INDIA in F1

Tag: MRF

  • Jr Schumy fastest; Ananth sets pace in 1600 FP2

    Jr Schumy fastest; Ananth sets pace in 1600 FP2

    Greater Noida, 27 Jan 2017: Mick Schumacher struck back in Free Practice 2 to go fastest ahead of Harrison Newey at Round 3 of the MRF Challenge 2016 at the Buddh International Circuit here on Friday. He was faster than Newey and a returning Ralf Aron in Free Practice 2.

    In FP1, Newey beat Schumacher and championship leader Joey Mawson. The MRF 1600 championship got underway as Ananth Shanmugam topped both the practice sessions ahead of Anindith Reddy.

    In the opening session, Felipe Drugovich set a competitive 1 min 54.345 sec with 20 minutes remaining on the clock. Newey then began a string of fastest laps which saw him going fastest with a 1:53.012. With 5 minutes to go, he again went fastest to finish with a 1:52.340. Schumacher gradually went faster as the session went on and put in a time of 1:52.630 to slot into 2nd place ahead of Joey Mawson and Drugovich. Juri Vips and Pedro Cardoso rounded off the top 6.

    Mawson was one of the front runners in FP2 with a 1:53.883. Newey too was impressive as he went faster at 1:52.993. Then Schumacher looked comfortable as he navigated India’s only F1 circuit for the first time and dipped into the 51s with a time of 1:51.732 and it stayed on top. Newey was 2nd fastest with a 1:52.111 and Aron was 3rd fastest ahead of Mawson and Drugovich.

    As the MRF 1600 championship 2017 kicked off with Round 1, it was a straight fight between Shanmugam and Reddy. Reddy went fastest with a 2:07.427 only to be beaten by 0.069secs by Shanmugam in FP1. Arya Singh, Chetan Korada and Anshul Shah rounded off the top 5.

    In FP2, Shanmugam again topped the session ahead of Reddy. The chasing pack was also closer this time as Nayan Chaterjee finished 3rd, ahead of Arya Singh and Anshul Shah.

    Qualifying and Races 1 and 2 will take place on Saturday, January 28, while the last two races will be held on Sunday. Apart from Newey and Schumacher, this year the grid has German F4 Champion Joey Mawson, 2015 Italian F4 Champion and F3 race winner Ralf Aron, Japanese F3 Champion (National Class) Yoshiaki Katayama and Manuel Maldonado, cousin of former F1 race winner Pastor Maldonado.

    Results: MRF Challenge 2016: Round 3, Free Practice 1: Harrison Newey 1:52.340; Mick Schumacher 1:52.630; Joey Mawson 1:52.917; Felipe Drugovich 1:53.012; Juri Vips 1:53.218.

    FP 2: Mick Schumacher 1:51.732; Harrison Newey 1:52.111; Ralf Aron 1:52.615; Joey Mawson 1:52.621; Felipe Drugovich 1:52.635.

    MRF 1600, Round 1, Dubai, Free Practice 1: Ananth Shanmugam 2:07.358; Anindith Reddy 2: 07.427; Arya Singh 2: 11.055; Chetan Korada 2: 11.078; Anshul Shah 2:11.983.

    FP2: Ananth Shanmugam 2: 06.440; Anindith Reddy 2: 07.080; Arya Singh 2: 08.131; Chetan Korada 2: 08.146; Anshul Shah 2: 08.730.

    MRF Challenge 2016 Calendar:

    Round 1: November 17-19, 2016, Bahrain, Bahrain International Circuit (WEC Support Race)

    Round 2: December 7-9, 2016, Dubai, Dubai Autodrome

    Round 3: January 27-29, 2016, New Delhi, Buddh International Circuit

    Round 4: February 17-19, 2016, Chennai, Madras Motor Race Track

     

    eom/david

    Mick Schumacher sets the fastest time in FP2 on Friday at BIC. Image courtesy MRF
  • Newey, Schumacher look to bounce back at BIC

    Newey, Schumacher look to bounce back at BIC

    File photo of MRF Challenge races courtesy MRF.

    Greater Noida, 25 Jan 2017: Round 3 of the MRF Challenge 2016 is back as the F2000 cars head back to the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) after a break of three years and the Australian driver Joey Mawson leads the championship after strong contender Harrison Newey and Mick Schumacher failed to finish in the last round at Dubai. MRF 1600 and Volkswagen Vento Cup will also be held on the week-end.

    Arun Mammen, Managing Director, MRF Tyres, said: “BIC has always provided some great racing and we are thrilled to be back. The F2000 has made leaps and bounds since we last visited here and we are confident that fans will witness the fastest cars racing on this circuit since the F1 cars back in 2013. This weekend will also be a great learning for the young Indian drivers participating in the MRF 1600 Championship as they get a front row seat on how international drivers prepare for a race weekend and constantly improve as each session goes on.”

    Mawson currently has 141 points with Newey on 113 points. Brazilian driver Felipe Drugovich is in 3rd place on 105 points after a strong showing in the last Round in Dubai. Schumacher headed into the last Round in the lead of the championship but a double DNF seriously dented his title hopes, as he now finds himself 39 points behind the leader.

    This weekend will once again see the leading young drivers from across the globe competing against each other. 2015 Italian F4 Champion and F3 race winner Ralf Aron returns this weekend along with Japanese F3 Champion (National Class) Yoshiaki Katayama and Manuel Maldonado, cousin of former F1 race winner Pastor Maldonado.

    In its fifth year, the MRF Challenge will feature MRF Formula 2000 race cars, which have been made in India by Coimbatore based JA Motorsport. The Formula 3 style car has been built by JA Motorsport in technical collaboration with Dallara, and is considered to be the fastest of its kind in Asia. The new car is powered by a 2 litre Mountune Duratec engine with max power of 230 bhp and shod on MRF Z.L.O. tyres. The car will also feature advanced aerodynamics with underbody diffuser and a Hewland 6-speed sequential gearbox.

    Joining the MRF Challenge 2016 cars this weekend will be the MRF 1600 series. This will be the first round for the MRF 1600 championship and will feature 12 drivers on the grid. Leading the charge will be former Volkswagen Vento Cup winner Anindith Reddy, who will return for the second year. He will be joined by 2016 Volkswagen Vento Cup Champion Ishaan Dodhiwala, and young guns Nayan Chaterjee and Ananth Shanmugam.

    Free Practice 1&2 will take place on Friday, January 27. Qualifying and Races 1&2 will take place on Saturday, January 28, with Races 3&4 taking place on Sunday, January 29.

    MRF Challenge 2016 Calendar: Round 1: November 17-19, 2016, Bahrain, Bahrain International Circuit (WEC Support Race); Round 2: December 7-9, 2016, Dubai, Dubai Autodrome; Round 3: January 27-29, 2016, New Delhi, Buddh International Circuit; Round 4: February 17-19, 2016, Chennai, Madras Motor Race Track.

    eom/david/Murali press release

  • Keen battle on cards for National titles: Bike races

    Keen battle on cards for National titles: Bike races

    File photo of Jagan Kumar of TVS in action. Image by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 19 Jan 2017: The fifth and concluding round of the MRF Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2016, which spilled over from last year’s calendar, is set for a thrilling finish at the MMRT track in Sriperumbudur, near here, with titles in all categories up for grabs.

    The card of 23 races to be run over three days beginning Friday includes the premium Super Sport Indian (400cc and 165cc) class along with Pro-Stock (165cc) and Stock (165cc) which form the National Championship besides MMSC One-Make Championships for TVS and  Honda, and the Suzuki Gixxer Cup. Also scheduled are support races exclusively for ladies, by Honda and Alisha Abdullah Academy.

    The Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) officials burnt the proverbial midnight oil to get the MMRT circuit facilities in order after the battering it received in December from cyclone Vardah that created havoc in the region while also forcing a postponement of the final round of the two-wheeler championship, which was earlier scheduled to be held on Nov 19.

    Thus, it has been a three-month break in the championship and the riders, especially those in contention for the titles, are a bit eager to get back into action. As such, with so much at stake, the competition is expected to be razor-sharp as in all the previous four rounds.

    In the Super Sport Indian (300-400cc), it will be a straight fight between two Rockstar Racing team-mates Ami van Poederooijen (135 points), a Spaniard based in Auroville, and Bengaluru’s Abhishek Vasudev (115), while a trio of TVS Racing mates reigning champion Jagan Kumar (141), Kannan Subramaniam (110) and Harry Sylvester (102), all from Chennai, are in title race in the Super Sport Indian 165cc class.

    Two talented racers from Chennai who performed well in the 2016 Asia Road Racing Championships, Hari Krishnan Rajagopal (153) and Rajiv Sethu (144), both from Honda Ten10 Racing team, are locked in a tight battle in the Pro Stock (165cc) category, having won seven of the eight races between them over four rounds.

    The Stock 165cc class will witness a four-cornered battle for top honours involving Hubbali’s Anish Shetty (122) of United Tech Torque, Antony Peter (Performance Racing, 120) from Coimbatore, Chennai duo of Joseph Mathew (Sparks Racing, 111) and PM Soorya (Team Speedup, 100).

    The situation in the MMSC One-Make championships is much the same with the title race wide open and multiple competitors in the running for the top prize.

    After Thursday’s practice sessions, action kicks-off with four races scheduled for Friday followed by a busy Saturday when 10 races will be run before the championship winds up on Sunday when the remaining eight are held. The programme will conclude with championship prize distribution trackside.

     

    eom/AP Media press release

     

  • Karna-Nikhil duo are INRC 2016 champions

    Karna-Nikhil duo are INRC 2016 champions

    By David Bodapati

    Bengaluru, 18 Dec 2016: Karna Kadur and co-driver Nikhil Pai of Team Yokohama R2 became the National champions in the Indian National Rally Championship for the year 2016 despite finishing sixth overall in the MRF 42nd K1000 Rally 2016 which concluded near Hosadurga, about 220 kms from here.

    Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik drove in a steady and cautious manner to bag the coveted K1000 rally with a time of 51 minutes, 40.2 seconds. This is the second time that the Team Mahindra Adventure driver has won India’s oldest rally in the country, the last one being in 2013. The Ghosh duo became the only son and father pair to win the popular K1000. Amittrajit’s father and chief of current INRC promoter RRPM, Arindam Ghosh won the K1000 in 1981. He was one of the aggressive bunch of speed masters in early 80s who clinched the Karnataka 1000 in a Fiat over 1000 miles of rough and tumble.

    Phalguna V Urs and Chandramouli finished second a time of 53:38.1 while Rahul Kanthraj and Vivek Bhatt came third clocking 54:30.5.

    Favourite Gaurav Gill of Team Mahindra Adventure dropped out in the very first stage with a driveshaft failure. Arjun Rao was another prominent casualty who had a gearbox failure while running third.

    Talking to India in F1, Arindam Ghosh, Director, Ramakrishna Race Performance Management (RRPM), the promoters of the Indian Natinal Rally Championship said: “It has been a lovely year of rallying and it can only get better from here. We promise to bring back an even better championship next year”. Earlier, he hinted that the INRC may use the Saturday for some night rallying, running a loop of special stages on Saturday nights instead of extending the event by another day which has financial and logistical implications. For the first time INRC, became a one-day event with rallying only on Sunday. Till 2015, the National Championship used to run for three or two days with a Super Special Stage either on Friday or Sunday.

    Abhilash PG and Srikant Gowda took overall honors in Indian Rally Championship (IRC), run concurrently with the INRC, in 54:31.4, some 5 sconds ahead of Mohammed Kasim AA and Sanath G Ritesh.  M Guttedar and Sheraz Ahmed were third timing 1 minute and 0.9 seconds.

    Amittrajit and Ashwin took home Rs. 50,000/- in prize money.

    Provisional Results: Overall winners: 1. Abhilash PG / Srikant Gowda GM (54:31.4); 2. Mohammead Asim AA / Sanath G (59:28.4); 3. Ritesh M Guttedar / Sheraz Ahmed (1:00:00.9).

    IRC: 1. Abhilash PG / Srikant Gowda GM (54:31.4); 2. Mohammead Kasim AA / Sanath G (59:28.4); 3. Ritesh M Guttedar / Sheraz Ahmed (1:00:00.9).

    INRC:  1. Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin M Naik (51:40.2); 2. Phalguna V Urs / Chandramouli CM (53:38.1): 3. Rahul Kantharaj / Vivek Y Bhatt (54:30.5).

    INRC 2000: 1. Rahul Kantharaj / Vivek Y Bhatt (54:30.5): 2. Bopaiah KM/ Gagan Karumbaiah (54:35.8): 3. Aroor Vikram Rao / Jeevarathinam J (54:56.0).

    FMSCI Cup: 1. Sridhar N Urs / Roopesh BC (1:01:59.3); 2. Krishna Kant Yadav / Sagar M (1:06:32.3); 3. Ganapathy SC/ Venu Ramesh Kumar (1:12:21.7).

    Support event: Gypsy Cup: 1. Sanjay Agarwal / Smitha N (1:03:37.4); 2. Shiv Kumar Reddy/ Vinay Prasad BK (1:07:45.8); 3. Nayan J Sharma /Shuchindra SP (1:11:09.6)

    ends/david

    Karna Kadur (left) and Nikhil Pai after winning title in Hosadurga on 18 Dec 2016. Image courtesy Red Rooster Perf.ormance
  • Joey Mawson takes title lead; Newey wins Race 3

    Joey Mawson takes title lead; Newey wins Race 3

    Dubai, 10 Dec 2016: Australian driver Joey Mawson stormed to the top of the championship with a win in the final race of Round 2 of the MRF Challenge 2016 in Dubai. Mawson won ahead of Felipe Drugovich fellow Aussie Zane Goddard as championship rivals Harrison Newey and Mick Schumacher were both forced to retire. However 18 year old Newey survived all the action around him to win his second race of the weekend when he crossed the chequered flag in Race 3. Newey beat Race 2 winner Drugovich and Mawson in Race 3 of the weekend.

    In Race 3, Mawson started on pole position with Newey alongside him. Newey got the perfect start and got past the Australian as they headed into turn 1. Behind them Mick Schumacher and Juri Vips collided in turn 1 forcing both drivers to retire. This brought out the safety car. At the restart Mawson got the jump on Newey and took the lead into turn 1. Mawson started to push for a gap but ran wide and lost out to both Newey and Drugovich. Newey crossed the finish line to take his second win of the weekend with Drugovich in 2nd and Mawson in 3rd. Pedro Cardoso finished in 4th place ahead of Van Kalmthout and Dylan Young. Indian driver Parth Ghorpade finished in a strong 7th place with Zane Goddard, Pavan Ravishankar and Yoshiaki Katayama rounding off the top 10.

    In Race 4 pole sitter Young got bogged down as Van Kalmthout stormed into the lead with Mawson settling into 2nd place. Newey also had a good start and was up to 3rd position by the end of the first lap. On lap 3 Newey started to slow and eventually had to retire with a technical problem on his car. Mawson wasted no time passing Van Kalmthout with Drugovich folloing through as well. Meanwhile Schumacher, who started last, put in brilliant couple of opening corners and was 5th by the end of lap 1. He moved up to 3rd and looked to be challenging for 2nd place when he had a puncture and had to retire in what has been a disastrous day for the German. Mawson had an easy run to the finish line to win his first race of the series. Drugovich got his 3rd consecutive podium finish as he finished in 2nd place. Van Kalmthout crossed the line in 3rd place but was given a 10 second penalty that dropped him to 8th place. Goddard got 3rd ahead of Vips and Young.

    Joey Mawson finished on the podium in all 4 races and got pole position as well. He commented, “The whole weekend has just been great. The car has been great all weekend and I really enjoy driving here at the Dubai Autodrome. My competitors had a tough day but I am sure they will fight back and I look forward to driving in India next.”

    Harrison Newey was happy to win his 2nd race of the weekend. He commented, “I am really happy to win in what was an eventful race. Joey (Mawson) has always been a great competitor so it was good to finish ahead of him. It was a shame with the problem in the second race today.”

    Mawson currently leads the championship with 141 points with Newey on 113 and Drugovich in 3rd on 105 points. Schumacher’s double DNF drops him to 4th place with 102 points. Next race is in New Delhi on Jan 27-29.

    MRF Challenge 2016, Round 1, Dubai, Race 3: 1.Harrison Newey; 2. Felipe Drugovich 1.767 (Time difference to first); 3.Joey Mawson 2.812; Pedro Cardoso 3.727; 5.Van Kalmthout 10.077; 6.Dylan Young 11.748; 7.Parth Ghorpade 14.532; 8.Zane Goddard 15.218; 9.Pavan Ravishankar 15.601; 10.Yoshiaki Katayama 16.399.

    MRF Challenge 2016, Round 2, Dubai, Race 4: 1.Joey Mawson; 2.Felipe Drugovich 4.685; 3.Zane Goddard 13.225; 4.Juri Vips 13.925; 5.Dylan Young 19.154; 6.Kimi Schramm 20.844; 7.Yoshiaki Katayama 21.152; 8.Van Kalmthout 21.224; 9.Manuel Maldonado 34.495; 10.Bobby Eberle 46.652.

     

    Joey Mawson takes championship lead even as Newey wins Race 3 in Dubai on Saturday. An MRF image

    eom/david/MRF press release

  • Harrison fights back to win opening race

    Harrison fights back to win opening race

    Dubai, 9 Dec 2016: 18 year old British driver Harrison Newey fought back to win Race 1 of the MRF Challenge 2016 in Dubai. Newey, who was cheered on by his father and legendary F1 designer Adrian Newey, had a close battle with Australian driver Joey Mawson before coming out ahead at the opening race of the season. Mick Schumacher came home in 3rd place. Earlier in the day Mawson set the fastest lap ever done by the MRF F2000 around the Dubai Autodrome to claim pole position for the second round of the championship. Schumacher’s championship lead at the top has been cut down to 9 points with Mawson in 2nd and Newey one point further back in 3rd.

    It was qualifying that started the day off for the motorsport fans in Dubai with all eyes on the MRF F2000 cars and the impending duel between Newey and Schumacher. Newey was in fine form in practice but the pack behind him closed the gap down overnight. Newey set a lap time of 1:56.020 only for Mawson to put in a stunning lap of 1:55.945 to take his first pole position of the season. Behind the top two were Schumacher, Juri Vips and Pedro Cardoso.

    Starting on pole position, Mawson got a good start off the line but Newey tried to go around the outside heading into turn 1. Mawson just managed to hold on. Schumacher in 3rd stayed on the rear wing of Newey but was not close enough to challenge. Newey started to close in on Mawson and on lap 4 he passed the Australian driver after both were side by side for 3 corners. Schumacher applied pressure on Mawson but could not find a way past. Newey set a string of fastest laps and took the chequered flag ahead of Mawson and Schumacher. Cardoso held off fast charging Brazilian driver Drugovich for 4th place with Vips finishing in 6th place. Kimi Schramm finished in 7th place ahead of Dylan Young, Van Kalmthout and Manuel Maldonado. Indian driver Parth Ghorpade fought back from last place at the end of the first corner to finish in 11th position.

    Harrison Newey was happy to get his title ambitions back on track. He commented, “I was disappointed not to be on pole position today. I had a good start and was behind Joey (Mawson) for the first few laps. It was a hard but fair battle with Joey but I managed to get past. I am really happy to win here but it is important to pick up useful points in every race this weekend.”

    Results: MRF Challenge 2016, Round 2, Dubai, Qualifying: 1. Joey Mawson 1:55.945; 2. Harrison Newey 1:56.020; 3. Mick Schumacher 1:56.260;4.  Juri Vips 1:56.607; 5. Pedro Cardoso 1:56.682.

    MRF Challenge 2016, Round 1, Dubai, Race 1: 1. Harrison Newey; 2. Joey Mawson (time difference 2.572); 3. Mick Schumacher (3.335); 4. Pedro Cardoso (7.941).

     

    eom/MRF


    Newey leading Schumacher in Race 1 in Dubai on Friday. An MRF image

    press release

  • Harrison tops practice sessions: MRF Challenge

    Harrison tops practice sessions: MRF Challenge

    Dubai, 8 Dec 2016: Harrison Newey, son of legendary F1 designer Adrian Newey, comfortably topped both practice sessions for Round 2 of the MRF Challenge 2016 at the Dubai Autodrome. He was faster than Felipe Drugovich and Juri Vips in FP1. In FP2, he was ahead of Drugovich and Joey Mawson. Newey set a blistering pace going half a second faster than his nearest rival in both sessions. His lap time is 3 seconds faster than the times in practice last year showing a vastly improved MRF F2000.

    In the opening practice session of the weekend it was newcomer Mawson who was the first to set a competitive time with 20 minutes remaining on the clock. He set a 2:01.345 to go top of the leader board. Newey then began a string of fastest laps which saw going fastest with a 1:59.772. With 5 minutes to go, he again went fastest to finish with a 1:58.231. Brazilian Drugovich was half a second slower with a 1:58.771. He was followed by Juri Vips, Mawson and Kimi Schramm. Championship leader Mick Schumacher had a quiet session and finished down in 6th position.

    Free practice 2 saw Mawson wasting no time in getting up to speed and was again one of the front runners to go fastest with a 1:59.883. Newey continued to show impressive pace and immediately went faster with a 1:58.976. Newey once again proved to be too fast as he was the only driver to dip into the 1min 57sec lap when he set a 1:57.942 to go fastest. Drivers behind him continued to improve but the closest anyone could get was Drugovich again with a 1:58.642, albeit a full six tenths off the pace. Mawson finished in 3rd place ahead of Schumacher and Van Kalmthout. Indian driver Parth Ghorpade finished at the back of the grid as he spent time familiarizing himself with the car, after being out of a racing car for more than a year.

    Harrison Newey, commented, “It was a real pleasure to drive out there. The car felt really good and quick. This circuit is quite challenging for the drivers so it is important to concentrate the whole time. We have to ensure that we carry this momentum tomorrow as starting in front will be critical. I will now work with the engineers to make sure we have the best possible setup for tomorrow.”

    Qualifying and Races 1&2 will take place on Friday, December 9, with Races 3&4 taking place on Saturday, December 10.

    MRF Challenge 2016, Round 2, Dubai, Free Practice 2:

    Pos Driver Name Total Time
    1 Harrison Newey 1:57.942
    2 Felipe Drugovich 1:58.673
    3 Joey Mawson 1:58.738
    4 Mick Schumacher 1:58.969
    5 Van Kalmthout 1:59.074
    Harrison Newey during a pracitce session in Dubai on Thursday. An MRF image

     

    About MRF Challenge

    In its fifth year, the MRF Challenge will feature MRF Formula 2000 race cars, which have been made in India by JA Motorsport, who are based in Coimbatore. The Formula 3 style car has been built by JA Motorsport in technical collaboration with Dallara, and is considered to be the fastest of its kind in Asia. The new car is powered by a 2 litre Mountune Duratec engine with max power of 230 bhp and shod on MRF Z.L.O. tyres. The car will also feature advanced aerodynamics with underbody diffuser and a Hewland 6-speed sequential gearbox.

    This year the grid has yet another promising line-up headed by the returning Newey and Schumacher. Joining them is German F4 Champion Joey Mawson, 2015 Italian F4 Champion and F3 race winner Ralf Aron, Japanese F3 Champion (National Class) Yoshiaki Katayama and Manuel Maldonado, cousin of former F1 race winner Pastor Maldonado.

    MRF Challenge 2016 Calendar:

    Round 1: November 17-19, 2016, Bahrain, Bahrain International Circuit (WEC Support Race)

    Round 2: December 7-9, 2016, Dubai, Dubai Autodrome

    Round 3: January 27-29, 2016, New Delhi, Buddh International Circuit

    Round 4: February 17-19, 2016, Chennai, Madras Motor Race Track

    eom

     

  • Gill dominates Day 2, in line for a historic feat

    Gill dominates Day 2, in line for a historic feat

    Chikkamagaluru, 4 Dec 2016: Gaurav Gill of Team MRF is poised for an unprecedented clean sweep of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship as he surged to a commanding and unassailable lead at the end of Leg-1 in the Coffee Day India Rally here today.

    Gill (co-driver Glenn Macneall), who took rally driving to a level not seen before in India, ended the day with a handsome lead of seven minutes, 33.6 seconds over second-placed Michael Young (Malcolm Read) of Cusco Racing after team-mate Fabian Kreim (Frank Christian) crashed out early in the day.

    Should 35-year old Delhi-based Gill, who has already sealed the 2016 APRC driver’s title his second since 2013, win on Monday when the Coffee Day Rally, organised by the Motorsports Club of Chikkamagaluru, concludes, he will be the only competitor to achieve the rare feat of winning all the rounds of a FIA Rally championship en route to annexing the crown.

    In sharp contrast to Gill’s absolute dominance, only seven seconds separated Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik) of Mahindra Adventure and Team Yokohama 2K’s Karna Kadur (Nikhil Pai) in the battle for the INRC Overall honours in the FMSCI Indian Rally Championship that was run over six Special Stages today. Kadur also led the INRC 2000 class where he was ahead of Dr Bikku Babu (Milen George) by over three minutes.

    The day clearly belonged to Gill who drove the MRF Skoda Fabia R5 with aplomb, negotiating the tight and twisty estate roads with rare mastery, especially in the unforgiving corners that flowed one into another.

    “We had no problems with our car as such. The speeds were quite slow due to the nature of the route, but still it was quite challenging. Though we have a good lead, the R5 is built for speed and I have to be in my rhythm. So, there is nothing like easing off. May be, I can drive 97 per cent instead of 100,” said Gill

    While Young was struggling with loss of power in his Subaru Impreza WRX STi, Kreim met with a misfortune early in the day when he crashed his R5 into a stone on a left-hander.

    “We came over a crest and into a left-hander. I think I was carrying too much speed into the corner and crashed into the stone. Unfortunate, but that is the nature of motorsport. I will be driving tomorrow and hope to score some leg points,” said Kreim who won the German championship recently.

    Placed third in the APRC was Pune-based Sanjay Takale (Nokiro Takeshita) of Cusco Racing while team-mate Yuya Sumiyama (Takahiro Yasui) retired with a mechanical problem.

    The results (provisional, after Leg-1): APRC: 1. Gaurav Gill / Glenn Macneall (Team MRF) (02hrs, 42mins, 32.8secs); 2. Mike Young / Malcolm Read (Cusco Racing) (02:50:06.4); 3. Sanjay Takale / Noriko Takeshita (Cusco Racing) (03:00:06.5).

    INRC Overall: 1. Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik (Mahindra Adventure) (01:19:34.6); 2. Karna Kadur / Nikhil Pai (Team Yokohama 2K) (01:19:42.2); 3. Dr Bikku Babu / Milen George (01:21:17.1).

    INRC 2000: 1. Karna Kadur / Nikhil Pai (Team Yokohama 2K) (01:19:42.2); 2. Dr Bikku Babu / Milen George (01:21:17.1); 3. Philippos Mathaii / Harish KN (01:30:37.0).

    FMSCI Cup: 1. Minchu Ganapathy / Venu Ramesh Kumar (01:26:34.4); 2. Jacob KJ / Manoj Mohanan (01:26:57.9); 3. Veeresh Prasad / Shahid Salman (01:28:44.2).

    IRC: 1. Sanjay Takale / Noriko Takeshita (Cusco Racing) (01:12:08.1); 2. Amol Satoskar / Dr Dinesh (01:28:01.4); 3. Shafraz Junaid / Akhry Ameer (01:28:28.6).

    Gypsy Star (non-championship): 1. Sanjay Agarwal /Smitha N (01:32:46.0); 2. Avin Nanjappa / Suraj Shetti (01:36:26.8); 3. Dheeraj KV / Ravi (01:46:39.5).

    eom/AP Media Comm press release

    Gaurav Gill who was fastest in all the 12 special stages run on Sunday. Image by Sanjay Sridhar
    Gaurav Gill who was fastest in all the 12 special stages run on Sunday. Image by Sanjay Sridhar

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  • Mick Schumacher takes the lead with a double

    Mick Schumacher takes the lead with a double

    Bahrain, 19 Nov 2016: German driver Mick Schumacher got his MRF Challenge 2016 off to the perfect start by winning two races and taking the championship lead after Round 1 in Bahrain. Schumacher finished ahead of Joey Mawson and Ralf Aron in Race 2. Aron struck back in Race 3 to win comfortably with Schumacher taking the win in Race 4. Schumacher leads the championship with 75 points ahead of Aron (72) and Mawson (61).

    In Race 2 Schumacher started from the front row alongside Brazilian rookie Felipe Drugovich, who was on the reverse grid pole position. Schumacher had a great start and took the lead going into Turn 1, with Drugovich managing to hold off Race 1 winner Newey and Aussie driver Mawson. It was just a matter of time before both drivers passed Drugovich, while Aron recovered from a poor start to also quickly start catching the lead bunch of drivers. Schumacher pulled away while Newey had Mawson all over him and on Lap 3 the he passed him to move into 2nd place. Aron set some fast lap times to close in on Newey. Schumacher crossed the finish line comfortably in 1st place to take his maiden MRF Challenge win ahead of Mawson. Aron was on Newey’s tail and overtook him on the last lap to take the final podium spot, with the pair being separated by a mere 0.016s. Drugovich finished in 5th place ahead of Kimi Schramm and Dylan Young.

    In Race 3 Pole-sitter Newey had a torrid start and got jumped by the chasing pack heading into the first corner. Mawson took the lead with Aron in 2nd and Schumacher 3rd. Schumacher pulled off a brilliant overtaking move into turn 9 to get past Aron but the latter struck back down the main straight to get back into 2nd place. Newey was forced to retire on lap 1 bringing out the Safety car for the first time this season. At the restart, Aron wasted no time in overtaking Mawson and then pulled away, winning by a margin of 6.566s. Schumacher came under late pressure from Drugovich, but the German managed to hold on to 3rd position by a mere 0.248s. Juri Vips took 5th place ahead of Pedro Cardoso and Schramm.

    In Race 4 Schumacher got the jump on pole-sitter Cardoso to slot into second place behind Vips. It was turn 9 again that Schumacher pounced and got past Vips to take the lead and pull away. Behind, it was a battle between Joey Mawson and European F3 regular Ralf Aron for fourth and they were soon joined by Harrison Newey, who made up eight places to sixth in the opening few laps. Newey managed to go past Aron at Turn 1 on Lap 4 to move into the top five and later was gifted fourth after Mawson’s mistake. Schumacher crossed the line in 1st place ahead of first time podium winner Vips and Cardoso.

    Mick Schumacher was happy to get his challenge off to to a great start. He said, “I am happy with the overall start to the championship. In the last race I felt it was important to get past Juri Vips soon in order to get the win. The circuit was enjoyable to drive on and I now look forward to the next race in Dubai.”

    Ralf Aron was pleased to get his first win under his belt. He commented, “I managed to get a good start and then after that the car felt great. I am really happy to take my first win in the series. In Race 4 my tyres were old while the others had new ones so it was not as easy. Anyway to go away with three podiums is a good start.”

    MRF Challenge 2016, Round 1, Bahrain, Race 2:

    Pos Driver Name Total Time
    1 Mick Schumacher 20:18.365
    2 Joey Mawson 20:20.243
    3 Ralf Aron 20:25.917
    4 Harrison Newey 20:25.933
    5 Felipe Drugovich 20:31.973
    6 Kimi Schramm 20:36.912
    7 Dylan Young 20:48.811
    8 Bruna Tomaselli 20:50.304
    9 Manuel Maldonado 20:51.572
    10 Pavan Ravishanker 20:52.861

    MRF Challenge 2016, Round 1, Bahrain, Race 3:

    Pos Driver Name Total Time
    1 Ralf Aron 21:09.925
    2 Joey Mawson 21:16.493
    3 Mick Schumacher 21:20.470
    4 Felipe Drugovich 21:20.718
    5 Juri Vips 21:23.848
    6 Pedro Cardoso 21:24.067
    7 Kimi Schramm 21:25.016
    8 Dylan Young 21:29.378
    9 Yoshiaki Katayama 21:30.515
    10 Bruna Tomaselli 21:32.410
    Mick Schumacher receiving the 1st place trophy from Arun Mammen, MD, MRF Tyres on Saturday. An MRF image
    Mick Schumacher receiving the 1st place trophy from Arun Mammen, MD, MRF Tyres on Saturday. An MRF image

    MRF Challenge 2016, Round 1, Bahrain, Race 4:

    Pos Driver Name Total Time
    1 Mick Schumacher 20:20.843
    2 Juri Vips 20:23.145
    3 Pedro Cardoso 20:24.452
    4 Harrison Newey 20:25.027
    5 Ralf Aron 20:27.138
    6 Joey Mawson 20:28.716
    7 Kimi Schramm 20:29.246
    8 Felipe Drugovich 20:30.369
    9 Dylan Young 20:36.502
    10 Yoshiaki Katayama 20:39.558
  • Harrison Newey wins opening race

    Harrison Newey wins opening race

    Bahrain, 18 Nov 2016: Eighteen-year-old British driver Harrison Newey dominated qualifying and Race 1 of the MRF Challenge 2016 in Bahrain. Newey, son of legendary F1 designer Adrian Newey, was in a league of his own as he won comfortably ahead of Ralf Aron and Joey Mawson. Earlier in the day Newey set the fastest lap to qualify on pole position for the opening round of the championship.

    It was qualifying that started the day off for the motorsport fans in Bahrain with all eyes on the MRF F2000 cars. As the times started to tumble Newey set a 2:00.316, the fastest time ever set by these cars at this circuit. Mawson, who led for more than half the session had no answer and settled for 2nd with a 2:00.628. Behind him on the grid were Aron, Mick Schumacher and Van Kalmthout.

    As the drivers formed on the grid 5th placed Kalmthout encountered problems. When the lights went out Newey made the perfect start to lead comfortably into the first corner. Mawson managed to keep 2nd place ahead of a charging Schumacher and Aron. On lap 2 Aron passed Schumacher to move into 3rd place and then set his sights on catching Mawson. An interesting battle ensued with Mawson and Aron going side by side through corners 4, 5, 6, 7 before Aron finally got ahead. Behind them Juri Vips got past Schumacher but the German driver was trying everything possible to get back ahead. At the front Newey stretched out his lead to 5 seconds and was untroubled as he crossed the finish line to win the opening race of the season. Estonian driver Aron finished in 2nd place ahead of Mawson and Vips. Schumacher crossed the line in 5th place ahead of Felipe Drugovich.

    Harrison Newey, who took a commanding win, was ecstatic with his start to the season. He commented, “I could not have hoped for a better start to the season. In qualifying the car was just great and I was able to extract maximum from it. I had the perfect getaway and after that it was all about controlling the pace. I hope I can carry this same form for the rest of the weekend.”

    Ralf Aron, was pleased to finish second after what he called a disappointing qualifying session. He commented, “Am absolutely thrilled to finish in 2nd place after a great battle with Mawson. I did not have the best start but managed to pick off Vips and Schumacher in the 2nd lap. It was a clean fight with Mawson and I am happy to start the season with a podium. I should have been higher up in qualifying but I will take this result.”

    MRF Challenge 2016, Round 1, Bahrain, Qualifying:

    Pos Driver Name Total Time
    1 Harrison Newey 2:00.316
    2 Joey Mawson 2:00.628
    3 Ralf Aron 2:00.944
    4 Mick Schumacher 2:01.209
    5 Van Kalmthout 2:01.339

    MRF Challenge 2016, Round 1, Bahrain, Race 1:

     

    Pos Driver Name Total Time
    1 Harrison Newey 20:19.964
    2 Ralf Aron 20:24.941
    3 Joey Mawson 20:27.788
    4 Juri Vips 20:33.106
    5 Mick Schumacher 20:34.023
    6 Felipe Drugovich 20:35.087
    7 Pedro Cardoso 20:40.184
    8 Kimi Schramm 20:46.008
    9 Dylan Young 20:47.104
    10 Yoshiaki Katayama 20:47.912

     

    Newey leading the pack in Race 1. An MRF image
    Newey leading the pack in Race 1. An MRF image

    MRF Challenge 2016, Round 1, Bahrain, Race 1:

     

    Pos Driver Name Total Time
    1 Harrison Newey 20:19.964
    2 Ralf Aron 20:24.941
    3 Joey Mawson 20:27.788
    4 Juri Vips 20:33.106
    5 Mick Schumacher 20:34.023
    6 Felipe Drugovich 20:35.087
    7 Pedro Cardoso 20:40.184
    8 Kimi Schramm 20:46.008
    9 Dylan Young 20:47.104
    10 Yoshiaki Katayama 20:47.912

    eom/MRF press release