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Tag: MRF Challenge
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Double for Arjun Balu, Rithvik Thomas in saloon cars; Amendola wins MRF Challenge title
Yuven Sundaramoorthy, winner of Race-4 in MRF Challeng on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar Chennai, 16 Feb 2020: Belgium’s Michelangelo Amendola did not win any of the three races run today, but picked up sufficient points from two third-place finishes and a sixth, to emerge the new champion in the FIA-approved MRF Challenge which concluded at the MMRT, here today.
Earlier,16-year old Indian-American Yuven Sundaramoorthy, with family roots in Madurai, gave the crowd plenty to cheer about by winning one race while British teenager Louis Foster and Australia’s Dylan Young took the honours in the other two races of the day.
A third place finish in Race-5 today ensured the 18-year Amendola the title in his third attempt as he opened up an unassailable 34-point lead over his nearest rival Young, going into the last race of the day. Amendola finished with 247 points, including five wins over three rounds, to Young’s 223 (3 wins) while Britain’s Joshua Mason (176) was placed third in the championship.
Meanwhile, Race Concepts drivers, Arjun Balu from Coimbatore and Bengaluru’s Rithvik Thomas notched a double each in the Indian Touring Cars and the Super Stock categories, respectively, of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship (Round-1).
Rejoicing his championship success with his immediate family, Amendola, who had scored a double yesterday, said: “I am absolutely delighted that I finally won the MRF Challenge championship in my third season. Last season, I finished fourth in the championship and in 2017, I was sixth. So, I was determined to win the title this time. Now that I have won it, I am looking at a few options, but all depends on budgets and sponsorship. Motor racing is not very popular in Belgium, but I am hopeful.”
The day began with Foster capitalising on a Turn-2 incident on Lap-1 that led to a brief Safety Car period, moving from third to first. Foster then hung on to finish ahead of Sundaramoorthy with Amendola in third place. Young’s championship hopes virtually ended when he lost two spots to come in sixth.
In the next race, Sundaramoorthy, starting on pole on the reverse grid, was off to a good start and though he lost a bit going into Turn 10, he managed to hold off Jordanian Manaf Hijjawi for his second win of the season with Young trailing home in third place.
“It feels great to win here in Chennai, virtually my home race! But I made it difficult for myself by making a couple of mistakes early in the race, especially when I went in too hot in Turn-10, went sideways and lost a bunch of space. I am absolutely delighted to score my second win this season after Dubai,” said Sundaramoorthy who turns 17 on February 22.
Young, starting from reverse grid pole, also won the day’s last race untroubled, comfortably nursing his early lead to chalk up his third win of the season.
ARJUN BALU REIGNS SUPREME
Balu destroyed the combined 29-car saloon cars field for a grand double. The grid was a mix of ITC, Super Stock and the Volkswagen Ameo (support race) that took its final bow after three seasons to be replaced by the turbo-charged Polo in the next round this summer.
Balu, like in Race-1 yesterday, was simply unstoppable though he started today eighth on the combined reverse grid. Within two laps, he sliced his way past six cars and then pole-sitter D Vidyaprakash of Prime Racing (subsequently disqualified for “technical infringement”, to take the lead that kept stretching corner to corner.
“At the start, I was keen to get to the front and not get stuck in mid-grid. Once into the lead, I was able to extend the lead before I decided to ease off big time as there was no need to push any more. It was a fairly comfortable race for me, but again, thanks to Race Concepts for preparing such a great racing car,” said Balu.
The results:
MRF Challenge (all 15 laps unless mentioned) – Race-4: 1. Yuven Sundaramoorthy (USA) (22mins, 53.075secs); 2. Manaf Hijjawi (Jordan) (22:54.066); 3. Dylan Young (Australia) (23:03.255). Fastest Lap: Sundaramoorthy (01:30.323). Race-5: 1. Louis Foster (UK) (25:38.368); 2. Sundaramoorthy (25:41.064); 3. Michelangelo Amendola (Belgium) (25:45.004). Fastest Lap: Foster (01:31.053). Race-6 (14 laps): 1. Young (21:33.558); 2. Valdemar Eriksen (Denmark) (21:34.874); 3. Amendola (21:36.464). Fastest Lap: Sundaramoorthy (01:31.080). Final Championship standings (top 3): 1. Amendola (247 points); 2. Young (223); 3. Joshua Mason (GBR, 176).
National Championship (12 laps) – Indian Touring Cars (Race-2): 1. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) (23:12.264); 2. Keith D’Souza (FB Motorsports) (23:28.371); 3. Sunil Ranjith (Race Concepts) (+1 lap).
Super Stock (Race-2): 1. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) (24:13.207); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) (24:20.261); 3. Alisha Abdullah (Race Concepts) (24:51.419).
Support races – MRF F1600 (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Vishnu Prasad (Chennai) (20:17.408); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram) (20:18.087); 3. Karthik Tharani (Chennai) (20:19.272). Race-3: 1. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (16:35.718); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (16:42.174); 3. Vishnu Prasad (16:42.437).
Volkswagen Ameo Super Race (Race-2, 12 laps): 1. Anmol Singh Sahil (Ghaziabad) (23:19.588); 2. Anindith Reddy (Hyderabad) (23:22.637); 3. Dhruv Mohite (Kolhapur) (23:23.267).
ABOUT MRF TYRES
Motorsports in India is synonymous with MRF. In fact, the development and popularity of various forms of the sport could be directly attributed to the pioneering efforts of the company, be it racing, rallying, motocross or karting. To encourage motorsport enthusiasts MRF has spared no resources in offering World-class facilities. Being the largest promoters of motorsports in India, MRF has the added advantage of being able to use the racetrack to test the tyres. MRF also supplies tyres to various other championships in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
MRF is the only tyre company in India to have developed Formula car tyres, world- class rally tyres for tarmac and dirt, motocross tyres and also karting tyres. Today, the company caters to almost all segments of the tyre industry and is proud to be the manufacturer of the largest range of tyres. Heavy-duty truck and bus tyres, passenger car tyres, two-wheeler tyres and farm tyres are just some of the tyres that MRF manufactures.
The one thing that puts MRF head and shoulders above its competition is the fact that MRF is the only tyre company in India without any foreign technical collaboration. The company is where it is today, thanks mainly to its know-how and its ability to develop indigenous technology. With this technology, MRF now supplies original equipment tyres to multinational manufacturers such as Honda, Hyundai, Renault, Nissan, Mahindra, Tata, Volkswagen, Toyota, Suzuki and Ford. In total, MRF exports to more than 90 countries. MRF has been the undisputed leader in the tyre industry for more than three decades now, notwithstanding the competition from various multinational and Indian tyre brands.
Arjun Balu on way to a double in the ITC category on 16 Feb 2020 at MMRT, Chennai. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan for INDIAinF1 -
Bent Viscaal, David Schumacher set early pace in Free Practice: MRF Challenge
David Schumacher during free practice. Photo by Anand Philar Sakhir (Bahrain), 12 Dec 2019: Debutants Bent Viscaal and David Schumacher set the early pace in Free Practice session as the second round of the MRF Challenge, organized by the Madras Motor Sports Club and a support-event for FIA World Endurance Championship, got underway at the Bahrain International Circuit, here today.
Viscaal, the 20-year old from the Netherlands, fresh from his debut season in the Formula 3 championship, was the quickest in the first Free Practice session, clocking a best of two minutes, 01.191 seconds while Germany’s 18-year old Schumacher, son of former Formula 1 driver Ralf, was second best in 02:01.256, ahead of Denmark’s 16-year old Valdemar Eriksen (02:01.850).
In fact, the top five in the session, including fourth-placed Aussie Dylan Young (02:01.901) and championship leader Michelangelo Amendola from Belgium (02:01.915), winner of three races in the first round at Dubai last month, were covered by less than one second.
Viscaal, who was second Overall in 2018 Euroformula Open Championship, was quite pleased with his pace today, though he refrained from any predictions on his performance over the next two days when the qualifying and four races would be run.
“It went very well for me today. First time in MRF Challenge, first time in this car and learning the track. It’s been nearly two months since I drove a racing car. So, MRF Challenge will provide me with some winter mileage. The car is good and so also the tyres, I am really enjoying it here. I was quite happy with the pace, though you never know with quali (qualifying session) and races still to be run,” said Viscaal.
Schumacher said he enjoyed the outing. “New car, new tyres and it was quite fun to drive. It was one of the best cars I have driven in practice session. I was missing half-a-tenths in the quickest laps. The track is really difficult and the temperatures were quite high. This car is pretty easy to drive compared to others. I chose the MRF Challenge to learn the track for next season. This week, I want to win all the races of course!”
The top five were followed by 16-year old Indian-American Yuven Sundaramoorthy (02:02.352), Jordanian Manaf Hijjawi (02:02.439), Japanese-American Reece Ushijima (02:02.507), Denmark’s Largim Ali (02:02.739), Britain Joshua Mason (02:03.146) and lone Indian entrant Chetan Korada (02:04.991).
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Indian-origin Yuven Sundaramoorthy of US notches up maiden win; Amendola, Young share the other 2
Yuven Sundaramoorthy (29) trailing Joshua Mason (21) before winning the final race on Saturday. Photos: Anand Philar Dubai, 23 Nov 2019: Michelangelo Amendola from Belgium completed a dream week with three wins out of five races as the first round of the FIA-approved MRF Challenge international series concluded at the Dubai Autodrome, here today. Also notching wins were Australia’s Dylan Young and Indian-American Yuven Sundaramoorthy, for both of whom it was their maiden success in the championship.
The 17-year old Amendola dominated the entire round, being quickest in Free Practice and qualifying sessions before winning both the races yesterday and another today besides finishing second in the other two outings, to give himself a great start in the championship stakes.
Young, 30, in his seventh appearance in the MRF Challenge, finally got the monkey off his back by notching his first win in the championship, while 16-year old debutant Sundaramoorthy, whose family roots are entrenched in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, reaped rewards for his persistence.
Young had to work hard for his maiden success. Quick at the start to take the lead, the affable Aussie hung on gamely to hold off pole-sitter Amendola by putting in some solid laps when it mattered. The Belgian had another poor start from pole position and dropped to third behind Young and Joshua Mason (Great Britain) before easing past the British driver in the second lap to catch up with the Aussie. However, Amendola was unable to get past the experienced Young who went on to win.
Reflecting on his success, Young said: “It was a good race and the car felt really good. I got a good start which set it all up. Once I got the lead, I just put my head down and controlled the race from thereon. I am over the moon with this first win in MRF Challenge and will certainly have a few beers with the boys tonight!”
In Race 4 that had a reverse grid, pole-sitter Eriksen was quickly passed by Mason and Sundaramoorthy in the very first lap. The trio held positions until the sixth lap even as behind them, Amendola, who started from fifth, moved up a spot while Young dropped from sixth to seventh. The Belgian made another move to pass Eriksen into third spot. Up the road, Mason came under increasing pressure from Sundaramoorthy. In the ninth lap, Mason spun, allowing Sundaramoorthy, Amendola and Eriksen to get ahead and finish in that order.
“It feels good to win the race especially after the crash yesterday in the previous race. Today, the race went very well. Josh (Mason) drove amazingly and all I could do was to put pressure on him, hoping to force him into a mistake as I was not close enough to pass. I feel great to have scored my first-ever win in the F2000 category,” said Sundaramoorthy.
Dylan Young, Race 5 winner Michelangelo Amendola flanked by 3rd-placed Yuven Sundaramoorthy (right) and Dylan Young on Saturday. The fifth and last race of the Dubai round was a comfortable outing for Amendola once he fought off his rivals at the start before going into a virtual cruise control mode for a comfortable win ahead of Mason and Young. “It’s been a great week and yeah, feels good to win three of the five races. That was my target coming here to Dubai. I had to fend off others early in the last race, but after that, it was fairly comfortable as I opened up a good lead,” said Amendola who was followed home by Mason and Young.
The lone Indian entrant, Chetan Korada, showed some improvement in his pace to pick up some points though he could not offer any serious challenge to the front-runners.
The second round of the championship will be held at the Bahrain International Circuit on December 12-14 before moving on to the grand finale in Chennai in February next year.
The results (all 10 laps):
Race-3: 1. Dylan Young (Australia); 2. Michelangelo Amendola (Belgium); 3. Joshua Mason (Great Britain).
Race-4: 1. Yuven Sundaramoorthy (USA); 2. Amendola; 3. Valdemar Eriksen (Denmark).
Race-5: 1. Amendola; 2. Mason; 3. Young.
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Belgian Amendola dominates practice sessions; Chetan Korada 9th: MRF Challenge
Michelangel Amendola (Belgium) who topped both the Free Practice sessions on Thursday. Photo by Anand Philar Dubai, 21 Nov 2019: Belgium’s 17-year old Michelangelo Amendola set the early pace by dominating both the free practice sessions as the eighth season of the International MRF Challenge commenced at the Dubai Autodrome, here today.
Amendola, who had finished fifth overall in the 2018-19 championship, topped the time sheets in the first of the two Free Practice sessions by clocking one minute, 58.551 seconds and followed it up with a 01:58.806 in the next outing.
Finishing second behind Amendola in the red-flag interrupted FP1 were two other 17-year olds, Great Britain’s Joshua Mason (01:59.882) and Yuven Sundaramoorthy from the United States (01:59.912).
Amendola continued his consistent run in FP2 with a best of 01:58.806 which he set barely minutes from the close of the session ahead of Sundaramoorthy (01:59.524), who has some experience of driving two-litre cars having taken part in F2000 races in the US and Australian veteran Dylan Young (01:59.618) who shrugged off a spin in FP1 that led to the red flag as the marshals removed his car stranded in one of the corners.
The lone Indian in the fray, Chetan Korada struggled in both the sessions, finishing last in the nine-car field. “I had some issues with the car today, but hopefully, I will be able to do better tomorrow’s qualifying session,” said the 33-year old Chennai-based Korada.
Amendola was pleased as punch with his performance today. “It went pretty well considering that I was driving after a long time. To be honest, the last time I drove was in Chennai in February (2018-19 season), so I had no preparations. I only did a lot of physical and mental training. However, it felt like home, getting back into the car!” said Almendola.
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MRF Challenge to begin in Dubai on Nov 21; Season finale at MMRT in Feb 2020
File photos of MRF Challenge action in 2019. Photos by Anand Philar Dubai, 19 Nov 2019: The MRF Challenge, India’s only FIA-approved international championship and one of Asia’s premier single-seater competitions, conveniently slotted in the winter months, and now in its eighth season, will kick-start here at the Dubai Autodrome on Thursday, November 21.
The MRF Challenge 2018-19, organized by the Madras Motor Sports Club, will comprise 15 races spread over three rounds to be run in Dubai (Nov 21-23), Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain (Dec 12-14) and the MMRT, Chennai (Feb 14-16, 2020).
Over the years, the MRF Challenge has featured quite a few high-profile racers like Mick Schumacher, the son of seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher; Harrison Newey, son of Formula 1 design guru Adrian Newey; Manuel Maldonado, cousin of former Formula 1 driver Pastor Maldonado; female Formula 1 test driver with Alfa Romeo Racing Tatiana Calderon; last season’s champion Jamie Chadwick, who is also the first-ever champion of the W Series and the first-ever female driver to win an international race at Bahrain International Circuit.
The Formula 2000 car, prepared by Coimbatore-based Jayem Automotives, is powered by 2-litre Mountune Duratec engine producing 230 BHP while almost matching Formula 3 in speed and power. The car boasts of a Hewland six-speed sequential gearbox equipped with Integrated dash and paddle-shift system.
Mr. Arun Mammen, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, MRF Tyres said: “It has been an exciting journey for us as we present the eighth edition of the MRF Challenge. We provide identical cars to all the drivers and so, the key differentiating factor is the driving ability. It has also been our constant endeavour to develop the car which is now among the fastest single-seaters in Asia. The MRF Challenge also offers us rich data that in turn helps us to develop further the slicks and wet tyres that are specially manufactured for this championship.
“We have positioned the MRF Challenge in the winter months between November and February to enable drivers to keep themselves race-fit during the off-season. We thus look forward to another season of exciting races.”
Chennai-based Chetan Korada, who turned 33 on November 14, is the lone Indian on the grid that includes teenagers from Europe and Australian veteran Dylan Young who has been a regular fixture in MRF Challenge.
Looking ahead to the season, Korada said: “This will be my second international season, also with MRF Challenge. My approach this year would be completely different. Last year was all about learning the car. I didn’t take part in the National championship this year, but did four days of testing in Malaysia in the summer. I have been studying the data, as to where I can improve. I am continuing with MRF Challenge as they have been very supportive.
“Also, a lucky charm has come into my life now with the birth of my daughter two months ago. So, overall, I am feeling good and hope to put in much better performances this season.”
The final list of drivers confirmed for the championship will be announced on completion of documentation process.
ABOUT MRF TYRESMotorsports in India is synonymous with MRF. In fact, the development and popularity of various forms of the sport could be directly attributed to the pioneering efforts of the company, be it racing, rallying, motocross or karting. To encourage motorsport enthusiasts MRF has spared no resources in offering World-class facilities. The development of MRF Power House – a modern motorsports facility has been a boon to the Indian drivers, who wished to compete and test themselves against international standards. The centre is a testament to the commitment of MRF to raising the bar of Indian motorsports.
Being the largest promoters of motorsports in India, MRF has the added advantage of being able to use the racetrack to test the tyres.
MRF is the only tyre company in India to have developed Formula car tyres, world- class rally tyres for tarmac and dirt, motocross tyres and also FIA-CIK karting tyres. Today, the company caters to almost all segments of the tyre industry and is proud to be the manufacturer of the largest range of tyres. Heavy-duty truck and bus tyres, passenger car tyres, two-wheeler tyres and farm tyres are just some of the tyres that MRF manufactures.
The one thing that puts MRF head and shoulders above its competition is the fact that MRF is the only tyre company in India without any foreign technical collaboration. The company is where it is today, thanks mainly to its know-how and its ability to develop indigenous technology. With this technology, MRF now supplies original equipment tyres to multinational manufacturers such as Honda, Hyundai, Renault, Nissan, Mahindra, Tata, Volkswagen, Toyota, Suzuki and Ford. In total, MRF exports to more than 90 countries. MRF has been the undisputed leader in the tyre industry for more than three decades now, notwithstanding the competition from various multinational and Indian tyre brands.
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Jamie Chadwick becomes first female driver to win MRF Challenge
Jamie Chadwick celebrates after winning the MRF Challenge championship in Chennai on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar Chennai, 10 Feb 2019: Jamie Chadwick from Bath, England, scripted history in the MRF Challenge by becoming the first female driver to annex the championship in seven seasons as she finished the third and final round of the international series with a triple crown, including two back-to-back wins, at the MMRT, here on Sunday.
Chadwick, 20, who had won three of the five races in the previous round in Bahrain, survived a long day and 58 laps, by winning two while Finland’s Patrick Pasma took the honours in the other as the MRF Challenge 2018-19 drew to a close.
While Chadwick ended the championship with 280 points, including two bonus points for the fastest lap in the last race, Belgium’s Max Defourny who came into the final round here with an 18-point advantage, failed to consolidate and ended up with 243 points. Pasma took the third spot in the championship with 186 points, ahead of German Andreas Estner (181).
An elated Chadwick said: “It (winning the championship) hasn’t sunk in yet. I would like to thank my team too and am happy that everything came together this weekend. In the last race, I made some mistakes which cost me a bit of the lead, but I quickly composed myself and made sure I won.
“I came into MRF Challenge for some experience and exposure, and not to win the championship. But after winning three races in Bahrain, I realised I was in with a chance and so went for it this weekend.”
Earlier, Pasma (Finland) had to work hard for his second win of the weekend in Race-3 which was briefly interrupted by a Safety Car period after Joshua Mason spun and blocked the track in the seventh lap. Pasma, starting from pole position, built up a comfortable, if not commanding lead, over Belgian Michelangelo Amendola before the pack bunched up behind the Safety Car. On re-strart, Pasma was harried all the way by Amendola, but managed to hang on and post his second win of the weekend. Finishing third behind Amendola was Swede Linus Lindqvist, the 2018 British F3 champion.
However, from the championship title perspective, the focus was on the battle between Chadwick and Defourny with the British youngster managing to finish ahead of the Belgian in fifth position. Defourny came in seventh which helped Chadwick to extend her lead by five points with two races remaining.
Chadwick expanded her championship lead over Defourny to 18 by winning Race-4 that was stopped and restarted following two incidents in the very first lap leading to retirement of three cars and the race distance reduced to 18 laps from scheduled 20. Chadwick had a fine start from P2 on the grid, moving past pole-sitter Jack Doohan (Australia) and then defended her position to chalk up her second win of the weekend. Defourny registered his best finish of the weekend by coming home fourth behind Chadwick, Amendola and Doohan.
In the final race of the championship, Chadwick was again off to a superb start, squeezing into the lead from third position, past pole-sitter Pasma and Defourny, even as the pack dived into Turn-1. With each lap, Chadwick increased her lead even as Defourny dropped down the order and eventually finished sixth. In the latter part of the race, Chadwick was closely pursued by Pasma and Amendola, but the British girl hung on to her advantage to chalk up her sixth win in 15 starts.
In the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship that was run concurrently, Chirag Ghorpade (Momentum Motor Sports) topped the Formula LGB 1300 class race while P Raja Rajan (Performance Racing) won in the Saloon car (Super Stock) category.
The results:
MRF Challenge (F2000): Race-3 (20 laps): 1. Patrick Pasma (Finland) (35mins, 35.212secs); 2. Michelangelo Amendola (Belguim) (35:35.569); 3. Linus Lindqvist (Sweden) (35:36.281). Race-4 (18 laps): 1. Jamie Chadwick (UK) (27:39.087); 2. Michaelangelo Amendola (Belgium) (27:40.106); 3. Jack Doohan (Australia) (27:46.896). Race-5 (20 laps): 1. Jamie Chadwick (UK) (30:46.505); 2. Patrick Pasma (Finland) (30:47.574); 3. Michelangelo Amendola (Belgium) (30:48.164).
MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship – Formula LGB 1300 (Race-3, 10 laps): 1. Chirag Ghorpade (Momentum Motor Sports) (15:35.070); 2. Tijil Rao (Momentum Motor Sports) (15:35.528); 3. K Suriya Varathan (M Sport) (15:36.030).
Saloon Cars (Super Stock – Race 2, 10 laps): 1. P Raja Rajan (Performance Racing) (20:26.602); 2. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) (20:34.767); 3. Joel Joseph (Race Concepts) (20:41.701).
Support Race – MRF F1600 (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Lee Deegan (UK) (16:54.757); 2. A Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (16:55.452); 3. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (16:55.654). Race-3 (10 laps): 1. Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) (16:40.939); 2. A Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (16:49.098); 3. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (17:00.516).
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MotoGP legend Mick Doohan terms Madras circuit as great `with a little bit of character’
Chennai, 9 Feb 2019: The ongoing MRF Challenge provides an ideal platform for young racing aspirants to showcase their talent and also secure exposure ahead of the new international season, and hence, former five-times World 500cc champion Mick Doohan from Australia said he decided to enter his 16-year old son, Jack, in one of Asia’s premier winter series.Speaking to the Media on the sidelines of the third and final round of the MRF Challenge at the MMRT here today and soon after his son finished third in Race-1, 53-year Doohan, said: “The primary reason (for Jack Doohan to enter MRF Challenge) is that my son (Jack) turned 16 only this January and so this is his first real series. I was in Dubai a few years ago and a number of the Australians I knew were driving in MRF Challenge. I was also in Bahrain. So, I had a feel for the series. We had heard a lot of good things about it (MRF Challenge). It was pretty easy for us to get here, and get some experience.
“For a winter series, this (MRF Challenge) is a great platform. This offers us some real race miles before the start of the European season. The cars are competitive, the platform is basically identical. This is what attracts a lot of the drivers. There is a wide variety of drivers here. It is like a starting school. It is great to be here in Chennai and experience the racing. This (MMRT) is a great circuit. I actually like circuits with a little bit of character. It adds attraction to the series.”
Mr Arun Mammen, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, MRF Ltd, who presided over the Media interaction, said: “MRF has been associated with motorsports for the last 30 years. Every year, it has been a wonderful journey. Here at the MRF Challenge, all the cars are the same, identical cars, same tyres, specs etc. So what differentiates these cars is the caliber of the drivers and the skill tests. And it is a dream learning platform for them to master their skills and gain exposure. That is what we are trying to do with MRF Challenge.
“Apart from motorsports, we are also active in various championships, including gravel and rally championships in UK, Europe and Australia. So, the MRF Challenge is an extension of our endeavor to produce quality racing and rally tyres.”
Doohan, when asked about his son’s choice of four-wheeler racing instead of bikes, said; “He has been riding dirt bikes and we have a go-kart track on our property. Because his friends were driving cars and he hurt himself on a bike when very young, he never really showed interest (in bike racing). On a motorcycle, if you make a mistake you crash. Also, thankfully, in a car, he is not judged against what his father did.”
Doohan also fielded questions on the current state of MotoGP, the evolution of the machinery and the on-track rivalries. “The talent today is there for all of us to see. The top guys are the same as in any period in the sport. There are some young guys coming through. The bikes are a little bit easier to ride with all the electronics and other bits and pieces on the bike which are still prototypes, like the Formula 1 cars. The rivalry (among the riders) is good because it keeps some talk going about the sport.
About the chances of current World champion Marc Marquez, becoming an all-time great rider, Doohan said: “He certainly has the desire. As long as he doesn’t burn out, he has plenty of time left in him (to add to his five titles).”
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Patrick Pasma grabs pole position in MRF Challenge; P1 for Tijil Rao in Formula LGB 1300
Patrick Pasma, takes pole position in MRF Challenge on Friday. Image by Anand Philar Chennai, 8 Feb 2019: Patrick Pasma, the 18-year old from Finland, upstaged the MRF Challenge field with a blistering lap of one minute, 30.559 seconds at the MMRT track here today, to grab the pole position ahead of tomorrow’s race.
Pasma, who is currently fifth in the championship having won just one race in 10 starts in the first round at Dubai in November last year, did well to shrug off two difficult free practice sessions, including a puncture in the first, to take P1 in the 30-minute qualifying run.
Pasma finished well ahead of championship front runners, Max Defourny from Belgium (01:31.119) and UK’s Jamie Chadwick (01:31.103), who slotted in mid-grid positions.
Finishing second behind Pasma was Belgian Michaelangelo Amendola (01:30.682) followed by last year’s British Formula 3 champion Linus Lundquist from Sweden (01:30.810) who had earlier topped both the Free Practice sessions, and Aussie teenager Jack Doohan (01:30.928).
Reflecting on his performance today, Pasma said: “It was alright, though it wasn’t perfect. In the first free practice we had a flat tyre, so it was really tricky. In the second free practice, we made a few changes and it was better. So, the pole position is a good base for tomorrow’s race.
“The track was really technical for us and you really have to be precise. There is no scope for any errors.”
Mumbai’s Nayan Chatterjee put in a hot lap of 01:40.346 to top the first of the two free practice sessions in the MRF F1600 category and carried forward the form into the second session which also he topped with a best of 01:39.744.
Rithvik Thomas of Race Concepts (Bengaluru) was the quickest among the Saloon cars (Super Stock) in the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship with a flying lap of two minutes, 02.116 seconds in the second of the two free practice sessions, while team-mate Joel Joseph topped the time sheets in the first, clocking a best of 02:02.396.
Former FMSCI president Akbar Ebrahim dominated both the free practice sessions in the Indian Touring Cars category, stopping the clock at 01:57.880 and 01:57.077 in the two outings.
The results:
MRF Challenge (F2000): Qualifying – 1. Patrick Pasma (Finland) (01min, 30.559secs); 2. Michelangelo Amendola (Belgium) (01:30.682); 3. Linus Lundquist (Sweden) (01:30.810).
Free Practice-1: 1. Linus Lundqvist (Sweden) (1:31.611); 2. Jamie Chadwick (UK) 1:31.662; 3. Max Defourny (Belgium) (01:31.705). Free Practice-2: 1. Linus Lundqvist (Sweden) (01:31.871); 2. Patrick Pasma (Finland) (01:31.943); 3. Max Defourny (Belgium) (01:31.962).
MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship: MRF F1600 (Free Practice-1): 1. Nayan S Chatterjee (Mumbai) (01:40.346); 2. A. Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (01:41.176); 3. Arya Singh (Kolkata) (01:41.484). Free Practice-2: 1. Nayan S Chatterjee (Mumbai) (01:39.744); 2. A Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (01:40.455); 3. Arya Singh (Kolkata) (01:40.631).
Formula LGB 1300 (Qualifying): 1. Tijil Rao (Bengaluru) (01:53.714); 2. Ashwin Datta (Chennai) (01:54.925); 3. K Suriya Varathan (Coimbatore) (01:54.993).
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Splendid double for Max Defourny; Andreas Estner, Patrick Pasma win a race each; MRF Challenge
Andreas Estner (No.11) edging past Jamie Chadwick (55) on way to winning Race-3. Photo: Aditya Bedre Dubai, 17 Nov 2018: Five races and four winners accurately reflected the highly competitive grid of MRF Challenge as Belgium’s 20-year old Max Defourny achieved a splendid double while Andreas Estner (Germany) and Patrick Pasma (Finland) won the previous two races of the day at the Dubai Autodrome here on Saturday.
For Defourny, the Round-1 of the MRF Challenge proved memorable as he won Race 1 and 5 apart from podium positions in the other three races. Defourny finished the Round 1 with 106 points, ahead of Great Britain’s Jamie Chadwick (78) and Singapore’s Danial Frost (70), winner of Race 2 yesterday. The MRF Challenge heads to Bahrain (Dec 6-8) for the next round before moving to Chennai (Feb 8-10) for the championship finale.
Max Defourny. Photo: Aditya Bedre Defourny could have done even better, but he messed up his pole-position start in Race-3 where he lost track position by Turn-1 itself in the very first lap, but recovered to finish third. “I think, I could have done better and won a couple of more races. I made a few mistakes, but more important was that I picked up points at the start of the championship. My win in Race 5 was far more satisfying than that in Race 1. I won more comfortably and on tyres that I had used in the previous four races,” said Defourny.
In the day’s first race, Andreas Estner, was off to a great start, moving from fourth to first as the pack dived into Turn-1, and, thereafter, literally won as he pleased as he left rest of the field, including pole-sitter Max Defourny, scrabbling for positions. While Estner disappeared into the distance, Britisher Jamie Chadwick slotted herself into P2 which she defended gamely against close attention from Defourny with the Belgian first dropping to fourth before tucking himself behind the British girl for the rest of the race.
Race-4 was all about Pasma who made capital of his reverse grid pole-position start to open up a sizeable lead. Behind him, Defourny set a scorching pace to move from fourth to second and bore down on Pasma. In a tense battle, the Finn defended well to win while Defourny picked up his fourth podium with a second-paced finish ahead of fellow-Belgian Michelangelo Amendola.
“The pole position gave me a lot of confidence and I managed to open up a good lead. In the last couple of laps, Max (Defourny) was close behind me, but I managed to survive,” said Pasma.
In the fifth and final race of Round 1, it was Defourny all the way after starting from pole position and with each of the 10 laps, he increased the lead for his second win of the week by nearly 10 seconds. Meanwhile, Chadwick, the only female competitor on the grid, came through a tough midfield battle to finish a deserving second ahead of Singapore’s Danial Frost, winner of Race 1 yesterday.
India’s Chetan Korada, though finishing way down the grid in all the five races, took some positives from the first round. “I am gradually getting used to the car and this is reflected in my ever-improving timings. I hope to have a better outing in Bahrain next month and hopefully, by the time we get to Chennai in February, I should be more competitive and fighting for mid-grid positions,” said the 32-year old Chennai-based driver competing with a prosthesis leg.
The results (all 10 laps):
Race-3: 1. Andreas Estner (Germany); 2. Jamie Chadwick (GBR); 3. Max Defourny (Belgium). Fastest Lap: Defourny (01:57.038). Race-4: 1. Patrick Pasma (Finland); 2. Defourny; 3. Michelangelo Amendola (Belgium). Fastest Lap: Max Defourny (01:58.729). Race-5: 1. Defourny; 2. Chadwick; 3. Danial Frost (Singapore). Fastest Lap: Jamie Chadwick (01:59.402).
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Danial Frost, Max Defourny share honours on Day One in MRF Challenge
Danial Frost, winner of Race-2 on Friday. Photo: Anand Philar Dubai, 16 Nov 2018: Danial Frost from Singapore and Belgian Max Defourny scored a race and a podium apiece to open their accounts in the first round of MRF Challenge at the Dubai Autodrome, here on Friday. Three more races are scheduled for tomorrow.
Frost, 17, in his second season in the championship, thus notched his maiden win by topping Race-2 after having finished third in Race-1 that Defourny, 20, won from pole position.
In Race-1, Frost made five places to come in third and in the next outing, climbed from fourth on the reverse grid to win. In contrast, Defourny dominated Race-1 with a lights-to-flag victory and in the next race, sliced his way through from sixth on the reverse grid to finish third behind pole-sitter Czech Republic’s Petr Ptacek who did well to hold off the Belgian over the last couple of laps.
“I had a good start and made positions in the very first lap before taking the lead. Thereafter, I consolidated my track position and it was quite comfortable in the end,” said Frost.
Earlier, Defourny put his pole position start to best use in Race-1 and was never seriously challenged even as he nursed his early lead though eschewing risk. Behind him, Jamie Chadwick, 20, who started second, slipped a bit, losing a couple of track positions, but recovered to regain her second spot while Frost drove well to finish third from eighth on the grid.
India’s Chetan Korada, making his debut in the championship, was placed 10th and 12th in the two races. He started Race-1 from the pitlane following an engine change, but said he was pleased to improve his lap times while getting used to the car.
After Race-1, Defourny said: “The race wasn’t too bad. Missed the fastest lap as I was trying to be a bit cautious on the tyres because it was the first race of the season. Was saving my tyres in the beginning and was expecting more track improvement as the race progressed. I opened a comfortable gap and did not want to make any mistakes, though I missed the fastest lap in the last two laps, wanting to save the tyres.”
Earlier, the qualifying session in the morning gradually developed into a two-way battle between Defourny and Chadwick who was provisionally on pole with just a few minutes left on the clock with a 01:57.177. The 20-year old Belgian’s response was a 01:56.819 which eventually ensured him the pole position. Chadwick, also 20, then replied with her best lap of the session, 01:56.937, but had to be content with the second spot on the grid.
“It was my first time out here and it was ok. We managed to get pole for Race 1 and Race 3. So we are positive. We had some issues with the gearbox leading to loss of speed, but we managed to sort it out. I already have two points for pole position and we hope to take as many points as possible from this round,” said Defourny.
The results:
Race-1 (10 laps): 1. Max Defourny (Belgium); 2. Jamie Chadwick (GBR); 3. Danial Frost (Singapore). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Frost; 2. Petr Ptacek (Czech Republic); 3. Defourny.
Qualifying (30 minutes): 1. Max Defourny (Belgium) (01:56.819); 2. Jamie Chadwick (UK) (01:56.937); 3. Andreas Estner (Germany) (01:57.502); 4. Dylan Young (Australia) (01:57.730).
