rival was not kind enough to follow him down the boulevard of broken dreams! Instead, Guerlain Chicherit, the other Prodrive entrant, who had been close behind the factory Hilux at the first checkpoint, also ran into serious trouble. The Frenchman had to stop several times following a bout of “sea sickness”… in a sea of dunes. In the end, he decided to quit the race despite finishing the stage in third place overall. Toyota scored a clean sweep, with the three Hilux drivers, Nasser Al Attiyah, Yazeed Al Rajhi and Henk Lategan, hogging the top 3 in the stage and the general standings. In the T3 category, Seth Quintero (Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA) outgunned his teammate Austin Jones. The world championship leader produced a gutsy ride to take the runner-up’s spot. Although there were valuable points on the line, the American rushed to the aid of his teammate Cristina Gutiérrez (Red Bull Can-Am Factory) without thinking twice after she ran out of fuel. Mattias Ekström, who held second place in the category for much of the stage, shared the Spaniard’s fate. Meanwhile, Rokas Baciuška (Red Bull Can-Am Factory) grabbed the T4 stage. Pau Navarro (FN Speed), who came in just over 5 minutes behind the stage winner and provisional leader, is shaping up to be his arch-rival in this round.

    FIM: HONDA TIGHTEN THEIR GRIP

    Pablo Quintanilla and his teammate Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Honda), the fastest men in yesterday’s prologue, were untouchable again today. The Chilean bagged the special with two minutes to spare over the Frenchman, with Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports) in third place at 3′14″ down. Another Honda rider, “Nacho” Cornejo, posted the fourth fastest time at 4′16″. Toby Price (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) came in fifth at 4′37″. In the general standings following stage 1, adding the times in today’s special to those in the prologue, which were multiplied by a coefficient of 8 in accordance with the championship rules, Quintanilla is 2′16″ ahead of “VBA” and 5′17″ clear of Price. Branch is fourth, a meagre 3 seconds behind the factory KTM rider. In the Rally2 competition, Paolo Lucci (BAS World KTM Racing) took over the reins of the race from Konrad Dąbrowski (Duust Diverse Racing), 5 minutes back today. The Pole is still within 2 minutes of the Italian in the rankings. Jean-Loup Lepan (Duust Diverse Racing) is third in the provisional W2RC standings at 8′35″. Toni Mulec (BAS World KTM Racing) also ran out of petrol before the refuelling station and is now fourth, 35 minutes behind the leader. Abdulaziz Ahli hit the ground running in the quad race, putting over twenty minutes into Rodolfo Guillioli in both the stage and the overall. Meanwhile, the Lithuanian Laisvydas Kancius is almost 45 minutes down on the Emirati after screeching to a halt.