INDIA in F1

Tag: MRF MMSC Indian National Car Racing Championship

  • Diana Pundole breaks gender barrier, creates history in Indian Motorsports

    Diana Pundole breaks gender barrier, creates history in Indian Motorsports

    Bengaluru: Diana Pundole, a 28-year-old from Pune, has made history as the first Indian woman to win a national racing championship in the MRF Saloon category. Her remarkable victory at the 2024 Indian National Car Racing Championship, held at the Madras International Circuit, marks a significant achievement in a male-dominated sport. Pundole’s journey has been anything but conventional—balancing her roles as a mother of two and a teacher while pursuing her passion for motorsport.

    Diana’s entry into racing started early when she took up karting as a hobby. Despite having no formal training, she built her skills through sheer determination. However, it wasn’t until she participated in a nationwide talent hunt organized by JK Tyre Motorsport that her career truly took off. Winning the event gave her a fully sponsored racing season, where she debuted in a Formula car. From there, her racing career blossomed, with milestones like setting lap records and eventually progressing to the saloon category.

    Her 2024 victory is particularly notable for breaking longstanding stereotypes in motorsports. As she noted in interviews, racing is a physically and mentally demanding sport, and she has faced her share of criticism and taunts. Yet, her perseverance paid off, and today, she is celebrated for her groundbreaking achievements.

    This victory is not just a personal triumph but a significant step for women in Indian motorsports, inspiring young girls to follow their dreams despite societal challenges​.

    Note: This article is part of Indian ‘Women in Motorpsots’ series which profiles the best performances of women riders and drivers of the 2024 season.

  • Diana Pundole creates history, becomes first woman to win a National title

    Diana Pundole creates history, becomes first woman to win a National title

    Chennai, 18 August 2024: As expected, teenagers Jaden Rahman Pariat (Shillong) and Bengaluru’s Abhay Mohan emerged champions in the premier MRF single-seater categories while Diana Pundole from Pune broke the glass ceiling by becoming the first female driver to win a championship title as the curtains came down on an action-packed fourth and final round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2024 – Powered by STORM-X at the Madras International Circuit, here on Sunday.

    Others to win the championship in their respective categories were: Biren Pithawalla (Mumbai, N1 Racing) in Indian Touring Cars, Srinivas Teja (Chennai, Performance Racing) in Indian Junior Touring Cars, Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) in Formula LGB 1300 and Diana Pundole, the mother of two from Pune, who also became the first female to annex the title in the MRF Saloons category. Incidentally, she celebrated her 28th birthday on Friday last. “But I didn’t touch my phone because I wanted to focus on this weekend’s races. I can’t describe the feelings now, but I’m very happy, of course,” she said.

    Jaden Pariat, left, and Abhay Mohan

    Businessman from Lonavla Dhruv Chavan survived massive battles through six races over the weekend to win the championship in the Polo Cup.

    Today, Jaden could not add to his eight wins, as he finished second behind Bengaluru’s Chetan Surineni in both MRF Formula 2000 races today. However, the 17-year-old Jaden accrued sufficient points to annex his maiden championship with Surineni in second spot on the leaderboard. “I have proved to myself that I have it in me to win a championship. After my win yesterday, I just wanted to bring the car home without trying anything risky, but it’s great to win my first-ever championship. It is also good for Chetan (Surineni) to win both races today,” said Jaden.  

    Similarly, 16-year-old Abhay Mohan marked his debut season by clinching his maiden championship in the MRF Formula 1600 category though he was denied an all-win record by Mumbai’s Zahan Commissariat. With 11 wins from 12 starts, Abhay emerged champion by a massive margin. “It is still to sink in. I mean, winning a championship in my debut season is great, but I can’t find words to express my happiness. It was a good run overall and I thank my JA Motorsports, my family and friends for their support,” said Abhay.

    Nellore’s 26-year-old Viswas Vijayaraj claimed the title in the Formula LGB 1300 category despite retiring early in the last two races, one of which was won by Mira Erda who, starting from pole, held off stiff competition to score her first-ever win in single-seater since her debut in 2014. “I have waited for 10 years for this moment. I have been racing in a single-seater class since 2014, but apart from a few podiums, I have never won a race. So, I am absolutely delighted by today’s win which I am told is the first by a female driver in FLGB 1300,” said an ecstatic 23-year-old Mira who is also making a career as a driver-coach.

    The day’s post-lunch session was extended due to a couple of crashes and spins leading to Red Flag stoppages with title contenders involved in wheel-to-wheel battles.

    Provisional results:

    MRF F2000 (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Chetan Surineni (Bengaluru) (15min, 59.892sec); 2. Jaden Rahman Pariat (Shillong) (16:03.671); 3. Akhil Agarwal (Mumbai) (16:26.390). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Chetan Surineni (16:17.445); 2. Jaden Rahman Pariat (16:18.863); 3. Tarun Muthaiah (Bengaluru) (16:31.961). Champion driver: Jaden Rahman Pariat (Shillong).

    MRF F1600 (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Zahan Commissariat (Mumbai) (17:31.861); 2. Abha Mohan (Bengaluru) (17:32.137); 3. Saishiva Sankaran (Pune) (17:35.536). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Abhay Mohan (16:45.609); 2. Saishiva Sankaran (16:49.407); 3. Raaj Bakhru (Mumbai) (16:57.507). Champion driver: Abhay Mohan (Bengaluru).

    Indian Touring Cars (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Biren Pithawalla (Mumbai, Team N1) (19:15.391); 2. Anant Pithawalla (Mumbai, Team N1) (19:35.441); 3. Jeevanantham Subramaniam (Coimbatore, Pvt.) (20:04.964). Race-3 (6 laps): 1. Biren Pithawalla (11:34.635); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Team Performance Racing) (11:34.970); 3. Anant Pithawalla (11:38.379). Champion driver: Biren Pithawalla (Mumbai, Team N1).

    Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Srinivas Teja (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:42.384); 2. Hatim Shabbir (Chennai, Team Performance Racing) (19:43.443); 3. Yug Italiya (Mumbai, Team N1) (20:05.723). Race-3 (6 laps): 1. Srinivas Teja (11:50.328); 2. Hatim Shabir (11:50.786); 3. Nikung Vagh (Surat, Team N1) (12:00.937). Champion driver: Srinivas Teja (Chennai, Performance Racing).

    Super Stock (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Justin Singh (Gurugram, Redline Racing) (21:07.530); 2. Anirudha Aravind (Chennai, Redline Racing India) (21:09.109); Angad Matharoo (Chandigarh, Buzzing Hornet Motorsports) (21:11.496). Race-3 (6 laps): 1. Justin Singh (12:35.884); 2. Anirudha Aravind (12:40.607); 3. Manan Patel (Mumbai, Redline Racing India) (12:40.825). Champion Driver: Withheld pending investigation.

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Mira Erda (Vadodara, DTS Racing) (19:53.382); 2. Dilijith TS (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (19:54.804); 3.  Dhruv Goswami (Bengaluru, MSport) (19:57.549). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Diljith TS (15:08.241); 2. Balaprasath (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (15:11.699); 3. Neev Datta (New Delhi, MSport) (15:17.425). Champion driver: Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore, DTS Racing).

    MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios) Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Anirudha Aravind (Chennai) (21:03.555); 2. Diana Pundole (Pune) (21:03.824); 3. Muskaan Jubbal (Delhi) (21:04.229). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Diana Pundole (16:42.428); 2. Anirudha Aravind (16:46.799); 3. Muskaan Jubbal (16:49.432). All Redline Racing. Champion driver: Diana Pundole (Pune, Redline Racing).

    Polo Cup (Race-4, 8 laps): 1. Romir Arya (Mumbai) (15:33.374); 2. Dhruv Chavan (Lonavala) (15:42.731); 3. Munjal Savia (Mumbai) (15:43.284). Race-5 (10 laps): 1. Aditya Patnaik (Mumbai) (19:30.762); 2. Munjal Savla (Mumbai) (19:40.753); 3. Romir Arya (Mumbai) (19:41.461). Polo Cup (Race-6, 8 laps): 1. Ojas Surve (Mumbai) (15:34.195); 2. Dhruv Chavan (15:39.358); 3. Aditya Patnaik (15:40.331). Champion driver: Dhruv Chavan (Lonavla).

  • Jaden Pariat delights on the bounce; Tarushi takes maiden podium: MMSC car Nationals

    Jaden Pariat delights on the bounce; Tarushi takes maiden podium: MMSC car Nationals

    Chennai, 21 July 2024: Two teenagers, Jaden Rahman Pariat (MRF Formula 2000) and Abhay Mohan (MRF Formula 1600) continued their assault on the titles with splendid victories on Sunday at the Madras International Circuit here as the curtains came down on the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2024 – Powered by STORM-X.

    While 17-year-old Jaden from Shillong came up with two super-aggressive drives for a double on Sunday to add to his five wins in the previous two rounds in February, while Bengaluru’s 16-year Abhay Mohan, in only his first season in single-seater racing, completed a sweep of nine consecutive victories, including a triple crown this weekend. Both are in good space to clinch the championship titles in their respective categories with one more round remaining.

    Jaden also won the Indian Oil special award for clocking the fastest lap (01min, 33.155secs) of the weekend across all categories.

    Elsewhere, Mumbai’s Biren Pithawalla (N1 Racing) also achieved a triple without facing much of a challenge to remain unbeaten in the Indian Touring Cars category. Hatim Shabbir from Chennai (Performance Racing) also won all the three races in the highly- competitive Indian Junior Touring Cars class to come within three points of leader and team-mate Srinivas Teja.

    Redline Racing’s Justin Singh from Gurugram drove well enough to win two of the three races this weekend in the Super Stock category which provisionally placed him six points behind championship leader Bala Prasath (DTS Racing) from Coimbatore who won the other race in the triple-header.

    Meanwhile, DTS Racing’s Viswas Vijayaraj from Nellore extended his championship lead to 63 points by completing a treble in the Formula LGB 1300 category, showcasing his skills and maturity in no uncertain terms. His best outing came in Race-2 today that he won after starting from P5 on the reverse grid.

    Pune’s Diana Pundole, a mother of two, picked up sufficient points in the three MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios) races over the weekend to lead the points table though she failed to win any of the outings. Chikkamagaluru’s 20-year, final year student of St. Joseph’s University, Bengaluru, Tarushi Vikram also enjoyed a good weekend, with a P3 finish in one race and top-five in the other two that has provisionally placed her third in the championship. Fighting with boys on equal footing, Tarushi won a podium place with admirable skill. The Chikkamagaluru driver, earlier took part in the Rally Star Cup.

    In the Polo Cup that witnessed fierce competition up and down the grid, Lonavla’s Dhruv Chavan and Aditya Patnaik from Mumbai shared the honours by winning two races apiece.

    Kesara Godage (Sri Lanka, centre), winner of MRF Saloons Race-2, flanked by second-placed Anirudha Aravind (Chennai, left) and third-placed Arushi Vikram (Chikkamagaluru) on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar

    Provisional results (all 10 laps unless mentioned):

    MRF F2000 (Race-2): 1. Jaden Rahman Pariat (Shillong) (15min, 48.421sec); 2.  Chetan Surineni (Bengaluru) (16:13.812); 3. Akhil Agarwal (Mumbai) (16:23.584).

    Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Jaden Rahman Pariat (Shillong) (12:45.676); 2.  Chetan Surineni (Bengaluru) (13:00.405); 3. Akhil Agarwal (Mumbai) (13:07.807).

    MRF F1600 (Race-2): 1. Abhay Mohan (Bengaluru) (17:26.053); 2. Zahan Commissariat (Mumbai) (17:29.637); 3. Monith Kumaran (Chennai) (17:31.157).

    Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Abhay Mohan (13:55.948); 2. Monith Kumaran (14:05.481); 3. Saishiva Sankaran (Pune) (14:07.197).

    Indian Touring Cars (Race-2): 1. Biren Pithawalla (Mumbai, Team N1) (19mins, 07.820secs); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Team Performance Racing) (19:13.510). Note: Only 2 finishers.

    Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Biren Pithawalla (15:29.920); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (15:31.302); 3. Anant Pithawalla (Mumbai, N1 Racing) (15:38.100).

    Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-2): 1. Hatim Shabbir (Chennai, Team Performance Racing) (19:36.631); 2. Yug Italiya (Mumbai, N1 Racing) (19:48.982); 3. Dean Mascarenhas (Mangaluru, DB Motorsports) (20:01528).

    Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Hatim Shabbir (15:41.300); 2. Srinivas Teja (15:44.905); 3. Yug Italiya (15:56.309).

    Super Stock (Race-2): 1. Bala Prasath (Coimbatore, DTS Racing) (20:58.260); 2. Justin Singh (Gurugram, Redline Racing India) (20:58.386); 3. Angad Matharoo (Chandigarh, pvt) (21:04.759).

    Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Justin Singh (16:49.050); 2. Angad Matharoo (17:04.842); 3. Bala Prasath (17:05.324).

    MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios) Race-2: 1. Kesara Godage (Sri Lanka, Redline Racing India) (20:53.702); 2. Anirudha Aravind (Chennai, Redline Racing India) (21:00.207); 3. Tarushi Vikram (Chikkamagaluru, Redline Racing) (21:03.048).

    Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Kesara Godage (16:39.241); 2. Anirudha Aravind (16:40.086); 3. Diana Pundole (Pune, Redline Racing India) (16:41.460)

    Polo Cup (Race-2): 1. Dhruv Chavan (Lonavla) (19:27.389); 2. Ojas Surve (Mumbai) (19:29.874); 3. Aditya Patnaik (Mumbai) (19:30.348).

    Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Aditya Patnaik (Mumbai) (15:36.664). 2. Dhruv Chavan (Lonavla) (15:38.699); 3. Ojas Surve (Mumbai) (15:39.687). Race-4: 1. Dhruv Chavan (19:29.079); 2. Aditya Patnaik (19:30.259); 3. Ojas Surve (19:30.834).

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race-2): 1. Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) (18:53.663); 2. Diljit TS (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (19:01.197); 3. Neev Datta (New Delhi, MSport) (19:02.725).

    Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Viswas Vijayaraj (15:09.240); 2. Diljith TS (15:09.684); 3. Bala Prasath (Coimbatore, DTS Racing) (15:10.103).

  • Diana Pundole creates history beating a strong field of male drivers: National Racing

    Diana Pundole creates history beating a strong field of male drivers: National Racing

    Chennai, 15 October 2023: Lady driver Diana Pundole from Pune created history in the annals of motor racing at the Madras International Circuit to become the first lady driver to win back to back races in the National Chamionships. “I have never seen a lady winning two races in one round, at least at the track here in a National Championship,” said Vicky Chandhok, former fmsci president and chairman of the meet.

    Competing on equal footing with male drivers, Diana Pundole won two races in the MRF Saloon Car category and became the first female driver to score a double in a single round in MMSC National four-wheeler racing championship.

    Aditya, Chetan score a double each

    Bengaluru’s Aditya Swaminathan and Chetan Surineni notched a double each in the MRF Formula 2000 and F1600 categories, respectively, as the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2023 concluded at the Madras International Circuit, here on Sunday.

    Aditya Swaminathan take pole on Saturday. Photo by Anand Philar

    Meanwhile, Chandigarh’s Angad Matharoo provisionally clinched the championship in the MRF Saloon Car (Toyota Etios) category with five wins from nine starts, besides two podium finishes this weekend, while Coimbatore’s Jai Prashanth Venkat was placed second followed by Mumbai’s Zahan Commissariat.

    Also scoring a double over the weekend were: Diana Pundole from Pune, Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Performance Racing) in Indian Junior Touring Cars and Diljith TS (Thrissur, DTS Racing) in Formula LGB 1300.

    Aditya Swaminathan, starting from pole, took the honours in Race-1 in the MRF F2000 category without much ado but had to fight hard for the win in the next after starting from P5 on the reverse grid. Championship leader Sandeep Kumar from Chennai salvaged his weekend by winning Race-3, edging out Kolkata’s Arya Singh in a close finish.

    Chetan Surineni won Race-1 and 3 in the MRF F1600 holding off Viswas Vijayaraj in both outings while Mumbai’s Veer Sheth topped Race-2.

    One of the big stories of the day was scripted by Biren Pithawalla (Team N1 Racing), a 42-year-old businessman from Mumbai, piloting a Honda Jazz. He put in a solid performance to win the premier Indian Touring Cars race, his second of the season after a stirring duel.

    Starting from P2 on the reverse grid, Biren overtook pole-sitter and his cousin Anant Pithawalla on Lap 2. With Anant holding off the pursuing cars, Biren made rapid ground to draw clear of the pack. Behind the pair, championship leader Gurunath Meiyappan (Race Concepts), after surviving a contact with defending champion and team-mate Arjun Balu who then retired, caught up with Biren who gave a fine exhibition of defensive driving to take the chequered flag. Meiyappan finished second to stay on top of the leaderboard while Ritesh Rai (Arka Motorsports) came in third.

    “A very special win today, because I won on the track. I had “won” the first race in the previous round, but that was because of penalties to the guys who finished in front of me. So, this is very special and a culmination of nearly 12 years of hard work that my cousin Ananth Pithawalla and I had put in,” said Biren.

    Likewise, 28-year-old Diana Pundole, a mother of two, won Race-1 from lights to flag after opening a sizable lead in the early part of the 10-lapper to notch her maiden win in this category. In the next outing, she started from P5 on the reverse grid, but battled her way to the front and went on to achieve a double. Zahan Commissariat topped Race-3 following a time penalty to P1 finisher Matharoo.

    In the Formula LGB 1300 category, Diljith was virtually gifted the win in Race-1 as pole-sitter Viswas Vijayaraj, leading by the proverbial mile, went off the track at Turn-1, damaging the nose cone besides losing brakes. Yet, the Nellore youngster re-joined the race and managed to survive the final two laps to come in second behind Diljith who later easily won Race-2 for a double.  

    Provisional results (8 laps, unless mentioned):

    MRF Formula 2000 (Race-1): 1. Aditya Swaminathan (Chennai) (16min, 02.814sec); 2. Rohaan Madesh (Bengaluru) (16:03.313); 3. Chetan Korada (Chennai) (16:08.561). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Aditya Swaminathan (Chennai) (16:13.886); 2. Arya Singh (Kolkata) (16:14.640); 3. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (16:15.805). Race-3: 1. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (13:08.364); 2. Arya Singh (Kolkata) (13:08.781); 3. Rohaan Madesh (Bengaluru) (13:09.123).

    MRF F1600 (Race-1): 1. Chetan Surineni (Bengaluru) (16:38.263); 2. Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore) (16:39.456); 3. Aman Nagdev (Noida) (14:59.154 + 1 lap). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Veer Sheth (Mumbai) (17:23.085); 2. Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore) (17:28.014); 3. Aman Nagdev (Noida) (17:28.489). Race-3: 1. Chetan Surineni (14:03.496); 2. Viswas Vijayaraj (14:04.198); 3. Veer Sheth (14:04.474).

    Indian Touring Cars (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Biren Pithawalla (Mumbai, Team N1) (19:11.946); 2. Gurunath Meiyappan (Chennai, Race Concepts) (19:12.401); 3. Ritesh Rai (Chennai, Arka Motorsports) (19:16.193).

    Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:35.754); 2. Akkineni Anand Prasad (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:36.864); 3. Srinivas Teja (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:44.038).

    Super Stock (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Diljith TS (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (20:56.057); 2. Manan Patel (Mumbai, Redline Racing) (19:11.463+1 lap); 3. Yokeshwaran K (Coimbatore, Momentum Motorsports) (19:38.091 + 1 lap).

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race-1): 1. Dilijith TS (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (14:57.612); 2. Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) (15:03.336); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Ahura Racing) (15:05.403). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Diljith (18:50.965); 2. Tijil Rao (Bengaluru, Momentum Motorsports) (19:00.080); 3. Raghul Rangasamy (Mahabalipuram, MSPORT) (19:00.681).

    MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios) Race-1: 1. Diana Pundole (Pune, Redline Racing) (16:31.113); 2. Angad Matharoo (Chandigarh, Redline Racing) (16:34.881); 3. Jai Prashanth Venkat (Coimbatore, Redline Racing) (16:35.729). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Diana Pundole (20:49.229); 2. Angad Matharoo (20:50.273); 3. Jai Prashanth Venkat (20:54.606). Race-3: 1. Zahan Commissariat (16:49.499); 2. Jai Prashanth Venkat (16:51.898) 3. Kalim Iqbal (Colombo) (16:52.247).

  • Aditya Swaminathan fastest in MRF F2000 category

    Aditya Swaminathan fastest in MRF F2000 category

    Chennai, 22 Sept. 2023: Bengaluru’s Aditya Swaminathan set the tone and pace for the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2023 as he emerged fastest in the free practice session for the premier MRF Formula 2000 category at the Madras International Circuit, here on Friday.

    The 20-year old Aditya returned a top time of one minute, 35.082 seconds, just about outpacing Chennai veteran Chetan Korada (01:35.717).

    Meanwhile, Chetan Surineni, also from Bengaluru, was the fastest in the MRF Formula 1500 as he stopped the clock at 01:43.649, well clear of Mumbai’s Veer Sheth (01:46.058).

    Earlier, multiple National champion Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) from Coimbatore was the quickest among the touring cars as he put in a hot lap of 01:51.867 after negotiating heavy traffic that had 19 cars on the track at various stages during the 30-minute free practice session.

    In the Indian Junior Touring Cars (IJTC) category, Chennai’s Akkineni Anand Prasad (Team Performance Racing), who is lying second in the championship, topped the time sheets with a best lap of 01:56.079.

    Thrissur’s Diljith TS (DTS Racing), who won all three races in the previous round in July, was the quickest in the Super Stock class, putting in a hot lap of 02:04.797.

    Likewise, the experienced Angad Matharoo from Chandigarh, who also notched a triple crown in the first round, set the pace in the MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios) class, clocking a best lap of 02:03.367.

    The day’s programme began with defending champion Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) from Nellore warming up for the Formula LGB 1300 triple-header with a top lap of 01:51.516 in the free practice session.

  • Formula 1500 replaces F1600 as Round 2 begins: 4w Racing Naionals

    Formula 1500 replaces F1600 as Round 2 begins: 4w Racing Naionals

    Chennai, 21 Sept. 2023: Multiple-national champion Arjun Balu from Coimbatore, who is leading the championship and Gurunath Meiyappan of Chennai will resume their battles as the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2023 second round begins after a two-month gap at the Madras International Circuit here this on Friday. Over 50 entries are the fray.

    The two premium MRF single-seater cars, Formula 2000 and Formula 1500, will be headlining the second round of the championship commencing on Friday. Also on the grid are the Formula LGB 1300, Touring Cars that will be run in three classes and the MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios). In all, 13 races are scheduled.

    Friday, Sept 22, is set aside for practice sessions in the afternoon, while the qualifying sessions and the races will be run on Saturday and Sunday.

    The first round in July witnessed exciting wheel-to-wheel racing in all categories. Multiple National champion from Coimbatore, Arjun Balu (Race Concepts), won two of the three races in the premier Indian Touring Cars (ITC) category for a 10-point lead over team-mate Gurunath Meiyappan.

    The situation is somewhat similar in the Indian Junior Touring Cars (IJTC) class where Performance Racing duo of Deepak Ravikumar and Akkineni Anand Prasad head the championship table with seven points separating them.

    In contrast, veteran Diljith TS (DTS Racing) from Thrissur won all three races in the Super Stock category for a 30-point advantage over Jarshan Singh (DB Motorsports) in the points standings.

    The Formula LGB 1300 triple-header threw up three different winners. Two Chennai veterans, Raghul Rangasamy (MSport) and Deepak Ravikumar (Ahura Racing), head this category with the former enjoying a 10-point buffer in the points tally.

    Organising committee chairman and MMSC vice-president Vicky Chandhok said: “We can expect some high-octane action this weekend in keeping with the trend in the past few seasons. The number of entries is very encouraging and we expect it to grow as we go deeper into the season. Once again, MMSC thanks main sponsor, MRF Tyres, for their continued involvement in the National Championship as also the competitors and the Media.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Deepak with his five trophies including three for victories…

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

    The results (Provisional, 10 laps except mentioned): 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Champions 2022 – Sai Sanjay: MRF Formula 2000 class

    Champions 2022 – Sai Sanjay: MRF Formula 2000 class

    Chennai, 2 Feb 2023: Young racing talent Sai Sanjay dished out dominating performance in the top category for the fastest Formula cars in India to be crowned the National champion in the MRF Formula 2000 class, in the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship 2022, at the Madras International Circuit here on Sunday.

    Sai Sanjay, the 20-year-old from Salem, won his maiden National title in his debut season in the premier open-wheel Formula category. He notched up three race wins, and displayed mature driving skills and consistent performance throughout the season that got him eight podium places. He garnered 201 points from the 12-race, four-round Nationals and won with a race to spare beating second-placed Ryan Mohamed by (165) 36 points.

    “I am very excited and the moment feels surreal. It’s an honour to be crowned the Indian National Champion of the fastest national car racing series in India. We’ve had a great season, the pace was consistently there and the hard work of my team, mechs, finally paid off. Thanks to JA Motorsport and MRF Racing for giving us an opportunity to race in these cars,” Sai Sanjay said.

    A Mechatronics student at VIT Chennai, Sai, made his motorsports debut in 2015 and after gaining some international exposure racing in the karting championships in the UAE and also became the Rotax Senior Max UAE vice-champion in 2018. He made the switch to formula cars the same year and raced in the LGB Formula 1300 and MRF 1600 championships. He also has experienced racing the well-known Volkswagen Polo Cup in 2021. All along, he notched up many podiums and dished out many fastest laps and made the switch to faster Formula cars for a successful winning debut in the top class of the country. Sai is currently a part of NK Racing Academy and is being mentored by India’s first Formula 1 driver, Narain Karthikeyan.

    “Coaching by Aditya Patel and Armaan Ebrahim during the season also helped polish my skills,” he added. And the restart of the MRF Formula 2000 class after two years of pandemic, gave a huge opportunity for the consistent performer.

    “I thank my family for being the biggest and best support in this huge journey. I will continue to push limits and try reaching new heights,” he concluded and had a special word of thanks for Rajarajan, the race mechanic, for pushing and encouraging him. Sai will continue in the Formula races and hopes to go racing abroad in pursuit of his dreams.

    In the other championship classes, Viswas Vijayraj won the LGB F1300 National title while veteran Arjun Balu bagged the ITC crown, his 11th National title. Ritesh Rai (Super Stock) and Akkineni Anand Prasad (IJTC) were the other National champions.

  • 4W Racing Championship poised for a thrilling finish

    4W Racing Championship poised for a thrilling finish

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    About Madras Motor Sports Club

    Since its humble beginnings in 1953, the Madras Motor Sports Club has grown in stature as the hub of motorsport activity in India. Having moved its racing activities from Sholavaram to its present location, the Madras International Circuit (earlier MMRT), in Sriperumbudur in 1979, MMSC has kept pace with changing times by upgrading facilities. At a cost of about Rs 20 Crore, the MMSC built a pit complex comprising 20 garages, VIP hospitality suites and a viewing gallery, on the eastern side, apart from a second Paddock on the western side with its own short circuit. Parallelly, MMSC imported timing equipment specifically for Drag racing. The Control Room too was upgraded with state-of-the-art hardware while the track itself was improved to meet the exacting FIA standards for Grade-2 certification. MMSC also constructed a 500-capacity grand stand with provision for garages / storage below. In another upgrade, the MMSC installed Digi flags from TAG Heuer Chronolec that will be positioned strategically around the track. The facilities are also extensively used by various vehicle manufacturers for testing their products, displays and corporate days.