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Day 1 of the final round of the 12th JK Tyre-FMSCI Rotax National Karting Championship kick started at the Meco Kartopia track in Bangalore. Competitors across three different categories- Micro Max, Junior Max and Senior Max have fought tooth and nail over the season to take home the National championship titles and some lucrative gratifications.
The day started with the practice session followed by the qualifying sessions in the Micro Max, Junior Max & Senior Max categories. Chirag Ghorpade from Bangalore representing Team BPC Racing, Mohammed Nallwalla from Mumbai representing Team Rayo Racing & Ricky Donison from Bangalore representing Team BPC Racing lead in the qualifying round in the Micro Max, Junior Max & Senior Max respecively.
It was not a good qualifying round for 11-year old Shahan Ali Mohsin who is currently leading in the Micro max category. A technical infringement ruined Shahan’s chances of leading in the qualifying and he had to start at the back of the grid in Heat 1. But given his competence and his determination to win, he made his way through his other nine competitors and took the chequered flag with great élan.
Shahan after winning in the Heat 1 said, “I was very focused on getting into the top five and lap by lap I moved ahead and with the speed in my control I ended up finishing first.” Shahan was followed by Chirag from Bangalore representing Team BPC Racing and Ruhaan from Bangalore representing Team BPC Racing were placed second and third respectively.
Heat 2 also saw Shahan dominating and taking away the pole position. However, Ruhaan Alva had a disappointing Heat 2 as just in the second last lap his lost the throttle and his kart stopped and he ended up losing his third place. Arjun Nair who was constantly battling with Ruhaan made his way upwards and had a third place finish. Chirag from Bangalore finished in the second place.
Heat 1 witnessed some intense action from the karters in the Junior Max category. After a bumper to bumper 15 laps, Mohmmed Nallwalla from Mumbai took the lead and crossed the finish line first. Nirmal Umashankar from Chennai closed in on second and Akash Gowda from Bangalore was placed third. Heat 2 of the Junior max was well fought. Mohammad Nallwala led comfortably from start to finish.
The actual fight was behind him between Manav Sharma & Akash Gowda for the second and third place and there were many moments of overtaking in the 15 laps race. However in the 11th lap, Mohmmed faced technical issues and did not qualify, this gave Manav a chance to race ahead and he managed to cross the finish line first. Akash was placed second and Nirmal occupied the third position.
Bangalore boy Ricky Donison from the Senior Max category who is leading the championship points table had a fruitful day 1 as he showcased some excellent karting skills yet again and finished first. He was followed by Ameya Bafna who clocked the second best time and Krishnaraj D Mahadik from Ricky Donison put in his best efforts and his action packed performance placed him first. Nayan Chatterjee crossed the cheuqered flag second and Vishnu Prasad managed third place.
It is going to be a big day tomorrow for these young karters as all their hard work and perseverance of the last five months will finally pay off and India will get its 2015 National Karting Champions. The pre-finals and the final races will be held tomorrow at the Kartopia track followed by the prize distribution
Shahan Ali Mohsin – 10:03.693
Mohmmed Nallwalla – 13:37.075
Nirmal Umashankar – 13:44.602
Nirmal Umashankar – 13:44.679
Krishnaraj D Mahadik – 14:03.516
JK Tyre has always been closely associated with the world of sports. Almost three decades back the company laid down a long term and sustained approach to promote Motorsport. Participating in this form of the sport has helped the company in continuously updating its products to meet the challenges of grueling Indian conditions.
The sport at that time in India was perceived for elite but JK Tyre took upon itself to package and redesign the sport to suit the masses. The company not only made the sport
affordable but also equivalent to International operating standards. JK Tyre’s foray into Motorsport was a well thought out strategic decision to not only use and develop this virgin branding platform but also to realize the dreams of making India a force in the field of motor sport.
In 2011, the company acquired the Formula BMW Series and rechristened it as the JK Racing Asia Series (JKRAS). With this acquisition, JK Tyre created history in Indian Motorsport by becoming the first Indian company to acquire an FIA accredited series. By taking over the series, JK Tyre promises to utilize it as a platform to encourage and support the world’s best racing drivers and promote India as one of Asia’s motorsport capitals.
Thus, JK Tyre has conquered two steps in the motorsport program where the new racing aspirants first establish themselves in India, then graduate to Asian level i.e. to Formula BMW, which is now JKRAS and then they move to higher levels of racing. JK Tyre now stands closer to achieving its mission of bringing world-class motorsport to the Indian masses.
The Racing and Karting programme by JK Tyre has been the breeding ground for the country’s motorsport talents like Narain Karthikeyan, Armaan Ebrahim, Karun Chandhok, Aditya Patel and others.
Another pioneering initiative was the launch of the Truck Racing Championship in India in partnership with Tata Motors. The company developed & designed ‘JetRacing’-the new generation truck racing tyres especially for this application. With this, JK Tyre became the first tyre company to produce truck racing tyres in India. The combination of the Prima trucks fitted with Jet Racing received an overwhelming response from participants and has definitely brought in a revolution in the Indian racing scenario.
