INDIA in F1

Tag: JK Tyre

  • Dominant victory on Asian Le Mans Series debut for Arjun Maini’s team

    Dominant victory on Asian Le Mans Series debut for Arjun Maini’s team

    Arjun Maini in Shanghai. Photo from JK Tyre

    Shanghai, 25 Nov 2019: Superlative race performances from India’s JK Racing backed Arjun Maini, Canada’s John Farano and New Zealand’s Andy Higgins assured RLR MSport of the LMP2 Am Trophy victory in the season-opening 4 Hours of Shanghai that places the British team at the head of the fight for an automatic entry to the 88th 24 Hours of Le Mans in June 2020.

    Arjun Maini of RLR MSport topped the charts in private testing and maintained a significant advantage over its LMP2 Am rivals in free practice to go into qualifying as the favourite for pole position.

    However, a string of track limits infringements prompted stewards to delete the team’s best qualification times, and a 1m57.841s, set by Maini on a cautious banker lap, resigned the squad to second in class.

    From the front row of the LMP2 Am grid, Maini made a clean start and quickly relieved the #4 ARC Bratislava entry of the lead.

    The young Indian racer made good on his escape, consistently lapping between two and four seconds quicker than his nearest rival to build a massive advantage and break ranks by getting in among the LMP2 Pro runners.

    Having risen to third place overall during an extraordinary 50-minute stint, Maini gave way to Farano in the first round of scheduled stops.

    The Canadian Am managed the race well and breached the 2m05s barrier during a fault-free stint to keep RLR MSport at the top, but the team’s 40-second lead turned into a 40-second deficit after the second round of driver-changes.

    The 3-member RLR MSport team, including Arjun Maini, which won the race at Shanghai.

    RLR MSport switched Farano for Higgins under green-flag conditions shortly before a protracted Full Course Yellow-Safety Car period, which presented ARC Bratislava with an opportunity to minimise its time in the pits and take the lead.

    In an attempt to recover the lost ground, RLR MSport reinstalled Maini and fitted the #59 ORECA 05 with fresh tyres, only for the #4 car to grind to a halt with one hour remaining.

    From there, the team had a clear run at the top step of the podium; Maini and Higgins drove consistently during outstanding stints to finish seventh overall and take a dominant LMP2 Am victory on RLR MSport’s maiden outing in the burgeoning Asian Le Mans Series

    Maini said:“I’m quite happy with the result and my performance, although the victory came harder than expected. We were unlucky with the timing of the first Full Course Yellow, but I was actually disappointed that ARC Bratislava retired – I wanted to pass them on-track, because we were in a strong position to do so with our pace and strategy. However, it was a good fight, Andy (Higgins) did a great job in his maiden LMP2 race and John (Farano) performed brilliantly in his first competitive outing with the ORECA 05, and it’s comforting to know that we can make more progress with the car next time out in Australia.”

  • Chetan Shivaram-Dilip Sharan thwart pressure from Dr Bikku Babu-Milen to win K1000 Rally

    Chetan Shivaram-Dilip Sharan thwart pressure from Dr Bikku Babu-Milen to win K1000 Rally

    Chetan Shivram (left) and Dilip Sharan on the podium after winning the K1000 rally, the 4th Round of Champiojns Yacht Club INRC 2019 in Bengaluru on Sunday. INDIAinF1 photo

    Bengaluru, 24 Nov 2019: Gaurav Gill, Dean Mascarenhas, Karna Kadur, Fabid Ahmer… the top drivers, stalwarts, experienced veterans, talented seniors and upcoming youngsters…  many of them bit the dust. The unforgiving terrain of Khoday’s Special Stages saw that only 23 of the 50 cars finished the 44th edition of the K1000 rally, which was run entirely on a private property after many years, with special focus on spectator safety.

    In the SUV Challenge, Gagan Karumbaiah (co-driver Thimmu Uddapanda) of Team Champions took the first place to virtually seal the 2019 title.

    File photo of Chetan Shivram. @FB

    Coimbatore round winners, Chetan Shivaram and Dilip Sharan of Team Akshara won the fourth round of the Indian National Rally Championship after thwarting sustained pressure from Dr Bikku Babu and Milen George of Team Champions, and took the overall win by 12.7 seconds and also topped their class INRC3. The Doctor from Kerala had to be content with the overall second place but topped INRC2 and Team Mahindra Adventure’s second entry Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik were overall third, a good three minutes and 27 seconds behind, but were rewarded for finishing the rally with the top prize in the top class, the INRC. Chetan Shivaram took the overall lead in the Championship replacing Fabid Ahmer, with one round remaining, the Popular Rally in Kerala.

    Mujeeb Rahman (left) and Goutham, INRC4 winners

    Motoring stalwart and speed demon Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif, too, had a disappointing outing as he failed to take the start on Sunday and other pre-event favourites Dean Mascarenhas and Shruptha Padival (SS6), and Karna Kadur and Nikhil Pai (SS5) failed to finish the day along with championship leaders Fabid Ahmer and Sanath Gopalan (SS7).

    After the shock exit of Gaurav Gill, order seemed to have been restored, with another JK favourite Dean Mascarenhas winning SS5. But he promptly fell in the next stage, leaving the field for Championship leader Fabid Ahmer. But the MRF driver, who was nursing his car carefully, suffered a mechanical failure in SS7 and tumbled out. “What looked like a promising result ended up with broken tie-rod end! Had to stop in SS7 when running 3rd Overall and 2nd in INRC3. We will bounce back at our home rally in Kerala,” quipped Fabid Ahmer.

    “The top guns may not have fired today but we couldn’t have hoped for a more thrilling finish. It was good to see so many of the INRC 2 and 3 teams making a mark here, ahead of the known champions,” Hema Malini Nidamanuri, co-promoter of the INRC, said.

    SUV winners of K1000 on 24 Nov 2019. (INDIAinF1 publishes other class winners’ photos as they usually get buried in mainstream media. We encourage drivers to send their winning photos to INDIAinF1@gmail.com) Photo: Prabhu Kethanur
    Dr Bikku Babu and Melen George, winners of INRC2 at K1000 on Sunday. Photo: FB
    Chethan Shivaram in action at K1000. Photo by Prabhu Kethanoor
    Fabid Ahmer and Sanath G stall in Special Stage 7 due to tie-rod failure on Sunday. @Fabid on FB

     

     

    File photo of Team Akshara. Courtesy: FB @ChetanShivram

    Final Provisional Unaudited Results: 

    Overall: 1. Chetan Shivaram/ Dilip Sharan (Akshara Racing) (1hour, 47minutes, 37.200seconds); 2. Dr Bikku Babu/ Milen George (Team Champions) (1:47:49.900); 3. Amittrajit Ghosh/ Ashwin Naik (Team Mahindra Adventure) (1:51.04.300).

    INRC: 1. Amittrajit Ghosh/ Ashwin Naik (Team Mahindra Adventure) (1:51.04.300); 2. Phalguna Urs/ Chandramouli M (Sanp Racing) (1:53:00.500). (only two cars finished out of six)

    INRC2: 1. Dr Bikku Babu/ Milen George (Team Champions) (1:47:49.900); 2. Sahil Khanna/ Rajit Kadian (Snap Racing) (1:52:00.200); 3. Younus Ilyas/Harish Gowda (Race Concepts) (4:50:24.200).

    INRC3: 1. Chetan Shivaram/ Dilip Sharan (Akshara Racing) (1:47:37.200); 2. Jacob KJ/ Murthy PVS (Arka Motorsports) (1:53.35.600); 2. Pradeep Kumar/Ahammad Ansary (Pipe & Pipe) (2:19:58.000).

    INRC4: 1. Mujeeb Rahaman/ Gautham CP (Privateers) (1:55:17.900); 2. Shirole Prakhyat H/ Bharath SM (Pvt) (1:57:16.300); 3.Satish Peddineni/ Vinay Kumar PM (Team Champions) (2:33:19.500).

    FMSCI SUV Challenge: 1. Gagan Karumbaiah/ Thimmu Uddapanda (Team Champions) (2:47:46.800); 2. Thomas Kuncheria M/ Dwarakanath Sudarshan (Pvt.) (2:13:41.200); 3. Sanjay Agarwal/ Smitha N (Team Champions) (5:03:17.100).

    (Note: Results were revised after confirmation from official version at 6.15pm.)

  • Gaurav Gill takes lead in K1000; 24 of the 50 cars that took the start suffer casualties

    Gaurav Gill takes lead in K1000; 24 of the 50 cars that took the start suffer casualties

    Gaurav Gill leads K1000 at the end of Day 1 in Bengaluru on Saturday. Photo by Sriharsha Nadiger

    Bengaluru, 23 Nov 2019: Speed Maestro Gaurav Gill touched his wonted form, making an immediate impact as he returned to rallying, by speeding to the first-Special Stage win of the popular K1000 rally, the fourth leg of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC) at the Khoday’s stages in Amruthnagar, about 20km, near here, on Saturday. But the champion driver was forced to pay attention and drive with caution as the tough stages took a toll on many an experienced driver during the four stages run on Day 1. Still Gill won two of the four stages but displayed controlled aggression and went steady in the other two.

    Of the 50 cars that took the flag at the ceremonial start on Friday, 24 cars suffered casualities on Day 1 in the demanding and treacherous dirt stages but five cars out of them will not be able to start the final day of the 44th K1000 Rally, promoted by Champions Yacht Club under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI). Only 45 cars will take the start on Sunday.

    The Arjuna Awardee and three-time Asia Pacific Rally Championship winner, Gill, dashed with vengeance taking the 18.5km stage in 13min, 43.6sec, the only driver on the day to go under 14-min mark on Special Stage 1. The five-time INRC champion in JK Tyre colours, was followed by talented Karna Kadur, who took 29 seconds more behind him, but kept the pressure on Gill (co-driver Musa Sherif) to finish the day in second place. Karna Kadur and navigator Nikhil Pai, of Arka Motorsports, won Special Stage 4 to reduce the deficit and will be gunning for maximum points. Then, it was Dr Bikku Babu who sprang a surprise. Watch Prabhu Kethanoor’s 8-sec Video of Karna Kadur here…

    But it was Dr Bikku Babu and Milen George, who won SS2. The doctor from Kerala, who was involved in reviving the Popular rally along with his team, pelted to take a stunning win and Karna despite losing time and finishing 7th in this stage came back and took the second place behind Gill and Musa Sherif in SS3 and went on to win SS4 to make up enough time and stand second, behind Gill, the Delhi-based master of speed.

    Overall leader before the start of this round, Fabid Ahmer, driving a Volkswagen Polo, with partial sponsorship from MRF tyres, opted for the smart option, driving steadily in each of the four stages, with the finishing post in his mind. He was in the sixth position at the end of the day and could well go full throttle on the big day.

    Fabid Ahmer and co-driver Sanath Gopal, of Team Champions, had their strategy of steady and clean driving as the track took a toll on man and machine on Saturday. Only Popular Rally is remaining in the calendar as the Coffee Day rally at Chikmagalur is likely to be cancelled for want of a sponsor. The Palakkad driver began with caution and was keen on completing the day and could only finish 8th in SS1 but reeled out consistent times and made sure he is safe. The duo was fifth in SS2 but again lost time in SS3 and SS4 finishing 7th and 8th respectively. But Dean Mascarenhas of Mangalore with Shruptha Padival as co-driver has finished the day in overall third and with only 7 points behind to Fabid’s 49, is likely to take the overall lead as INRC goes to Kerala for the last round. Dean has a lead of about 75 seconds to Fabid and will be looking to be cautious on the four stages to be run on Sunday.

    Fabid and Sanath even fell behind brothers Chetan Shivaram and Dilip Sharan, who also compete in INRC3. The Bengaluru brothers are in 5th place at the end of the day. Chetan managed to take the 6th place in the first stage and put in some consistent time finishing 3rd in both SS2 and SS3 and clocked fourth best time in SS4 to finish overall 5th after four stages.

    Mangaluru boy Dean Mascarenhas in action finishing Day 1 in second place in the K1000 at Bengaluru on Saturday. An INDIAinF1 image

    Dean, meanwhile, continued to hold sway in the INRC2 category, although he had Dr Bikku Babu and co-driver Milen George, breathing down his neck, only 9.8 seconds behind. The good doctor was the clear surprise package of the day, going past the winning post in SS2; he even left Gill in his wake in SS4, taking the second place to Gill’s third, and claimed the fifth position in SS3 and the 6th in SS1 to boast of the best show of the day. Shahil Khanna and Rajit Kadian are placed third in INRC2.

    However, all eyes will be on Karna Kadur and Nikhil Pail. The Arka Motorsports duo, who had two disappointing rounds at Chennai and Coimbatore, showed their mettle to take the overall second position behind Gill and also in the INRC class. Karna showed glimpses of his talent and won SS4 with an impressive timing of 12:24.200. The technically sound driver could be a major threat on Sunday if he can control his speed and manage the tough terrain. They are also second in the INRC class behind Gill and are followed by Phalguna Urs and Chandramouli M, who recovered from a bad crash in Jodhpur.

    The INRC 4 class, saw Vaibhav Marate suffering a setback, withdrawing from the first stage itself after a mechanical problem. He should, however, be back in action on Sunday to put his title aspirations back on track, gunning for stage points. In his absence, Mujeeb Rahman and co-driver Gautham CP, privateers on a Honda City took the top position on Day 1. Shirole Prakhyat and Bharath SM, on a Honda City VTech are second, followed by Karthik Arumugam and Lenin Jose in third place.

    Thomas Kuncheria M and co-driver Dwarakanth Sudarshan brought their Maruti Gypsy to the top in the SUV Challenge class. Leaders Gagan Karumbaiah and Thimmu Uddapanda are trailing in second place and will be gunning for the final shot on Sunday to take back the lead. K Shivakumar Reddy and Dheeraj KV, also in a Gypsy, are place third with four more Special Stages to be run on Sunday.

    “It was an exciting day, opening up the championship in this penultimate round,” Hema Malini Nidamanuri, co-promoter of the rally, said. “We got to see some amazing driving and I am sure it’s going to be even more fun on Sunday,” she added.

    Satyapal, communication head, briefing the team at K1000 on Saturday. Photo Moto Port Seena

    Provisional Unaudited Results after Leg 1 (Day 1): 

    Overall: 1. Gaurav Gill/ Musa Sherif (Team Mahindra Adventure) (52minutes; 58.200seconds); 2. Karna Kadur/ Nikhil Pai (Arka Motorsports) (53:47.800); 3. Dean Mascarenhas/ Shruptha Padival (Privateers) (54:14.300).

    INRC:  1. Gaurav Gill/ Musa Sherif (Team Mahindra Adventure) (52minutes; 58.200seconds); 2. Karna Kadur/ Nikhil Pai (Arka Motorsports) (53:47.800); 3. Phalguna Urs/ Chandramouili M (Snap Racing) (55:37.800).

    INRC2: 1. Dean Mascarenhas/ Shruptha Padival (Privateers) (54:14.300); 2. Dr Bikku Babu/ Milen George (Team Champions) 54:27.100; 3. Sahil Khanna/ Rajit Kadian (Snap Racing) (56:05.800).

    INRC3: 1. Chetan Shivaram/ Dilip Sharan (Akshara Racing) (54:28.500); 2. Fabid Ahmer/ Sanath G (Team Champions) (55:32.900); 3. Pradeep Kumar/ Ahammad Ansary (Pipes & Pipes) (56:17.400).

    INRC4: 1. Mujeeb Rahaman/ Gautham CP (Privateers) (58:56.100); 2. Shirole Prakhyat H/ Bharath SM (Pvt) (59:11.500); 3.Karthik Arumugam/ Lenin Jose (Pvt) (1:02:11.400).

    FMSCI SUV Challenge: 1. Thomas Kuncheria M/ Dwarakanath Sudarshan (Pvt.) (1:07:09.700); 2. Gagan Karumbaiah/ Thimmu Uddapanda (Team Champions) (1:13:36.800); 3. K Shivakumar Reddy/ Dhiraj KV (Pvt.) (3:03:01.800).

    Note: The report was edited and results added at 10.45 pm

     

  • Fabid Ahmer ready to sustain momentum at K1000; Gaurav Gill back on track

    Fabid Ahmer ready to sustain momentum at K1000; Gaurav Gill back on track

    Documentation by the drivers on Thursday at Resort Area83, the Rally HQ2 for K1000.

    By David Bodapati

    Bangalore, 22 Nov 2019: Overall championship leader Fabid Ahmer and co-driver Sanath Gopalan, from Kerala, are raring to go and are eager to reinforce their lead in the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) as the 44th edition of the popular K1000 Rally begins here on Saturday.

    The rally attracted a record number of 55 entries with the number 13 left out of the lot, with no stickering done due to the supposed bad-omen it brings. About 49 cars took the start at the Ceremonial Start on Friday.

    However, Team Champions’ Fabid and Sanath duo, who got their Volkswagen Polo tyres sponsored by MRF, will face stiff competition from rival JK Tyre-supported Dean Mascarenhas and Shruptha Padival, the winners of the season opener in Chennai, also in a VW Polo. But both the pairs will be wary of speed maestro Gaurav Gill, who will be rallying after a gap of two months, after the unfortunate incident in Jodhpur.

    The Mahindra Adventure team’s Gill, navigated by veteran Musa Sherif, stated that he put the `tragedy’ behind him and was eager to get back on wheels in the WRC2 in Australia, but the rally was cancelled due to bush fires and the multiple-Indian National champion lost a chance to get back into the groove. But the three-time Asia Pacific Rally Champion want to be back in full force and it would be a pleasure to see him ease into his own gracious self, thrilling the crowds with speeds, only he can churn out. “I have always enjoyed driving here in the K-1000. I am really looking forward to go out there and enjoying myself. Hopefully, things will turn in my favour this weekend,” said Gill who is currently fifth in the championship along with Musa Sherif.

    Karna Kadur and co-driver Nikhil Pai, are always a threat to any team in K1000, and Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik, the second team of Mahindra Adventure, will also be looking to make amends for a late-season splash. Rahul Kantharaj and Vivek Bhatt, in INRC2 and brothers Chethan Shivaram and Dilip Sharan winners of the Coimbatore rally will be the others to watch out for. The other INRC2 pair of Dr Bikku Babu and Milen George can spring a surprise, or two.

    Gaurav Gill at the Ceremonial Start at the Uru Brewpark in Amruthnagar, on Friday. Photo by Sriharsha Nadiger

    Champions Yacht Club promoted National Championship, under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (FMSCI) will enter its final stretch, with its Round 4, the K-1000 Rally at a private property in the Garden City. The premier rally organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club is one of the oldest rallies in the country but after a chequered run, the previous promoters, RRPM, denied K1000 a round in the 2019 National Championship, after many successful decades of running.

    The final round, the Coffee Day Rally at Chikmagalur is a doubtful starter with the Coffee Day said to be withdrawing the full sponsorship support after the death of its founder Siddharth but the postponed Popular Rally is likely to be held in December or January. The Popular Rally was put off due to a PIL filed in a Kerala court but the court refused to stop the rally.

    Along with Fabid Ahmer, INRC4 topper Vaibhav Marate from Goa along with co-driver Arjun, too would get the support from MRF. Both of them are comfortably placed in their categories and look poised to end the year on a high note. Fabid and Sanath, representing Team Champions are also leading INRC 3 class and have a unique style of driving that can be smooth and graceful. Fabid and Sanath, are also leading the Junior INRC class.

    The Mangalore pair of Dean and Shruptha are leading the INRC2 class with 65 points followed by another JK stablemate, Younus Ilyas (42 points).

    “We have a very strong field of 55 teams in this round too, creating a record in itself,” Vamsi Merla, the promoter of INRC, said. “Every category is very closely contested, with the backing of two very strong supporters. This is what motorsport is all about,” he added.

    The rally will have a Special Stage distance of 125km split into two legs. Leg one on Saturday with six Special Stages will run for a distance of 75km while the leg 2 on Sunday will have 50km distance. There are two physical stages, Khoday’s Lakes and Khoday’s Woods. The rally is run completely in private property, in the Resort Area83 and partly in Khoday’s property. The Lakes stage is 18.5km and Woods stage is 6.5km. Both the stages will be run thrice in the same direction on Saturday and twice in reverse direction on Sunday. Fortunately, the liaison distance will be one of the shortest in the recent times with the drivers taking only 13.8km in transport distance. It is a pity that the crowd favourite stage, the Super Special Stage is done away with, this year.

    (Note added on Nov 24: Despite SR on FMSCI (on Nov 22) saying six stages on Day1, only four were run in the actual rally.)

    The Rally offers a prize money of Rs.1 lakh for the top three classes and Rs.75,000 for INRC4, and Rs.40,000 for SUV class. Rally teaser!

    A new clause is added in the Supplementary Regulations, in hind sight, for “Accident Reporting’’: If a driver taking part in a rally is involved in an accident in which a member of the public sustains physical injury, the driver concerned must report this to the next radio point as specified in the road book and signposted on the route according to Article 3.3.3 of the GP’s. If he fails to observe this rule, the Stewards may impose on the crew responsible, a penalty which may go as far as disqualification. The laws of the country must also be complied with in relation to procedures at accidents.

    POINTS TABLE after 3 rounds: INRC: 1. Fabid Ahmed & Sanath G 49 points; 2. Dean Mascarenhas & Shruptha Padival 42 points; 3. Chetan Shivram & Dilip Sharan 40 pts.

    INRC 2: 1. Dean Mascarenhas & Shruptha Padival 65 points; 2. Younus Ilyas & Harish Gowda 42 points; 3. Vinoth G Kumar & Krishna Charan Dasari 35 points.

    INRC 3: 1. Fabid Ahmed & Sanath G 69 points; 2. Chetan Shivram & Dilip Sharan 45 points; 3. Arjun Rao & Rajit Kadian 30 points

    INRC 4: 1. Vaibhav Marate & Arjun SSB 74 points; 2. Rakshith Iyer & Chadrashekar 58 points; 3. Suraj Thomas & Shob George 41 points.

    SUV Challenge: 1. Gagan Karumbaiah & Thimmu Uddapanda 78 points; 2. Sanjay Agarwal & Smitha N 60 points; 3. Nikhil J & Arjun Dheerendra 49 points.

    Find the Rally Location here.

    Link for live Results and start order

    Live Links

  • Sawan Satyanarayanan, Ashi Hanspal, and Jashmehar Jubbal hog limelight: Sodi Kart Sprint

    Sawan Satyanarayanan, Ashi Hanspal, and Jashmehar Jubbal hog limelight: Sodi Kart Sprint

    Girls Class- 1st Aashi Hanspal (centre), 2nd Muskaan Jubbal (left) and 3rd Kadambari at Hyderabad on Sunday.

    Hyderabad, 18 Nov 2019: Bengaluru’s Sawan Satyanarayanan, Mumbai’s Ashi Hanspal and Delhi’s Jashmehar Jubbal stole the honours in Round 2 of the Sodi Kart Sprint of the JK Tyre FMSCI Naional Karting Championship 2019, winning their respective categories in Hyderabad late on Sunday.

    Sawan Satyanarayanan came up with a power-packed performance to claim the Senior Category title, taking just 9:13.764 minutes to complete the 12 laps. Adheet Prashar of Hyderabad finished second (9:16.366) while Ashwin M Nair of Cochin clocked 9:17.070 to take the last place on the podium.

    All three have qualifies for the final round of the championship to be held in Chennai in the third week of December.

    Senior Class winners: 1st Sawan Satyanarayanan (centre), 2nd Adheet Prashar and 3rd Ashwin M Nair (right).

    Akshay Hoover, Hari Gopal Nayak and Pramil Singh, who finished with fourth, fifth and sixth, were also handed drives in the finals.

    In the Girls’ Class, Ashi Hanspal reigned supreme, posting a time of 10:57.406 minutes to finish the race. Muskan Jubbal finished second (10:57.839) while the third place went to Kadambari of Nagpur (11:04.767).

    Delhi’s Jashmehar Jubbal took the top honours in the Junior Category, with a time of 9:29.538 minutes while Agnishwar Verma of Chennai took the second place (9:32.888) and Vulli Gopal of Hyderabad the third (9:35.136). Apart from these three (Jubbal had qualified in the opening round itself, Rahul Reddy, Aadithya Raja, Jasmeh Singh Dingra and Muskan Jubbal booked a ticket for the finals.

    Junior Class winners: 1st Jasmehar Jubbal (centre) flanked by 2nd placed Agnishwar Verma (left) and 3rd placed Vulli Gopal.
  • Mumbai’s Aaroh wins Novice Cup; Chennai’s Vishnu, Pune’s Tanay back in lead of JKNRC

    Mumbai’s Aaroh wins Novice Cup; Chennai’s Vishnu, Pune’s Tanay back in lead of JKNRC

    The JK Tyre Novice Cup Championship winner Aaroh Ravindra is flanked by Chirag Ghorpade, 2nd, Left, and Mohamed Ryan, 3rd at Coimbatore on Sunday. A IndiainF1 image

    Coimbatore, 29 Sept 2019: Chennai’s Vishnu Prasad and Pune’s Tanay Gaikwad regained the pre-eminent positions in the JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship 2019, shooting to the top of the table in their respective categories as Round 3 concluded here on Sunday.

     
    Mumbai’s Aaroh Ravindra too stamped his authority in the championship, claiming the JK Tyre Novice Cup title that drew to a close.
     
    MSport’s Vishnu Prasad, who didn’t enjoy the best of luck in the second round and had slipped from the top position, reasserted his supremacy, winning one race and taking the second position in the other one. In all, he collected 23 points over the weekend to become the championship leader with 68 points.
     
    Vishnu toppled teammate Raghul Rangasamy, who picked up only 16 points to muster a total of 63 after this round. Raghul stole the second place in the final race to redeem himself but two fifth positions in the other two races held him back.
     
    Dark Don’s Diljith TS, who began the round with a resounding win, finished sixth and fifth in Sunday’s races to hold on to his third position on the table with 48 points.
     
    Meanwhile, Pune’s Tanay Gaikwad stormed into the lead in the JK Tyre Suzuki Gixxer Cup, wrapping up the round with a victory and a second-placed finish.
     
    Tied on 36 points with Syed Muzammil Ali, he enjoyed a stroke of luck as Muzammil logged a DNF on Saturday. He added 8 more points on Sunday to amass 54 points for a handsome 8-point lead.
     
    Muzammil came back strongly to win Race 2 but that was good enough to give him only 46 points. It still gives him an outside chance to win the title in the fourth and final round at the BIC in November. Siddhart Sajan held on the third position after finishing on the third podium in both the races, taking his total tally to 31 points.
     
    Momentum Motorsports Aaroh Ravindra, who began with a 13-point advantage, showed nerves of steel to win the Novice Cup title.  He didn’t enjoy the best of Saturdays, failing to pick up a single point, thanks to a DNS and then a DNF. He, however, collected 4 points in the concluding race to corner the champion’s trophy.
     
    Aaroh had a total of 56 points, which was good enough to pip Chirag Ghorpade (52) and Mohamed Ryan (48) in the title race. 
     
     
    The Momentum Motorsports driver came into the championship round with a lead of 13 points and it was expected to be a cakewalk for him. But things did not go as per the plan and he could log in a single in either of the races on day 1, which spiced up the title hunt and made it a three-way fight between him, his team-mate Chirag Ghorpade and MSport’s Mohammed Ryan on the final day.
     
    Ryan won one race but a DNF and a 11th-place finish deprived him of the title.
    Round 3 Final Day Provisional Results: 

    JK Tyre LGB Formula 4 (Race 2): 1. Balaprasath AS (MSport) 18:09.374; 2. Vishnu Prasad (MSport) 18:12.358; 3. Ashwin Datta (Dark Don Racing) 18:15. 824
    LGB Formula 4 (Race 3):  1. Vishnu Prasad (MSport) 19:25.872; 2. Raghul Rangasamy (MSport) 19:26.830; 3. Ashwin Datta (Dark Don Racing) 19:27.810
    JK Tyre Novice Cup: 1 (Race 2): 1. Chirag Ghorpade (Momentum Motorsports) 18:24.314; 2. Aditya Swaminathan (MSport) 18:29.654; 3. Himanshu Thukral (MSport) 18:35.245
    JK Tyre Suzuki Gixxer Cup (Race 2): 1. Syed Muzammil Ali (Bangalore) 14:12.167; 2. Tanay Gaikwad (Pune) 14:12.445; 3. Sidharth Sajan (Coimbatore) 14:13.942
  • Diljith,Tanay and Ryan take honours on Day 1

    Diljith,Tanay and Ryan take honours on Day 1

    Dark Don Racing and Kerala’s Diljith TS in action during Day 1 of Round 3 of the 22nd JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship here in Coimbatore on Saturday. A JK Racing photo

    Coimbatore, 28 Sept 2019: The Chennai duo of Diljith TS & Mohammed Ryan and Pune’s Tanay Gaikwad stole the honours on Day 1 of the JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship 2019 here at the Kari Motor Speedway on Saturday.

    Diljith (Dark Don Racing) made the most of the day to take the maximum possible 10 points in the Formula LGB-4 after clocking a time of 20:52.145 minutes.

    Diljith’s teammates, Sandeep Kumar A (20:52.462 minutes) and Ashwin Datta (20:55.619 minutes), took the other two places on the podium. Vishnu Prasad had to settle for a fourth-place finish, while championship leader Raghul Rangasamy had to settle for the fifth place.

    In the JK Tyre Suzuki Gixxer Cup, Pune’s Tanay Gaikwad made the most of Bengaluru’s Muzammil Ali misfortune. The two riders, tied at the top of the leader-board at the start of the round, were engaged in a keen tussle in Race 1 before Muzammil fell off the bike to clear the path for his closest rival.

    Tanay clocked a total of 14:10.820 minutes to complete his stipulated 10 laps to finish ahead of the pack and go atop the charts. Bengaluru’s Jagadeesh N finished just two seconds off Tanay to take the second place while Sidharth Sajan of Coimbatore took 14:17:570 to finish third on the podium.

    Meanwhile, Mohammed Ryan of MSport stormed into the lead in the JK Tyre Novice Cup,

    winning both his races in style. His team-mate Chirag Ghorpade finished second behind him in Race 1 while Mihir Avalakki of Birel Art took the third position.

    Himanshu Thukral of MSport finished second in Race 2 while Kishore of DTS Racing claimed the third position. Championship leader after the first two rounds fell behind, suffering a DNS and then a DNF on a disastrous Saturday.

    JKNRC Round 3, Day 1 Provisional Results:

    JK Tyre Novice Cup (Race 1) – 1. Mohamed Ryan (MSport) 12:15.739; 2. Chirag Ghorpade (Momentum Motorsports) 12:19.626; 3. Mihir Avalakki (Birel Art) 12:25.387

    JK Tyre Novice Cup (Race 2) – 1. Mohamed Ryan (MSport) 14:15.956; 2. Himanshu Thukral (MSport) 14:18.548; 3. Kishore (DTS Racing) 14:19.647

    JK Tyre Suzuki Gixxer Cup (Race 1) – 1. Tanay Gaikwad 14:11.820; 2. Jagadeesh N 14:16.047; 3. Sidharth Sajan 14:17.570

    JK Tyre Formula LGB 4 (Race 1) – 1. Diljith TS (Dark Don Racing) 20:52.145; 2. Sandeep Kumar A (Dark Don Racing) 20:52.462; 3. Ashwin Datta (Dark Don Racing) 20:55.619

  • Gaurav Gill shows his class in Rally of Turkey before he suffers a puncture

    Gaurav Gill shows his class in Rally of Turkey before he suffers a puncture

    Gaurav Gill at Rally of Turkey on Day 1.

    Marmaris (Turkey), 13 Sept 2019: Ace Indianrallyist Gaurav Gill showcased his skill and speed in the Rally of Turkey by dazzling in the opening four stages on Friday but had a puncture in the evening and later suffered a suspension damage.

    Meanwhile, Jan Kopecky and Pavel Dresler (Cze.Cze) took the lead in the WRC2 Pro-category after Day 2 fo the 11th round of the FIA World Rally Championship, Rally Turkey Driving for JK Racing, Gaurav, along with Glenn Macneall of Australia as co-driver, proved his mettle in one of the world’s toughest rallies and set the pace from the word `go’ in his new untested EcoBoost-powered R5 MkII Ford Fiesta, clocking  the fastest time in the shakedown on Thursday.

    Gaurav, who was recently bestowed with the Arjuna Award, the first motorsport person from India to achieve the feat did not have enough time to test his car as the vessel carrying the vehicle docked in late leaving him little time to have a test ride. And despite all the odds, he proved his worth behind the wheels and stayed in contention to finish on the podium, giving the WRC regulars a run for their money. He was in ominous form despite facing setbacks with his car and was poised for his maiden podium finish in the WRC 2 before a series of unfortunate incidents hit him.

    Gaurav Gill during the WRC2 run in Rally of Turkey. Photos M Sport

    He was on the threshold of making it a perfect start to his 2019 international campaign and at one stage, after SS2 in fact, he had moved up to the third position to put himself in line for a podium finish.

    In the first spectator friendly super special stage on Friday night, he got off the blocks a little slow but still posted a time of 2:12.1 minutes, the fifth fastest in his category. The second stage was replete with drama, with his car spinning mid-way through the run and also developing a puncture in the later part.

    Despite that, Gaurav managed to complete the 24.85 km long second stage in a mere 19:45.1 minutes to move up the ladder.

    Placed third after SS2, it looked like that the three-time APRC champion, driving as a registered driver in the WRC2 for the first time, would close the gap in the next stage but bad luck followed him again. He endured a flat tyre after he hit a hole and lost out on precious minutes to end the stage with a time of 33:03.5 minutes.

    He recovered brilliantly in the fourth stage, posting a time of 13:10.1 minutes to remain four minutes adrift of the leader and three minutes off the third place.

    With an eye to close the gap on the leaders, Gaurav started well in the fifth stage but with just 4.5 kilometres into SS5, he suffered a front-left suspension damage cutting short his day.

    “It was just bad luck. We had a mechanical failure and our lower arm joint under braking snapped. The car did not face any damage but we were lucky that the malfunction did not happen in the corner as that would have seen us slide down the hill,” Gaurav sighed after the fifth stage.

    The Rally of Turkey, considered one of the toughest rallies in the world, covers a total distance of 988.50 kms with 310.10 kms earmarked for 17 special stages. Most of the stages will be on gravel, with a few of them running on concrete tiles and tarmac too.

    The WRC2 has seen many major changes, with one category set aside for manufacturer-supported entries and the other for independent drivers. Gaurav is in the latter, having the option of the buying or hiring a car from a manufacturer and operating his own team.

    His best six scores count towards a driver’s championship, giving him a very good chance this year.

  • JK Tyre X30 Karting Nationals: Nirmal, Ruhaan, Ishaan crowned National champions

    JK Tyre X30 Karting Nationals: Nirmal, Ruhaan, Ishaan crowned National champions

    (L-R) The JK Tyre FMSCI National Karting X30 Class winners-Ruhaan Alva (Junior Class), Nirmal Umashankar (Senior Class) and Ishaan Madesh (Cadet Class) in Bengaluru on Saturday. JK Tyre photo

    Bengaluru, 7 Sept 2019: Bengaluru’s Ruhaan Alva capped off his spectacular run in the X-30 Junior class of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Karting Championship to emerge the 2019 champions here on Saturday. Chennai’s Nirmal Umashankar and Bengaluru Ishaan Madesh became the National Champions in the Senior and Cadet classes in the last round itself.

    Nirmal, a regular on the JKNRC, collected a total of 23 points in the fifth and final round to amass 160 points to win the Senior category by a mile. Bengaluru’s Aditya Swaminathan (101 points) is the first runner up in the National Championship in Senior category followed by Delhi’s Debarun Banerjee (81) .
     
    It was an eventful start to the weekend, with a carnival-like atmosphere prevailing at the Meco Kartopia. Even as X-30 class was running its final course and the JK Tyre FMSCI National Karting Championship – Sodi Junior & Sodi Senior class’ qualifying rounds began, all eyes were on the `Girls on Track’ programme that attracted racing enthusiasts from across the country.
     
    Ruhaan Alva on way to winning the National Championship in the last round. Photo Shajahan

    Apart from girls from New Delhi, Chennai and Coimbatore, there were four from Nepal too. A handful of 8-year-olds too turned up to get initiated into motorsports along with teenagers and women in their twenties and thirties.

     
    They went through the entire drill of starting on racing simulators before eventually competing in the go-karting slaloms. In between, they underwent a batak reflex test and a basic pit-stop to be set for proper racing.
     
    Meanwhile, local boy Ruhaan Alwa underlined his supremacy in the Junior Category by sealing the title in the first race of the fifth round itself. He returned with a tally of 164 points to be crowned as the National Champion in the Junior class. 
     
    City-mate Arjun S Nair (134 points) is the runner-up in the National Championship and Chennai’s Ryan Mohammed collected a total of 24 points to take the third position in the National Championship with a total of 91 points.
     
    In the Cadet Category, it was Bengaluru’s Ishaan Madhesh who maintained his vice-like grip on the top of the table, winning three more races to accumulate 36 points win with a grand sum of 189 points. Shriya Lohia, a 11-year-old driver from Pune, picked up 27 points to end on the second spot with 134 points. While Ishaan was outstanding and became the National Champion in Cadet class winning all the races, it was a creditable show by Shriya Lohia, who beat many of the boys to stand first runner-up in the National Championship.  
     
    Another Pune driver Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran finished third with a modest total of 117 points.
    Final poinst tally: (top 3) Cadet Category- 1. Ishaan Madesh (Bangalore) 189 points; 2. Shriya Lohia (Pune) 134 points; 3. Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (Pune) 117 points
     
    Junior Category- 1. Ruhaan Alva (Bangalore) 164 points; 2. Arjun Nair (Bangalore) 134 points; 3. Ryan Mohammed (Chennai) 91 points.
     
    Senior Category- 1. Nirmal Umashankar (Chennai) 160 points; 2. Aditya Swaminathan (Bangalore) 101 points ; 3. Debarun Banerjee 81 points.
  • Raghul Rangasamy takes lead in the Formula LGB class: JK Tyre Nationals

    Raghul Rangasamy takes lead in the Formula LGB class: JK Tyre Nationals

    Race 3 Winner Raghul Rangasamy flanked by 2nd placed Vishnu Prasad, left, and Sohil Shah.

    Coimbatore, 1 Sept 2019: On a day of intense battles and loads of drama, Chennai’s Raghul Rangasamy came out trumps, collecting 18 points to shoot to the top of the FLGB-4 standings as Round 2 of the JK Tyre FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship concluded here on Sunday.

    Tanay Gaikwad (Pune), Aaroh Ravindra (Mumbai), Sai Prithvi S (Chennai), Mira Erda (Vadodara) and Ikshan Shanbag (Satara) were the others stars of the day, emerging victorious in their respective categories.
    Most of the big excitement, as expected, emanated from the LGB category, with multiple national champions gunning for glory. After Sohil Shah (MSport) set the stage for a no-holds-barred fight on Saturday with a cheeky win, it was Diljith TS’s (Dark Don) turn to bring Sunday to life.
    Beginning at P7 as the reverse grid came into play, he exhibited speed and control to steadily move up and take the first place. Raghul (MSport), who was at P5, got caught in the front pack to lose the initiative and settled for the second position.
    Raghul, however, took advantage of a similar situation in the day’s second and final LGB-4 race to win it in dramatic fashion. His fourth-place finish on Saturday was enough to give him a total of 47 points. That took him past teammate Vishnu Prasad, who didn’t have the best of weekends despite racing out of his skin.
    Vishnu also suffered the worst of lucks, being cheated by the safety car when he was leading with a big margin in the last race. He had to settle for the second position while he had already endured a sixth-place finish in the earlier race to slip down to a total of 45 points in the two rounds. Diljith, who often seemed alone in this dog-fight, was placed third with 31 points.
    Tanay Gaikwad stole the thunder in the Suzuki Gixxer Cup, collecting the maximum possible 20 points to join Syed Muzammil Ali (Bangalore) at the top of the table.
    After winning the first race on Saturday, Tanay showed his class on Day 2 too, posting his second straight victory. Muzammil clocked the day’s fastest lap (1:23.681) but finished 0.068 seconds behind in the 10 laps.
    Mira Erda (centre) who won the ladies class. A JY Tyre image

    Mumbai’s Aaroh Ravindra stayed ahead in the JK Tyre Novice Cup, by collecting 10 more points to make it a grand sum of 52, including 28 this weekend. Bangalore’s Chirag Ghorpade was second with 39 points, after a second-place finish.

    Vadodara’s Mira Erda continued to rule in the women’s category, finishing ahead of all the ladies for the sixth consecutive time. Coimbatore’s Megaa KS (45) and Anushriya Gulati (28) were in the hunt behind her.
    Chennai’s David Ryan, who was the standout performer in the JK Tyre Inter-College Cup on Day 1 with two wins, lost his pre-eminent position to Sai Prithvi (also Chennai) on Sunday. He, however, finished second to hold on to his overall lead with 28 points.
    The day’s winner Sai Prithvi S (Chennai) and Kedin Akhil (Kolkata) were tied on 16 points for the next two positions.
    Ikshan Shanbag (Satara) claimed the JK Tyre Redbull Road to Rookies, winning both the races over the weekend. He maintained a clean slate after showing his class in Round 1 too.
    Provisional Results: LGB Formula 4 (15 laps)
    Race 2: 1. Diljith TS (Dark Don Racing; 18:14.76); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (MSport; 18:14.96);  3. Sandeep Kumar A (Dar Don; 18:15.31)
    Race 3: 1. Raghul (20:29.90); 2. Vishnu Prasad (Chennai; 20:29.92); 3. Sohil Shah (Bangalore; 20:29.10)
    Suzuki Gixxer Cup (10 laps): Race 3: 1. Tanay Gaikwad (Pune) – 14:18.57; 2. Syed Muzammil Ali (Bangalore; 14:18.64); 3. Shazan Khan (Bangalore; 14:32.58)
    JK Tyre Novice Cup: (15 laps): Race 3: 1. Aaroh Ravindra (Mumbai; 18:19.30); 2. Chirag Ghorpade (Bangalore; 18:24.87); 3. Mohamed Ryan (Chennai; 18:29.31)
    JK Tyre Redbull Road to Rookies: (10 laps): Race 3: 1. Ikshan Shanbag (Satara; 14:56.42); 2. Aditi Krishnan (Bangalore; 15:20.92); 3. Aryan Gurav (Pune; 15:23.78)
    JK Tyre College Cup (8 laps): Race 3: 1. Sai Prithvi S (Chennai; 10:20.80); 2. David Ryan (Chennai; 10:22.73); Chetan Surineni (Bangalore; 10:46.82)