Greater Noida: Arjun Maini romped to victory in the JK Racing India Series in Round 3 of 16th JK Tyre Racing Championship held at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) here Saturday.
The series uses the international spec FB02 cars built around Mygale chassis and powered by 1.2-litre BMW engine.
All eyes were on Mahavir Rangunathan, who claimed pole in qualifying by a mere one-hundredth of a second ahead of Maini and championship leader Vishnu Prasad.
As the five red lights went out, Mahavir made a clean getaway with Arjun, Vishnu and the rest of the pack in pursuit. The Chennai driver managed to keep Maini behind for a couple of laps but in an amazing manoeuvre, Maini overtook the pole man.
Once ahead, the 15-year-old Bangalore racer controlled the pace ahead as Vishnu and Karminder Singh, who started from third and sixth place, made their moves on Mahavir.
“It was quite frustrating to be stuck behind Mahavir for the first few laps but it was an epic moment when I finally managed to overtake him.
“Once I got in front, I just kept my head down to string together as many consistent laps as possible,” said Maini of his 10 lap race. Maini also claimed the fastest lap timing 2:12:509.
In the Volkswagen Polo R Cup, South African driver Jeffery Kruger claimed the top step of the podium with a total time of 20:15.281. Mumbai-based Rahil Noorani finished second while the last step of the podium was taken by Angad Matharoo from Chandigarh.
In the FLGB Formula 4, it was a Saraosh Hataria show all the way. The Dark Don Racing driver from Coimbatore, who is now leading the championship with 106 points, claimed the first golden three of the weekend.
Sarosh first claimed pole and then went on to dominate the race and further post the fastest lap. He took the eight lap race with a total time of 20:58:845. The remaining two places on the podium were also swept by Dark Don Racing drivers. Karthik Krishna claimed second place (21:00.035) while Advait Deodhar finished third.
“It was a very satisfying victory for me. As a team, we have been working very hard right from the start of the season. So when it pays off you feel very motivated and charged. This was a very good race for us as we claimed all the three places on the podium,” said Sarosh.
Results:
JK FB02 Race 1: 1. Arjun Maini 22:15:289, 2. Vishnu Prasad (22:18:835), 3. Karminder Singh (22:35:686).
FLGB Formula 4 Race 1: 1. Sarosh Hataria (20:58:845), 2. Kartik Krishna (21:00:035), 3. Advit Deodhar (21:00:827).
Volkswagen Polo R Cup Race1: 1. Jeffery Kruger (20:15:281), 2. Rahil Noorani (20:26:251), 3. Angad Matharoo (20:27:352).
