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Tag: MRF
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Lindholm expects `lots and lots of learning’ in the ERC
Emil Lindholm expects to learn plenty in this season’s FIA European Rally Championship.
The 23-year-old Finn will represent Team MRF Tyres in ERC1 Junior during what will be his first European campaign.
“Progression is the main thing for us, but the level in the ERC is high, the rallies are completely new for me so there will be lots and lots of learning,” said Lindholm. “I still want to do the world championship and this is a good step forward.”
Lindholm will compete in a Rally2-specification ŠKODA Fabia with a four-event programme planned.
Emil Lindholm. Photo FIAerc.com -
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 -
Grand double for Michelangelo Amendola; Manaf Hijjawi notches maiden single-seater win
Manaf Hijjawi (71), who scored his maiden win in the MRF Challenge on Saturday. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan Chennai, 15 Feb 2020: Michelangelo Amendola, the 18-year old from Belgium, notched a fine double to consolidate his top position in the championship while Jordanian teenager Manaf Hijjawi scored the maiden single-seater win of his fledgling racing career as the MRF Challenge headed towards a grand climax at the MMRT, here today.
Amendola won the day’s first and third races to take his tally of wins to five from 12 starts while 18-year old Hijjawi, in just his first full season in single-seaters, took the honours in Race-2 to provide a twist to the championship stakes.
With three more races to be run tomorrow (Sunday) in this final round of India’s only FIA-approved international championship, Amendola leads the table with 209 points, followed by Australian Dylan Young (175) who had two podiums today, Britain’s Joshua Mason (160) and Hijjawi (130).
The Belgian youngster won both his races today from lights to flag, starting from pole, and dominated to leave the pack chasing his shadow. In the day’s first race, Amendola was off to a flier and after a couple of laps had none in his rear-view mirrors.
“It was a bit boring as there was nobody in front of me and none behind me, but the competition will get tougher with reverse grids and all that,” said Amendola. It was much the same in Race-3 that he won with over 10 seconds to spare. He was followed home by Young and Mason in Race-1, and Young and British teenager Louis Foster in Race-3.
For Hijjawi, it was a red-letter day as the Jordanian, having just graduated from karting, scored a significant win as a warm-up for his forthcoming full season in British Formula 3 championship. “It’s a great feeling to score my first-ever win in a single-seater. It was a tough race, but I managed to stay in front,” said an emotional Hajjawi who survived a close fight with a display of wonderful composure under pressure to shrug off challenge from Mason for a well-deserved win. Denmark’s Valdemar Eriksen completed the podium.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Earlier, Coimbatore’s Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) chalked up a fluent and emphatic win in the Indian Touring Cars class of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship (Round-1), not facing any worthwhile challenge through the 10-lap race. “I lost the boost in the very first lap and so, was very much off the pace compared to my qualifying timing. Fortunately, I managed to build sufficient lead and got home safely,” said Balu.
Balu’s team-mate from Bengaluru, Rithvik Thomas was placed first in the Super Stock class of the National championship.
Arjun Balu, winner of Saloon car race on 15 Feb 2020. Photo by Anand Philar The saloon car race had a combined 28-car grid of various categories – ITC, Super Stock and the support event Volkswagen Ameo Super Race. Thane’s Saurav Bandyopadhyay topped in the VW Ameo category.
The results (Provisional):
MRF Challenge (all 15 laps unless mentioned) – Race 1: 1. Michelangelo Amendola (Belgium) (22mins, 58.236); 2. Dylan Young (Australia) (23:05.941); 3. Joshua Mason (GBR) (23:06.414). Fastest Lap: Amendola (01:31.071). Race-2: 1. Manaf Hajjawi (Jordan) (23:13.797); 2. Mason (23:14.474); 3. Valdemar Eriksen (Denmark) (23:17.576). Fastest Lap: Louis Foster (UK) (01:31.178). Race-3: 1. Amendola (22:57.347); 2. Young (23:07.540); 3. Louis Foster (UK) (23:07.958). Fastest Lap: Amendola (01:30.861).
National Championship (10 laps) – Indian Touring Cars (Race-1): 1. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) (19:18.024); 2. D Vidyaprakash (Prime Racing) (19:41.347); 3. Vishnu Prasad (Prime Racing) (19:55.112).
Super Stock (Race-1): 1. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) (20:11.569); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) (20:19.452); 3. Alisha Abdullah (Race Concepts) (20:31.940).
Support races (10 laps) – MRF F1600 (Race-1): 1. Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram) (16:38.930); 2. Vishnu Prasad (Chennai) (16:40.163); 3. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (16:41.535).
Volkswagen Ameo Super Race (Race-1, 10 laps): 1. Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Thane) (19:21.422); 2. Anindith Reddy (Hyderabad) (19:22.578); 3. Dhruv Mohite (Kolhapur) (19:25.566).
Michelangelo Amendola (right) and Manaf Hijjawi. Photo Anand Philar -
Pole for Michelangelo Amendola; Arjun Balu quickest in saloon category
Michelangelo Amendola who qualified for pole position in MRF Challenge on Friday. Photos by Srinivasa Krishnan Chennai, 14 Feb 2020: Belgium’s Michelangelo Amendola, the championship leader, picked up two crucial points by qualifying for pole position as the third and final round of the MRF Challenge got underway at the MMRT, here today. He saved his best for the last lap of the session when he posted his quickest timing.
The 17-year old Amendola, in his third MRF Challenge season, though felt that he could have gone even quicker, but was happy with the pole position which he secured with a timing of one minute, 30.856 seconds. Close behind him was Jordanian Manaf Hijjawi (01:31.128) while British teenager Joshua Mason was third quickest in 01:31.154. Behind the trio was Aussie veteran Dylan Young, who is second in the championship, trailing Amendola by 16 points, qualified fourth in 01:31.245.
Just one second covered the top seven, a clear indication of the closeness of the competition going into this weekend’s six races.
“It wasn’t the best qualifying session I had. But it was a long duration session (30 minutes), so we had the pace. Anyway, we got the pole position and that is two more points. But we still have a long way to go with three races tomorrow and three more on Sunday.
“There is still some work to be done on the car, we can be quicker, but we are halfway there. I did the Free Practice sessions on old tyres and also the first part of the qualifying. After switching to new tyres, I went quicker and took pole position on my last flying lap of the session,” said Amendola.
Arjun Balu, who qualified for pole position in the Indian Touring Cars class.Earlier, last year’s first runner-up Arjun Balu from Coimbatore, driving the Race Concepts-prepared Honda City Vtec, was in a league of his own while taking pole position in the Indian Touring Cars class of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship (Round-1), clocking one minute, 49.894 secs which was a considerable improvement on his last season’s best of 1:50.9.
Such was the veteran’s pace that he was over four seconds quicker than the next best in the ITC class, Goa’s Keith D’Souza (FB Motorsports) who piloted the Volkswagen Vento (01.54.001), while another Coimbatore veteran, the ageless Octagenarian D Vidyaprakash of Prime Racing (01:54.849) in an Esteem, was third fastest.
“I am absolutely ecstatic, though my car is still a work in progress. We were looking for improvement, but did not expect this (sub-1:50) to happen so quickly. Anyway, I am happy that we went quicker than last year when my best was a 1:50,” said Balu.
The results (Qualifying):
MRF F2000: 1. Michelangelo Amendola (Belgium) (01min, 30.856secs); 2. Mannaf Hijjawi (Jordan) (01:31.128); 3. Joshua Mason (GBR) (01:31.154).
National Championship – Indian Touring Cars: 1. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) (01:49.894); 2. Keith D’Souza (FB Motorsports) (01:54.001); 3. D Vidyaprakash (Prime Racing) (01:54.849).
Super Stock: 1. A Balaprasath (Race Concepts) (01:59.220); 2. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) (01:59.962); 3. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) (02:00.338).
Support race: Volkswagen Ameo Super Race: 1. Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Thane) (01:54.222); 2. Anindith Reddy (Hyderabad) (01:54.536); 3. Avik Anwar (01:54.817).
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MRF Challenge set for exciting finish; MRF MMSC National car racing season begins
File photo of MRF Challenge in action. Photo by Anand Philar Chennai, 13 Feb 2020: A clutch of hungry teenagers from across the globe, besides a couple of veterans, will be again going head-to-head as the third and final round of FIA-approved MRF Challenge, organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club, gets underway at the MMRT here on Friday, February 14, with a card of six races.
The weekend racing bouquet also includes the first round of MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship for saloon cars (ITC, IJTC and Super Stock) besides two support events, the MRF F1600 and Volkswagen Ameo Super Race. In all, 12 races have been scheduled for this weekend.
The previous two rounds witnessed thrilling battles while throwing up some exciting young talent like championship leader Belgium’s 17-year old Michaelangelo Amendola, Britain’s Joshua Mason, and first-timers in MRF Challenge Indian-American Yuven Sunderamoorthy, 16, who chalked up a fine win in Dubai, and Japanese-American Reece Ushijima who clocked two fastest laps, also in Dubai.
A newcomer to the MRF Challenge is England’s 16-year old Louis Foster who enjoyed a tremendous run in the British F4 Championship last year to finish third overall with six wins and 13 podiums. In 2018, he emerged “Champion Rookie” in the Ginetta Junior Championship with nine wins.
MRF Tyres Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Mr. Arun Mammen said: “We have had some exciting races in the previous two rounds in Dubai and Bahrain. Now, with the championship still wide open, we expect more of close and thrilling competition up and down the grid, here in the final round at Chennai. Over the years, MRF Challenge, India’s only FIA-approved Formula racing championship which is also one of the best in Asia, has thrown up a clutch of talented youngsters who have utilized the MRF Challenge, run in the off-season winter months, as a platform to achieve their racing goals, and it has been no different this season too with drivers from the United States, Europe and Australia lining up. MRF Tyres’ commitment to motorsports is evident by our strong presence in various championships across the globe, be it racing or rally.”
After two rounds, Amendola, with three wins in Dubai, is well-placed at the top with 143 points. He is followed by Australia’s 30-year old Dylan Young (127) who notched his first and only win so far in seven MRF Challenge seasons. Behind the pair is Mason (115) who notched four podium finishes in the Dubai round.
The top three title contenders, however, have to watch out for Danish teenager Valdemar Eriksen and Jordanian Manaf Hijjawi, tied on 87 points, but well clear of Ushijima and Sunderamoorthy who have 70 apiece. Denmark’s Largim Ali (43) and the lone Indian in fray and Chennai native, Chetan Korada (19) close out the grid.
With six races to be run, there are plenty of points on offer and it puts premium on consistency given the close competition.
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.
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Team MRF Tyres to take on 2020 FIA European Rally Championship
File photo of Gaurav Gill in the APRC Malaysian leg with MRF tyres. Gill won three APRC titles on MRF tyres. Photo by Anand Philar Chennai, 4 Feb 2020: Team MRF Tyres will be back on the international rally stage in 2020 with a full season European Rally Championship campaign. Ireland’s Craig Breen and co-driver Paul Nagle will spearhead the campaign driving a Hyundai i20 R5 prepared by the Italian BRC Racing Team.
Craig Breen needs no introduction to rally fans having competed in 61 WRC rallies, twice finishing on the podium. He is the reigning Irish Tarmac Rally Champion and finished second in the 2015 European Rally Championship.
Paul Nagle has won five WRC events as a co-driver. Now back with Breen, they bring a wealth of experience to the MRF Tyres team.
The MRF Tyres Rally team has won the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) nine times, and made an entry into the World Rally Championshop in 2018 in the WRC2 class for gathering data for product development. This led to a year of testing and development in 2019 of the next generation of MRF Tyres with Breen and WRC legend Mikko Hirvonen. The 2020 European Rally Championship represents the next big step for MRF Tyres.
The first round of the Championship is the Azores Rallye, which will take place on the Portuguese island from 26-28 March.
MRF Tyres driver Craig Breen said: “I am really happy to start this adventure with MRF Tyres. We worked together last year placing emphasis on tyre development. Now I am really looking forward to embarking on this journey in the European Rally Championship. It will be a great adventure to get back to some rallies I have done in the past along with some new rallies. It will be a great year with MRF Tyres, BRC Racing Team and Hyundai Motorsport. I am looking forward to the Azores Rally and getting the program started.”
Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Andrea Adamo said: “I am really looking forward to seeing the results of this new partnership between MRF Tyres and the BRC Racing Team. The European Rally Championship is one of the most important series in the sport. The season includes some very famous events, and is a great test for the cars, and for the tyres in all conditions. MRF Tyres have already had great success in rallying, establishing themselves as very competitive option for drivers and teams. Hopefully this season between them, BRC and the Hyundai i20 R5, they can add more to their story in motorsport.”
MRF Tyres Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, Mr. Arun Mammen said: “MRF Tyres has a long and proud history in rallying in India and the Asia Pacific region. With nine APRC titles, it is the right time to take the next step and take Indian motorsport into the European Rally Championship. To work with great professionals in the field like Craig Breen, Paul Nagle, BRC Racing Team and Hyundai Motorsports is a great privilege. We know it will be a challenge to compete with our European rivals but we are committed to rallying in the long term and we are aiming to learn and develop. After all, MRF Tyres is India’s number one tyre company and pioneering motorsports in India.”
About MRF Tyres: MRF Tyres was established in 1946 and now employs over 16,000 people and has revenue of around US$2.5 billion making it the biggest tyre supplier in India. MRF Tyres supplies rally and race tyres around the world.
About the European Rally Championship: The FIA European Rally Championship, established in 1953 is one of the oldest and most prestigious rally championships in the world. Crews rally across eight rounds from March to November with four tarmac and four gravel events.
The 2020 ERC calendar is as follows:
Round 1: Azores Rallye (gravel), 26-28 March,
Round 2: Rally Islas Canarias (asphalt), 7-9 May,
Round 3: Rally Liepâja (Latvia, gravel), 29-31 May,
Round 4: 77th Rally Poland (gravel), 26-28 June,
Round 5: Rally di Roma Capitale (asphalt), 24-26 July,
Round 6: Barum Czech Rally Zlín (asphalt), 28-30 August,
Round 7: Cyprus Rally (gravel), 9-11 October,
Round 8: Rally Hungary (asphalt), 6-8 November. -
Hattrick of National titles in Junior Supercross for Yuvraj Konde Deshmukh: MRF Mogrip Nationals
Sachin D (#40) winner of Indian Experts Class flanked by 2nd placed Rajendra (#31) and Kalimohan (#72) at Pune on Sunday. Madhusudhan of MRF is on the right. An INDIAinF1 photo By David Bodapati
Pune, 26 Jan 2020: Yuvraj Konde Deshmukh was crowned the Junior Supercross National champion for the third year running as he dominated the proceedings once again winning both the motos in two classes. He was also declared as the Best Rider of the Race as the sixth and final round of the MRF Mogrip National Supercross Championship 2019 promoted by Godspeed Racing under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (fmsci) concluded here on Sunday.
The 15-year old Yuvraj Konde Deshmukh of Ajmera Racing won the first Moto in the premier Foreign Open class beating veteran rider CD Jinan of TVS Racing while Jinan’s teammate Rugved Barguje ended up third. In the second Moto too, Yuvraj dominated the race and won but it was Rugved who was in the second this time with Jinan relegated to third place.
Astride a KTM 250, Yuvraj Konde Deshmukh also won both the Motos in the Class 8 Junior Supercross 1 to steal the day’s honours. Now the Pune youngster will be back to the studyroom with exams looming large from Jan 29.
Sachin D brought some relief to the TVS Racing camp winning the Class 5, Indian Experts Class C beating teammates Rajendra RE and Imran Pasha to second and third positions respectively.
“I am really thrilled to win the Rider of the Day. I won both motos in both the Foregin Open and the Junior classes. I am grateful to my sponsors Racing India, Mountain Dew, Go Pro and especially I thank my parents and friends and all those who supported me,’’ said a visibly pleased Yuvraj.
With the Pune leg, the MRF Mogrip Supercross Nationals 2019, the biggest off-road two-wheeler Nationals, came to an end. The previous five rounds of the season were held in Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Baroda, Nashik and Goa.
Yuvraj Konde Deshmukh photo courtesy FB @yuvrajmotocross Provisional results (Round 6 in Pune):
Class 1: SX-I foreign open class (up to 250 CC/500 CC): 1. Yuvraj Konde Deshmukh (Ajmera Racing) 40 Points; 2. Rugved Barguje (TVS Racing) 32; 3. CD Jinan (TVS Racing) 32; 4. Mahesh VM (Thrissur) 24; 5. Prithvi Dhillon (Chandigarh) 23.
Class 2: Novice Group C (up to 260 CC, Moto 1): 1. M Kali Mohan (TVS Racing) 20; 2. Sachin D (TVS Racing) 17; 3. RE Rajendra (TVS Racing) 15; 4.Banteilang Jyrwa (TVS Racing) 13; 5. Sabrish R (Coimbatore) 11.
Class 4: Local class (up to 260 CC, Moto 1): 1. Pinkesh Thakkar 20; 2. Lokesh Bhosale 17; 3. Nikhil Kamthe 15; 4. Prasad Ghorpade (Kolhapur) 13; 5. Shivam Kamble 11. (all others from Pune).
Class 5: Indian Experts Class C (up to 260 CC): 1. Sachin D (TVS Racing) 20; 2. RE Rajendra (TVS Racing) 17; 3. Imran Pasha (TVS Racing) 15; 4. M Kalimohan (TVS Racing) 13; 5. Banteilang Jyrwa (TVS Racing) 11.
Class 6: Private experts (up to 260 cc): 1. R Sabrish (Coimbatore) 20; 2. Ankush Rao (Goa) 17; 3. Shivam Kamble (Pune) 15; 4. Pinkesh Thakkar (Pune) 13; 5. Bhushen Bhosale (Kolhapur) 11.
Class 7: SX-2 (up to 250 cc): 1. Prithvi Dhillion (Chandigarh) 40; 2. VM Mahesh (Thrissur) 34; 3. Zabi Mulla (Goa) 30; 4. Tanika Shanbhag (Satara) 23; 5. Pravith P (Ernakulam) 20.
Class 8: JR SX-1 (up to 250 cc): 1. Yuvraj Konde Deshmukjh (Ajmera Racing) 40; 2. Gaurang Naik (Pune) 28; 3. Ishan Shanbhag (Satara) 28; 4. Sarthka Chavan (Pune) 25; 5. Tanika Shanbhag (Satara) 24.
Class 9: JR X-2 (up to 250 cc): 1. Ikshan Shanbhag (Satara) 40; 2. Shlok Ghorpade (Satara) 34; 3. Jinendra Sangave (Ichalka Racing) 30; 4. Akshat Huple (Pune) 26; 5. Abhimanu Bose (Goa) 21.
Best Rider of the Race: Yuvraj Konde Deshmukh
All photographs for INDIAinF1 by Special Arrangment with Mr Sandeep Konde Deshmukh, Pune.
And the BIG trophy, the best rider of the event
Yuvraj in action on Sunday
Takes the chequered flag with a big jump
All photos by arrangement with Sandeep KondeDeshmukh for INDIAinF1
Trophy for the Moto 2 victory
MRF’s Madhusudhan awarding the best rider trophy -
Borthers Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan, 2019 INRC National Champs; Gill, Musa win Popular Rally
Kottayam, Dec. 22: Brothers Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan are the National champions. They did not win the Poplular Rally but the experienced duo from Bengaluru conquered the Indian National Rally Championship 2019, thanks to their stunning victories in the second round at Combatore and fourth round in Bengaluru.
The MRF supported duo of Team Akshara, who had suffered a massive crash in the opening stage on Saturday, returned to complete Day 2’s three stages to protect their lead. They did get three valuable leg points, that put the title beyond Fabid and Dean.
They garnered enough points in the two previous rallies nurturing their car and negotiating the dangerous terrain when most of the top guns failed to finish. Both these rounds saw most of the experienced and talented drivers bite the dust one after the other. But Chetan, with Dilip calling the notes, carefully and skillfully negotiated to take the wins under these tricky circumstances and those points stood them in good stead and brought them the championship which they richly deserved.
In cheeful mood after the rally. After the K1000 rally, a veteran rally fan could not help remember an old saying: “To finish first, one has to first finish the rally.’’ Chetan’s rivals, Fabid Ahmer and Dean Mascarenhas, who had a chance to topple Chetan needing 25 and 29 points respectively before the start of the Kerala leg, could not do much on Sunday. While Dean along with co-driver Shruptha Padival finished overall second in the Popular Rally, Fabid, along with navigator Sanath Gopalanhad, missed the INRC3 title by a whisker as a late penalty at the last TC cost them the title by a point. However, the youngster from Palakkad had the consolation of winning the Junior INRC title for 2019.
Meanwhile, speed maestro Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif, retained the Popular Rally title, as the final round of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), promoted by Champions Yacht Club and organised by Southern Adventure and Motorsports concluded here on Sunday. Gill won the Popular Rally for the fifth time.
The Team Mahindra Adventure driver, supported by JK Tyre won SS9 and finished second in SS10 and SS11 on Day 2 to regain his aura over the weekend. Gill’s teammates, Dean Mascarenhas and Suhem Kabeer, too did well, taking the third and fourth positions in Popular Rally’s overall category.
Overall Winners: From left: Dr Bikku Babu & Milen George (2nd place), Musa Sherif & Gaurav Gill (winners) and Dean Mascarenhas & Shrupta Padival (3rd). Photo: CYC release Chetan, along with Dilip, nursed his car smartly, taking the tenth position in SS9 but revved up to the fifth in the last two stages for a valiant show. Chetan and Dilip also won the INRC3 title for a double dhamaka as Fabid and Sanath, earned a lat penalty.
In INRC3, Fabid who finished second behind Aditya Thakur and co-driver Virender Kashyap, had been demoted and Jacob KJ and PVS Murthy came second. Kuber Sharma and Karan Aukta finished third.
Team Champions’ Dr Bikku Babu (Milen George), a local favourite, finished third in the overall category and first in his own INRC 2 for a highly-rewarding Popular Rally. Tied with JK Tyre’s Dean Mascarenhas (Shruptha Padival) on 72 points at the start of the round, his win surely fetched him the National title in INRC 2 class.
In the INRC 4 category was won by Suraj Thomas and co-driver Sob George while Vaibhav Marathe (Arjun SSB) and Rakshith Iyer/Chandrashekhar finished second and third respectively. Vaibhav and Arjun garnered the National title in this class.
(Note: The results and the report were edited and revised on Dec. 23 at 12 noon after the official results which penalised an INRC3 driver changed the top-3 places and the title winner)
Provisional Results (Round 5): INRC Overall: 1. Gaurav Gill/ Musa Sherif – 1hour, 25min, 01.7sec; 2. Dr Bikku Babu/ Milen George – 1:29:16.300; 3. Dean Mascarenhas/ Shrupta Padival – 1:31:02.600.
INRC 2: 1. Dr Bikku Babu/ Milen George – 1:29:16.300; 2. Dean Mascarenhas/ Shrupta Padivel – 1:31:02.600; 3. Suhem Kabeer/ Jeeva Rathinam – 1:31:22.000.
INRC 3: 1. Aditya Thakur/ Virender Kashyap – 1:34:11.300; 2) Jacob K.J/ PVS Murthy – 1:34:46.300; 3. Kuber Sharma / Karan Aukta xx:xx.
INRC 4: 1. Suraj Thomas/ Sob George – 1:35:02.500; 2. Vaibhav Marathe/ Arjun SSB – 1:37:55.000; 3. Rakshith Iyer/ Chandrashekhar – 1:38:51.400.
SUV Challenge: 1. Nikhil J / Arjun Dheerendra 1:41:10.200; 2. Abishek Gowda/ Dheeraj Manae 1:42:58.100; 3. Gagan Karumbaiah/ Thimmu Uddapanda 1:44:10.100.
Junior INRC: 1. Fabid Ahmer / Sanath Gopalan; 2. Rakshith Iyer/ Chandrashekar; 3. Chandan KM/ Suraj M.
Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan, who rejoined the rally on Sunday. Photo by Angel Mabel Action freeze of Fabid Ahmer and Sanath Gopalan (both Palakkad) of Team Champions who missed the INRC3 title by a point but won the National title in Junior INRC on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar Vaibhav Marath (Goa) and Arjun SSB (Bengaluru), also of Team Champions, who won the National title in INRC4 class. Photo by Anand Philar John D Paul of Kuttukaran Group speaks at the PD as Vicky Chandhok, Chairman of APRC Rally Commission looks on, on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar -
Dylan Young, Bent Viscaal share honours: MRF Challenge
Dylan Young on way to winning Race-4 at Bahrain on 4 Dec 2019. Photos by Anand Philar Sakhir (Bahrain), 14 Dec 2019: Dylan Young of Australia showcased his vast experience to chalk up a fluent win in the final race of the second round of MRF Challenge, a support-event for the FIA World Endurance Championship, at the Bahrain International Circuit, here today.
The 30-year old Young, a regular in the MRF Challenge, while scoring his second win in the championship following his success in the first round at Dubai last month, ended the Bent Viscaal-David Schumacher domination. Viscaal, from the Netherlands, had won the first and third races while Germany’s Schumacher, son of former F1 driver Ralf, had taken the honours in Race-2 under lights late last night.
The results notwithstanding, championship leader Michelangelo Amendola of Belgium, who had won three of the five races in Dubai, maintained his top position on the leaderboard despite a poor run here in Bahrain when he finished no higher than sixth. He took his tally to 143 points, followed by Young (127) and Joshua Mason (Britain, 115). The title will be decided in Chennai which will host the final round at the MMRT on February 14-16 next year with a six-race card.
The last race of the round today saw Viscaal and pole-sitter Amendola colliding. Viscaal was forced into retirement while Amendola limped home in seventh.
Up ahead, Young shot off the blocks as the lights went out to pass Amendola and kept his position for a victory. Behind him, battles raged up and down the field with positions being swapped on almost every lap. Eventually, Schumacher, who had started fifth on the reverse grid, came in third behind Jordan’s Manaf Hijjawi who gained two spots to finish behind Young.
Earlier, it was a comfortable win, his second in three outings, for Viscaal in Race-3 as he slipped past pole-sitter Schumacher immediately after the start and then put in two back-to-back fastest laps to effectively seal his win. He then clocked the fastest lap of the race in Lap-5 to further extend his lead over Schumacher who had to be content with a second place finish.
Behind the duo, 16-year old Indian-American Yuven Sundaramoorthy made good progress from P5 to P3 while Young who shot up from eighth to fourth eventually finished fifth behind Hijjawi who is in his first single-seater season.
Race-4 winner Dylan Young (centre) flanked by second-placed Manaf Hijjawi (left) and third-placed David Schumacher on 14 Dec 2019 “I had a pretty good start today and moved to P3, but couldn’t get past David (Schumacher). Overall, I am quite happy with my second podium of the championship. It’s been a good learning experience, especially racing with experienced F3 drivers. Everyone has been improving and so, the grid is getting more competitive,” said Sundaramoorthy who has his roots in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
Late last night, in Race-2 that was run under lights and on reverse grid, Schumacher came out on top after having started fifth, in a hectic, nerve-wracking three-car finish as he took the chequered flag just ahead of Viscaal and Young. The trio went wheel-to-wheel to set up a thrilling finish with leader Young dropping two places in the last lap as first Viscaal and then Schumacher passing him. The two front-row starters, pole-sitter Reece Ushijima and Joshua Mason, eventually finished fifth and fourth, respectively, unable to match the pace of the top three.
The results (all 10 laps unless mentioned):
Race-2 (10 laps): 1. David Schumacher (Germany) (20mins, 24.266secs); 2. Bent Viscaal (Netherlands) (20:25.968); 3. Dylan Young (Australia) (20:25.994). Fastest Lap: Schumacher (02:00.732).
Race-3: 1. Viscaal (20:16.541); 2. Schumacher (20:17.306); 3. Yuven Sundaramoorthy (USA) (20:23.243). Fastest Lap: Viscaal (02:00.896).
Race-4: 1. Young (20:27.236); 2. Manaf Hijjawi (Jordan) (20:28.071); 3. Schumacher (20:29.810). Fastest Lap: Schumacher (02:01.302).
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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).
