INDIA in F1

Tag: Ruhaan Alva

  • JK Tyre X30 Karting Nationals: Nirmal, Ruhaan, Ishaan crowned National champions

    JK Tyre X30 Karting Nationals: Nirmal, Ruhaan, Ishaan crowned National champions

    (L-R) The JK Tyre FMSCI National Karting X30 Class winners-Ruhaan Alva (Junior Class), Nirmal Umashankar (Senior Class) and Ishaan Madesh (Cadet Class) in Bengaluru on Saturday. JK Tyre photo

    Bengaluru, 7 Sept 2019: Bengaluru’s Ruhaan Alva capped off his spectacular run in the X-30 Junior class of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Karting Championship to emerge the 2019 champions here on Saturday. Chennai’s Nirmal Umashankar and Bengaluru Ishaan Madesh became the National Champions in the Senior and Cadet classes in the last round itself.

    Nirmal, a regular on the JKNRC, collected a total of 23 points in the fifth and final round to amass 160 points to win the Senior category by a mile. Bengaluru’s Aditya Swaminathan (101 points) is the first runner up in the National Championship in Senior category followed by Delhi’s Debarun Banerjee (81) .
     
    It was an eventful start to the weekend, with a carnival-like atmosphere prevailing at the Meco Kartopia. Even as X-30 class was running its final course and the JK Tyre FMSCI National Karting Championship – Sodi Junior & Sodi Senior class’ qualifying rounds began, all eyes were on the `Girls on Track’ programme that attracted racing enthusiasts from across the country.
     
    Ruhaan Alva on way to winning the National Championship in the last round. Photo Shajahan

    Apart from girls from New Delhi, Chennai and Coimbatore, there were four from Nepal too. A handful of 8-year-olds too turned up to get initiated into motorsports along with teenagers and women in their twenties and thirties.

     
    They went through the entire drill of starting on racing simulators before eventually competing in the go-karting slaloms. In between, they underwent a batak reflex test and a basic pit-stop to be set for proper racing.
     
    Meanwhile, local boy Ruhaan Alwa underlined his supremacy in the Junior Category by sealing the title in the first race of the fifth round itself. He returned with a tally of 164 points to be crowned as the National Champion in the Junior class. 
     
    City-mate Arjun S Nair (134 points) is the runner-up in the National Championship and Chennai’s Ryan Mohammed collected a total of 24 points to take the third position in the National Championship with a total of 91 points.
     
    In the Cadet Category, it was Bengaluru’s Ishaan Madhesh who maintained his vice-like grip on the top of the table, winning three more races to accumulate 36 points win with a grand sum of 189 points. Shriya Lohia, a 11-year-old driver from Pune, picked up 27 points to end on the second spot with 134 points. While Ishaan was outstanding and became the National Champion in Cadet class winning all the races, it was a creditable show by Shriya Lohia, who beat many of the boys to stand first runner-up in the National Championship.  
     
    Another Pune driver Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran finished third with a modest total of 117 points.
    Final poinst tally: (top 3) Cadet Category- 1. Ishaan Madesh (Bangalore) 189 points; 2. Shriya Lohia (Pune) 134 points; 3. Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (Pune) 117 points
     
    Junior Category- 1. Ruhaan Alva (Bangalore) 164 points; 2. Arjun Nair (Bangalore) 134 points; 3. Ryan Mohammed (Chennai) 91 points.
     
    Senior Category- 1. Nirmal Umashankar (Chennai) 160 points; 2. Aditya Swaminathan (Bangalore) 101 points ; 3. Debarun Banerjee 81 points.
  • Clean sweep by Ruhaan; Ishaan Madesh, Nirmal clinch title in their class with a round to spare

    Clean sweep by Ruhaan; Ishaan Madesh, Nirmal clinch title in their class with a round to spare

    Winners all: The Round 4 winners of the X30 Karting Nationals at Meco Kartopia on Sunday

    Bengaluru, 14 July 2019: Ruhaan Alva and Ishaan Madesh stamped their authority in the X-30 Junior and Cadet classes respectively winning all the four races in the Round 4 while 17-year old Nirmal Umashanker found a late challenger in Abhirath Shetty of Bengaluru, who notched off two wins in the 4-race Round 4,  but the Chennai lad came back to win the last race and won the maiden X30 Senior Class Championship for the year 2019 with a round to spare. While Ruhaan has to wait for the last round, Ishaan Madesh too has clinched the Cadet Class Championship title with a round to spare as he enjoys an unbeatable lead of over 40 points.

    Ruhaan wins all 4 races in Junior Class Round 4 on Sunday. An INDIAinF1 photo by arrangement

    Nirmal, a 2nd-year mechanical engineering student, restored some pride winning two of the four races and bagged the inaugural Championship title winning the X-30 Senior Class with a huge unbeatable lead of 56 points going into Round four next month with 40 points on offer. He garnered 137 points with Debarun Banerjee of Delhi trailing in second place with only 81 points.

    The JK Tyre National Karting Championship weekend which concluded at the 1.2km Meco Kartopia circuit, here on Sunday, saw four races each in the X-30 Round 3 and Round 4 that were held together in a three-day weekend from Friday.

    Ruhaan wins all four races in Round 4 on Sunday. An INDIAinF1 image

    Ruhaan Alva, all of 13 years, won all the four races, with ease and grace as he maintained comfortable margins of lead in the Junior category while Ishaan, the younger of Madesh brothers, from Bengaluru continued his unbeaten run winning all the four races in the Cadet category.

    The 10-year old Vidyashilp Academy student suffered a rare loss yesterday to Shriya Lohia of Pune but his dominance on the track goes hand in hand with the playful nature of a tiny-tot, all intact.

    Ishaan Madesh on way to his victory in Race 4 on Sunday.

    Race 1 of all the three categories of Round 4 were held on Saturday. Sunday began with the Junior class and Ruhaan Alva took a commanding lead and was so relaxed with a comfortable lead that Arjun Nair and Ryan Mohammed were left fighting for the second place.

    And Ruhaan, lost the sight of the fastest lap as he won by over four seconds but Arjun pipped Ryan for the second with Ryan forced to be content with the fastest lap.

    Later in both the races, Ruhaan showed his mastery and won the races with the fastest lap to boot. Arjun Nair came second pushing MR Rishon to third in Race 3 while Rishon took the second spot edging out Arjun in Race 4.

    Ishaan Madesh (centre) won all the four races in the Round 4 to lead the X-30 Cadet championship.

    Ishaan Madesh took to the track after the Junior race and he continued to win all the three races in the Cadet class. After a rare loss yesterday, he did well to control the proceedings and won Race1 beating Pune’s Sai Shiva while Raiden Samervel of Mumbai came third, far behind the top two.

    However, it was the lone girl in the class, Shriya Lohia, who caught the eye, with her racing. She gave a tough fight to Ishaan in both Race 3 and 4 and also managed to bag the fastest laps. After the end of Round 4, Ishaan has 153 points and the second-place Shriya Lohia has 107. With four races and 40 points on offer in the last round, Ishaan virtually sealed the title for 2019 in the Cadet Class.

    Today INDIAinF1 features the photograph of the Baby of the Round 4 Arafath Sheikh, the youngest driver on the grid, who displayed amazing guts to overtake three of his more popular and experienced mates before finishing sixth in Cadet Class Race 3. At just 7 years, the young karter has a bright future if groomed well and nurtured properly.

    Baby of the Round, Arafath, in action on Sunday.

    Provisional Unaudited Results: X30 Round 4:

    Senior Class: Race 2 (15 laps): 1. Nirmal Umashanker (Chennai) (14:26.347); 2. Abhirath Shetty (Bengaluru) (14.28.209); 3. Aditya Swaminathan (Bengaluru) (14:28.588). Best Lap: Nirmal 55.322.

    Race 3 (15 laps): 1. Abhirath Shetty (13:56.849); 2. Nirmal Umashanker (13:57.138); 3.Aditya Swaminathan (14:06.852). Best Lap: Nirmal 55.242.

    Race 4 (15 laps): 1. Nirmal Umashanker (14:01.022); 2. A Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (14:05.400); 3.Abhirath Shetty (14:08.818). Best Lap: Nirmal 55.252.

    Junior Class: Race 2 (15 laps): 1. Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru) (13:55.994); 2. Arjun S Nair (Bengaluru) (14:00.210); 3. Ryan Mohammed (Chennai) (14:00.341). Best Lap: Ryan 55.145.

    Race 3 (15 laps): 1. Ruhaan Alva (13:52.519); 2. Arjun S Nair (13: 54.422); 3. MR Rishon (Bengaluru) (13:56.762). Best Lap: Ruhaan 55.228.

    Race 4 (15 laps): 1. Ruhaan Alva (13:52.325); 2. MR Rishon (13:55.129); 3. Arjun S Nair (13:58.400); Best Lap: Ruhaan 55.178.

    Cadet Class: Race 2 (10 laps): 1. Ishaan Madesh (Bengaluru) (11:16.885); 2. Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (Pune) (11:17.245); 3. Raiden Samervel (Mumbai) (11:28.082). Best Lap: Ishaan 1:02.681.

    Race 3 (10 laps): 1. Ishaan Madesh (11:15.186); 2. Shriya Lohia (Pune) (11:15.499); 3. Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (11:21.476). Best Lap: Shriya 1:02.777.

    Race 4 (10 lap): 1. Ishaan Madesh (10:34.220); 2. Shriya Lohia (10:35.078); 3. Raiden Samervel (10:45.089). Best Lap: Shriya 1:02.660.

    ends

  • Another podium for Bengaluru schoolboy Ruhaan Alva in Italy

    Another podium for Bengaluru schoolboy Ruhaan Alva in Italy

    File photo of Ruhaan Alva in action. Photo: by Team Alva

    Adria (Italy), 16 July 2018: India’s Ruhaan Alva came up with a fighting drive to finish on the podium with a fifth place in the sixth round of the Easykart Italia Championship at the Adria International Raceway here on Sunday. It was Ruhaan’s second consecutive podium finish following his first runner-up place in the previous round.

    Ruhaan, the 12-year old schoolboy from Bengaluru and supported by Play Factory, Sona Miller and Birel Art India, started the 100cc category final in 17th spot but cut through the field to finish fifth.

    The top five finishers were presented with trophies on the podium.

    Earlier, in the pre-final, Ruhaan had shown impressive pace to move from 12th to fourth before getting involved in an incident that pushed him down to 15th which put him 17th on the grid for the final race that followed.

    “I was quite happy with my pace through the weekend and was hopeful of strong result. Unfortunately, I could not qualify higher than 17th for the final, but had a good run to finish fifth which put me on the podium,” said Ruhaan who is among the six drivers selected by the prestigious International Easykart Driver Talent program organized by Birel ART in Italy.

    Ruhaan Alva’s next round is in September after the summer break in the championship.

    eom/db

  • Podium for Bengaluru schoolboy Ruhaan Alva

    Podium for Bengaluru schoolboy Ruhaan Alva

    San Giuseppe (Italy), 25 June 2018: India’s Ruhaan Alva enjoyed a fairly successful weekend with a podium finish in the fifth round of the Easykart Italian Championship at the Circuit Pomposa, near here on Sunday.

    Ruhaan, a 12-year old schoolboy from Bengaluru, supported by Play Factory and Birel Art India, showed good pace throughout the weekend to finish first runner-up in the 100cc category for his first podium of the 2018 championship.

    Earlier, Ruhaan qualified sixth for the pre-final round where he finished fourth. He was running third at one point but was tapped from behind which saw him drop to sixth. However, he fought his way back to end up fourth.

    In the final, Ruhaan yet again made places and was all set to catch up the third-placed driver. At this juncture, the two drivers in front retired due to mechanical problems and Ruhaan found himself in second place as he crossed the finish line.

    “I am very happy to get back on the podium. My performance this weekend was quite good, though it could have been better. However, the podium has given me lot of confidence after having finished ninth in the previous two rounds. I look to carrying forward this momentum into the next round in July,” said Ruhaan.

    Ruhaan next heads to Adria International Raceway where the sixth round of the championship is scheduled for July 14-15.

  • Another top-10 finish for Ruhaan Alva in Easykart Italia Championship

    Another top-10 finish for Ruhaan Alva in Easykart Italia Championship

    Ruhaan Alva

    Castelletto (Italy), June 4: India’s Ruhaan Alva delivered his second consecutive top-10 finish as he came in eighth in the 100cc category in the fourth round of the Easykart Italia championship here on Sunday.

    The 12-year old schoolboy from Bengaluru, supported by Play Factory and Birel Art India, and who had finished ninth in the previous round last month, promised much ahead of the race when he was the quickest in the last practice session that saw 15 drivers separated by just 0.5 seconds.

    Starting the pre-final race in sixth spot, just two-tenths off pole position, he qualified seventh on the grid for Sunday’s final. Ruhaan started the final hoping to make places, but lost two positions in the very first lap, but recovered to move back to seventh.

    Picking up the pace, Ruhaan managed to join the front-running bunch and was lining up to make few more places when an incident damaged his chassis that slowed him down considerably. As the race progressed, a struggling Ruhaan dropped a couple of spots to eventually finish ninth but was elevated to eighth following a penalty to a driver who was ahead of him.

    Ruhaan’s next engagement is the fifth round of the championship to be held at the Pomposa circuit on June 23-24.

  • Bengaluru’s Ruhaan Alva finishes 9th in Round 3 of Easykart Italia championship

    Bengaluru’s Ruhaan Alva finishes 9th in Round 3 of Easykart Italia championship

    Lonato (Italy), 14 May 2018: India’s Ruhaan Alva did well to finish ninth (100cc category) in the third round of the Eastkart Italian Championship at the famed South Garda karting circuit here on Sunday.

    In the 18-lap final, Ruhaan, the 11-year old schoolboy from Bengaluru, supported by Play Factory and Birel Art, started ninth on the 25-kart grid. He made two places to seventh by the end of the second lap, but could not make further progress and eventually finished ninth.

    Earlier, starting ninth in the pre-final, Ruhaan, who opted for the more competitive Easykart 100 category after finishing second runner-up in the Cadet class last season, did well to jump four spots to fifth, with sights trained on a possible podium finish. However, a shunt from the back saw him slip to 11th before fighting back to finish ninth.

    Ruhaan will next take part in the fourth round of the championship scheduled for June 2-3 at the International Circuit 7 Lakes in Castelletto.

  • Underweight Ruhaan disqualified after a creditable 12th: World Rotax Max Challenge

    Underweight Ruhaan disqualified after a creditable 12th: World Rotax Max Challenge

    File photo by Ruhaan Alva team

    Portimao (Portugal), 11 Nov 2017: Ruhaan Alva, the 11-year old schoolboy from Bengaluru and representing the Birel Art India team, marked his debut in the World Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals here on Saturday with a creditable 12th place finish in the Micro Max category out of 34 starters, only to be disqualified on a technicality.

    Ruhaan, supported by Play Factory and Sona Miller, was disqualified for being underweight by a mere 100 grams during the mandatory post-race weigh-in. As per regulations, the kart along with the driver in full racing gear, including the helmet, should weigh 110 Kgs, but Ruhaan tipped the scales at 109.9 Kgs.

    “We are absolutely shattered, but there is nothing we can do about it. Ruhaan had put in so much effort going into the World Finals and we had come to Portugal with a lot of hopes. So, an extremely disappointing finish to the week though Ruhaan

    The Grand Finals saw 360 karters from 59 countries competing in various age-group categories, and Ruhaan came through a week-long competition that saw four rounds of free practice, three qualifying heats, the Pre-Final and the Final with a consistent performance which won him much high acclaim.

    Though Ruhaan finished just outside the top-10 group, he improved with each outing and clocked his best lap of one minute, 07.992 seconds around the 1.5 Kms long circuit in the 10-lap Final that was won by France’s Louis Iglesias.

    Ruhaan opened the week with a best lap of 01:11.295 in the first of the practice sessions. As he grew in confidence and learnt the track, his times dropped. He qualified 10th for the Pre-Final and 13th for the Final.

    “It was a great learning experience for me, competing against the best in the World. I thought I could have done much better, but am happy that I could finish 12th in a field of 36 in my category that was extremely competitive. Of course, it was very disappointing to get disqualified for being underweight,” said Ruhaan who was punching above his weight considering that many of his competitors had more track time.

    Ruhaan thus completed an otherwise excellent season as he finished third overall in his category in the Italian Easykart Championship and second in the FMSCI Indian National championship.

    eom/revised with inputs from Ruhaan’s release on Nov 12, 12.30pm

  • Ruhaan Alva raring to go: World Rotax Max Challenge finale

    Ruhaan Alva raring to go: World Rotax Max Challenge finale

    Ruhaan Alva after booking the berth for World Finale in Bengaluru on Oct 15. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan

    Bengaluru, 5 Nov 2017: Schoolboy Ruhaan Alva, supported by Italian manufacturer Birel Art, will be making his debut in the World Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals commencing in the beachside town of Portimao, Portugal, from tomorrow (Monday) as 360 competitors representing 60 countries will vie for titles in various age-group categories.

    Ruhaan, the 11-year old from Bengaluru, who finished third Overall in the recently-concluded Easykart series in Italy, has entered in the 125 Micro Max category which has a grid of 36 drivers who have qualified from their respective National Rotax Max championships or international Rotax Max series.

    After completing formalities over the weekend, the competitors will have two days of practice sessions on Nov 6 and 7. The qualifying sessions commence on Wednesday, Nov 8, leading up to the three rounds of heats (Nov 9) and pre-finals (Nov 10) before the finals on Saturday, November 11.

    Looking ahead to his maiden participation in the Grand Finals, Ruhaan said he would put to good use his experience in the recent Eastkart championship in Italy and hoped to deliver a strong result.

    “I had a good season in Italy though it was very tough because I switched to a higher and more competitive Easykart 60 category after the first round in the Mini class which I won.

    “Despite a non-finish in one of the rounds thereafter, I still managed to tie for second place in the championship with my team-mate Patrese Lorenzo. However, since Lorenzo had participated in all the rounds in this category, he was declared second ahead of me although I had won more races.

    “It was otherwise a steep learning experience for me and it helped me to improve a lot. The experience helped me finish second in the National championship despite a few problems, including a non-finish in one of the rounds.” said Ruhaan.

    The 18th edition of the Grand Finals, which is among the most prestigious championship in the World of karting, has attracted 360 entries from about 60 countries and competing in six age-group categories.

    Race equipment like chassis, engines, tyres, fuel, tools, Kart trolleys will be provided to all participating drivers in order to guarantee equal opportunities and fair races.

    eom/press release

  • Ruhaan Alva, Yash Aradhya, Aaroh Ravindra for World Rotax Grand Finale in Portugal

    Bangalore, 15 Oct 2017: Ruhaan Alva (Micro Max), Yash Aradhya (Junior Max) and Aaroh Ravindra (Senior Max) will represent India in the World Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals at Portugal from November 4-11 according to sources. Portimao in Algarve will be the venue for the 16th edition where 288 of the best kart drivers in the world will compete in four categories supported by independent chassis partners.

    Meanwhile, in the Nationals, Arjun Rajiv of Birel Art India won the Micro Max Championship while Yash Aradhya (MSport) and Aaroh Ravindra of Rayo Racing won the Junior Max and Senior Max Championships respectively. Team Rayo Racing won the team championship while Nirmal Umashankar became the best driver of the year.

    Ruhaan Alva, won the final race of the fifth and final round in the Micro Max class at the Meco Kartopia in the Rotax Max Karting National Championship organised by Meco Motorsports under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (fmsci) here on Sunday.

    However, the 11-year old Bengaluru boy, who recently won the second runners-up place in the Italian EasyKart 60cc championship, was given a third place after the stewards’ ruling following a protest. That did not, however, deny him a second place in the Micro Max championship.

    Aaroh Ravindra, Senior Max National Champion. Photos by Srinivasa Krishnan
    Ruhaan reacts at the Meco Kartopia on Sunday after hearing the news of World finals. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan, commissioned for INDIAinF1.

    Ruhaan’s teammate Arjun Rajiv could only finish sixth and fifth in the two races this week-end but that was enough for him to garner a total tally of 416 points, eight more than Ruhaan, to win the Championship crown. Rishon MR, also of Birel Art India, came third for a clean sweep by the Birel team. Both Ruhaan and Rishon had 408 points.

    In the Senior Max championship, it was Aaroh Ravindra of Rayo Racing who won the National title with 436 points after he finished second in both the races in the last round here. Nirmal Umashankar of MSport was second with a tally of 403 points while Aanjan Patodia, also of Rayo Racing, got the second runners-up with 388 points.

    It was Yash Aradhya of MSport who won the National Championship in the Junior Max category with 432 points edging out Chirag Ghorpade, who won both the pre-finals andn finals this week-end but fell short by six points in his last-round dash with only 423 points. Yash came third in the pre-final and second in the last race of the season. Shahan Ali Mohsin MSport came third with 405 points with a second and third place this week-end.

    Championship winners:

    Micro Max

    1. Arjun Rajiv – 416 – Birel Art India
    2. Ruhaan Alva – 408 – Birel Art India
    3. Rishon M R – 408 – Birel Art India

     Winning Team Champion  – Peregrine Racing

    Junior Max

    1. Yash Aradya – 432 – MSPORT
    2. Chirag Ghorpade – 423 – BPC Racing
    3. Shahan Ali Mohsin – 405 – MSPORT

     Winning Team Champion  – MSPORT

    Senior Max

    1. Aaroh Ravindra – 436 – Rayo Racing
    2. Nirmal Umashankar – 403 – MSPORT
    3. Aanjan Patodia – 388 – Rayo Racing

    Winning Team Champion – Rayo Racing

    Maximum Number of Pole Position – Ruhaan Alva

    Maximum Number of Wins – Aaroh Ravinda

    Best New Corner – Rishon M R

    Best Driver of the Year – Nirmal Uma Shankar

    Akbar Ebrahim Most Improved Karter of the Year – Rohaan Madhesh

    eom/with inputs from official results

    edited at 11.15 am on 16 Oct 2017 correcting names following an official revisions

     

     

  • Bangalore school-boy Ruhaan third in Easykart Italian championship

    Ruhaan Alva with the trophy for finishing third Overall in the Easykart Italian Championship on Sunday. Image courtesy Ruhaan Alva

    Castelletto di Branduzzo (Italy), 9 Oct 2017: Ruhaan Alva of Bangalore came a creditable third in the Easykart Italian championship and was awarded a trophy at the prize-distribution function here on Sunday. The Easykart 60 cc races finished last month with 26 pilots in the fray.

    After deciding the winners of the Easykart Italia Trophy on the Friuli Venezia Giulia International Circuit in Lignano Sabbiadoro last month, where Ruhaan finished third in the championship, the event according to the well-established tradition, arrived here for this year’s Finale Internazionale, the closing event of the Easykart 2017 season. Even in the Grand Prix Finale, Ruhaan, who just turned 11, came 5th in the International competition. After starting 10th on the grid he managed a fifth on Sunday.

    Before he went to the last rounds (8&9), the Indian was placed fourth in the championship. In the 9-round event Ruhaan garnered 136 points, including three wins, for his third. In fact, he had more wins than the top-two but he was at a disadvantage after missing the first round in March. He was tied with Patrese Lorenzo (136) in the second place. D’urso Daniele came first with 154 points.

    In a chat with www.INDIAinF1.com, Umakanth Alva said: “Though he missed out on the first round of the Easy 60 category, since he was competing in Mini 60, he has been fighting it out for the top spot until round 7 where he had a DQ and dropped to 4th place. He has proved himself as a driver to watch out for and all the experience and learning from Italy will take him a long way.”

    Supported by Birel Art, the leading Italian kart manufacturer, he had a disappointing start to the weekend. Struggling for pace, he was placed ninth in his group and 19th overall after the qualifying practice session.

    Later, he finished Heat-1 in fifth place after making 14 places and was leading in Heat-2 when he was shunted off the track, but recovered to cross the line in eighth. In Heat-3, he started 10th and finished seventh to qualify for the Finals.

    Starting the finals again in 10th spot (on the basis of points accrued during the Heats), Ruhaan put in a determined performance to eventually finish fifth in a tougher field.

    eom/with inputs from AP Media Comm.