INDIA in F1

Tag: Arjun Balu

  • Sandeep Kumar begins F2000 with a victory; Arjun Balu campaign short-circuited

    Sandeep Kumar begins F2000 with a victory; Arjun Balu campaign short-circuited

    Chennai, 23 Sept 2023: Chennai’s Sandeep Kumar, an advocate by profession, snatched a close win in the premier MRF Formula 2000 race while another local ace Angad Matharoo scripted his fourth win in a row in the MRF Saloon Cars category in the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2023 at the Madras International Circuit, here on Saturday.

    While Sandeep Kumar, starting from P3, had to work hard for his success, holding off Bengaluru’s Anand Swaminathan and pole-sitter Arya Singh (Kolkata), the experienced Matharoo scored a lights-to-flag win from pole position. Another Bengalurean, Chetan Surineni topped in the MRF Formula 1600 category almost unchallenged.

    Among the other big winners of the day was Mumbai’s Biren Pithawalla (Team N1 Racing) who took the honours in the Race-1 of Indian Touring Cars category after pole-sitter and defending champion Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) retired when leading due to an electrical malfunction. Further, Pithawalla gained a spot after race winner Ritesh Rai slipped to second as he was docked 15-second penalty following an incident involving Gurunath Meiyappan (Race Concepts) who came in third. Balu decided to pack up for the weekend, skipping the remaining two races.

    Later, Meiyappan scored a facile win, his second of the season, in Race-2 ahead of Ritesh Rai and Biren Pithawalla to move to the top of the points table in the ITC category.

    Akkineni Anand Prasad (Team Performance Racing) from Chennai and Thrissur’s Diljith TS (DTS Racing) notched a double apiece in the Indian Junior Touring Cars and Super Stock categories, respectively. While Prasad moved to the top of the championship table, Diljith remains unbeaten in all five starts over two rounds so far.

    Meanwhile, Nellore’s Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) and team-mate, veteran Diljith TS won a race each in the Formula LGB 1300 category. Viswas took Race-1 easily from pole position start while Diljith surged to victory in the next race from the reverse grid.

    The results (Provisional – all 8 laps unless mentioned):

    MRF Formula 2000 (Race-1): 1. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (13:05.709); 2. Aditya Swaminathan (Bengaluru) (13:06.099); 3. Arya Singh (Kolkata) (13:06.371).

    MRF Formula 1600 (Race-1): 1. Chetan Surineni (Bengaluru) (14:06.215); 2. Veer Sheth (Mumbai) (14:27.811); 3. Suprej Venkat (Coimbatore) (14:18.045).

    Indian Touring Cars (Race-1): 1. Biren PIthawalla (Mumbai, Team N1) (15:37.456); 2. Ritesh Rai (Pvt., Chennai) (15:47.528); 3. Gurunath Meiyappan (Chennai, Race Concepts Motorsports) (16:06.453).

    Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Meiyappan (19:08.657); 2. Ritesh Rai (19:11.533); 3. Biren Pithawalla (19:25.993).

    Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-1): 1. Akkineni Anand Prasad (Chennai, Team Performance Racing) (15:37.920); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Team Performance Racing) (15:48.422); 3. Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala (Chennai, Team Performance Racing) (15:48.718).

    Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Akkineni Anand Prasad (19:59.734); 2. Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala (20:03.432); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (20:03.802).

    Super Stock (Race-1): 1. Dilijith TS (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (17:03.487); 2. Manan Patel (Mumbai, Redline Racing India) (17:19.722); 3. Jarshan Anand (Pvt., Chennai) (17:30.614).

    Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Diljith (21:01.697); 2. Jarshan Anand (+1 lap, 19:15.341); 3. Justin Singh (+1 lap, 19:18.644).

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race-1): 1. Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) (15:06.923); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram, MSport) (15:13.271); 3. Diljith TS (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (15:14.166).

    Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Diljith TS (21:43.946); 2. Tijil Rao (Bengaluru, Momentum Motorsports) (21:52.616); 3. Raghul Rangasamy (21:55.412).

    MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios, Race-1): 1. Angad Matharoo (Chandigarh, Redline Racing India) (16:41.199); 2. Zahan Commissariat (Mumbai, Redline Racing India) (16:47.367); 3. Diana Pundole (Pune, Redline Racing India) (16:52.014).

  • Deepak Ravikumar dominates; Arjun Balu extracts a win from ‘old’ Car

    Deepak Ravikumar dominates; Arjun Balu extracts a win from ‘old’ Car

    Chennai, July 23, 2023: Chennai’s Deepak Ravikumar dominated the first round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2023 at the Madras International Circuit here this weekend with three wins and two podium finishes in six races as he led a Team Performance Racing sweep in both Indian Junior Touring Cars and Formula LGB 1300 categories. 

    Ravikumar, who celebrated his 36th birthday on July 20, shuttled between the two categories barely without a pause to underline his supreme fitness and adaptability to conditions that turned wet on Sunday which saw persistent light drizzle. He reserved his best for the three Touring Cars races that had a combined 17-car grid comprising three categories, the Indian Touring Cars, IJTC and Super Stock, winning two races and notching a second-place finish behind team-mate Akkineni Anand Prasad. 

    In the Formula LGB 1300 race today, Ravikumar won quite comfortably after front-runners, Viswas Vijayaraj, the 2022 champion in this category, and yesterday’s Race-2 winner Tijil Rao knocked each other out half-way through the eight-lapper when battling for the lead. 

    Deepak Ravikumar in action #25… All photos by Rahul Reghu

    Meanwhile, last year’s champion Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) from Coimbatore, who won yesterday’s Race-1, completed a double in the Indian Touring Cars category with team-mate Gurunath Meiyappan winning the other race. With his regular Honda City in full ITC-trim still under preparation, he drove virtually a stock car that was anything but competitive as compared to the IJTC cars, while Thrissur’s Diljith TS (DTS Racing) won all three races in the Super Stock class without much ado.   

    Deepak with his five trophies including three for victories…

    Also achieving a triple for the weekend was experienced racer Angad Matharoo from Chennai in the MRF Saloon Car category (Toyota Ethios) without raising a sweat. 

    The results (Provisional, 10 laps except mentioned): 

    Indian Touring Cars (Race-2): 1. Gurunath Meiyappan (Chennai) (19mins, 53.610secs); 2. Arjun Balu (Coimbatore) (19:54.013); 3. Rithvik Thomas (Bengaluru) (19:58.313) (All Race Concepts Motorsports). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Arjun Balu (18:25.875); 2. Rithvik Thomas (19:16.427); 3. Gurunath Meiyappan (19:40.365). 

    Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-2): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai) (19:31.198); 2. Akkineni Anand Prasad (Chennai) (19:37.062); 3. Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala (Chennai) (19:43.329) (All Team Performance Racing). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Akkineni Anand Prasad (17:59.606); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (18:00.195); 3. Srinivas Teja (Chennai, Performance Racing) (18:16.233). 

    Super Stock (Race-2): 1. Diljith TS (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (21:09.014); 2. Yokeswaran (Coimbatore, Momentum Motorsports) (21:24.193); 3. Jarshan Anand (Chennai, DB Motorsports) (21:24.775). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Diljith TS (18:56.803); 2. Justin Singh (Delhi, Redline Racing) (19:17.529); 3. Yokeswaran (19:26.035). 

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race-3, 8 laps): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Ahura Racing) (15:26.665); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (Chennai, MSport) (15:27.719); 3. Aman Nagdev (Noida, MSport) (15:29.919). 

    MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios) (Race-2): 1. Angad Matharoo (Chennai) (23:07.072); 2. Anirudha Arvind (Chennai) (23:44.035); 3. Jaiprashant Venkat (Coimbatore) (23:45.017) (All Redline Racing). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Angad Matharoo (19:36.048); 2. Zahan Commissariat (Mumbai) (19:43.684); 3. Jaiprashant Venkat (19:45.769). 

  • Tijil Rao stuns field to win Formula LGB 1300 Race 2; Arjun Balu begins with a win

    Tijil Rao stuns field to win Formula LGB 1300 Race 2; Arjun Balu begins with a win

    Chennai, July 22, 2023: Bengaluru’s Tijil Rao (Momentum Motorsports) came up with a stunning drive to win Race-2 in the Formula LGB 1300 category after starting from P14 on the opening day of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2023 Round 1 at the Madras International Circuit, here on Saturday. 

    Rao, 20, a Business Management student, made up for a retirement in Race-1 that Raghul Rangasamy (Chennai, MSport) won earlier in the day after coming into contact with another competitor. Starting form P14 on the reverse grid, Tijil scythed through the field for a tremendous victory. 

    “Unfortunately, I was involved in an incident in the first race and so, had to make up for that in the next race. It was fun as I managed to overtake all the 13 cars in front of me and win. I should have more such performances,” said Tijil after finishing ahead of Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Ahura Racing) and last year’s champion Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) who started from P11 on the reverse grid.  

    The day’s other winners were Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Performance Racing) in the Indian Junior Touring Cars category, Coimbatore veteran Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) in the Indian Touring Cars class, Thrissur’s Diljith TS (DTS Racing) in the Super Stock segment, and Angad Matharoo (Chennai, Redline Racing) who authored a lights-to-flag win in the MRF Saloons (Toyota Ethios) race. 

    While Tijil and Raghul scored good wins, much of the attention was in the Touring Cars race. Driving an under-powered stock car since his regular Honda City in ITC-trim was not ready for the race weekend, Balu quickly dropped to fourth overall after starting from pole position in the combined grid. Showing good pace, Ravikumar did not take long to get a jump on Balu early in the eight-lap race. So did two others, Akkineni Anand Prasad and Srinivas Teja. The three front-runners, taking part in the Indian Junior Touring Cars category, went on to deliver a podium sweep for Team Performance Racing with Ravikumar finishing well ahead of Prasad and Teja. 

    Behind the foursome, there were close battles up and down the grid. Balu’s team-mates Gurunath Meiyappan and Diana Pundole were locked in a tight tussle before the former finished second ahead of the Pune driver in the ITC category. 

    Further back, Dilijth claimed the honours in the Super Stock category ahead of local challenger Jarshan Anand (DB Motorsports) and Delhi’s Justin Singh (Redline Racing). 

    In the first Formula LGB 1300 race, pole-sitter Viswas Vijayaraj and Deepak Ravikumar forged ahead after the initial jostle through first of the eight laps. Viswas was harried by Ravikumar through much of the six laps, including a brief Safety Car period until the two made contact in the closing stages. Ravikumar dropped to ninth where he finished while Raghul passed Viswas who was nursing a damaged camber strut following the incident, to take the lead and eventually win the race. Finishing third behind Viswas was Bengaluru’s Chetan Surineni (MSport) who had started from P6. 

    The results (Provisional – all 8 laps unless mentioned): 

    Indian Touring Cars (Race-1): 1. Arjun Balu (Coimbatore) (15mins, 45.687sec); 2. Gurunath Meiyappan (Chennai) (16:03.174); 3. Diana Pundole (Pune) (16:04.053). All three from Race Concepts. 

    Qualifying (best lap – top 3): 1. Arjun Balu (01:56.126); 2. Rithvik Thomas (01:56.154); 3. Gurunath Meiyappan (01:57.086). 

    Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-1): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai) (15:37.461); 2. Akkineni Anand Prasad (Chennai) (15:37.923); 3. Srinivas Teja (Chennai) (15:38.747). All three from Performance Racing. 

    Qualifying (best lap – top 3): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (01:55.197); 2. Srinivas Teja (01:55.341); 3. Akkineni Anand Prasad (01:56.670). 

    Super Stock (Race-1): 1. Dilijith TS (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (16:51.283); 2. Jarshan Anand (Chennai, DB Motorsports) (17:03.385); 3. Justin Singh (Delhi, Redline Racing) (17:08.050). 

    Qualifying (best lap – top 3): 1. Diljith TS (02:04.728); 2. Jarshan Anand (02:05.110); 3. Justin Singh (02:06.132). 

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race-1): 1. Raghul Rangasamy (Chennai, MSport) (16:36.969); 2. Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) (16:39.114); 3.  Chetan Surineni (Bengaluru, MSport) (16:40.603). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Tijil Rao (Bengaluru, Momentum Motorsports) (19:18.886); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Ahura Racing) (19:31.153); 3. Viswas Vijayaraj (19:31.557). 

    Qualifying (best lap – top 3): 1. Viswas Vijayaraj (01:52.719); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Ahura Racing) (01:52.809); 3. Raghul Rangasamy (01:53.060). 

    MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios) (Race-1): 1. Angad Matharoo (Chennai) (16:38.754); 2. Zahan Commissariat (Mumbai) (16:39.058); 3. Jaiprashant Venkat (Coimbatore) (16:47.584). All three from Redline Racing. 

    Qualifying (best lap – top 3): 1. Angad Matharoo (02:03.052); 2. Diana Pundole (Pune, Redline Racing) (02:03.076); 3. Zahan Commissariat (02:03.458). 

  • Salem’s Sai Sanjay clinches MRF F2000 crown; 11th National title for Arjun Balu

    Salem’s Sai Sanjay clinches MRF F2000 crown; 11th National title for Arjun Balu

    Chennai, 29 Jan 2023: On a day of twists and turns, Salem’s Sai Sanjay pocketed the title in the premier MRF Formula 2000 category as the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2022 concluded at the Madras International Circuit here on Sunday.

    While Sai Sanjay gathered enough points this weekend in the three races to seal the championship, Bengaluru’s Sohil Shah, winner of Race-1 yesterday, won both the races today to complete a triple crown. The 21-year old Sohil, who missed two of the four rounds, finished fourth in the championship behind Sai Sanjay, Ryan Mohamed (Chennai) and Divy Nandan (Gurugram).

    Also sealing the titles in their respective categories were: Viswas Vijayraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) in the Formula LGB 1300; Ritesh Rai (Chennai, Performance Racing) in Super Stock; Akkineni Anand Prasad (Chennai, Performance Racing) in Indian Junior Touring Cars; Justin Singh (Gurugram) in the MRF Saloon Cars (Toyota Etios) and Pratik Sonawane (Mumbai) in the Volkswagen Polo Cup.

    Polo Cup winner Pratik Sonawane is flanked by National championship winners Vishwas Vijayraj, left, (Formula LGB1300) and Sai Sanjay (F2000) at MIC on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar.

    Meanwhile, the popular Indian Touring Cars category witnessed as many as three disqualifications for technical infringements. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) and Arjun Narendran (Arka Motorsports), both from Coimbatore, were disqualified from yesterday’s Race-1. Narendran suffered the same fate in Race-2 today, but later won Race-3. However, the revised results fetched Balu the National title ahead of Narendran in the provisional championship standings.

    Viswas Vijayraj sealed the title in the Formula LGB 1300 category though finishing second behind Bengaluru’s Tijil Rao (Momentum Motorsports) in the final race today. The other championship leader Raghul Rangasamy (MSport) dropped out of contention after he was disqualified for ignoring a black flag.

    Defending champion Arjun Balu, retains his ITC National championship at MIC, to earn his 11th National title on Sunday. File photo by Anand Philar.

    “I don’t know what to say. It is such an emotional moment for me. After missing the championship a few times in the past, it is great to finally win it in my fifth season. I owe everything to my parents who I know are watching the live streaming, and MRF Tyres for their support,” said Viswas.

    Mumbai’s Zahan Commissariat, hailing from a family of racers, scored an impressive win starting from P10 in the MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios) category, and the victory helped him to finish fifth in the championship. Gurugram’s Justin Singh failed to finish following an incident, but had sufficient cushion to annex the title ahead of Angad Mathroo (Chandigarh) by five points. Mathroo came in second behind Commissariat and ahead of Pune’s Diana Pundole, who ended up third in the championship.

    Ritesh Rai, who won the National title for 2022 in Super Stock class.

    The results (Provisional – all 10 laps unless mentioned):

    MRF F2000 (Race-2): 1. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (15min, 36.462sec); 2. Mohamed Ryan (Chennai) (15:40.983); 3. Dillon Thomas Zachariah (Chennai) (15:42.064). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (12:28.545); 2. Sai Sanjay T (Salem) (12:33.894); 3. Chetan Korada (Chennai) (12:52.777).     

    Indian Touring Cars (Race-2, 12 laps): 1. Arjun Balu (Coimbatore, Race Concepts) (25:00.290); 2. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai, Rayo Racing) (25:08.270); 3. Jeet Jabakh (Hyderabad, Rayo Racing) (25:11.802). Race-3: 1. Arjun Narendran (Coimbatore, Arka Motorsports) (18:58.937); 2. Arjun Balu (Coimbatore, Race Concepts) (19:12.399); 3. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai, Rayo Racing) (19:14.297).

    Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-1, 12 laps): 1. Raja Rajan (Chennai, Performance Racing) ( 25:27.541); 2. Akkineni Anand Prasad (Chennai, Performance Racing) (25:27.700); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Performance Racing) (25:27.997). Race-3: 1. Raja Rajan (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:36.876); 2. Gurunath Meiyappan (Chennai, Race Concepts) (19.38.441); 3. Akkineni Anand Prasad (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:40.541).

    Super Stock (Race-2, 12 laps): 1. Narendran S (Chennai, Redline Racing) (26:19.871); 2. Ritesh Rai (Chennai, Performance Racing) (26:23.033); 3. Jason Deepak Saldanha (Mangaluru, DB Motorsports) (26: 28.874). Race-3 (9 Laps): 1. Ritesh Rai (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:01.675); 2. Narendran S (Chennai, Redline Racing) (19:07.807); 3. Dilijith TS (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (19:12.675).

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Tijil Rao (Bengaluru, Momentum Motorsports) (20:10.154); 2. Viswas Vijayraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) (20:10.291); 3. Dhruvh A Goswami (Bengaluru, MSport) (20:10.865).

    Volkswagen Polo Cup (Race-3, 8 laps): 1. Ritesh Rai (Chennai) (15:50.470); 2. Pratik Sonawane (Mumbai) (15:54.571); 3. Raaj Bakhru (Mumbai) (15:57.079). Race-4: 1. Ojas Surve (Mumbai) (19:42.853); 2. Avik Anwar (Dhaka) (19:49.034); 3. Pratik Sonawane (Mumbai) (19:52.460).

    MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios – Race-2): 1. Zahan Commissariat (Mumbai) 20:49.191; 2. Angad Mathroo (Chandigarh) 20:53.991; 3. Diana Pundole (Pune) 20:54.112.

  • Sohil wins but Sai Sanjay on course for title; Diana back on podium in Saloon cars’ race

    Sohil wins but Sai Sanjay on course for title; Diana back on podium in Saloon cars’ race

    Chennai, Sat, 28 Jan, 2023: For the second-day running, Bengaluru’s Sohil Shah became the fastest driver of the day as he roared to a big win, his second of the season, in the premier MRF Formula 2000 category in the fourth and final round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2022 at the Madras International Circuit here on Saturday.

    Coimbatore veteran Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) who hardly played a false note while orchestrating a massive victory, his fourth of the season, in the top-end Indian Touring Cars category.

    Nellore’s Viswas Vijayraj (DTS Racing) also notched a fluent lights-to-flag win in the Formula LGB 1300 race to move within eight points of championship leader Raghul Rangasamy (MSport) from Mamallapuram who took the second spot ahead of Kolkata’s Arya Singh (Momentum Motorsports).

    The win notwithstanding Sohil, 21, will not be fighting for the title as he missed the first two rounds of the championship. Sohil is the only driver to dip under the one minute, 32-sec mark in the compact field driving the F2000 machine, the fastest formula car in India. The Indian Racing League driver missed five races from the first two rounds.Salem’s Sai Sanjay finished second behind Shah. Divy Nandan, a late starter from Gurugram, who made his racing debut in the karting Nationals a couple of seasons ago under the tutelage of Narain Karthikeyan, has worked hard not only to shed a huge amount of weight to become fighting fit but improved his racing skills admirably to take a podium again, finishing third. Earlier, Divy also got himself a birthday gift with a maiden win on Jan 7 in Round 2, two days after he turned 20. Sai Sanjay’s 34-point lead means, a fifth-place in both the remaining races is enough for the Salem lad, even if second-placed Mohamed Ryan wins the last two races. With his parents watching the race, Sai did a commendable job once again with a cool head, knowing that Shah’s win will not deter his chances. Chennai’s Ryan finished fourth in today’s race.

    Later, Balu was in a league of his own as he built up a commanding lead of about six car lengths by the third corner itself and halfway into the first of the 10 laps extended his lead, after starting from pole position to make up for a disappointing third round a week back, where he scored a second (18) and zero points from the two races that saw his 39-point lead dwarf to 8 points. Behind him, Arjun Narendran (Arka Motorsports), also from Coimbatore, came in second, but remained 14 points adrift of Balu in the championship standings with two races to go on the final day on Sunday. In third was Rayo Racing’s Sandeep Kumar, the lawyer from Chennai, the reigning Polo Cup champion. However, the ITC race is under review after post-race scrutiny,but the 10-time National champion came out unscathed from the Stewards meeting to retain full points.

    Chennai racers dominated the Indian Junior Touring Cars category with Gurunath Meiyappan (Race Concepts) finishing ahead of Performance Racing pair of Akkineni Anand Prasad and Deepak Ravikumar. Consequently, Anand Prasad extended his championship lead to 22 points ahead of team-mate Raja Rajan.

    Another Chennai driver, Ritesh Rai (Performance Racing) came through untroubled in the Super Stock category with Narendran S (Redline Racing) and Diljith TS (DTS Racing) following home in that order. Rai, thus, opened up a commanding 38-point lead over Narendran on the leaderboard.

    Ritesh Rai and Avik Anwar from Dhaka, Bangladesh recorded their maiden win each in the Volkswagen Polo Cup double-header today. After winning the first race, Ritesh sat out the second that was won by Anwar, who has raced in the UAE and Malaysia, and is in his second season here. The win took Anwar (79 points) to third place in the championship behind Pratik Sonawane (89) and Raaj Bakhru (83) with two more races to be run on Sunday.

    Later, Gurugram’s Justin Singh scored his fifth win of the season in the MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios) category that gave him a 23-point advantage with just one more race to be run on Sunday and a maximum of 25 points on offer. But the highlight of the race is the return of “Racing Queen”, after a disappointing third round. The lady driver from Pune, who has been giving a tough fight to all the men, and to Justin at the top, all through the season, finished a creditable second. The lady cut her teeth in karting and later earned a free drive in the JK Nationals in an open-wheel formula car, before a stint in the polo cup in 2021. Starting on P2, she maintained a close distance with the leader and even pelted a best lap (02:02.021) mid-way through to reduce the gap from 0.7 ,to 0.5 seconds, (about a car’s length in actual distance) but decided to play safe to salvage a podium and deservedly took second, beating a handful of male drivers to promote FIA “Women in Motorsports” concept at the domestic level. Among other ladies, Sravanthika Lakshmi, another graduate from karting did well, and both the ladies were given Special prizes for finishing first the second among women.

    Sunday will be the last day of the National Championship with all the title-fight for all the five National classes going to the wire. The champions will be decided in Indian Touring Cars class, Indian Junior touring Cars, Super Stock and the Formula classes MRF Formula 2000 and Formula LGB 1300. Apart from these, two one-make, non-championship classes for the VW Polo Cup and MRF Saloon class.

    The results (Provisional – all 8 laps unless mentioned):

    MRF F2000 (Race-1): 1. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (12min, 31.381sec); 2. Sai Sanjay T (Salem) (12:36.091); 3. Divy Nandan (Gurugram) (12:39.156).

    Indian Touring Cars (Race-1, 10 laps): 1. Arjun Balu (Coimbatore, Race Concepts) (18:53.861); 2. Arjun Narendran (Coimbatore, Arka Motorsports) (18:57.871); 3. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai, Rayo Racing) (19:13.150).

    Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-1, 10 laps): 1. Gurunath Meiyappan (Chennai, Race Concepts) (19:37.194); 2. Akkineni Anand Prasad (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:38.495); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:44.652).

    Super Stock (Race-1, 9 laps): 1. Ritesh Rai (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:00.108); 2. Narendran (Chennai, Redline Racing) (19:09.762); 3. Diljith TS (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (19:10.429).

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race-1): 1. Viswas Vijayraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) (15:06.216); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram, MSport) (15:13.825); 3. Arya Singh (Kolkata, Momentum Motorsports) (15:13.984).

    Volkswagen Polo Cup (Race-1): 1. Ritesh Rai (Chennai) (15:49.646); 2. Pratik Sonawane (Mumbai) (15:52.970); 3. Raaj Bakhru (Mumbai) (15: 53.869). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Avik Anwar (Dhaka, Bangladesh) (19:51.961); 2. Prashanth Tharani Singh (Chennai) (19:54.052); 3. Munjal Savla (Mumbai) (19:55.725).

    MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios – Race-1): 1. Justin Singh (Gurugram) (16:29.741); 2. Diana Pundole (Pune) (16:30.531); 3. Zahan Commissariat (Mumbai) (16:36.259).

  • 4W Racing Championship poised for a thrilling finish

    4W Racing Championship poised for a thrilling finish

    Chennai, 26 Jan 2023: The stakes and expectations are as high as they can get in the fourth and final round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2022 to be held at the Madras International Circuit on the weekend of January 27-29.

    The two premier categories, MRF F2000 and the Touring Cars comprising three classes, will have three races apiece while four will be run in the Volkswagen Polo Cup, and two each in the Formula LGB 1300 and the MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios).

    The titles in each of these categories are up for grabs and few points separate the front-runners, thus setting the stage for an exciting finish to the monsoon-interrupted 2022 season that spilled over into 2023.

    In what could be a humdinger, the MRF F2000 is headed towards a nail-biting finish with as many as five drivers having realistic as well as mathematical chances (depending on the results) of clinching the championship. With a maximum of 75 points on offer, Sai Sanjay (153), Mohamed Ryan (125), Dillon Thomas Zacharaiah (117), Divy Nandan (113) and Chirag Ghorpade (112) are the front-runners.

    Of the lot Salem’s Sai Sanjay has won three races as against two by Bengaluru youngster Chirag Ghorpade who dropped a lot of points with a non-finish in one of the four races last weekend.

    Two Coimbatore stars, 10 times National champion Arjun Balu (Race Concepts, 93 points) and former title winner, Arjun Narendran (Arka Motorsports, 86), head the Indian Touring Cars category. Narendran scored a double in the previous round last weekend to move closer to Balu who retired from the first of the two races due to engine issues. However, three wins in the earlier rounds ensured Balu stayed at the top in the points table.

    As per provisional standings, Chennai drivers and Performance Racing team-mates Akkineni Anand Prasad (92) and Raja Rajan (78) who between them have won four of the five races so far, are ahead of the pack in the Indian Junior Touring Cars category. Another Chennai and Performance Racing driver, Ritesh Rai (111) enjoys a healthy 31-point lead over Narendran S (Redline Racing) in the Super Stock class.

    The Formula LGB 1300 category has seen the closest races this season with plenty of wheel-to-wheel competition. Raghul Rangasamy (MSport) from Mamallapuram and Nellore’s Viswas Vijayaraj are separated by 15 points in the provisional points table.

    Gurugram’s Justin Singh (129) leads Angad Mathroo (119) in the MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios) category while there is only a 10-point gap among the top three in Volkswagen Polo Cup – Pratik Sonawane (71) form Pune, Raaj Bakhru (66) from Mumbai and Bengaluru’s Adtiya Swaminathan (61).

    Incidentally, Sandeep Kumar won all four Polo Cup races last weekend, but is not eligible for championship points since he is a guest driver.

    Chairman of the Meet Vicky Chandhok said: “On the evidence of last weekend’s races, there is much to look forward to in the final round as we bring closure to the 2022 season that stretched into 2023. We at the MMSC take this opportunity to thank our sponsors MRF Tyres, the competitors and the Media for their wholehearted involvement in various roles.”

    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 Madras International Circuit (earlier MMRT), 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 installed 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.

  • Chirag Ghorpade tops F2000 race; Double for Arjun, Raghul

    Chirag Ghorpade tops F2000 race; Double for Arjun, Raghul

    Chennai, 8 Jan 2023: Bengaluru’s Chirag Ghropade held his nerve to win his second race of the season in the premier MRF Formula 2000 category on the concluding day of the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2022 at the Madras International Circuit, here on Sunday.

    Also in the limelight were Coimbatore veteran Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) and Mamallapuram’s Raghul Rangasamy (MSport) who completed a double each this weekend in the Indian Touring Cars and the Formula LGB category, respectively.

    The day’s schedule came to an abrupt end with two remaining races cancelled following the demise of Chennai racer KE Kumar in a hospital where he was attended to for the injuries he suffered in a crash during the saloon cars race.

    Ghorpade, 17, did well to survive close attention from Salem’s Sai Sanjay, before crossing the finish line while Mohammed Ryan from Chennai completed the podium.

    “It (the win) was a long time coming. I struggled a bit at the start as we had new tyres fitted in. Once the tyres heated up, I managed to open up a good lead, but had to defend my position at certain times,” said Ghorpade.

    In contrast, Balu, starting P5 on the reverse grid, showed amazing pace as he jumped into the lead by Turn-4 in the very opening lap of the scheduled 12-lap race which was reduced to nine after it was red-flagged following the incident involving Kumar and then re-started. Thereafter, Balu again went into cruise mode to destroy the field.

    Chennai’s Raja Rajan (Performance Racing) topped in the Indian Junior Touring Cars category while another local racer, Narendran S (Redline Racing) won in the Super Stock class.

    Rangasamy, who earlier in the day had won the Formula LGB 1300 race after starting form P11 on the reverse grid, continued his winning-ways by topping the next outing to complete a fine double.

    The third round of the championship is slated for January 20-22 at the same venue followed by the fourth and concluding round on January 27-29.

    The results (Provisional):

    MRF F2000 (Race-3, 10 laps): 1. Chirag Ghorpade (Bengaluru) (15mins, 48.752secs); 2. Sai Sanjay T (Salem) (15:49.462); 3. Mohamed Ryan (Chennai) 15:51.211).

    Indian Touring Cars (Race-2, 9 laps): 1. Arjun Balu (Coimbatore, Race Concepts) (17:30.324); 2. Ananth Pithawalla (Mumbai, Team N1) (17:43.103); 3. Biren Pithawalla (Mumbai, Team N1) (17:44.389).

    Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-2, 9 laps): 1. Raja Rajan (Chennai, Performance Racing) (17:55.058); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Performance Racing) (18:02.406); 3. Akkineni Anand Prasad (Chennai, Performance Racing) (18:06.320).

    Super Stock (Race-2, 9 laps): 1. Narendran (Chennai, Redline Racing) (19:18.726); 2. Ritesh Rai (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:23.585); 3. Fahad Kutty (Mumbai, Redline Racing) (19:26.875).

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram, MSport) (18:57.069); 2. Diljith Shaji (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (18:57.511); 3. Tijil Rao (Bengaluru, Momentum Motorsports) (18:58.585). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Raghul Rangasamy (15:14.465); 2. Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) (15:14.620); 3. Chetan Surineni (Bengaluru, Momentum Motorsports) (15:17.331).

    MRF Saloon Cars (Toyota Etios, Race-3, 8 laps): 1. Justin Singh (Gurugram) (16:44.314); 2. Angad Mathroo (Chandigarh) (16:44.325); 3. Jai Prashanth Venkat (Coimbatore) (16:54.057).

  • Divy Nandan, Sai Sanjay share honours in MRF F2000

    Divy Nandan, Sai Sanjay share honours in MRF F2000

    Chennai, 7 Jan 2023: Gurugram’s Divy Nandan and Salem lad Sai Sanjay notched double podium apiece with a win and a third place in the two MRF F2000 races that headlined the opening day of the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2022 at the Madras International Circuit here on Saturday.

    Divy Nandan, 20, who enjoyed a great start in the first race for a comfortable win, finished the day with a third-place finish in the next outing starting from P6. Sai Sanjay, also 20, made amends for a disappointing first race with a fine win in the next starting from P4.

    Also tasting success today was Nellore’s 24-year old Viswas Vijayraj (DTS Racing) in the Formula LGB 1300 category, with a pole-to-flag effort.

    Earlier, 10-times National champion Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) powered to another fluent win in the premier Indian Touring Cars category as he led a Coimbatore sweep of the podium spots, sparing over seven seconds to Arjun Narendran (Arka Motorsports) while 77-year old D Vidya Prakash (Performance Racing), the oldest man in the championship, finished third.

    The ITC along with Indian Junior Touring Cars and the Super Stock classes, was run in a combined grid of 27 cars that saw as many as four drivers penalized for jump start resulting in a couple of podium finishers getting demoted.

    Local veteran Gurunath Meiyappan (Race Concepts) took the honours in the IJTC class with Narendran S (Redline Racing), also from Chennai, topping the Super Stock category.

    Meanwhile, Viswas Vijayaraj chalked up a dominating win from pole to flag in the Formula LGB 1300 category race, easily holding off second-placed Mamallapuram veteran Raghul Rangasamy (MSport) while local ace Deepak Ravikumar (Momentum Motorsports) came in third with a last-lap pass on Bengaluru youngster and team-mate Tijil Rao.

    Justin Singh (Gurugram) and Angad Mathroo (Chandigarh) won a race apiece in the MRF Saloon Cars (Toyota Etios) category.

    The results (Provisional):

    MRF F2000 (Race-1, 8 laps): 1. Divy Nandan (Gurugram) (12mins, 42.224secs); 2. Mohamed Ryan (Chennai) (12:42.715); 3. Sai Sanjay T (Salem) (12:43.385).

    Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Sai Sanjay T (16:01.632); 2. Chirag Ghorpade (Bengaluru) (16:03.564); 3. Divy Nandan (16:08.073).

    Indian Touring Cars (Race-1, 10 laps): 1. Arjun Balu (Coimbatore, Race Concepts) (19:04.128); 2. Arjun Narendran (Coimbatore, Arka Motorsports) (19:11.427); 3. Vidya Prakash (Coimbatore) (20:07.604).

    Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-1, 10 laps): 1. Gurunath Meiyyappan (Chennai, Race Concepts) (19:32.970); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:36.462); 3. Akkineni Anand Prasad (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:52.477).

    Super Stock (Race-1, 9 laps): 1. Narendran S (Chennai, Redline Racing) (19:07.337); 2. Ritesh Rai (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:07.867); 3. Angad Mathroo (Chandigarh, Pvt) (19:41.701).

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race-1, 8 laps): 1. Viswas Vijayraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) (15:06.989); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (Mahabalipuram, MSport) (15:10.325); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Momentum Motorsports) (15:13.839).

    MRF Saloon Cars (Toyota Etios, Race-1, 8 laps): 1. Justin Singh (Gurugram, Redline Racing) (16:34.046); 2. Diana Pundole (Pune, Redline Racing) (16:34.050); 3. Angad Mathroo (Chandigarh, Redline Racing) (16:58.560). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Mathroo (20:55.583); 2. Jai Prashanth Venkat (Coimbatore, Redline Racing) (21:13.776); 3. Zahan Commissariat (Mumbai, Redline Racing) (21:14.940).

  • Bengaluru’s Chirag Ghorpade tops MRF F2000 Race

    Bengaluru’s Chirag Ghorpade tops MRF F2000 Race

    Chennai, October 9: Bengaluru teenager Chirag Ghorpade and Coimbatore veteran Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) put in near-flawless performances for commanding wins in their respective categories before heavy rains led to abandonment of the first round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2022 at the Madras International Circuit, here on Sunday.

    The day’s other winner was Mumbai youngster Zahan Commissariat who claimed the honours in the MRF Saloon Cars (Toyota Etios) race which was red-flagged after five laps due to heavy rains.

    Chirag, 17, led from the front after starting from pole position on the reverse grid of the MRF F2000 category race and barely had to look in the rearview mirrors as he opened up a big gap in the very first lap.

    Such was his pace that was not apparent in yesterday’s Race-1 where he finished eighth, that he made an untroubled progress through the 12 laps that was briefly interrupted by a Safety Car period. Chirag made a well-timed getaway on restart and eventually spared four seconds to second-placed Rishon Rajeev (Bengaluru) with Chennai’s Dillon Thomas Zachariah finishing third.

    Later, it was an Arjun Balu show in the saloon cars race that was run on a combined 27-car grid comprising all three categories – the premier Indian Touring Cars, Indian Junior Touring Cars and Super Stock.

    Balu, starting from pole, briefly slipped to second behind 2017 champion Arjun Narendran (Arka Motorsports), also from Coimbatore, after missing a gear-shift at the start. However, he swiftly moved to the front and increased the gap gradually for a comfortable win despite alternator failure and the car running only on battery power.

    Narendran finished second ahead of Rayo Racing’s Jeet Jhabakh from Hyderabad who was in the brand new Volkswagen Virtus which made its debut in the championship this weekend.

    Behind the front-runners, Chennai’s Gurunath Meiyappan (Race Concepts), racing in the championship for the first time since 1999, topped the IJTC category, followed by team-mate Diana Pundole (Pune). However, both were disqualified following post-race scrutiny for a “technical infringement”. Chennai’s Anand Prasad (Performance Racing), thus, moved from third to first, ahead of team-mate K Srinivas Teja and Charen Chandran (Arka Motorsports).

    Ritesh Rai (Performance Racing), also from Chennai, won in the Super Stock class, followed by DB Motorsports pair of Jason Deepak Saldanha (Mangaluru) and Jarshan Anand (Chennai).

    Provisional results:

    MRF F2000 (Race-2, 12 laps): 1. Chirag Ghorpade (Bengaluru) (21:09.735); 2. Rishon Rajeev (Bengaluru) (21:13.319); 3. Dillon Thomas Zachariah (Chennai) (21:15.235).

    Indian Touring Cars (Race-1, 8 laps): 1. Arjun Balu (Coimbatore, Race Concepts) (15:14.085); 2. Arjun Narendran (Coimbatore, Arka Motorsports) (15:22.908); 3. Jeet Jhabakh (Hyderabad, Rayo Racing) (15:39.557).

    Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-1, 8 laps): 1. Anand Prasad (Chennai, Performance Racing) (16:05.841); 2. K Srinivasa Teja (Chennai, Performance Racing) (16:18.879); 3. Charen Chandran (Coimbatore, Arka Motorsports) (16:30.685).

    Super Stock (Race-1, 8 laps): 1. Ritesh Rai (Chennai, Performance Racing) (15:19.989); 2. Jason Deepak Saldanha (Mangaluru, DB Motorsports) (15;22.778); 3. Jarshan Anand (Chennai, DB Motorsports) (15:58.631).

    MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios – Race 2, 5 laps): 1. Zahan Commissariat (Mumbai, Redline Racing) (10:44.711); 2. Angad Matharoo (Chandigarh, Redline Racing) (10:46.640); 3. Jai Prashanth Venkat (Coimbatore, Redline Racing) (10:50.412). Special awards for lady drivers (all Redline Racing): Race-1: Diana Pundole (Pune) and Tarushi Vikram (Chikkamgalur). Race-2: Shravanthika Lakshmi (Coimbatore) and Tarushi Vikram.

  • Shahan Ali Mohsin emerges champ in MRF F1600 Arjun Balu, Tijil Rao retain titles

    Shahan Ali Mohsin emerges champ in MRF F1600 Arjun Balu, Tijil Rao retain titles

    Chennai, February 13: Agra teenager Shahan Ali Mohsin won the biggest prize of his blossoming career in the senior section as he annexed the title in the premier MRF F1600 category to finish the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2021 on a high at the MMRT, here on Sunday.

    Also annexing the National titles in their respective categories were Bengaluru’s Tijil Rao (Momentum Motorsport) in the Formula LGB 1300, Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) from Coimbatore in the Indian Touring Cars, Chennai’s Deepak Ravikumar (Performance Racing) in Super Stock, Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala (Performance Racing), also from Chennai, in Indian Junior Touring Cars, Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) in Volkswagen Polo and Mumbai’s Fahad Kutty (Redline Racing) in MRF Saloon Cars (Toyota Etios).

    Shahan, 17, survived a roller-coaster season that included a DNF (did not finish), to win the championship. In the final race which he went in with a two-point advantage, Shahan came in second behind Bengaluru’s Rishon Rajeev, who thus completed a double, but crucially, ahead of another Bengalurean Chirag Ghorpade.

    The result meant that Shahan, winner of the Asian Karting championship in 2016, finished on 194 points and four wins, while Chirag ended second on 189 (2 wins) and Rishon (172, 2 wins) was placed third in the championship.

    The 2021 National Car racing champions (Left to Right): Sandeep Kumar (Volkswagen Polo), Fahad Kutty (MRF Saloon Cars), Arjun Balu (Indian Touring Cars), Shahan Ali Mohsin (MRF F1600), Tijil Rao (Formula LGB 1300), Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala (Indian Junior Touring Cars) and Deepak Ravikumar (Super Stock) along with FMSCI president Akbar Ebrahim (extreme left) and MMSC Vice-president Vicky Chandhok (extreme right).

    Earlier, defending champion Coimbatore’s 47-year old Arjun Balu, who made his racing debut in 1992, ended the season on an emphatic note by completing a double to take his tally to six wins in eight starts to win the championship in the ITC category. It was his 10th National title. In the final race today, Balu, starting third on the reverse grid behind the Rayo Racing pair from Hyderabad, Ishaan Dodhiwala and Jeet Jhabakh, bided his time before easing his way to the front for a commanding win. The Coimbatore veteran’s searing pace was evident as he clocked a best lap of one minute, 50.076 seconds in the eighth of the 10-lap race.

    Meanwhile, two second place finishes proved sufficient for Chennai’s Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala to claim the title in the IJTC category, though, following a protest, the final outcome is awaited.

    The title in the Super Stock class was already pocketed by Deepak Ravikumar on conclusion of the third round last month. He finished this weekend with a second place and a win, his sixth of the season.

    Tijil Rao, the 18-year old from Bengaluru, played it smart and safe to finish second in a race that was red-flagged twice and the number of laps reduced to seven. Prior to that, last year’s winner Tijil displayed amazing pace to move from P12 at the start on the reverse grid to P1 before tucking himself just behind the front-runners to avoid close racing. The experienced Raghul Rangasamy (MSport) won the race ahead of Tijil and Deepak Ravikumar (Momentum Motorsport).

    The results (all 10 laps unless mentioned):

    MRF Formula 1600 (Race-2): 1. Rishon Rajeev (Bengaluru) (19mins,11.167secs); 2. Shahan Ali Mohsin (Agra) (19:13.495); 3. Arya Singh (Kolkata) (19:15.714). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Rishon Rajeev (Bengaluru) (16:36.017); 2. Shahan Ali Mohsin (16:36.781); 3. Chirag Ghorpade (Bengaluru) (16:37.188). National champion: Shahan Ali Mohsin (Agra).

    Indian Touring Cars (Race-2): 1. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts, Coimbatore) (19:03.534); 2. Ishaan Dodhiwala (Rayo Racing, Hyderabad) (19:07.781); 3. Jeet Jhabakh (Rayo Racing, Hyderabad) (19:12.281). National champion: Arjun Balu (Race Concepts, Coimbatore).

    Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-2): 1. Varun Anekar (Race Concepts, Bengaluru) (19:51.297); 2. Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala (Performance Racing, Chennai) (20:34.450); 3. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing, Chennai) (20:34.620). National champion (Provisional): Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala (Performance Racing).

    Super Stock (Race-2): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (Performance Racing, Chennai) (20:11.966); 2. RP Raja Rajan (Performance Racing, Chennai) (20:31.732); 3. Suprej Venkat (Race Concepts, Coimbatore) (20:47.678). National champion: Deepak Ravikumar (Performance Racing, Chennai).

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race-2, 7 laps): 1. Raghul Rangasamy (MSport, Chennai) (13:36.695); 2. Tijil Rao (Momentum Motorsport, Bengaluru) (13:37.163); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Momentum Motorsport, Chennai) (13:41.072). National champion: Tijil Rao (Momentum Motorsport, Bengaluru). Team Championship: Momentum Motorsport.

    Volkswagen Polo (Race-2): 1. Avik Anwar (Bangladesh) (22:45.394); 2. Sourav Bandopadhyay (Thane) (22:45.790); 3. Pratik Sonawane (Pune) (22:46.397). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Anmol Singh Sahil (Ghaziabad) (15:49.022); 2. Oshan Kothadiya (Pune) (15:55.239); 3. Sai Sanjay TS (Salem) (15:55.929). National Champion: Sandeep Kumar (Chennai).

    MRF Saloon Cars (Toyota Etios) Race-3: 1. Fahad Kutty (Redline Racing, Mumbai) (16:44.973); 2. Anand Prasad (Redline Racing, Chennai) (16:45.559); 3. Justin Singh (Redline Racing, New Delhi) (16:50.139). National champion: Fahad Kutty (Redline Racing, Mumbai).

    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.