INDIA in F1

Tag: National Championship

  • Anish Shetty, Deepak Ravikumar post maiden wins

    Anish Shetty, Deepak Ravikumar post maiden wins

    Chennai, 12 Sept 2021: Bengaluru-based Anish Damodara Shetty (Race Concepts) pulled off a well-deserved win, if a bit fortuitous, his first of the season in the premier Prostock 301-400cc category as the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2021 concluded at the MMRT, here on Sunday.

    Also scoring his maiden win of the 2021 season was Deepak Ravikumar who led a 1-2 finish for TVS Racing with championship leader Jagan Kumar in tow ahead of Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing’s Senthil Kumar. The lead Honda rider, Rajiv Sethu, who was eyeing a possible win, crashed after making contact with Senthil in the last lap and eventually finished a distant ninth which fetched him one point.

    Earlier, Chennai’s Ryhana Bee (RACR) and Thrissur lad Allwin Xavier (Sparks Racing) won in the Girls and Novice (Stock 165cc) categories, respectively.

    The Prostock 301-400cc race was action-packed. With several front-runners, including championship leader Rajini Krishnan (RACR) crashing out in the latter part of the eight-lap race, the door was open for Anish Shetty, astride a KTM RC390, to seize the opportunity to win from TVS Racing’s KY Ahamed, the defending champion, and Hyderabad’s Rahil Shetty (Gusto Racing).

    Rajini, winner of three consecutive races, crashed at the last corner on the sixth lap soon after surviving a contact on the back sweep with TVS Racing’s Deepak Ravikumar whose challenge thus ended.

    Despite the poor result, Rajini continues to occupy the top spot in the championship stakes with 75 points while Anish Shetty (63) moved to second position, followed by Rahil Shetty (58).

    The expected TVS vs Honda battle in the Prostock 165cc race flickered for a while with Jagan, Rajiv and Ravikumar swapping lead. The trio was bunched close together with Senthil lurking in their shadow. With a couple of the eight laps left, Ravikumar forged ahead while behind him, Rajiv and Senthil tangled which took out the former, leaving Jagan to snatch P2 while Senthil completed the podium.

    The result still left Jagan in the championship lead with a tally of 93 points, well clear of Ravikumar (67) and Rajiv Sethu (56).

    Earlier, Ryhana Bee chalked up her second consecutive win in the Girls category, while pushing front-runner Lani Zena Fernandez (Speed Up Racing) from Puducherry to second place. Mumbai’s Jagruthi Penkar (Sparks Racing) completed the podium. Defending champion Ann Jennifer (Sparks Racing), who had won all four races last season, crashed again as she did in last month’s first round and is still to open her account.

    Meanwhile, Chennai riders Kavin Quintal (NSF 250R) and Kevin Kannan (Hornet 2.0) notched their fourth straight win while Bokaro Steel City’s Prakash Kamath (Honda CBR 150) achieved a double  in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup One-make Championship organised by the MMSC.

    Kolhapur’s 12-year old Jinendra Kiran Sangave also recorded his fourth consecutive win in the TVS Rookie category.

    The results (Provisional – all 6 laps unless mentioned):

    National Championship:

    Prostock 301-400cc (Race-2 – 8 laps): 1. Anish Damodara Shetty (Race Concepts, Bengaluru) (15mins, 09.769secs); 2. Ahmed KY (TVS Racing, Chennai) (15:10.171); 3. Rahil Shetty (Gusto Racing, Hyderabad) (15:10.310).

    Pro-Stock 165cc (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing, Chennai) (15:51.435); 2. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing, Chennai) (15:51.828); 3. Senthil Kumar (Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) (16:10.248, incl 15-sec penalty for jump start).

    Novice (Stock 165cc) Race-2: 1. Allwin Xavier (Sparks Racing, Thrissur) (13:01.182); 2. Alwin Sundar (AS Motorsports, Chennai) (13:01.218); 3. Anfal Akdhar (Rockstar Racing, Thrissur) (13:03.516).

    Girls (Stock 165cc, 5 laps): 1. Ryhana Bee (RACR, Chennai) (10:58.929); 2. Lani Zena Fernandez (Speed Up Racing, Puducherry) (11:01.217); 3. Jagruti Penkar (Sparks Racing, Mumbai) (11:18.622).

    One-Make Championship organized by Madras Motor Sports Club:

    Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250R (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. Kavin Quintal (Chennai) (14:52.563); 2. Sarthak Chavan (Pune) (15:01.558); 3. Geoffrey Reviven Emmanuel (Chennai) (15:08.141).­­

    CBR 150 (Race-2): 1. Prakash Kamath (Bokaro Steel City) (13:15.766); 2. Johann Reeves Emmanuel (Chennai) (13:28.042); 3. Theopaul Leander (Chennai) (13:28.204).

    Hornet 2.0 (Race-2): 1. Kevin Kannan (Chennai) (13:28.694); 2. Balaji G (Chennai) (13:29.169); 3. Alwin Sundar (Chennai) (13:29.435).

    TVS Apache Open (RR310, Race-2): 1. Amarnath Menon (Calicut) (11:51.317); 2. Navaneeth Kumar (Puducherry) (11:51.778); 3. KK Anandhu (Chennai) (11:52.872).

    Rookie (RTR 200, Race-2): 1. Jinendra Kiran Sangave (Kolhapur) (12:56.019); 2. Vignesh Gowd (Hyderabad) (13:02.618); 3. Jagathishree (Chennai) (13:02.922).

  • India to conduct 11 Nationals in different motorsports disciplines in 2021

    India to conduct 11 Nationals in different motorsports disciplines in 2021

    Bengaluru, 27 Feb 2021: The Indian Federation which runs the motorsports in the country, FMSCI, has announced that 11 National championships would be held in the year 2021. The major difference would be the dropping of the Indian National Drag Championshipo for four wheelers, which was not held in 2020 due to the COVID19 pandemic.

    The addition would be Indian National Gymkhana Championship which the current President Mr Akbar Ebrahim promised in 2018 during his last stint as the chief of the Indian body which is the ASN of FIA. The X30 Karting Nationals too have disappeared from the National Championship list and the Indian National Autocross Championship regains its place after a haitus of a few years.

    FMSCI, the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India, is the governing body for running motorsports in the country and are recognised by the Ministry of Sports but are not in the priority list of sports nor are funded by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), an arm of the Ministry.

    It is interesting to note that Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) the rights holder for the National Racing Championship for both two-wheelers and four-wheelers have also announced the Calendar for 2022 in both the disciplines. MMSC is the promoter for the two events, along with the Drag Nationals for three years from 2019 to 2021, but due to the COVID pandemic, the Federation has granted an extended fourth year for all the promoters.

    Following are the Nationals to be run in 2021:

    1. MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship

    2. JK Tyre  FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship

    3. FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship

    4. MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship

    5. MRF MOGRIP FMSCI National Supercross Championship

    6. MRF MOGRIP FMSCI National Rally Championship 2W

    7. MMS FMSCI National Karting Championship

    8. FMSCI Indian National Autocross Championship

    9. MMSC FMSCI Indian National 2W Drag Championship

    10. FMSCI Indian National Rally Sprint Championship 2021

    11. FMSCI Indian National Gymkhana Championship – 2021

  • MRF Challenge set for exciting finish; MRF MMSC National car racing season begins

    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.

  • Srinivas Teja, Raghul Rangasamy seal respective championship title

    Srinivas Teja, Raghul Rangasamy seal respective championship title

    • Two wins for Deepak Ravikumar
    • Pole for Nayan Chatterjee in MRF F1600

    Chennai, September 7: Srinivas Teja from Chennai and Mamallapuram’s Raghul Rangasamy, both from Performance Racing team, sealed the titles in their respective categories with a race to spare in the fifth and final round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship at the MMRT, here on Friday.

    Deepak Ravikumar (25) on way to winning the Formula LGB 1300 race on 7 Sept 2018. Photos by Anand Philar

    A second-place finish behind Deepak Ravikumar (Infinite Piston) ensured the title for 25-year old Teja in the Super Stock class of saloon cars category as he took his tally to an unbeatable 106. Ravkumar moved to second position in the championship with 76.5 points, ahead of Bengaluru’s Varun Anekar (Race Concepts, 75) and the duo will be fighting it out in the second race tomorrow. Anekar, who enjoyed a huge lead, in today’s race, retired when the throttle cable snapped in the sixth lap.

    Srinivas Teja (left) and Raghul Rangasamy who won the National championship in the Super Stock and Esteem Cup categories

    “Today, my focus was on complete the race without any mishap as I needed to finish second or third to pick up enough points to seal the championship. This is my first season in the Super Stock category and I am very happy that I was able to win the title,” said Teja.

    Rangasamy, a versatile racer though just 25, capped another fine season by sealing the title in the Esteem Cup, taking an insurmountable lead after scoring his seventh win in 10 starts this season. Rangasamy had won the Super Stock and Formula LGB 1300 titles in 2016 besides finishing second runner-up in the MRF F1600.

    With Teja and Rangasamy annexing the championship, Ravikumar’s “double” of winning the Super Stock and the Formula LGB 1300 races was somewhat overshadowed. However, the title fight in the LGB 1300 class is between Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motorsports, 136 points) and Sohil Shah (M Sport, 135) who finished fourth and fifth, respectively, going into tomorrow’s Race 2.

    POLE FOR NAYAN CHATTERJEE

    Mumbai’s Nayan Chatterjee qualified for pole position in the MRF F1600 category with a hot lap of 01minute, 39.432seconds, ahead of Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram) and Chennai’s Goutham Parekh. The winner of the championship which concludes on Sunday earns a ticket to the Mazda Road to Indy Shootout in the United States later this year.

    Meanwhile, Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) snatched the pole position in the premier Indian Touring Cars class, driving a car that went through a few subtle aero changes since the previous round . His arch-rival Arjun Narendran, also from Coimbatore, and Arka Motorsports team-mate Ashish Ramaswamy, the championship leader from Bengaluru, qualified second and third respectively for tomorrow’s race that promises another close contest.

    “We made a few aero changes to the car and it reflected in our lap timings. I could have gone a bit more quicker, but got caught up in traffic during a flying lap,” said Balu, who has returned to racing after a gap of five years.

    THREE INDIAN ENTRIES FOR CATERHAM RACES

    Meanwhile, veteran racers Vicky Chandhok (Chennai), who scored two podiums during last week in the Caterham 7 Asia Zonal Championship, and B Vijayakumar (Coimbatore), besides Salem’s Kasha Sai are the three Indian entries in this weekend’s double-header. In today’s Free Practice session, Sri Lankan Sheran Fernando was the quickest, followed by Vijayakumar, Chandhok, Andew Jude Choksy (Sri Lanka) and Kasha Sai.

    The fourth round of the Formula 4 South-East Asia championship also got underway with a free practice session that leader Alessandro Ghritetti (France) topped.

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

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race-1): Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai) (15mins, 42.479secs); 2. A Balaprasath (Coimbatore) (15:43.087); 3. Sai Sanjay (Salem) (15:48.496).

    Super Stock (Race-1): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (Infinite Piston) (16:41.287); 2. Srinivas Teja (Performance Racing) (17:02.783); 3. Kasha Sai (Arka Motorsports) (17:05.700).

    Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-1): 1. Chrys D’Souza (Unimek Racing) (17:11.446); 2. Prabhu AS (Arka Motorsports) (17:27.207); 3. Nikunj Vagh (Team N1) (17:54.575).

    Esteem Cup (Race-1): 1. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) (16:42.575); 2. Lea Daran (Performance Racing) (18:00.485).

    Qualifying – MRF F1600: 1. Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) (01:39.432); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram) (01:39.523); 3. Goutham Parekh (Chennai) (01:39.623).

    Indian Touring Cars : 1. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) (01:52.311); 2. Arjun Narendran (Arka Motorsports) (01:52.668); 3. Ashish Ramaswamy (Arka Motorsports) (01:53.922). Turbo: 1. Karthik Tharani (Chennai) (01:54.179); 2. Rayomand Banajee (Mumbai) (01:55.560); 3. Ishaan Dodhiwala (Hyderabad) (01:56.312).