INDIA in F1

Tag: Nikhilesh Raju

  • Rishon Rajeev tops Seniors; Nikhilesh, Rivaan Dev excel with a double each: Karting Nationals

    Rishon Rajeev tops Seniors; Nikhilesh, Rivaan Dev excel with a double each: Karting Nationals

    Coimbatore, July 29: Bengaluru’s Rishon Rajeev and Nikhilesh Raju, and Rivaan Dev Preetham, the 11-year-old from Chennai, took the honours in their respective categories in the third round of the Meco Fmsci National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2024 at the brand new CoASTT circuit, built by India’s first F1 driver, Narain Karthikeyan, here on Sunday.

    Former champion and Indian F4 driver, Rishon Rajeev (Birel Art India), topped the Pre-Final and the Final in the Senior Max class to underline his dominance. In fact, Rishon won the 19-lap Final by 7.4 seconds with Rayo Racing’s Krish Gupta from Mumbai finishing second and Bengalurean Ruhaan Alva (MSport) coming in third.

    Nikhilesh Raju (Peregrine Racing) extended his win-streak by winning both Pre-Final and Final races in the Junior Max category. He edged out Gurugram’s Aarav Dewan (Leapfrog Racing) in the Final with Eshanth Vengatesan (Chennai, MSport) taking P3 spot. In the Pre-Final too Nikhilesh was a comfortable winner while Eshanth finished second, ahead of Aarav.

    Rivaan Dev Preetham led a 1-2 finish for MSport in the Micro Max Final while finishing comfortably ahead of Rehan Khan R. Rayo Racing’s Danish Dalmiya from Mumbai completed the podium. Earlier, in the Pre-Final, the trio had finished in the same order.

    Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore City, V. Balakrishnan and District Collector Kranthi Kumar Pati were the chief guests at the prize distribution ceremony.

    The results (Provisional):

    Senior Max – Final (19 laps):1. Rishon Rajeev (Bengaluru, Birel Art India) (14:36.817); 2. Krish Gupta (Mumbai, Rayo Racing) (14:44.230); 3. Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru, MSport) (14:49.916).

    Pre-final (14 laps): 1. Rishon Rajeev (Bengaluru, Birel Art India) (10:40.150); 2. Rohan Madesh (Bengaluru, Peregrine Racing) (10:40.914); 3. Krish Gupta (Mumbai, Rayo Racing) (10:43.194).

    Junior Max – Final (20 laps): 1. Nikhilesh Raju (Bengaluru, Peregrine Racing) (15:06.695); 2. Aarav Dewan (Gurugram, Leapfrog Racing) (15:09.069); 3. Eshanth Vengatesan (Chennai, MSport) (15:12.905).

    Pre-final (15 laps): 1. Nikhilesh Raju (Bengaluru, Peregrine Racing) (11:19.432); 2. Eshanth Vengatesan (Chennai, MSport) (11:23.919); 3. Aarav Dewan (Gurugram, Leapfrog Racing) (11:25.450).

    Micro Max – Final (20 laps): 1. Rivaan Dev Preetham (Chennai, MSport) (16:07.601); 2. Rehan Khan R (Chennai, MSport) (16:09.439); 3. Danish Dalmiya (Pune, Rayo Racing) (16:14.864).

    Pre-final (15 laps): 1. Rivaan Dev Preetham (Chennai, MSport) (12:08.129); 2. Rehan Khan R (Chennai, MSport) (12:09.135) 3. Danish Dalmiya (Pune, Rayo Racing) (12:14.191).

  • Rohaan Madesh, Abhay M, Nikhilesh Raju crowned National karting champs

    Rohaan Madesh, Abhay M, Nikhilesh Raju crowned National karting champs

    Bengaluru, 22 October 2022: Peregrine Racing dominated the karting Nationals winning two titles with their leading driver Rohaan Madesh crowned as the Senior National champion 2022 and Nikhilesh Raju as Micro Max National champion after the fifth and final round of the Meco fmsci Rotax Max National Karting Championship which concluded here on Saturday.

    Nikhilesh Raju, Micro Max champ 2022

    Another local karter, Abhay Mohan of Birel Art India completed the Bengaluru sweep, winning the Junior Max National Championship. Rohaan, Abhay and Nikhilesh, the three Indian champions for 2022, booked a ticket for the World finals and will take part in Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in Portimao, Portugal from November 19 to 26.

    “It is a proud moment for Peregrine Racing to win the Senior National championship for the second year running. We won two titles and missed the third narrowly. It is the result of a lot of hard work and dedication by the team,” said Madesh Lakshman, team Principal, Peregrine Racing, Bengaluru.

    The reigning X30 2021 champion, 15-year Rohaan Madesh from Bengaluru, displayed excellent driving skills and dished out consistent performance throughout the season winning 8 of the 10 races to garner 442. “It is a very special feeling. I am thrilled and excited. After winning X30 title, Rotax Max is a more prestigious championship. I thank all my team, family and supporters,” said Rohaan.

    Rohaan Madesh, takes the win in the final race to be crowned Senior Max National Karting champion as the fifth and final round of 2022 season concluded at Meco Kartopia on Saturday, 22 Oct 2022. Photo by Shajahan

    The 12-year old Nikhilesh Raju, a Class 7 student from Vibgyor school, Bengaluru, overcame a tough fight from Eshanth Vengatesan of MSport, and bagged a double victory in the final round, to clinch the issue with 428 points. With steady performances and sound driving Nikhilesh, the 2021 X30 champion, won six of the 10 races and bounced back brilliantly after a bad Pre-final race in Round 4 to clinch a well-deserving championship.

    The 14-year Abhay M, also from Bengaluru, suffered some anxious moments before he was crowned the champion. A 10-sec penalty pushed him to 9th place in the final race but that was enough for him to score 395 points to tie with Anshul and win the Junior title with more number of race wins.

    Championship Standings:

    Senior Max: 1. Rohaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing team) 442 points; 2. Aditya Patnaik (Rayo Racing) 394; 3. Rishon Rajiv (Birel Art India) 386; Team champion: Peregrine Racing.

    Junior Max: 1. Abhay Mohankumar (Birel Art India) 395 points; 2. Anshul Shivakumar (Birel Art India/ MSport) 395; 3. Ishaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing) 389; Tie broken in favour of Abhay with 3 race wins to Anshul’s zero wins); Team champion: Birel Art India.

    Micro Max: 1. Nikhilesh Raju D (Peregrine Racing)  428 points; 2. Eshanth Vengatesan (MSport) 424; 3. Anuj Arun (MSport) 400; Team champion: Peregrine Racing.

  • Peregrine Racing’s Madesh brothers sweep honours; Nikhilesh shines in Micro Max

    Peregrine Racing’s Madesh brothers sweep honours; Nikhilesh shines in Micro Max

    Bengaluru, 17 July 2022: Madesh brothers, Rohaan and Ishaan, led the Peregrine Racing charge in the Meco fmsci Rotax Max National Karting Championship 2022 in an aggressive manner bagging full honours while Nikhilesh Raju bagged enough points with a win the finals to lead the Micro Max class in Round 1 which concluded at the Meco Kartopia circuit here on Saturday.

    The eldest of the Madesh brothers, from Peregrine Racing, also became the fastest driver of Round 1 clocking a blistering 55.357 in the fourth lap of the Official Practice 2. He virtually dominated the week-end winning everything on offer in the Senior Max class as he qualified first and won both the Finals and Pre-finals.

    On his part, his younger brother and former champion, Ishaan, likewise, brooked no challenge in the Junior Max category. He too made a sweep of all the races, save one heat which saw a Red Flag and a re-start. He also clocked the fastest time in his class logging a 56.088 seconds for the third lap in Official Practice 2. He won both the Finals and the Pre-Finals to take a substantial lead in the Junior class championship. He also set the best laps in both the races and was the only driver in his class to dip under 57-sec, reeling out blistering lap after lap in both the finals and the pre-finals. Fourteen of his laps were under 57-sec mark.

    In the Pre-finals, Ishaan, had a brilliant start and made his dash to the front look so easy, in the words of commentator, Vivek Abraham, and never disappointed the expectations of the small crowd with his pole to flag exploits. He displayed enough skill and race craft and soon increased the lead substantially to leave the drivers behind to fight for the second place where the battle was between Sai Shiva Makesh and Anshul Sai. Ishaan won a comfortable race to begin his campaign on a positive note full points from Round 1 in the 12-lap race which had a grid 12 karts of 22HP 2stroke engine.

    Nikhilesh Raju, the bespectacled defending champion began on the right note dominating the Micro Max class. Shrugging off initial hiccups in the Practice sessions, he qualified at the top and won the finals and came second in the Pre-finals races in the 8 to 12 years category.

    Starting P2 in the finals, Nikhilesh Raju had a bad start and went down to P5 but quickly recovered making up two positions. Later, after a good fight between the top two, he found the opportunity on Lap 8 as he made a move at the fourth corner but it proved to be futile. However, in the next corner he found a better exit as he went wide and took the other line and dashed to the front taking both the leading karts at a go. In the Pre-finals, Nikhilesh started P4 and had the pace but good defence by poleman Anuj kept him behind for eight laps with Eshan leading the pack. In the eighth lap Nikhilesh moved to 2nd with a brilliant move and retained the second place till the end. He earned enough points with a win in finals and a second in pre-finals to take the championship lead in the Micro Max class after the first round.

    The year began on a promising note as the Nationals for the first time in the recent past saw grids of over 20. With new teams entering the fray, the Senior grid saw 21 karts while the Junior grid boasted of 16 drivers including three girls, who kept the women in motorsport challenge alive with Shriya Lohia running close to the frontline boys. The Micro Max too saw better numbers this year with 13 karts on the start gird.

    Provisional official classification – Round 1 2022:

    Junior Max: Finals (14 laps):

    1. #55 Ishaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing);

    2. #27 Anshul Sai Shivakumar (Birel Art India);

    3. #46 Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (MSport);

    Junior Max: Pre-Finals (12 laps):

    1. #55 Ishaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing);

    2. #27 Anshul Sai Shivakumar (Birel Art India);

    3. #46 Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (MSport);

    Junior Max Qualifying:

    1. #55 Ishaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing);

    2. #45 Abhay M (Birel Art India);

    3. #46 Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (MSport);

    Micro Max Finals (12 laps):

    1. #11 Nikhilesh Raju D (Peregrine Racing);

    2. #17 Eshanthn Vengatesan (MSport);

    3. #10 Aditya Suresh Kamat (Birel Art India);

    Micro Max Pre-Finals (10 laps):

    1. #17 Eshanthn Vengatesan (MSport);

    2. #11 Nikhilesh Raju D (Peregrine Racing);

    3. #25 Anuj Arun (MSport);

    Micro Max Qualifying:

    1. #10 Aditya Suresh Kamat (Birel Art India);

    2. #11 Nikhilesh Raju D (Peregrine Racing);

    3. #17 Eshanthn Vengatesan (MSport);

    Senior Max Finals (16 laps):

    1. #69 Rohaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing);

    2. #96 Nigel Abraham (Peregrine Racing);

    3. #62 Rishon Rajeev (Birel Art India);

    Senior Max Pre-Finals (14 laps):

    1. #69 Rohaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing);

    2. #63 Ruhaan Alva (MSport);

    3. #96 Nigel Abraham (Peregrine Racing);

    Senior Qualifying:

    1. #69 Rohaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing);

    2. #96 Nigel Abraham (Peregrine Racing);

    3. #63 Ruhaan Alva (MSport);

    (Editor’s Note: The results were updated with Official version on 18 July 2022 6pm)

  • Ruhaan, Rohaan, Nikhilesh continue their exploits

    Ruhaan, Rohaan, Nikhilesh continue their exploits

    Bengaluru, 27 August 2021: Talented Bengaluru teenage pilot Ruhaan Alva once again dominated the proceedings with complete authority to take overall honours as ‘fastest driver’ in Round 2 winning all the four races on the menu in the Senior class of the Meco FMSCI National Karting Championship NC Racing MSport IAME X30 India races at the 1.2-km Meco Kartopia, about 20 km from here on Friday.

    In the Junior section, Rohaan Madesh stamped his class once again dominating with controlled aggression to bag three victories after a surprise loss in Race 1 where Guwahati karter Jaden R Pariat won to take 31 points from this round for a total of 50 points and is now 2nd on the leaderboard. Rohaan Madesh, with 65 points (32+33) is the deserving leader with another round of 4 races scheduled for Saturday. Younger of the two Madesh brothers, Ishaan, the reigning Cadet champion, fetched 23 points to add to the 20 (Round 1) for a total 43 points is in third place after two rounds. The third of the five rounds will be held on Saturday.

    Nikhilesh Raju, the 11-year 6th Class student of Vibgyor School, Bengaluru won the Round 2 in Cadet Class winning three of the four Round 2 races to garner 34 points to add to the 34 from Round 1. He is leading the championship table with 64 points. Arafath Sheikh, the baby of the grid at 10 years, a 4th class student of Bishop School in Pune, won Race 2 to bag 31 valuable points (to add to the 26 from Round 1) and jumped to second place in the standings with 57 points. Local rookie, a 12-year 7th Standard girl, Zarah Mishra, who has managed 23 points is third in the championship with a total of 39 points from two rounds. Three newcomers from Gujarat Shrili Manish Mistry (19 points), Hrydan S Patel (16) and Ateev Khandelval (11) helped retain the 6-kart grid as Aditya Suresh Kamat and Vedha Vishnu from Chennai did not turn up for this round.

    Ruhaan, the 15-year-old champion performed a classic act once again conquering everything that came his way taking four victories, four fastest laps, best qualifying and second best qualifying times for pole and became the fastest man on the grid with a best lap time of 56.530 in Round 2 qualifying session. Earlier on August 1, he won three races in Round 1 and is currently leading the championship. He also clocked a best race time of 14min, 22.799seconds in Race 3 over 15 laps of 1.2 km Meco Kartopia tarmac run clockwise.

    Former champion Ameya Bafna, who made a surprise visit in Round 1, failed to turn up for the two rounds this weekend, thus reducing whatever competition Alva had. Another Bengaluru karter, Nigel Abraham Thomas, took full advantage of the depleted grid to showcase his talent, taking three silver after his bronze in the first race behind former champion from Chennai Nirmal Umashankar. After his second in the first race, Nirmal could not beat Nigel and had to be satisfied with three bronze in the rest of the three races.

    Raaj Bakhru from Mumbai was consistent, after he overcame a bad first race which he `Did Not Finish’ (DNF) to improve steadily in the next three races. He came 5th in Race 2, 4th in Race 3 before finally taking a bronze in the final race. Another rookie from Garden City, Sawan Sathyarayan, finished 4th in the first two races.

    Cadets will have two races on Saturday and two more on Sunday to complete Round 3 while Juniors will complete all four races of Round 3 on Saturday.

    Round 2 Final (provisional) classification :

    Seniors (15 laps) Friday Grid: 6

    Race 1: 1. #27 Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru) (14:29.122); 2. #25 Nirmal Umashankar (Chennai) (14:31.631); 3. #28 Nigel Abraham Thomas (Bengluru) (14:34.483); 4.  #31 Sawan Sathyanarayan (Bengaluru) (14:45.525); 5.  #30 Vidyali Reddy (Bengaluru) (15:17.922); DNF Lap 1 #32 Raaj Bakhru (Mumbai) (1:11.022). Best lap: Ruhaan Alva 56.892. Best Speed: 75.9 kmph. Margin of win: 2.509sec.

    Race 2: 1. #27 Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru) (14:37.013); 2. #28 Nigel Abraham Thomas (Bengaluru) (14:38.755); 3. #25 Nirmal Umashankar (Chennai) (14:39.737); 4.  #31 Sawan Sathyanarayan (Bengaluru) (14:43.322); 5. #32 Raaj Bakhru (Mumbai) (14:43.636); 6. #30 Vidyali Reddy (Bengaluru) (14:54.725); Best lap: Ruhaan Alva 57.174. Best Speed: 75.5 kmph. Margin of win: 1.742sec.

    Race 3: 1. #27 Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru) (14:22.799); 2. #28 Nigel Abraham Thomas (Bengaluru) (14:25.169); 3. #25 Nirmal Umashankar (Chennai) (14:28.438); 4.  #32 Raaj Bakhru (Mumbai) (14:32.912); 5. #31 Sawan Sathyanarayan (Bengaluru) (14:45.760); 6. #30 Vidyali Reddy (Bengaluru) (14:48.863); Best lap: Ruhaan Alva 57.131 Best Speed: 75.616 kmph. Margin of win: 2.370sec.

    Race 4 (Restart): 1. #27 Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru) (18:57.927); 2. #28 Nigel Abraham Thomas (Bengaluru) (19:09.296); 3. #32 Raaj Bakhru (Mumbai) (19:41.131); 4. #25 Nirmal Umashankar (Chennai) (19:53.111); 5. #31 Sawan Sathyanarayan (Bengaluru) (19:20.087 – 14laps); 6. #30 Vidyali Reddy (Bengaluru) (19:42.753 -14laps); Best lap: Ruhaan Alva 1:14.544 Best Speed: 57.952 kmph. Margin of win: 11.369sec.

    Friday’s Juniors and Cadet results of Ro2 to be updated!

  • Nikhilesh Raju bags Round 2 honours in Cadet class

    Nikhilesh Raju bags Round 2 honours in Cadet class

    Bengaluru, 26 August 2021: Nikhilesh Raju, a 6th class student from Bengaluru, won three of the four races to emerge champion of Round 2 at the Meco fmsci National Karting Championship X30 class at the 1.21 Meco Kartopia here on Thursday.

    The 11-year Vibgyor High School karter impressed with his driving skills and won three races and finished fourth in Race 2 to bag 35 points out of a possible 40 in Round 2 on Thursday. Arafath Sheikh of Pune took Race 2 and came second all the three other races. Though he set the fastest laps in three of the four races, he could only get 31 points and is second in the Championship table. Another school girl from Bengaluru, Zaarah Misra took the third place thrice and is third in the points table.

    The four third round races will be held on Saturday and Sunday.

    Round 2 (At 1.2km Meco Kartopia, Bengaluru)

    Cadet Class

    Race 1 (10 laps): 1. #4 Nikhilesh Raju (Bengaluru) (10:56.783); 2. #5 Arafath Sheikh (Pune) (11:02.144); 3. #1 Zaarah Misra (Bengaluru) (11:11.585); 4. #8 Shrili Manish Mistry (Gujarat) (11:18.667); 5. #3 Hrydan Patel (Gujarat) (11:30.206); Fastest lap: Arafath Sheikh 1:04.340; DNF after 5 laps #6 Ateev Khandelval (Gujarat). Grid 5 karters.

    Race 2 (10 laps): 1. #5 Arafath Sheikh (Pune) (11:06.221); 2. #8 Shrili Manish Mistry (Gujarat) (11:18.288); 3. #1 Zaarah Misra (Bengaluru) (11:24.746); 4. #3 Hrydan Patel (Gujarat) (9 laps 11:21.108); 5. . #4 Nikhilesh Raju (Bengaluru) (10-laps 11:06.334) 4 position penalty for Art. #18 ‘edge into’; Fastest Lap: 1:04.415 by Nikhilesh Raju. Grid 6 karters.

    Race 3 (10 Laps): 1. #4 Nikhilesh Raju (Bengaluru) (10:44.573); 2. #5 Arafath Sheikh (Pune) (10:46.400); 3. #1 Zaarah Misra (Bengaluru) (11:16.815; 3-sec penalty for false start); 4. #6 Ateev Khandelval (Gujarat) (11:17.512; 10-sec penalty for avoidable collision); 5. #3 Hrydan Patel (Gujarat) (9 laps – 11:47.522); 6. #8 Shrili Manish Mistry (Gujarat) (11:19.602; 2-positon penalty added for avoidable collision); Fastest lap: Fastest lap: Arafath Sheikh 1:03.498; Grid: 6.

    Race 4 (10 laps): 1. #4 Nikhilesh Raju (Bengaluru) (10:43.483); 2. #5 Arafath Sheikh (Pune) (10:44.433); 3. #6 Ateev Khandelval (Gujarat) (11:02.264); 4. #1 Zaarah Misra (Bengaluru) (11:03.516); 5. #8 Shrili Manish Mistry (Gujarat) (11:19.936); 6. #3 Hrydan Patel (Gujarat) (9 laps – 11:06.125); Fastest lap: Arafath Sheikh 1:03.560; Grid: 6 karters.