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Round 3 of the FMSCI JK Tyres National Racing Championship came to an end and with it ended the leg to be held at the Kari Motor Speedway near Coimbatore. The battle for the ultimate victory is truly heating up and the drivers from each category geared up and entertained on the tarmac to one-up each other.
The novice cup concluded with K Surya Varathan emerging victorious for M Sports on the back of strong performances throughout the round. Hashim EKP had won all three races, albeit he was later disqualified due to not meeting the rules of the tournament.
Tijil Rao, the 14-year-old who put forth a tough fight for the cup ended up claiming second place after finishing the last race in P2 and later being promoted to the top step of the podium.
During the LGB Formula 4 category, Vishnu Prasad managed to hold onto the lead in the championship. For the first race of the day, a reverse grid was implemented and Saturday’s winner, Rohit Khanna, started in eight and emerged victorious. To top it off, the Delhi driver initially spun off and had to make his climb from the back of the field in thirteenth.
However, twenty seconds were later added to his race time and the penalty saw him drop down to 13th on the grid again. The race win was awarded to Chittesh Mandody who, along with Sarosh Hataria, showcased a thrilling amount of wheel to wheel racing. The duo grabbed the top two places on the podium with Sohil Shah following up in third.
The second race of the day saw a lot of racers losing their nose cone as they tried to grab every opportunity available to overtake their opponents. Mondody and Hataria remained the familiar faces lifting the trophies by the end of the day as they, once again, ended up with a one-two while Raghul Rangasamy rounded up the group by claiming P3.
Finishing six consecutive races in the first place is the Chennai driver who sits comfortably on the top of the table for the Suzuki Gixxer Cup. Joseph Matthew dominated yet another leg of the competition. Despite being challenged during the race by Malsawmdawngliana, the 24-year-old kept a cool head and slowly amassed a healthy lead of 19 points over his immediate championship rival, Syed Muzammil Ali.
The Euro JK title is well within reach of Ashwin Datta who maintains his stronghold over the points table. While Karthik Tharani finished his second race of the weekend with a winner’s trophy in his hands, the 24-year-old could not finish any higher than sixth during the last race. He did leapfrog Nayan S Chatterjee who was placed second after round two but was unable to catch Ashwin in the standings.
During the second Euro JK race on Sunday, the top three spots were filled by teenagers, Nirmal Uma Shanker and Yash Aradhya, as Brayan Perera split the two. A reverse grid meant that Yash began the race on pole but lost his position to Nirmal and Brayan. Ashwin followed up the trio in fourth and seized the advantage of finishing ahead of his title rivals.
The competition has been immense in all four categories with each one of the competitors fighting tooth and nail for as many points as they can amass. The enthralling championship would be going to Buddh International Circuit, in Greater Noida, for the fourth and final round and it can be expected that the drivers put up a brilliant display of racing once again.
Results
Euro JK 18:
Race Three: 1. Karthik Tharani (15:37.117); 2. Nayan Chatterjee (15:38.043); 3. Ashwin Datta (15:40.886)
Race Four: 1. Nirmal Uma Shankar (15:42.818); 2 Brayan Perera (15:46.014); 3. Yash Aradhya (15:47.130)
LGB 4:
Race 2: 1. Chittesh Mandody (Avalanche; 18:47.313); 2. Sarosh Hataria (Dark Don; 18:47.409); 3. Sohil Shah (MSport; 18:47.957)
Race 3: 1. Chittesh Mandody (20:11.953); 2. Sarosh Hataria (20:12.040); 3. Raghul Rangasamy (MSport; 18:13.676)
Gixxer Cup:
1. Joseph Mathew (14:02.704); 2. Malsawmdawngliana (14:02.791); 3. Syed Muzamil Ali (14:13.359)
JK Tyre Novice Cup:
1. Tijil Rao (Momentum; 18:40.030); 2. K Surya Varathan (MSport; 18:40.342); 3. Jamwal Digveshar (Prudent; 18:56.462)
