INDIA in F1

Tag: X30 Karting Nationals

  • Ruhaan Alva clinches Senior title with a round to spare: X30

    Ruhaan Alva clinches Senior title with a round to spare: X30

    Bengaluru, 17 Sept. 2021: Ruhaan Alva clinched the Senior National Championship in his debut with 5 races to spare as he continued his domination in the Meco FMSCI Indian National Karting Championship X30 Class at Meco Kartopia on Friday. Ruhaan also won the Junior National title before graduating to Seniors.

    In the Cadet Class, the baby of the grid at 9 years, Arafath Sheikh, the 4th class student of Bishop School, Pune won two races but Nikhilesh Raju kept himself in the lead, also winning two races and bagging two second-place podiums. With equal points in the this penultimate round, Nikhilesh extended his lead to 25-points going into the final round and needs to win at least two races or just play cool as a second place in all the four races is good enough to seal him the Cadet Championship. “But I want to win the races and I will go for it,” said the 11-year Bengaluru student of Vibgyor School.

    The 15-year Ruhaan faced no challenge from the depleted field and got so bored that he ‘deliberately’ fell back in the last race, at the start, and had some fun overtaking and winning the inconsequential final race of Round 4, the penultimate round. For the lanky teenager who came into the day with 113 points, bagged all the first three races to post an unbeatable 143 on board at that stage. With five races and 50 points to fight for, another Bengaluru karter Nigel Abraham Thomas had only 90 points in second place.

    Due to COVID19, among other reasons, the Grids have taken a toss this year but Ruhaan continued with dedication with an eye to graduate into Formula cars and tested waters at the Meco Formula Junior races (FJRS) in Coimbatore this year. With the MMSC fmsci Racing Nationals beckoning, the youngster who gained experience in Europe at an young age of 11, will shift focus to single seaters and gain the much-needed seat time before going for the F4 Championship in 2022.

    Saturday will be the D Day for the Juniors, with four races of the final round on cards, and the Junior championship wide open with both local lad Rohaan Madesh and Jaden R Pariat from Guwahati gunning for the gold.

    Round 4 X30 Provisional Results (At 1.2km Meco Kartopia, Bengaluru)

    Cadet Class: (All 10 laps – Grid 6)

    Race 3: 1. #4 Nikhilesh Raju (Bengaluru) (10:41.642); 2. #5 Arafath Sheikh (Pune) (10:41.720); 3. #2 Vedha Vishnu (Gujarat) (10:59.814); 4. #7 Rohaan Reddy (Gujarat) 11:03.567; 5. #1 Zarah Mishra (11:08.074); 6. #3 Anuj A (Madurai) (11:09.592); Fastest lap: Arafath Sheikh 1:02.922;

    Race 4: 1. #5 Arafath Sheikh (Pune) (10:35.079); 2. #4 Nikhilesh Raju (Bengaluru) (10:47.254); 3. #2 Vedha Vishnu (Gujarat) (10:50.282) 4. #3 Anuj A (Madurai) (11:00.300); 5. #7 Rohaan Reddy (Gujarat) (11:00.747); 6. #1 Zaarah Misra (Bengaluru) (11:06.341); Fastest Lap: 1:02.921 by Arafath.

    Senior Class: (All 15 laps – Grid 5)

    Race 1: 1. #27 Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru) (14:22.589); 2. #28 Nigel Abraham Thomas (Bengaluru) (14:29.291); 3. #25 Nirmal Umashankar (Chennai) (14: 30.304); 4. #32 Tarun M (Mumbai) (14:33.311); 5. Vidyali Reddy (Bengaluru) (15:04.763). Best lap: Ruhaan 56.605sec.

    Race 2: 1. #27 Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru) (14:35.117); 2. #28 Nigel Abraham Thomas (Bengaluru) (15:02.725); DNF: Vidyali Reddy (Bengaluru) (9:11.327 -9 laps); #25 Nirmal Umashankar (Chennai) (1:47.323 -1 lap); #32 Tarun M (Mumbai) (1.269 DNF before completing one lap); Best lap: Ruhaan 56.974.

    Race 3: 1. #27 Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru) (14:19.883); 2. #25 Nirmal Umashankar (Chennai) (14: 24.039); 3. #32 Tarun M (Mumbai) (14:29.388); 4. #28 Nigel Abraham Thomas (Bengaluru) (14:34.113); 5. Vidyali Reddy (Bengaluru) (14:41.539). Best lap: Ruhaan 56.555sec.

    Race 4: 1. #27 Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru) (14:18.474); 2. #25 Nirmal Umashankar (Chennai) (14: 19.938); 3. #32 Tarun M (Mumbai) (14:25.993); 4. #28 Nigel Abraham Thomas (Bengaluru) (14:33.528); 5. Vidyali Reddy (Bengaluru) (14:34.710). Best lap: Ruhaan 56.667sec.

  • 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.

  • Ruhaan, Rohaan and Nikhilesh claim Round 1 honours

    Ruhaan, Rohaan and Nikhilesh claim Round 1 honours

    Bengaluru, 1 August 2021: In the battle between youth and experience,talented Bengaluru teenager Ruhaan Alva took the honours in the first round brushing aside the challenge of two-time National champion Ameya Bafna to lead the table in the MSport IAME X30 Senior Class of the MECO fmsci National Karting Championship 2021 at the 12.km Meco Kartopia track at Bangalru, near here on Saturday and Sunday.

    X30 Karting Nationals Round 1 Senior Class winners after 4 races. From left: MR Rishon 3rd, Ruhaan Alva 1st and Ameya Bafna 2nd;

    Making a comeback after a hiatus of five years, the 26-year Mumbai racer, Ameya Bafna, who won the National Karting Championship in Senior Class in 2012 and 2014, began with a bang posting a facile victory in Race 1 ahead of Bengaluru pilot Magehalli Rishon Rajeev in second. Ruhaan Alva, after dominating the Junior Class in 2020 upgraded himself to the Senior Class looking for better competition but struggled with the balance of the kart in Race 1 and could finish only third. But the talented 15-year-old, starting P4 on the reverse grid ahead of Rishon and Ameya Bafna, made amends and won Race 2. Behind Ruhaan, Rishon finished second again bagging valuable points and Ameya had to settle for third on the podium.

    Ameya came back winning Race 3 but suffered issues with the silencer and could finish only 8th in Race 4. Ruhaan, who kept himself with a striking chance taking second place in Race 3, won the last race with ease taking a six-second lead over Rishon and set a blistering lap of 56.360 on the way. He also clocked the fastest lap of the week-end, a 56.28 in warm-up. Ruhaan leads the points table with 33 points after Round 1 followed by Ameya Bafna and MR Rishon, both on 27 points.

    In the Junior Class, another talented Bengaluru racer Rohaan Madesh won three races to take the Championship lead with 32 points while his younger brother, Ishaan Madesh, the 2020 Cadet champion, won Race 3. Abhay M, also from Bengaluru, who was consistent bagging three second places and a third place, was second in the standings with 27 points ahead of Ishaan on 20 points.

    X30 Round 1 Junior Class – 1st – Rohaan Madesh (centre); 2nd – Abhay M; 3rd (right)- Ishaan Madesh (left)

    In the Cadet Class, Aditya Suresh Kamat and Arafath Sheikh won a race each on Saturday while Nikhilesh Raju clinched both the races on Sunday and with the two second places he bagged on Saturday, the 11-year, Grade 6 student of Vibgyor High School, Bengaluru took the Championship lead with 34 points. Aditya has logged 30 points while Arafath claimed 26 points after Round 1.

    This is the first of the five rounds in the National X30 championship. Each round has four races offering a maximum of 40 points. X30 Round 2 and 3 will be held together from August 13 to 15 while the final two rounds, Round 4 and 5 are scheduled for August 27 to 29. All rounds will be held at Meco Kartopia in Bengaluru, unless Carona restrictions disrupt the schedules.

    MSport IAME X30 India 2021 National Karting Championship (at Meco Kartopia, Bengaluru)

    X30 Round 1 Cadet Class: 1st – Nikhilesh Raju (centre); 2nd – Aditya Suresh Kamat (right); 3rd – Arafath Sheikh (left)

    Round 1 Final provisional classification:

    Seniors (15 laps)

    Saturday: Race 1: 1. kart#32 Ameya Bafna (Mumbai) (14:41.597); 2. #25 MR Rishon (Bengaluru) (14:46.375); 3. #27 Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru) (14:49.808); Best lap: Ameya Bafna 56.880; Race 2: 1: Ruhaan Alva (14:30.977); 2. MR Rishon (14:33.300); 3. Ameya Bafna (14:33.468); Best lap: Ruhaan Alva 56.703.

    Sunday: Race 3: 1. Ameya Bafna (14:23.399); 2. Ruhaan Alva (14:26.885); 3. MR Rishon (14:31.115); Best lap: Ruhaan Alva 56.419; Race 4: 1. Ruhaan Alva (14:30.839); 2. MR Rishon (14:37.309); 3. #28 Nigel Abraham Thomas (14:42.481). Best lap: Ruhaan Alva 56.360.

    Juniors (12 laps)

    Saturday: Race 1: 1. #15 Rohaan Madesh (Bengaluru) (12:08.116); 2. #11 Abhay M (Bengaluru) (12:08.299); 3. #18 Jaden R Pariat (Guwahati) (12:14.940); Best lap: Abhay M 56.983; Race 2: 1. Rohaan Madesh (12:23.232); 2. #17 Ishaan Madesh (Bengaluru) (12:24.523); 3. Abhay M (12:25.070). Best lap: Abhay M 56.871;

    Sunday: Race 3: 1. Ishaan Madesh (Bengaluru) (11:38.782); 2. Abhay M (Bengaluru) (11:41.156); 3. Jaden R Pariat (Guwahati) (11:41.385); Best lap: Ishaan Madesh 56.452; Race 4: 1. Rohaan Madesh (Bengaluru) (11:41.008); 2. Abhay M (Bengaluru) (11:43.499); 3. Jaden R Pariat (Guwahati) (11:46.559); Best lap: Ishaan Madesh 56.415;

    Cadet (10 laps)

    Saturday: Race 1: 1. #2 Aditya Suresh Kamat (Bengaluru) (11:05.088); 2. #4 Nikhilesh Raju (Bengaluru) (11:07.440); 3. #5 Arafath Sheikh (Pune) (11:07.686); Best lap: Arafath Sheikh 1:03.881; Race 2: 1. Arafath Sheikh (11:08.223); 2. Nikhilesh Raju (11:12.114); 3. Aditya Suresh Kamat (11:14.461). Best lap: Arafath Sheikh 1:03.657;

    Sunday: Race 3: 1 Nikhilesh Raju (Bengaluru) (11:29.864); 2. Aditya Suresh Kamat (Bengaluru) (11:32.642); 3. #3 Vedha Vishnu (Chennai) (12:00.659); Best lap: Arafath Sheikh 1:03.846; Race 4: 1 Nikhilesh Raju (10:56.494); 2. Aditya Suresh Kamat (11:03.359); 3. Vedha Vishnu (11:05.795); Best lap: Arafath Sheikh 1:03.592;

    Standings after Round 1:

    Cadet Class (Total grid = 5)

    1. Nikhilesh Raju (Bengaluru) 34;
    2. Aditya Suresh Kamat (Bengaluru) 30;
    3. Arafath Sheikh (Pune) 26;
    4. Vedha Vishnu (Chennai) 22;
    5. Zarah Mishra (Bengaluru) 16;

    Junior Class (Total grid = 12)

    1. Rohaan Madesh (Bengaluru) 32;
    2. Abhay M (Bengaluru) 27;
    3. Ishaan Madesh (Bengaluru) 20;
    4. Jaden R Pariat (Guwahati) 19;
    5. Akshat Misra (Bengaluru) 19;
    6. Ranvir Singh (Pune) 17;
    7. Sai Shiva Makesh (Pune) 8;
    8. Neythan McPherson (Pune) 8;
    9. Tharun M (Bengaluru) 2;

    Senior Class (Total Grid = 8)

    1. Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru) 33;
    2. Ameya Bafna (Mumbai) 27;
    3. MR Rishon (Bengaluru) 27;
    4. Nigel Abraham Thomas (Bengaluru) 17;
    5. Shaurya Kapani (Mumbai) 17;
    6. Raaj Bakhru (Mumbai) 13;
    7. G Rahul Reddy (Hyderabad) 11;
    8. Dhruv Mugugappan (Chennai) 7;

  • Meco fmsci National Karting Championship X30 class 2021

    The Meco FMSCI National Karting Championship X30 Class 2021 were held at 1.2km Meco Kartopia in Bengaluru. There are three categories where National champions are decided, namely Senior, Junior and Cadet. FMSCI, the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India, also conducts Rotax Max Karting Nationals, also in three class. So every year six National champions emerge from Karting National events.

    Meco Kartopia in the only FMSCI homologated track in Bengaluru that was approved to conduct National races in karting from June 2015. National Karting champion Yash Aradhya holds the lap record at Meco Kartopia at 54.117 seconds in 2017 (Editor note: The record is later broken). Born on 17 August 2002, Aradhya shifted base to Europe in 2021 to study and plan for his Formula-4 races.  The track has also seen the likes of Narain Karthikeyan, Arjun Maini, Kush Maini take to the track and produced many talented youngsters like Shahan Ali Mohsin, Ishaan Madesh and Rajiv Rishon. (The champions list is not yet complete.)

    2020 – Champions

    Senior: Ruhaan Alva; Junior:

    2021 Meco FMSCI NKC 2021 X30

    1. Round 5

    Senior

    Junior

    Cadet

    Meco FMSCI NKC 2021 X30 Round 4

    Senior

    Junior

    Cadet

    Meco FMSCI NKC 2021 X30 Round 2 & 3

    Sunday 29 August 2021 Seniors & Cadet

    Saturday 28 August 2021 Juniors

    Friday 27 August 2021;

    Thursday 26 August 2021 Cadet

    Meco FMSCI NKC 2021 X30 Round 1

    Sunday Report Winners: Senior: Ruhaan Alva; Junior: Rohaan Madesh; Cadet: Nikhilesh Raju.

    Saturday Report:

    Cadet

    2020 -Meco FMSCI NKC 2020 X30 Round 5

    Senior

    Junior

    Cadet

    Meco FMSCI NKC 2020 X30 Round 4

    Senior

    Junior

    Cadet

    Meco FMSCI NKC 2020 X30 Round 3

    Senior

    Junior

    Cadet

    Meco FMSCI NKC 2020 X30 Round 2

    Senior

    Junior

    Cadet

    Meco FMSCI NKC 2020 X30 Round 1

    Senior

    Junior

    Cadet

    2014 Champions

    Yash Aradhya – Rotax Max – Class

  • Suriya Varathan crowned new champion in X30 Senior class

    Suriya Varathan crowned new champion in X30 Senior class

    Bangalore, 23 Nov 2o20: Coimbatore’s Suriya Varathan dethroned Nirmal Umashankar to become the new champion in the Senior Category of the X30 Class Meco-FMSCI National Karting Championship that concluded at Meco Kartopia, near Bagalur, on Sunday.

    This is the first national championship to be successfully completed in the country, with all safety protocols followed, since the COVID 19 pandemic in March, an FMSCI press release said on Monday.

    Suriya, who began the fifth and final round with 138 points, had to be satisfied with the third position in the Senior Category over Saturday and Sunday. But that was good enough to give him a totally tally of 161 points and the coveted championship.

    Chennai’s Nirmal Umashankar put up a game fight but had to settle for the second position (142) after managing 31 points and a second place in the last round. Bangalore’s Rishon Rajeev was the winner of this round with three wins and one second place.

    In the Junior Class, Ruhaan Alva had already clinched the National Championship in the earlier round. He put up another stellar show among the Juniors to take another win with utmost ease but a clash of karts saw him finish behind Rohan Madesh in one race before he asserted his supremeacy in the last race of the season winning by a mile. He will now move to Senior class next year.

    Ruhaan and city mate Rohaan Madesh won two races apiece and finished second in two races this weekend to garner 37 points each.

    Ruhaan Alva went home with an overall score of 184. Rohaan Madesh finished with 143.

    In the Cadet Class, it was complete domination by Rohaan’s younger brother Ishaan Madesh, who delighted all  by annexing the Cadet championship. Ishaan won all the four races in the final round to pip Pune’s Sai Shiva Makesh who had given him a good fight all through the event. Bangalore’s Anshul Sai took the third place in the Championship.

  • Ishaan bags a double; Ruhaan leads despite a minor hiccup

    Ishaan bags a double; Ruhaan leads despite a minor hiccup

    By David Bodapati

    Bengaluru, 30 October 2020: Reigning champion Ruhaan Alva of Bengaluru, continued his winning streak in Race 1 for a stunning ninth consecutive race and marched towards retaining his National Champion tag despite a reverse-grid hiccup in the second race, in the third round of the Meco Motorsports fmsci National Karting Championship X-30 races at Meco Kartopia here on Friday.

    Another fun-loving Bangalore kid, Ishaan Madesh had the best outing today clinching a double in the Cadet section to keep his championship lead with 83 points to Sai Shiva’s 67. Eleven-year-old Ishaan was streets ahead as he left the field behind and won with a huge margin of over 13-seconds in Race 1 and went on clinch Race 2, too. Anshul Sai of Pune came second in Race 1 followed by Pune’s Sai Shiva Makesh, who took second in Race 2 ahead of Arafath Sheikh, also of Pune. Ishaan who had a DNF in the previous round did make amends and won both the races.

    After topping the official practice session, in Race 1, Ruhaan brushed aside the challenge of Rohaan Madesh beating him by a convincing 3.2-second margin to take another first. Rishon Rajeev completed the podium, a fraction of a second behind, to make it an all-Bengaluru podium.

    In Race 2, Ruhaan was well on course to clinch the issue but his streak of victories was broken in Race 2 due to an unforeseen incident. After the reverse-grid start, he patiently overtook one by one and got to the top and everything looked rosy as he took the lead. But in the last lap, the driver in 2nd place, tried an overambitious move into the fourth corner (C4) and locked-up, and smashed sideways straight into Ruhaan, taking both out in the process. Ruhaan, later managed to finish 6th and retrieved 3 useful points to still lead the Championship by 23 points. Ruhaan has 93 to Rohaan’s 70. But for the incident,  he still showed his talent and kart control and driving skills to bag the `Fastest Laps’ in all the 10 races, till now in Rounds 1, 2 and 3. Six more Races, two in Round 3 and four in Round 4, will decide the title this weekend.

    In the Senior Section, strong contender Suriya Varathan and defending champion Nirmal Umashankar split the two races. Suriya won the first race beating Nirmal Umashankar, who took a comfortable win in Race 2. Raaj Bakhru came third ahead of Shravanthika Lakshmi S of Coimbatore, who came fourth beating three more boys. Bala Prasath finished the podium in Race 2. Arjun Nair, who was second in the title race after two rounds, did not take part today.

    Raaj Bakhru winning the third place in the Senior Class Race 1 has some significance. The 12th class student of Business Management from Mumbai is making his debut in National karting and taking a podium in the first race, and driving a kart only for the third time, is some achievement.

    Results: Round 3 (Unofficial classification): Friday:

    Seniors (15 laps): Race 1: 1. Suriya Varathan (Coimbatore) (14:29.774); 2. Nirmal Umashankar (Chennai) 14:30.541); 3. Raaj Bakhru (14:52.117); Race 2: 1. Nirmal Umashankar (14:31.502); 2. Suriya Varathan (14:32.963); 3. Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (14:40.012).

    Juniors (12 laps): Race 1: 1. Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru) (11:47.773); 2. Rohaan Madesh (Bengaluru) (11:50.976); 3. Rishon Rajeev (Bengaluru) (11:51.216); Race 2: 1. Jaden Rahmat Pariat (Guwahati) (11:37.626); 2. Rohaan Madesh (11:38.446); 3. Shaurya Kapani (Mumbai) (11:38.595);

    Cadet (10 laps): Race 1: 1. Ishaan Madesh (Bengaluru) (10:54.561) 2. Anshul Sai (Bengaluru) (11:07.963); 3. Sai Shiva Makesh (Pune) (11:15.020); Race 2: 1. Ishaan Madesh (10:28.977); 2. Sai Shiva Makesh (10:31.106); 3. Arafath Sheikh (Pune) (10:46.403);

    Editor’s note: Updated Oct 31 at 9.30 am correcting typo Ruhaan’s lead to 23 points.

  • Ruhaan Alva hogs limelight winning everything at stake

    Ruhaan Alva hogs limelight winning everything at stake

    Bengaluru, 18 October 2020: Ruhaan Alva, the defending champion from Bengaluru, began the season with a bang winning all the 8 races in the Junior Class of the X30 Karting Nationals. He capped a spectacular run on the weekend with a stunning record, capturing everything that came his way. With two rounds at stake, he not only took the pole position in both the rounds but also won all the eight races with best fastest lap times to boot, in all of them. No track in India has seen such domination in recent years, where a single driver has won everything at stake to complete a clean sweep.

    Ishaan Madesh in the Cadet section and Suriya Varathan in Senior Class also had a good weekend, but neither could display the domination and control that Ruhaan Alva showcased. Alva proved his mastery even after starting at the back, in the reverse grid Race 2, on both days and powered to the top of the podium to leave no doubt of his new-found form despite a Corona-induced haitus from racing.

    With COVID 19 delaying the start of the season, Meco FMSCI National Karting Championship X30 Class began the event under strict safety precautions and two rounds were hosted to complete the crowded season. So an unusual card of four races was on the menu for Saturday as part of Round 1 and four more races in Round 2 were also completed for all the three classes — the Cadets, Juniors and Seniors.

    Ruhaan Alva dominates the week-end Karting Nationals at Meco Kartopia on Oct 17 & 18.

    Ruhaan bagged a whopping 80 points and opened up a 24-point lead after two of the five rounds. His compatriot in Junior Class, Rohaan Madesh is in second place with 56 points after finishing second to Ruhaan in all the eight races. He crossed the flag ahead of Ruhaan in the third race in Round 2, but was penalised one `position’ for an infringement and was rightfully relegated to second again. Jaden Rahman Pariat of Guwahati is third on the points table with 44 points.

    Young Aashi Hanspal of Mumbai, who recently returned from France being adjudged as a promising talent in the FIA Girls on Track event, took a surprise third place in Race 2 on Sunday in the second round.  The `only girl’ in Junior class, and the baby of the grid at 13 years, she utilised the Reverse-grid position well, to take her first podium of the season as the drivers behind her were busy fighting themselves.

    1st Ishaan Madesh Centre, 2nd Anshul Sai, left, and 3rd placed Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran win Round 1 Race 2 on Saturday.

    In the Cadet Class, playful Ishaan Madesh of Bengaluru dominated the proceedings on Saturday winning all the four races and clocking best laps in two races. He, however, let go the grip with a DNF (did not finish) in the first race on Sunday and lost Race 2 too. But he bounced back winning the last two races of Round 2 to take the championship lead in Cadet Class with 63 points. Pune’s Sai Shiva Makesh, who began with two, second places and a third on the podium on Saturday in Round 1, upped his game and won two races on Sunday to take the second spot in the standings with 54 points. Anshul Sai of Bengaluru is in third place with 43 points. Anshul who began well on Saturday had two DNF on Sunday that hampered his campaign.

    In the Senior Section, Coimbatore karter Suriya Varathan had a profitable outing on Saturday winning three races on Saturday and also adding the Best Laps in all four but lost focus after winning the first two races of Round 2 on Sunday. The last two races were won by Arjun Nair of Bengaluru. Bengaluru’s defending champion Nirmal Umashankar was patchy and could only win one race on Saturday.

    The next two rounds will also be held at Meco Kartopia here on October 31 and Nov 1.

    Results: Round 1: Junior Class (12 laps) Race 1: 1. Ruhaan Alva (11:36.227); 2. Rohaan Madesh (11:39.747); 3. Jaden Rahman Pariat (11:48.361);  Best lap: Ruhaan 57.580. Race 2: 1. Ruhaan Alva (11:40.570); 2. Rohaan Madesh (11:43.087); 3. Shaurya Kapani (11:49.363). Best Lap: 57.383 Ruhaan. Race 3: 1. Ruhaan Alva (11:39.191); 2. Rohaan Madesh (11:41.374); 3. Akshat Misra (11:48.949). Best Lap: 56.972 Ruhaan. Race 4: 1. Ruhaan Alva (11:45.406); 2. Rohaan Madesh (11:50.615); 3. Jaden Rahman Pariat (11:54.798);  Best lap: Ruhaan 57.002.

    X30 Senior Class Round 2 winners: 1st Suriya Varathan (centere), 2nd Arjun Nair (left) and 3rd placed Bala Prasath.

    Cadet Class (10 laps) Race 1: 1. Ishaan Madesh (11:36.706); 2. Anshul Sai (11:58.830); 3. Arafath Sheikh (11:51.725); Best lap: 1:04.429 Ishaan. Race 2 RS: 1. Ishaan Madesh (11: 11.775); 2. Anshul Sai (11:12.837); 3. Sai Shiva Makesh (11:14.324). Best lap: 1:04.048 Ishaan. Race 3: 1. Ishaan Madesh (11:19.345); 2. Sai Shiva Makesh (11:19.950); 3. Anshul Sai (11:29.673). Best Lap: 1:03.876 Sai Shiva. Race 4: 1. Ishaan Madesh (11:05.993); 2. Sai Shiva Makesh (11:09.081); 3. Anshul Sai (11:16.708). Best Lap: 1:03.758 Sai Shiva.

    Senior Class (15 laps) Race 1: 1. Suriya Varathan (15:01.599); 2. Arjun Nair (15:05.600); 3. Nirmal Umashankar (15:06.159); Best lap: 57.378 Suriya. Race 2: 1. Nirmal Umashankar (14:37.769); 2. Suriya Varathan (14:37.966); 2. Arjun Nair (14:47.191). Best Lap: 57.133 Suriya. Race 3: 1. Suriya Varathan (14:41.394); 2. Arjun Nair (14:44.667); 3. Nirmal Umashankar (14:46.459); Best lap: 56.831 Suriya. Race 4: 1. Suriya Varathan (15:28.993); 2. Nirmal Umashankar (15:32.566); 3. Bala Prasath (15:39.072). Best lap: 56.870 Suriya.

    Round 2: Juniors (12 laps) Race 1: 1. Ruhaan Alva (11:39.890); 2. Rohaan Madesh (11:43.109); 3. Akshat Misra (11:50.005). Best Lap: 57.272 Ruhaan. Race 2: 1. Ruhaan Alva (11:58.604); 2. Rohaan Madesh (11:59.664); 3. Aashi Hanspal (12:06.751). Best Lap: 57.328 Ruhaan. Race 3: 1. Ruhaan Alva (12:02.304); 2. Rohaan Madesh (12:01.535); 3. Akshat Misra (12:03.573). Best Lap: 57.241 Ruhaan. (Rohaan Madesh who crossed the flag first suffered a one-place penalty and demoted to 2nd). Race 4: 1. Ruhaan Alva (11:44.482); 2. Rohaan Madesh (11:48.781); 3. Akshat Misra (11:51.003). Best Lap: 57.116 Ruhaan.

    Cadet Class (10 laps) Race 1: 1.Sai Shiva Makesh (10:57.625); 2. Anshul Sai (11:01.838); 3. Arafath Sheikh (11:14.044); Best lap: 1:03.744 Anshul Sai. (Ishaan DNF); Race 2: 1. Anshul Sai (11:54.878); 2. Nikhilesh Raju (11:59.906); 3. Arafath Sheikh (11:59.935); Best lap: 1:03.274 Ishaan Madesh. Race 3: 1.Ishaan Madesh (12:01.738); 2. Sai Shiva Makesh (12:17.876); 3. Arafath Sheikh (12:20.502); Best lap: 1:02.994 Ishaan. Race 4: 1.Ishaan Madesh (10:48.817); 2. Sai Shiva Makesh (11:00.117); 3. Arafath Sheikh (11:02.871); Best lap: 1:02.530 Ishaan.

    Senior Class (15 laps) Race 1: 1. Suriya Varathan (15:01.248); 2. Bala Prasath (15:04.538); 3. Arjun Nair (15:08.948); Best Lap: 57.023 Suriya. Race 2: 1. Suriya Varathan (14:38.708); 2. Nirmal Umashankar (14:39.918); 3. Bala Prasath (14:43.481). Best lap: 57.248 Bala Prasath. Race 3: 1. Arjun Nair (15:16.340);  2. Nirmal Umashankar (15:17.224); 3. Suriya Varathan (15:18.131); Best Lap: 56.902 Nirmal. Race 4: 1. Arjun Nair (14:44.123);  2. Suriya Varathan (14:44.563); 3. Bala Prasath (14:46.868). Best Lap: 56.903 Arjun Nair. Penalty: 10-sec added for Nirmal for Jump start.

    (Ed Note: The event concluded on 18th Oct but the report is published only on 24th Oct, 2020)