As Nico Rosberg clinched victory in the Formula One season opener on Sunday, another spectacular motorsports event drew to a close at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida. Season 3 of the Tata Motors T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship closed out in style as English driver David Jenkins clinched victory racing for Team Tata Technologies Motorsports.
The last two editions had seen another Englishman, Stuart Oliver, win but he was unable to participate this time round and make it three wins in a row.
The event had two parts – the first comprising British truck drivers and the second one featuring solely Indian drivers in a remarkable first.
Tata Motors saw over 550 entries from drivers all across the country, representing various transport companies. After a series of rigorous tests and challenges, only 12 drivers made it through to the final round at the Buddh Circuit to fight for the title. They also received specialized training in Chennai from Tata Motors, with former Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan also pitching in to help the first-time drivers.
The 12 Indian drivers were divided into two groups and the first race was won by Haryana’s Jagat Singh, an employee of Mercurio Pallia Logistics Pvt. Ltd. The other race was won by Nagarjuna A from Andhra Pradesh, who works for Shekar Logistics Pvt. Ltd.
The Pro Class race, which involved the British drivers saw 12 participants, was broken down into two parts – an eight-lap race and a 20-lap race. The former was won by Mat Summerfield, who was representing the defending champions from Season 2, Team Castrol. Summerfield also clocked the fastest lap of 1:50:691 seconds around the track.
Having finished fourth in the first race, David Jenkins finished first in the final 20-lap race, with Rick Collett and Graham Powell, both from Team Tata Cummins, taking the other two places on the podium in a nail-biting race.
