INDIA in F1

Tag: Indian

  • Historic Maiden F2 win for Jehan Daruvala

    Historic Maiden F2 win for Jehan Daruvala

    By David Bodapati

    Bahrain, 6 Dec 2020: In an immensely proud moment for Indian sport, India’s F1 hope – Jehan Daruvala won the Formula 2 race at the Sakhir Grand Prix. A thrilling battle against F2 Champion, Mick Schumacher and Daniel Tictum saw the 22-year-old star emerge on top in the support race of the Formula 1 Grand Prix.

    Jehan had a good launch from 2nd on the grid and was up alongside pole sitter – Daniel Ticktum. Tictum squeezed Jehan on the inside which allowed Championship Leader Mick Schumacher to go around the outside of both of them. Eventually, Ticktum emerged in the lead, followed by Schumacher and Jehan in third. A few corners later Jehan made a good move to pass Schumacher and get into second.

    A few laps later Schumacher passed Jehan, to relegate him to third. Jehan however did not give up. A thrilling battled ensued and eventually, Jehan got past Schumacher once again, to get back into second. Jehan then reeled off a series of quick laps to catch the race leader. However, Jehan was unable to overtake. The battle for the lead intensified as Ticktum seemed desperate to win the last race of the season. Jehan, however, kept his cool and kept up the pressure. His excellent racecraft forced the race leader to start making mistakes, but Jehan found it tough to get past.

    Eventually with less than ten laps to go, Jehan made another fantastic move to get past Ticktum and grab the race lead. Thereafter Jehan drove well to slowly start opening up a gap to the cars behind. Jehan finally took the chequered flag to win his maiden FIA Formula 2 race. His Japanese teammate Yuki Tsunoda was second, over 3.5 seconds behind Jehan, while Ticktum was third.

    Jehan Daruvala on his way to maiden F2 win on Sunday. Photo by James Gasperotti

    “Motorsport is pretty big in India. We obviously have a lot of people, so I have a big fanbase back home, and my goal at the end of the day is to do myself proud but also do my country proud and to prove to people from back home that even though we don’t have the same facilities and stuff that guys have in Europe, as long as you can work hard you can fight right at the sharp end of the grid.”, said an elated Jehan.

    The Indian National Anthem being heard across the Bahrain International Circuit was the best possible way for Jehan to end his season first Formula 2 season. Mick Schumacher won the F2 championship.

  • Advait returns to NASCAR Whelen Euro Round 5

    Mumbai, 13 Sept. 2018: Indian racer Advait Deodhar will make his return in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series after three successful rounds earlier this year, where he also became the first Indian in history to win in a NASCAR event in Europe.

    The 28-year-old from Mumbaikar based in London made his return to competitive racing earlier after a gap of three years winning a scholarship to race in the America’s popular stock car racing’s European arm.

    Advait started his season in the Elite Club which he leads by four points from Marcelo Silva. He then made his debut in the Elite 2 class in Round 3. He now returns to compete in both the categories this weekend at Hockenheimring, Germany, the circuit which hosted this year’s Formula 1 race.

    The Indian will drive the Ford Mustang for Speedhouse in the Elite Club category to start the weekend and then switch to Dexwet DF1 Racing for the Elite 2 run in the Ford Mustang. Advait will have the backing of London’s Superyacht brokerage, TJB SUPERYACHTS LTD on his cars.

    “It is good to be back,” says Advait. “In the Elite Club in the last round, I finished second by the closest of margins. Now I am going for a win to extend my championship lead over Marcelo.

    “It was a learning debut weekend at Brands Hatch for me in the Elite 2 category. I showed some promising signs but then I made some big errors that resulted in retirements and a penalty. I was over aggressive,” he admitted.

    “The break gave me some time to rethink the strategy and this weekend I’m going in with a calmer mind and not try to win the race on Lap 1 itself. It’s a long race and I need to concentrate and drive smart. With good practice, I aim for a Top-10 result.”

    Ever since moving to the United Kingdom, Advait has been looking to make a switch from single-seater to sportscar/touring car racing. In 2016, the Mumbaikar came close to secure a drive in Porsche Carrera Cup GB, but budgetary limitations hampered his return.

    The Indian then earned his Elite Club drive after a test run in January at Circuit Fontenay-Le-Comte, France when he was watched on by the NASCAR organisation. Advait became only the first Indian to win a NASCAR event and second Indian to drive in the European championship after a brief run by Sailesh Bolisetti in the 2013 season. India’s first Formula 1 driver Narain Karthikeyan has also raced in NASCAR, but he competed in the NASCAR Truck division in America.

  • Raghul Rangasamy clinches MRF F1600 National championship; Ashish Ramaswamy wins ITC title

    Raghul Rangasamy clinches MRF F1600 National championship; Ashish Ramaswamy wins ITC title

    Bengaluru’s Ashish Ramaswamy who was crowned National Champion in the Indian Touring Cars category on Sunday. Photos by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 9 Sept 2018: Raghul Rangasamy, hailing from the nearby temple town of Mamallapuram, emerged champion in the coveted MRF Formula 1600 category as the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship 2018 concluded at the MMRT, here on Sunday. The title earned Rangasamy a ticket to this year’s Mazda Road To Indy shootout in the United States, a dream that the 25-year old pursued through the season.

    With three podium finishes this weekend, Rangasamy, who led Goutham Parekh (Chennai) by 11 points at the start of the final round, did just enough to clinch the championship. Rangasamy’s final tally was 182 points (two wins, seven podiums) to Parekh’s 174 (two wins, six podiums). Mumbai’s Nayan Chatterjee completed a double, winning Race 1 and 3, while 16-year old schoolboy from Bengaluru Yash Aradhya topped in Race 2, his second success in his debut season in this category.

    Bengaluru’s 27-year old Ashish Ramaswamy (Arka Motorsports), with his seventh consecutive podium finish of the season, annexed the championship in the premium Indian Touring Cars class with a tally of 167 points, edging out Coimbatore veteran Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) by just six points. For Balu, who missed the first round of the season, it was so near yet so far as he finished second in the championship despite scoring a double in the final round this weekend and winning five races from seven starts.

    Last year’s winner, Arjun Narendran (Arka Motorsports), who was black-flagged for taking “external assistance” (taking assistance of the marshals to push his car) after a spin following a collision with Balu at Turn-2 in the very first lap today, ended up fourth in the championship behind his team-mate Nikanth Ram.


    Raghul Rangasamy, winner of the MRF F1600 Championship on Sunday.

    Rangasamy, who thrives on speed which induced him to take to racing rather late at 19, was delighted with his championship title, but said he would have loved to end the season with a win. “I feel great to win the championship and look forward to the Mazda Road To Indy shootout. I wanted to finish the season with a win, but happy that I took the title at this level considering that I started racing only when I was 19. I love speed and I gave up my medical studies after three years to pursue racing which I do just for my pleasure since at 25, I can’t think of a career in racing,” he said.

    Ashish Ramaswamy, who had started the season with a double in the first round, said: “It has been a long wait for me to win my first-ever National Championship title. I had started the season well with a double in the first round, but two DNFs (Did Not Finish) thereafter, put me under pressure as I had to finish on podium in all the remaining races. I am absolutely thrilled and I thank my team Arka Motorsports and the mechs for the brilliant work they did these past months.”

    The results (Provisional, all 8 laps):

    MRF Formula 1600 (Race-2): 1. Yash Aradhya (Bengaluru) (16mins, 54.672secs); 2.Goutham Parekh (Chennai) 16:55.296); 3. Raghul Rangaswamy (Mamallapuram) (16:55.543). Race -3: 1. Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) (13:35.208); 2. Parekh (13:35.776); 3. Rangasamy (13:36.359). Champion: Raghul Rangasamy (182 points).

    Indian Touring Cars (Race-2): 1. Arjun Balu (Race Concept) (15:22.974); 2. Ashish Ramaswamy (Arka Motorsport)(15:37.888); 3.D Vidya Prakash (Prime Racing) (15:38.145). Champion: Ashish Ramaswamy (167 points). Turbo cars: 1. Karthick Tharani (VW Motorsport) (15:26.077); 2. Rayomand Banajee (VW Motorsport) (15:40.141); 3. Ishaan Dodhiwala (VW Motorsport) (15:49.744).

  • Final round of National Racing Championship (4W) set for a grand finale; F4 cars add colour

    Final round of National Racing Championship (4W) set for a grand finale; F4 cars add colour

    File photo of MRF 1600 cars in action by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 5 Sept 2018: The MRF Indian National Racing Championship 2018 organised by Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC), is set for a grand and thrilling finale as the fifth and final round of the National Racing Championship for four-wheelers commences at the Madras Motorsports Race Track (MMRT) under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (fmsci) here on Friday.

    With titles up for grabs in all categories, the busy weekend will also see races in Formula 4 South-East Asia Championship and the Caterham 7 Asian Zonal Championship with drivers from Europe and Asia on the show.

    Chairman of the Meet Vicky Chandhok said: “It has been a long season, starting in February this year. We are pleased that the number of entries has shown a significant upward trend, especially in MRF Formula 1600, Super Stock and the Formula LGB 1300. We are indebted to MRF Tyres who have added muscle in more ways than one to our efforts to attract more youngsters to racing.

    “This is the biggest positive for us at the MMSC apart from the appreciation we have received from competitors and spectators alike for the upgrades we carried out at the MMRT over the past one year. We plan to build on this to provide better and safer racing environment as we go along.”

    Of special interest, this weekend would be the triple-header in the MRF Formula 1600 class where four drivers – Raghul Rangasamy (134 points), Goutham Parekh (123), Sandeep Kumar (115) and Ashwin Datta (110) – are in contention for the championship with a maximum of 75 points on offer.

    The Championship winner will earn the right to contest in the Mazda Road To Indy shootout as part of MMSC’s initiative to provide Indians an international platform to further their racing careers. The shootout, whose winner is eligible for a scholarship of USD 200,000, will be held in the United States later this year.

    The race for titles is as tight in the premier Indian Touring Cars class where a maximum of 50 points is up for grabs over two races. Bengaluru’s Ashish Ramaswamy of Arka Motorsports (131 points) and veteran Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) from Coimbatore (111) are the front-runners.

    Not far behind them are two others from Coimbatore and Arka Motorsports team-mates Nikanth Ram (98) and defending champion Arjun Narendran (93) who missed the first two rounds, but covered a lot of ground by winning three races from four starts, besides a second-place finish.

    The three other saloon car categories which have two races apiece with 50 points at stake, are also poised for a close finish. Chennai’s Srinivas Teja (Performance Racing) heads the Super Stock class with 97 points, ahead of Varun Anekar (75) of Race Concepts, Bengaluru, with Chennai’s Deepak Ravikumar (64) of Infinite Pistons and RP Rajarajan (63.5) of Performance Racing in tow.

    Raghul Rangasamy (93, Performance Racing) of Mammallapuram and Erode’s Vinod Subramaniam (82.5, Team N1) top the Esteem Cup while it is a straight fight between Namakkal’s Prabhu AS (82, Arka Motorsports) and Goa’s Chrys D’Souza (75.5, Unimek Racing) in the Indian Junior Touring Cars class.

    Only nine points separate the top three of Sohil Shah (126, MSport) from Bengaluru, and Chennai lads Ashwin Datta (123, Momentum Motorsports) and Nabil Hussain (117, MSport) in the popular Formula LGB 1300 category that has attracted the most number of entries this season.

  • De Vries surges to pole position at Spa; Arjun Maini bogged down to P15: F2

    Dutchman overcomes deleted time to secure quickest lap in Belgium
    Spa Francorchamps, 23 Aug 2018: Indian racer Arjun Maini is bogged down with technical issues and could only qualify on P15 even as Nyck de Vries produced a scintillating lap to secure pole in the FIA Formula 2 Championship Qualifying Session at Spa in Belgium here on Saturday.
    Setting the fastest middle sector by some margin en route to a 1:56.054 time, the Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing driver watched the final five minutes from the pitwall, and saw his time remain unbeaten as ART Grand Prix’s George Russell will start alongside the Dutch driver in Sunday’s Feature Race. Sergio Sette Camara for Carlin will start third.
    A cool, overcast session began with Trident’s Arjun Maini first out of the blocks, leading Lando Norris, Jack Aitken and Sette Camara onto the circuit for the first round of laps. The honour of setting the first timed lap belonged to de Vries, but the Dutchman immediately hit trouble as his subsequent flying lap of a 1:56.450 was deleted for exceeding track limits. Norris then briefly took the reins, before Russell leapfrogged his championship rival to lead the first half of the session.
    Having lost his time, de Vries sought vengeance and wasted no time in returning to the circuit having pitted for fresh tyres. Rejoining an empty track, thanks to the customary lull in running at the session’s midpoint, de Vries immediately put the hammer down and – thanks to a middle sector almost half a second faster than anyone else – fired his way up to the provisional pole.
    De Vries then retreated to the pits and was left to watch the final five minutes of the session with his team as the rest of the field looked to beat his benchmark. Russell, Norris and Alexander Albon all seemed to be on course to overturn their deficits after each set impressive first sectors, but de Vries’ middle sector was untouchable, leaving all three to find themselves some way adrift.
    Sette Camara then challenged, but the Brazilian’s time was only good enough for third as de Vries began to celebrate with the PREMA engineers with moments left on the clock. His pole position was cemented as Antonio Fuoco came to a stop on the Kemmel Straight, followed in short order by Norris who pulled up at the side of the road on the exit of Pouhon.
    Alongside de Vries, Russell claimed his fifth front-row Feature Race start of the season, with Luca Ghiotto separating the Carlins of Sette Camara and Norris for fourth place. Albon was sixth with Fuoco seventh, while Nirei Fukuzumi enjoyed his best qualifying session in F2 with eighth. Louis Delétraz and Artem Markelov completed the top ten.
    2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship Round 9 – Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium – Provisional Qualifying Classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    TIME
    LAPS
    1
    Nyck de Vries
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:56.054
    8
    2
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:56.457
    8
    3
    Sergio Sette Camara
    Carlin
    1:56.594
    8
    4
    Luca Ghiotto
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:56:611
    10
    5
    Lando Norris
    Carlin
    1:56.723
    7
    6
    Alexander Albon
    DAMS
    1:56.878
    10
    7
    Antonio Fuoco
    Charouz Racing System
    1:56.930
    9
    8
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    BWT Arden
    1:57.169
    10
    9
    Louis Delétraz
    Charouz Racing System
    1:57.183
    10
    10
    Artem Markelov
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:57.266
    9
    11
    Tadasuke Makino
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:57.394
    10
    12
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:57.515
    10
    13
    Ralph Boschung
    MP Motorsport
    1:57.596
    10
    14
    Maximilian Günther
    BWT Arden
    1:57.635
    8
    15
    Arjun Maini
    Trident
    1:57.718
    10
    16
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    1:57.754
    10
    17
    Roy Nissany
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:57.773
    10
    18
    Sean Gelael
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:57.878
    10
    19
    Alessio Lorandi
    Trident
    1:58.174
    10
    20
    Dorian Boccolacci
    MP Motorsport
    1:58.338
    11
  • Albon grabs first F2 pole in Baku qualifying; Arjun Maini on P8

    Albon grabs first F2 pole in Baku qualifying; Arjun Maini on P8

    Baku, 27 April 2018: Alexander Albon of DAMS took his maiden FIA Formula 2 Championship pole position at Baku, Azerbaijan, snatching the quickest lap on his final run of a 1:54.480 just before the session ended on a red flag to go ahead of Carlin’s Lando Norris and George Russell of ART Grand Prix.

    Alexandar Albon takes F2 pole at Baku on Friday. An FIA image

    Reprising their roles from the earlier free practice session, Trident duo Santino Ferrucci and Arjun Maini scampered out of the pitlane first at the beginning of the session, quickly followed by Norris, Jack Aitken and Sergio Sette Camara, the latter of whom set the fastest time in the morning’s practice. Indian racer Maini qualified in P8.  As soon as the field got started on their first flying laps, Maximilian Günther crawled to a halt after the first corner to bring out a first red flag, pausing the session after the opening five minutes of running. The Trident drivers got the ball rolling once more at the restart, with Artem Markelov rushing to the front of the pack to make up for a lack of running in the morning practice session.

    Norris set the early pace, a benchmark within the 1m55s, which was beaten shortly after by Albon who collected a tow from the British driver on the next cycle around the track. Luca Ghiotto then grabbed top spot by a tenth, before his Campos Vexatec Racing teammate Roy Nissany brought the first phase of flying laps to an end after going off-road, bringing out a yellow flag.
    With the field retreating to the pits for fresh supersoft tyres, Norris and Russell battled to wrest pole from Ghiotto, setting the same first sectors as each other before Albon put the pair in the shade with a session-best opening split. Norris grabbed provisional pole, but the Thai driver snatched top spot by two tenths to go quickest overall.
    As the front-runners plotted their next runs, Nicholas Latifi spun at Turn 7 and came to a stop, creating a brief traffic jam with Antonio Fuoco before a red flag was waved with less than a minute of the session left to run. With no time for the drivers to start new laps, the session was declared over to cement Albon’s first F2 pole ahead of Norris and Russell.
    Ghiotto beat Ferrucci to fourth place, as Sette Camara and Aitken were sixth and seventh. Maini was eighth quickest, completing the top half of the field with Nyck de Vries and Ralph Boschung respectively.
    Tomorrow’s Feature Race will start at 12pm tomorrow and, with a history of hosting fascinating races, the Baku City Circuit should throw up quite a spectacle.
    2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship Round 2 Qualifying: Baku, Azerbaijan
    Driver
    Team
    Time
    Laps
    1
    Alexander Albon
    DAMS
    1:54.480
    9
    2
    Lando Norris
    Carlin
    1:54.694
    8
    3
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:54.842
    10
    4
    Luca Ghiotto
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:54.980
    10
    5
    Santino Ferrucci
    Trident
    1:55.200
    9
    6
    Sergio Sette Camara
    Carlin
    1:55.212
    9
    7
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    1:55.236
    9
    8
    Arjun Maini
    Trident
    1:55.474
    9
    9
    Nyck de Vries
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:55.728
    9
    10
    Ralph Boschung
    MP Motorsport
    1:55.761
    9
    11
    Maximilian Günther
    BWT Arden
    1:55.970
    9
    12
    Tadasuke Makino
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:56.139
    8
    13
    Roberto Merhi
    MP Motorsport
    1:56.532
    9
    14
    Antonio Fuoco
    Charouz Racing System
    1:57.090
    9
    15
    Louis Delétraz
    Charouz Racing System
    1:57.105
    9
    16
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    BWT Arden
    1:57.351
    9
    17
    Sean Gelael
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:57.508
    10
    18
    Artem Markelov
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:57.604
    9
    19
    Roy Nissany
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    2:01.902
    5
    20
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    2:02.970
    8

  • Norris breezes to maiden victory in Bahrain feature race; Arjun Maini 15th

    Sakhir (Bahrain), April 7: Lando Norris secured his first FIA Formula 2 Championship victory in the Feature Race here on Saturday.
    Indian racer Arjun Maini of Trident team could finish only in the 15th place after he started on P14.
    Norris mastered the hot and windy conditions to win with a 8.3s advantage over Carlin teammate Sergio Sette Camara, who held onto second place after a thrilling battle in the final stages of the race with Russian Time’s Artem Markelov, the latter producing a spectacular recovery drive to secure the final podium position.
    With the majority of the field, save from the Trident team, opting to start on the medium-compound tyres, degradation was a hotly anticipated factor in the race. An aborted start was called at the beginning, as Markelov and MP Motorsport’s Roberto Merhi stalled on the grid and prompted a second formation lap; the Russian then took to the pits to restart from the back of the field while the Spanish driver retired from mechanical failure.
    At the second time of asking, Norris made a fantastic start to streak clear of the rest of the field, while Sette Camara took advantage of a slow start from George Russell to catapult himself into second. Russell, starting from the front row, also lost ground to a fast-starting Nyck de Vries and Nirei Fukuzumi, resulting in a scintillating scrap among them in the early stages of the race.
    De Vries soon put a move on Sette Camara to grab second, allowing Norris to scamper off into the distance at the rate of a second per lap. Further behind, Alexander Albon surged past Russell and subsequently did battle with De Vries and Sette Camara, the latter of whom ultimately won out for second as the Dutchman began to drop back.
    Seemingly unflappable in the lead, Norris had the luxury of not needing to react to the others once they’d begun to make their stops. Louis Delétraz opened proceedings among the top ten on lap 14, with Russell blinking a lap later – staying ahead of the Swiss driver. Sette Camara and Albon came in together later on and dropped behind Russell as they rejoined the track.
    Meanwhile, Markelov was charging forward, having dispatched the majority of the field with a flurry of well-timed passes into Turn 1, and continued to carve through the pack after his own stop on lap 16. Norris switched to the soft compound two laps later, continuing with the lead on his return to the track as the pair of Sette Camara and Albon returned to second and third after clearing Russell.
    Markelov also passed the British driver, with third-placed Albon next on his radar. Once more, the Russian used his DRS to blitz past at the first corner and, although the Thai driver fought back across the next few corners, the Renault development driver held firm to secure third.
    In the final five laps, Norris started to lose fractions of his 10 second lead to his teammate, who was simultaneously under attack from Markelov. The Brazilian was inch-perfect in his defence of second when Markelov approached, orchestrating an excellent switch back manoeuvre at the start of the final lap to hold second.
    Norris took the chequered flag after a seemingly untouchable performance, walking away with an impressive 31 points with pole, win and fastest lap. Sette Camara and Markelov’s battle for second delighted the crowd up to the line ahead of Albon.
    Russell kept fifth having lost ground to the front four, as Nyck De Vries completed the top six having fallen out of contention in the midway stages. Sean Gelael converted an early pitstop into seventh place from P19 on the grid, as Maximilian Günther, Jack Aitken and Ralph Boschung all battled hard to end the race in the top ten.
    Günther begins tomorrow’s Sprint Race from reverse-grid pole, and will start alongside Gelael as Norris will seek to win the second race of the weekend from eighth.
    2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Round 1 Feature Race Provisional Classification
    Driver
    Team
    1
    Lando Norris
    Carlin
    2
    Sergio Sette Camara
    Carlin
    3
    Artem Markelov
    RUSSIAN TIME
    4
    Alexander Albon
    DAMS
    5
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    6
    Nyck de Vries
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    7
    Sean Gelael
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    8
    Maximilian Gunther
    BWT Arden
    9
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    10
    Ralph Boschung
    MP Motorsport
    11
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    12
    Luca Ghiotto
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    13
    Louis Deletraz
    Charouz Racing System
    14
    Santino Ferrucci
    Trident
    15
    Arjun Maini
    Trident
    16
    Roy Nissany
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    17
    Antonio Fuoco
    Charouz Racing System
    18
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    BWT Arden
    19
    Tadasuke Makino
    RUSSIAN TIME
    —
    Roberto Merhi
    MP Motorsport

  • Gill rules the night stages of Rally of Arunachal: INRC

    Itanagar, (Arunachal Pradesh), 23 Dec 2017: King of Indian motorsports and reigning Asia Pacific Rally Championship, Gaurav Gill of Team Mahindra Adventure moved closer to another National title as he won along with long-time co-driver Musa Sherif, the Rally of Arunachal, the fifth and penultimate round of the MRF fmsci Indian National Rally Championship at Ziro on Saturday. With three wins, Gill has 75 points and is leading the table with Dean Mascarenhas in second place with 63 points.

    Fresh from his victory at the APRC championship victory at Chikkamagaluru, where he could not take part in the INRC which were held simultaneously. With the Mangalorean Musa Sherif making the calls, Gill was at this best speeding away through the Special Stages, as night stages made a comeback to add flavour to the first rally in the North East in the INRC on Friday.

    Young Turk Dean Mascarenhas of Mangalore came overall second and won his class, INRC3. Amittrajit Ghosh (co-driver Ashwin Naik) came third.

    Younus Ilyas and Harish Kumar won the INRC2 class edging out Rahul Kanthraj and Vivek Y Bhatt, who finished fifth overall, were leading the championship table in their class with only K-1000 round remaining in January. The South India Rally in Chennai is not likely to happen for want of calendar time as K1000 in Bengaluru is already pushed to the New Year.

    Karna Kadur and Arjun Rao failed to finish the rally due to mechanical problems.

    Provisional Results:
    INRC: 1. Gaurav Gill (Musa Sherif); 2. Dean Mascarenhas (Shruptha Padival); 3. Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik);
    INRC 2: 1. Younus Ilyas (Harish Kumar); 2. Rahul Kanthraj (Vivek Y Bhatt); 3. Jacob KJ (Venu Ramesh Kumar);
    INRC 3: 1. Dean Mascarenhas (Shruptha Padival); 2. Daraius Shroff (Nitin Jacob); 3. Dr Punyabrata Barma (Mrinmoy Saha).

    eom/

  • Drugovich wins all races, takes 71-point lead: MRF Challenge

    Drugovich wins all races, takes 71-point lead: MRF Challenge

    Abu Dhabi, 15 Dec 2017: Brazilian driver Felipe Drugovich continued his unbelievable run at the M

    From Left: Vicky Chandhok, Falchero, Drugovich, Kalmthout. An MRF image by Aditya Bedre

    RF Challenge in Abu Dhabi by winning the first three races of the weekend. GP3 French driver Julien Falchero finished 2nd in two races and 3rd in the other but was no match for the flying Brazilian. Drugovich has a 71 point lead with 5 races still to go.

    Race 1: Starting on pole position, Drugovich got the perfect start with Falchero losing out to Presley Martono. Rinus van Kalmthout’s weekend went from bad to worse when he collided with Robert Wagner putting both drivers out on the spot. This brought out the safety car. When the safety car went in on lap 4, Drugovich easily pulled away while Martono had his hands full with Falchero.

    Behind them Louis Gachot and Alex Karkosik fought for 4th place. The safety car came out again when Michael Amendalo stopped in turn 9. With just two laps remaining, Drugovich coasted to an easy win with Martono holding off Falchero for 2nd. Gachot finished in 4th ahead of Karkosik and Danial Frost.

    Race 2: In the reverse grid based Race 2, Frost made the perfect getaway with Gachot slotting into 2nd, ahead of Falchero and fast starting Drugovich. On lap 2 Gachot tried to pass Frost but ended up hitting him and putting him out at the spot. Falchero tried to take advantage and pass Gachot only for Drugovich to get past both drivers and storm into the lead. The safety car came out as Frost’s car was taken out of harm’s way.

    Martono got past a recovering Gachot for 4th place, who was later given a 20 second penalty for his collision with Frost.. At the front there was no stopping Drugovich who took his second win of the weekend. Falchero finished in 2nd place ahead of Karkosik and Martono. Nazim Azman got his best finish of the season in 5th while van Kalmthout came from 17th place to finish 6th.

    Race 3: For the third race in succession, Drugovich made the perfect start and led into turn 1 while Falchero lost out to Karkosik and Martono. On lap 3 Martono tried to pass Karkosik but both drivers collided, allowing Falchero to get past in to 2nd place. Karkosik was forced to retire and Martono, who suffered front wing damage, also retired later in the race. Van Kalmthout, who started in 16th place, was amazingly upto 3rd after 4 laps.

    Drugovich pulled away to another win while Falchero came in 2nd, just ahead of a charging van Kalmthout. Amendalo came in 4th place ahead of Manuel Maldonado and Azman.

    Championship leader Felipe Drugovich, commented, “The car just suits this circuit and I love driving here. The second race was more challenging than the other as I took advantage of the chaos in front of me and got to the front. After that it was all about maintaining the pace and ensuring we finished in front. A big thank you to my engineer and mechanics for making this happen.”

    Julien Falchero was happy to finish on the podium in all the races. He commented, “Congratulations to Felipe (Drugovich) as he was the quickest this weekend. Our races were not as straight forward but we managed to get the maximum. There is one more race to go this weekend so hope I can get to the top step to finish off what has been a good weekend for me.”

    For more information please visit: www.mrfracing.in

    MRF Challenge 2017, Round 3, Abu Dhabi, Race 1:

    S.No. Driver Name Total Time
    1. Felipe DRUGOVICH 25:50.742
    2. Presley MARTONO 25:53.085
    3. Julien FALCHERO 25:53.605
    4. Louis GACHOT 25:54.448
    5. Alex KARKOSIK 25:54.885

     

    MRF Challenge 2017, Round 3, Abu Dhabi, Race 2:

     

    S.No. Driver Name Total Time
    1. Felipe DRUGOVICH 25:52.221
    2. Julien FALCHERO 25:54.098
    3. Alex KARKOSIK 25:56.089
    4. Presley MARTONO 25:57.277
    5. Nazim AZMAN 26:00.283

     

    MRF Challenge 2017, Round 3, Abu Dhabi, Race 3:

    S.No. Driver Name Total Time
    1. Felipe DRUGOVICH 21:58.696
    2. Julien FALCHERO 22:12.174
    3. Rinus van KALMTHOUT 22:13.195
    4. Michael AMENDALO 22:26.080
    5. Manuel MALDONADO 22:31.418

     

  • Presley Martono fastest in FP2 even as top-7 are tightly bunched: MRF Challenge 2017

    Presley Martono fastest in FP2 even as top-7 are tightly bunched: MRF Challenge 2017

    Presley Martono tops FP2 in Dubai MRF Challenge on Thursday. An MRF image

    Dubai, 7 Dec 2017: Indonesian driver Presley Martono continued his impressive start to the Round 2 of the MRF Challenge 2017 by going fastest in practice at the Dubai Autodrome here on Thursday.

    This weekend’s FIA inscribed MRF Challenge race promises to be a thriller with the top severn drivers all closely bunched together. Martono’s time of 1:56.996 was just enough to beat Rinus van Kalmthout’s morning practice time of 1:57.046.

    The drivers wasted no time going out in the opening practice session as most of them were experiencing the circuit for the first time as they pushed the MRF F2000 to the limit. Last year’s race winner, Felipe Drugovich, set the tone with a 2-min lap time as the times began to tumble quickly thereafter.

    Van Kalmthout set a 1:59.453 to set off a chain of fastest laps from Martono, Drugovich and newcomer Louis Gachot. After several changes at the top it was van Kalmthout who set the fastest time with a 1:57.046. Martono, Drugovich, Julien Falchero and Alex Karkosik completed the top 5, with less than a second covering them.

    Free practice 2 saw Drugovich once again setting the early pace as he immediately went fast with a 1:58.451. The session was as competitive as the first one with drivers taking turns to set the fastest lap. With two minutes remaining, Martono became the first driver to dip under the 1:57 mark and went fastest with a time of 1:56.996. Van Kalmthout finished in 2nd place ahead of Karkosik, Falchero and Danial Prost. Championship leader focused on longer race runs and finished in 7th place.

    Friday’s qualifying will be important with more than seven drivers in with a chance of pole position. Presley Martono said: “It sure feels good to top the practice session here in Dubai but being on top tomorrow is more important for me. We have made great progress since Bahrain and I will have to be on top of my game to beat these guys tomorrow.”

    Rinus van Kalmthout, who took his first race win in the MRF Challenge in Round 1, felt the car was good. “The car feels really good and I am confident for tomorrow. The track was a little cooler in the evening, so have had a good understanding of what we have to do for tomorrow,” he quipped, ready to mount the challenge.

    Qualifying will take place tomorrow along with Race 1 and 2.

    Free Practice 1 (FP1): 1. Rinus van Kalmthout 1 min 57.046 secs; 2. Presley Martono 1:57.101; 3. Felipe Drugovich 1:57.290; 4. Julien Falchero 1:57.406; 5. Alex Karkosik 1:57.481.

    Free Practice 2 (FP2): 1. Presley Martono 1:56.996; 2. Rinus van Kalmthout 1:57.202; 3. Alex Karkosik 1:57.245; 4. Julien Falchero 1:57.257; 5. Danial Frost 1:57.464.

    Live Timing: http:// http://liveresults.mylaps.com/dubaiautodrome/

    For more information please visit: www.mrfracing.in

    eom/MRF press relese