MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship & VW Ameo Cup

[Akash1886]

MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship and VW Ameo Cup 2017

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Coimbatore, July 14: The blast from the finely tuned saloon racing cars will yet again reverberate through the Kari Motor Speedway here when MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship along with the Volkswagen Ameo Cup gets underway on Saturday.

A dozen entries, headlined by reigning champion Arjun Narendran of Coimbatore, who has taken a break from studies in the UK to participate here, will form the grid for the triple-header in the premiere Indian Touring Cars class while the Volkswagen Ameo Cup has 20 drivers, including two from Bangladesh, in the fray. All the cars will run on MRF tyres.

Narendran, winner of eight of the 10 races last season, will be again leading the challenge for Red Rooster Racing team. As in the past, he will have to contend with competition from Bengaluru’s Race Concepts and Mumbai’s Team N1 besides Chennai outfits Performance Racing and RAD Racing.

Also in the hunt are two Coimbatore-based veterans of Prime Racing team - Vidyaprakash, who at 72 has completed over 50 years in racing, and B Vijayakumar who developed the Kari Motor Speedway. The pair has been carrying the flag for old-timers, and still fiercely competitive.

The ITC races have always been featured by high adrenaline rush and extremely tight, edge-of-the-seat competition. This season will be no different and the spectators will have plenty to cheer about.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen Motorsport has taken another big step up by introducing the powerful Ameo car which replaces the Vento of last season. The Ameo is powered by a 1.8-litre, turbocharged TSI petrol engine that produces 205hp, and equipped with a six-speed racing sequential gearbox with steering-mounted paddle shifters. The car runs on new 17-inch wheels fitted with MRF tyres.

The 20 drivers for VW Ameo Cup were short-listed from over 500 entries across India following a selection process that also involved evaluation of the aspirant’s fitness, driving skills and discipline. Of the 20 entrants, eight are from previous season’s Vento Cup and Polo Cup.

During the season, more international racing drivers are expected to make appearances as guest drivers for single rounds as a part of exchange programme run by Volkswagen Motorsport globally.

Regards

Akash

 

[vdm295]

Anybody planning to go to watch the race at Kari Motor Speedway this weekend?

 

[carcommentor]

Anybody planning to go to watch the race at Kari Motor Speedway this weekend?

Ex-colleagues have invited me. I used to work for MRF, Chennai. Will go if a personal meeting in Kochi is confirmed

 

[Akash1886]

Friends,

Update

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Coimbatore, July 15: Bengaluru’s Ashish Ramaswamy of Red Rooster Performance team came up with a stunning drive and won the premier Indian Touring Cars class race in the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship at the Kari Motor Speedway, here on Saturday.

Running second behind fellow-Bengalurean Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) until two of the 15 laps to go, 25-year old Ramaswamy passed the leader who was struggling with loss of two gears, and emerged a deserving winner. The duo finished well ahead of third placed C Rajaram (Prime Racing).

Meanwhile, in the Volkswagen Ameo Cup, Delhi’s Karminder Singh, last year’s Vento Cup winner, grabbed the pole position after being quickest in both the free practice sessions before topping the qualifying time sheets. Chennai’s Sandeep Kumar was second ahead of Kolhapur’s Dhruv Mohite.

Chinnappa started on pole after defending champion and original pole-sitter Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) missed the race due to engine problems, but dropped to last after failing to engage the clutch when the lights went off.

However, he fought his way back and eventually passed front-runner Ramaswamy to open up what seemed to be a winning lead. But with two laps to go, Chinnappa lost two gears and Ramaswamy seized the opportunity to regain the lead to win.

Narendran was the quickest in both the free practice sessions. However, in the second practice outing, he went in hard at Turn-1, locked up the brakes and slammed into the kerb causing damage to chassis and the engine block which subsequently developed a crack.

In the qualifying session later in the afternoon, Narendran was again the quickest, but towards close the engine expired in a billow of smoke. Following inspection in the garage, the team decided to change the engine while opting to sit out the race.

“I thought I did well in practice and qualifying in terms of timings, but I damaged the car during FP2 at Turn-1 where I hit the kerb after locking up the brakes. In qualifying session, I was quick, but then, the engine blew. So, I had to sit out the first race today and will start the second race on Sunday from the back of the grid,” said Narendran who flew in from Bath, England, last week during a break in his study schedule.

The results (Provisional):

Indian Touring Cars – Race 1 (15 laps): 1. Ashish Ramaswamy (Red Rooster Performance) (17mins, 57.944secs); 2. Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) (17:58.457); 3. C Rajaram (Prime Racing) (18:27.020).

Qualifying – Indian Touring Cars: 1. Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) (01:09.658); 2. Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts (01:09.715); 3. Ashish Ramaswamy (Red Rooster Performance) (01:09.833).

Volkswagen Ameo Cup: 1. Karminder Singh (Delhi) (01:09.368); 2. A Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (01:09.794); 3. Dhruv Mohite (Kolhapur) (01:10.141).

Regards

Akash

 

[Akash1886]

Friends,

Update

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Coimbatore, July 16: Deepak Paul Chinnappa of Race Concepts, Bengaluru, broke his Kari Motor Speedway jinx with a grand double in the premier Indian Touring Cars class on the concluding day of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship, here on Sunday.

Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) and Karminder Singh (Delhi) shared the top spots in the two Volkswagen Ameo Cup races which produced a lot of fireworks and action.

Driving with panache and confidence, 30-year old Chinnappa had the measure of his two main rivals from Red Rooster Performance team, Ashish Ramaswamy, winner of the first race on Saturday, and defending champion Arjun Narendran, with a dominating performance.

“I have never won at this track since making my debut in this class three seasons ago. I have had issues with my car in the past, and this weekend was only slightly better, though problematic.

“I had to deal with the loss of power steering, two gears and brakes, but fortunately, everything came together for me and helped me break the Coimbatore jinx as I had never won here before,” said Chinnappa, son of two-wheeler legend Chandra Kumar Chinnappa.

In the first race, Chinnappa, who started from third, had a great start and by the end of first lap, he moved up two spots to the front and established a comfortable lead which he kept to the flag.

Behind him, Narendran who had moved from eighth to second by end of first lap and Ramaswamy, winner of Race-1 on Saturday, were involved in a tight battle. Exiting the last turn into the start-finish straight, Narendran spun viciously which dropped him to the back of the field. He fought his way back to third where he finished, behind Chinnappa and Ramaswamy.

“I had too much speed exiting the last corner and my rear tyres caught the dirt on the edge of the track which led to a huge spin. I managed to get back, but had lost track position. Still, I fought back, but had too much to make up in the end,” said Narendran.

In the next outing, Narendran, starting from pole, kept his position until the end of second lap when he ran wide exiting the last corner, and Chinnappa eased into lead to take command of the race. Narendran, who incidentally clocked the fastest laps in both the races today, then survived close attention from veteran Vidya Prakash (Prime Racing) to finish second.

“In both races, I had good starts and managed to keep the lead though I had issues with the brakes. In the second race today especially I tucked in behind Arjun in the first lap, but I realized he had some handling issues with his car. So, I waited for the right opportunity to pass him. He then ran wide exiting the last corner and I passed him. Thereafter, I managed to keep my lead and win. I am extremely happy,” said Chinnappa.

Results (Provisional):

Indian Touring Cars – Race 2 (15 laps): 1.Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) (17mins, 48.438secs); 2. Ashish Ramaswamy (Red Rooster Performance) (17:54.561); 3. Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) (17: 57.590). Race 3 (15 laps): 1. Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) (17:55.863); 2. Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) (18:03.284); 3. D Vidya Prakash (Prime Racing) (18:25.280).

Regards

Akash

 

[Akash1886]

Friends,

Update

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Chennai, July 19: The battle for Road To Indy shootout resumes at the MMRT track in Sriperumbudur, near here, on Friday after a five-month break when the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship gets underway with MRF F1600 headlining the programme comprising 14 races.

The MRF F1600 is one of the most competitive events as a ticket to the coveted Mazda Road To Indy shootout in the United States is on offer for the champion driver at the end of the season. The winner of the shootout is eligible for a scholarship of USD 200,000.

Last year, Karthik Tharani took part in the shootout contested by 21 drivers from across the World, but was not among the top six who qualified for the final 30-minute race.

The two rounds of the MRF F1600 so far this year have witnessed extremely close competition for top honours. Anindith Reddy from Hyderabad heads the championship with 93 points.

The weekend’s schedule includes the Volkswagen Ameo Cup which replaced last season’s Vento Cup. The double-header in the one-make series dished out exciting fare last weekend in Coimbatore with Karminder Singh (Delhi) and Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) winning one race apiece.

The first round of the 2017 MMSC fmsi National Drag Racing Championship for four-wheelers is also in the programme with practice runs on Saturday followed by the final sprints on Sunday.

For the first time this season, the saloon cars in the top-end Indian Touring Cars, Indian Junior Touring Cars and Super Stock will come on the same card along with the entry-level Formula LGB 1300 which also has a Rookie class that provides an option for youngsters moving up from karting to open-wheel racing.

MMSC’s continuing efforts to attract fresh and young talent, especially among students has led to the introduction of a Student Cup where the competitors will drive the Formula LGB 1300 cars. As the name suggests, the category is open to college students.

“I am happy to say that the Student Cup has attracted good number of entries and it is our hope that this category will throw up talent among youngsters who will get a taste of open-wheel racing,” said Vicky Chandhok, Chairman of the Meet.

The three races in the premier Indian Touring Cars class will be the other highlight of the weekend. The previous outing in Coimbatore witnessed exciting duels between Red Rooster Performance and Race Concepts, the two front-running teams.

There is much to look forward to as defending champion Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) seeks to stamp his authority following his winless weekend in Coimbatore where Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) won two of the three races. Narednran’s team-mate Ashish Ramaswamy topped the other.

Regards

Akash

 

[Akash1886]

Friends,

Update

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Chennai, July 21: Hyderabad’s Anindith Reddy warmed up nicely for this weekend’s races by emerging the quickest in both the free practice sessions of the MRF FF1600 while Arya Singh, a 16-year old schoolboy from Kolkata, clinched the Student Cup (Formula 1300) with two wins and a podium finish in the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship at the MMRT track, Sriperumbudur, near here on Friday.

South African Devin Robertson, a guest driver, qualified for pole position in the Volkswagen Ameo Cup, a clear second off joint championship leaders Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) and Karminder Singh (Delhi), while defending champion Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) from Coimbatore topped the qualifying session in the premier Indian Touring Cars class.

In the day’s last event that was run on a combined grid, Mumbai’s Kamlesh Parmar (Indian Junior Touring Cars) and Anant Pithawalla (Esteem Cup), both of Team N1, and Bengaluru’s Varun Anekar (Super Stock) of Race Concepts won in their respective categories.

Championship leader in the MRF FF1600 class, Reddy, 27, was clearly ahead of the pack as he put in a series of consistently quick laps in the two free practice sessions, but expected a tough fight in the double-header this weekend.

“I had a really good run in the morning when the track conditions were excellent. In the afternoon, the track was quite hot and I was off the morning pace. Anyway, we still have the qualifying tomorrow and two races. There is not much difference between the top three and it will boil down to who strings together a few good laps,” said Anindith.

The winner of the MRF FF1600 championship earns a berth in the Road To Indy shootout in the United States, provided the qualifier is under 25 years of age. “I guess, I will not be eligible for the shootout even if I win the championship,” Anindith pointed out.

The day undoubtedly belonged to 16-year old Arya Singh, a 11th standard Commerce student of Heritage School, Kolkata. After finishing third in the first of the three races in the Student Cup class (Formula 1300), Arya, in just his second full season, put in impressive drives to win the next two of the triple-header.

“My intention was to have fun and drive fast. I am happy that I managed to win two of the three races. In the first race, I made a mistake at Turn-3 when in the lead and had to settle for second spot, but in the next outing, I had a good start and won comfortably.

“The third race was most exciting as I had a good battle with Rithvik after I lost position due to a mistake again at Turn-3. In the end, I managed to pass him going into Turn-1 on the last lap and held the lead,” said Arya who idolises former World F1 champion Fernando Alonso.

The results (Provisional – all 8 laps unless mentioned):

Indian Junior Touring Cars – Race 1: 1. Kamlesh Parmar (Team N1) (19mins, 52.565secs); 2. Prabhu AS (Red Rooster Performance) (19:57.069); 3. Mikhail Merchant (Team Game Over) (20:14.408).

Super Stock – Race 1: 1. Varun Anekar (Race Concepts) (19:18.592); 2. RP Rajarajan (Performance Racing) (19:31.053); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Quickshift Racing) (19:37.032).

Esteem Cup – Race 1: 1. Anant Pithawalla (Team N1) (19:15.634); 2. Charan Chandran (Red Rooster Performance) (19:15.817); 3. Sudanand Rajan (Red Rooster Performance) (19:22.041).

Student Cup – Race 1 (7 laps): 1. Aanjan Patodia (Pune, Momentum Motorsports) (08: 16.251); 2. Arya Singh (Kolkata, DTS Racing) (08:16.362); 3. Rithvik Thomas (Bengaluru, Wallace Sports) (08:17.064). Race 2: 1. Arya Singh (09:11.388); 2. Aanjan Patodia (09:21.109); 3. Rithvik Thomas (09:22.361). Race 3: 1. Arya Singh (09:25.868); 2. Bala Prasath (Coimbatore, DTS Racing) (09:27.129); 3. Rithvik Thomas (09:28.836).

QUALIFYING – Indian Touring Cars: 1. Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Racing) (01:54.365); 2. Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) (01:55.023); 3. C Rajaram (Performance Racing) (01:57.724).

Volkswagen Ameo Cup: 1. Devin Robertson (South Africa) (01:54.150); 2. A Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (01:55.252); 3. Karminder Singh (Delhi) (01:55.268).

Regards

Akash

 

[Akash1886]

Friends,

Update

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Chennai, July 22: Anindith Reddy from Hyderabad kept his wits about him after a bad start to post a fine win the MRF FF1600 race as did Bengaluru’s Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) who scripted his third consecutive victory in the premier Indian Touring Cars class in the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship at the MMRT track, Sriperumbudur, near here on Saturday.

While Reddy made the best of the opportunities that came his way to move from third to first, Chinnappa, after easing past pole-sitter and defending champion Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance), maintained a consistent pace for a well-deserved win.

Also tasting victories on the day were AS Prabhu (Red Rooster Performance) in the Indian Junior Touring Cars class, team-mate Sudanand Rajan (Esteem Cup) and Deepak Ravi Kumar of Quickshift Racing in the Super Stock category after original winner Varun Anekar was docked 30-second penalty for “dangerous driving”.

Rookies dominated the Formula LGB 1300 class race with Kolkata schoolboy Arya Singh (DTS Racing) finishing ahead of Momentum Motorsport team-mates Pune’s Aanjan Patodia and Yash Aradhya from Bengaluru. Arya, only 16, had won the Student Cup on Friday.

South African guest driver, Devin Robertson drove a near-flawless race to win the MRF MMSC Volkswagen Ameo Cup race comfortably ahead of Delhi’s Karminder Singh and A Sandeep Kumar (Chennai). Robertson enjoyed an untroubled outing leaving the rest to battle for minor positions.

Reddy, after slipping to third at the start of the eight-lap race, managed to fight his way back into the lead after front-runner Raghul Ramaswamy was docked a drive-through penalty for jump start and Chetan Korada ran wide. Reddy then hung on to the slender lead to win from Chennai lads Korada and Sandeep Kumar.

“It was a tough race. I had a bad getaway and lost two places behind Raghul and Chetan. However, in the very lap itself, Chetan made a mistake going into the back “D” and it allowed me to move up one spot. In the next lap, Raghul went in for a drive-through penalty for jump start and I broke clear.

“Thereafter, I concentrated on keeping my track position and only once Chetan came close which was when I set my fastest lap. I am happy that it all came together today and it should be fun in the next race on Sunday with the reverse grid start,” said Anindith after chalking up his third win in five outings in the championship whose winner at the end of the season earns a right to participate in the Road To Indy shootout in the United States.

Chinnappa had a great start and eased into the lead by Turn-1 and then drove extremely well to keep Narendran at bay. The duo was separated by mere inches most of the eight laps while pulling away from the field. Chinnappa, while clocking the fastest lap (01:54.228) of the race defended his line very capably to prevent Narendran from passing him.

Behind the front-runners, Ashish Ramaswamy fought and beat his team-mate Nikanth Ram to third place.

“I had a good start and passed Arjun going into Turn-1. Thereafter, it was a pretty close race. We both had some advantages in some of the sections. I had some issues with the car with handling and understeer, , but I am happy that I was able to defend my track position,” said Deepak Paul.

Arjun Narendran conceded that he lost to a quicker driver. “At the start, I had wheel-spin and he passed me. I stayed with him through the eight laps, but was not able to find a way past him. I too had some issues with the understeer.”

The results (Provisional – all 8 laps unless mentioned):
MRF FF1600 (Race-1): 1. Anindith Reddy (Hyderabad) (13mins, 51.925secs); 2. Chetan Korada (Chennai) (13:52.904); 3. A Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (13:53.497).

Indian Touring Cars (Race-1): 1. Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) (15:42.078); 2. Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) (15:42.599); 3. Ashish Ramaswamy (Red Rooster Performance) (16:05.018).

Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-2, 7 laps): 1. Prabhu AS (Red Rooster Performance) (15:57.245); 2. Kamlesh Parmar (Team N1) (16:04.112); 3. Arjun M Zaveri (Team Game Over) (16:44.437).

Super Stock (Race-2, 7 laps): 1. Deepak Ravi Kumar (Quickshift Racing) (15:34.021); Varun Anekar (Race Concepts) (15:53.594); 3. Swajit Achrekar (Team N1) (15:55.816).

Esteem Cup (Race-2, 7 laps): 1. Sudanand Rajan (Red Rooster Performance) (15:13.237); 2. Charan Chandran (Red Rooster Performance) (15:14.695); 3. Anant Pithawalla (Team N1) (15:15.014).

Formula LGB 1300 (Race-1): 1. Arya Singh (Kolkata, DTS Racing) (18:56.746); 2. Aanjan Patodia (Pune, Momentum) (18:57.218); 3.Yash Aradhya (Bengaluru, Momentum) (18:57.516). Rookie Cup: 1. Arya Singh; 2. Aanjan Patodia; 3. Yash Aradhya.

MRF MMSC Volkswagen Ameo Cup (Race-1): 1. Devin Robertson (South Africa) (15:39.262); 2. Karminder Singh (Delhi) (15:50.095); 3. A Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (15:56.471).

Regards

Akash

 

[Akash1886]

Friends,

Update

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Chennai, July 23: Anindith Reddy from Hyderabad and Coimbatore’s Arjun Narendran provided a thrilling finale to the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship at the MMRT track, Sriperumbudur, near here, even as 14-year old schoolboy from Bengaluru Yash Aradhya chalked up his maiden win.

Reddy finished the weekend on a high by chalking up his second win in the MRF FF1600 triple-header with Chennai’s Sandeep Kumar denying the Hyderabad racer a hat-trick, while Coimbatore-based Narendran (Red Rooster Performance), the defending champion in the premier Indian Touring Cars class, scored his first victory this season, to end the four-in-a-row win-streak of Bengaluru’s Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts).

Earlier, Yash (Momentum Motorsports), a ninth standard student of Bishop Cotton’s school, drove a well-judged race to claim top honours in both Formula LGB 1300 and the Rookie categories which also produced its share of tight finishes.

Kolhapur’s Dhruv Mohite, starting third on the grid, drove a near-flawless race for his first win in the MRF MMSC Volkswagen Ameo Cup race ahead of Karminder Singh (Delhi) and South African guest driver Devin Robertson.

Both the MRF FF1600 races today dished out exciting fare. Sandeep Kumar shrugged off a bad start owing to wheelspin and recovered well to take a jump on the front-runners Chetan Korada and winner of lung-opener on Saturday Reddy, in the very first lap before nursing the lead to the finish.

In the next race, the third of the weekend in this class, it was Reddy’s turn to fight his way through the pack and survive a spin after coming into contact with race leader Korada who thus dropped out of contention while Sandeep Kumar came in second with Kolkata schoolboy Arya Singh finishing third.

“It was a good weekend overall, but it wasn’t clear-cut as the results would suggest. I am happy to come away with two wins and a podium,” said Anindith who has four wins in seven outings which put him firmly in front in the championship the winner of which earns a chance to compete in the Road To Indy shootout in the United States later this year.

Likewise, both the ITC races, especially the duel between Narendran and Chinnappa were as close as they could get with little separating the two. In the day’s first race, Chinnappa, starting third on the reverse grid, had the measure of Narendran for his fourth win in a row. However, in the next race, pole-sitter Narendran enjoyed his best outing of the weekend to pip Chinnappa by a mere half-a-car length in a thrilling finish.

“Yes, I am absolutely relieved to score my first win in nearly a year. My last win was in August of 2016 and hopefully, this victory will turn my luck over the next couple of rounds. I had a tough time staying ahead of Deepak. We were quicker than each other in different sections of the track, but in the end, I am happy that scored my first win of this season,” said Narendran who is currently studying in England.

The results (Provisional – all 8 laps unless mentioned):

MRF FF1600 – Race 2: 1. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (13mins, 47.962secs); 2. Anindith Reddy (Hyderabad) (13:48.564); 3. Chetan Korada (Chennai) (13:55.975). Race 3: 1. Anindith Reddy (14:00.875); 2. Sandeep Kumar (14:02.022); 3. Arya Singh (Kolkata) (14:05.415).

Indian Touring Cars – Race 2: 1. Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) (15:37.529); 2. Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) (15:38.209); V Nikanthram (Red Rooster Performance) (16:14.611). Race 3: 1. Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) (15:34.638); 2. Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) (15:34.769); 3. B Vijayakumar (Prime Racing) (16:07.988).

Formula LGB 1300 – Race 2: 1. Yash Aradhya (Bengaluru, Momentum) (15:17.864); 2. Arya Singh (Kolkata, DTS Racing) (15:18.316); 3. Rupesh Sivakumar (Salem, DTS Racing) (15:31.142). Rookie: 1. Yash Aradhya; 2. Arya Singh; 3. Bala Prasath A (Coimbatore, DTS) (15:46.420).

MRF MMSC Volkswagen Ameo Cup – Race 2: 1. Dhruv Mohite (Kolhapur) (15:53.219); 2. Karminder Singh (Delhi) (15:59.667); 3. Devin Robertson (Johannesburg, South Africa) (16:01.045).

Regards

Akash

 

[Akash1886]

MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship – Round 4

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Chennai, August 17: The MRF FF1600, which offers the eventual champion a ticket to the prestigious Mazda Road to Indy shootout in the United States, will yet again headline the fourth and penultimate round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship at the MMRT track this weekend along with the ever popular saloon cars which have never failed to generate adrenaline rush.

In all, 14 races in various categories have been scheduled over two days after Friday’s practice and qualifying sessions. The second round of MMSC fmsci National Drag Racing Championship is also part of the main card and will be held on Saturday (practice) and Sunday (final) evening.

Besides the MRF FF1600 which is among the quickest in country’s single-seaters, races in the premier Indian Touring Cars (ITC) which also highlights the weekend programme, the Super Stock, Indian Junior Touring Cars and the Formula LGB 1300 where two schoolboys, Arya Singh (Kolkata) and Yash Aradhya (Bengaluru) have excelled, are also scheduled.

To top it, the Volkswagen Ameo Cup which has dished out highly competitive races so far, will be an added attraction with its huge grid of about 20 cars, making winner-picking is proving to be a hazardous exercise. In the four races thus far, last year’s Vento Cup first runner-up Karminder Singh has won two, and Sandeep Kumar and Dhruv Mohite one apiece to emerge as the front-runners in the championship stakes.

The MRF FF1600 class is developing into an exciting, four-driver contest involving Bengaluru’s Sandeep Kumar (72 points), local challenger Chetan Korada (66.5), Kolkata schoolboy Arya Singh (52.5), who scored his maiden podium finish in the previous round, and last year’s Volkswagen Vento Cup champion Ishaan Dodhiwala (44) from Hyderabad.

The quartet come into the frame as championship leader Anindith Reddy (117) with four wins in seven outings is ineligible for the Mazda Road to Indy shootout whose winner earns a scholarship of USD 200,000, as the cut-off age is 25 while the Hyderabad racer is 27.

In contrast, the Indian Touring Cars class with highly modified machines, has so far been a two-horse race. Defending champion Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) from Coimbatore has had a wretched start to the season and managed just one win in six races, four of which were taken by his arch rival Bengaluru’s Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts). The two have provided some top drawer racing marked by wheel-to-wheel racing.

Equally competitive has been the Formula LGB 1300 that has sub-categories of Rookie and Student Cup. Two schoolboys, 16-year old Arya Singh from Kolkata and Bengaluru’s Yash Aradhya, only 14, have lit up this category by showcasing their talent and potential.

Regards

Akash

 

[Akash1886]

Friends,

Update

​

Chennai, August 18: Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) set a hot pace to grab overall pole position in the saloon cars category at the MMRT track here on Friday as the fourth round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship commenced with qualifying and practice sessions.

Rangasamy, hailing from the temple town of Mamallapuram near here, topped in the Esteem class, while Bengaluru’s Varun Anekar (Race Concepts) was the quickest in the Super Stock Category and Kamlesh Parmar (Team N1 Racing) from Mumbai topped the Indian Junior Touring Cars.

Aanjan Patodia of Momentum Sports grabbed the pole position in the Formula LGB 1300 category, in both Open and Rookie classes while Mumbai's Saurav Bhandopadhyay was the fastest in the Volkswagen Ameo Cup qualifying session.

Earlier, Hyderabad’s Anindith Reddy (58.149secs) warmed up nicely by being the quickest during practice session in the marquee MRF FF1600 category ahead of Kolkata schoolboy Arya Singh (58.643), ahead of Saturday’s qualifying session.

In the premier Indian Touring Cars class practice session, Ashish Ramaswamy (Red Rooster Performance) from Bengaluru clocked a best lap of 01:06.121, upstaging championship leader Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) who did 01:06.501, ahead of defending champion Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance, 01:06.866). The qualifying round will be run on Saturday.

The start of the day’s proceedings were delayed due to water puddles in some sections of the track following heavy overnight rains, forcing the organizers, with the consent of the competitors, to use the “short loop” (2.1Kms) instead of the regular full configuration.

The results (Qualifying – provisional):

Formula LGB 1300 (Open): 1. Aanjan Patodia (Momentum Sports) (01min, 04.675secs); 2. Yash Aradhya (Momentum Sports) (01:04.870); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Wallace Sports) (01:05.448). Rookie: 1. Patodia; 2. Aradhya; 3. Bala Prasath (DTS Racing) (01:05.238).

Saloon cars – Esteem: 1. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) (01:09.472); 2. Narendran (RAD Racing) (01:09.789); 3. Anant Pithawalla (Team N1) (01:10.013). Super Stock: 1. Varun Anekar (Race Concepts) (01:10.475); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Quickshift Racing) (01:11.174); 3. RP Rajarajan (Performance Racing) (01:11.736). Indian Junior Touring Cars: 1. Kamlesh Parmar (Team N1) (01:12.418); 2. Mikhail Merchant (Team Game Over) (01:13.917); 3. Prabhu AS (Red Rooster Performance) (01:14.586).

Volkswagen Ameo Cup: 1. Saurav Bhandopadhyay (Mumbai) (01:06.377); 2. Karminder Singh (Delhi) (01:06.457); 3. A Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (01:06.680).

Regards

Akash

 

[Akash1886]

Update

​

Chennai, August 19: The expected intense battles in the two premium classes did not materialize as Sandeep Kumar and Arjun Narendran cruised to comfortable victories in the MRF F1600 and the Indian Touring Cars categories, respectively, in the fourth round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship at the MMRT track on Saturday.

In contrast, competition was at its fiercest in other categories. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) topped the saloon car race after an initial blip, while Bengaluru schoolboy Yash Aradhya, only 14, and Pune’s 18-year old engineering student Aanjan Patodia, both of Team Momentum Motorsports, fought tooth and nail to win a race apiece in both the categories (Open and Rookie) of the double-header Formula LGB 1300.

In the other categories of the saloon cars, Bengaluru’s Varun Anekar (Race Concepts) and Hashim EKP (DTS Racing) emerged comfortable winners in the Super Stock and Indian Junior Touring Cars, respectively.

Sourav Bandyopadhyay from Mumbai pulled off a fine win in the Volkswagen Ameo Cup, pushing championship leader Karminder Singh (Delhi) to second place while Sandeep Kumar completed the podium.

The MRF FF1600 race turned out to be disappointing especially after pole-sitter and championship leader Anindith Reddy (Hyderabad) pitted at the end of Lap 1 to repair a damaged nose cone following a contact with Chennai’s Sandeep Kumar at the start of the race.

Reddy, on rejoining the race, finished a lap down in fifth while Sandeep won untroubled leaving Chennai’s Chetan Korada and Kolkata schoolboy Arya Singh to scrap for the other two podium spots.

The spotlight was also on the Indian Touring Cars where Coimbatore-based defending champion Arjun Narendran and Bengaluru’s Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts), the championship leader, were expected to repeat their Round 3 battle which, however, fizzled out. Chinnappa packed up when the timing belt snapped at the end of the first of the 15 laps.

It left the field wide open for Narendran to exploit with his nearest challenger and team-mate Ashish Ramaswamy from Bengaluru struggling with a car bleeding power. With five others too retiring, Narendran cruised home to victory ahead of Ramaswamy. The win, his second in a row, took Narendran (119 points) within striking distance of Chinnappa (136).

The results (Provisional – all 15 laps unless mentioned):

MRF FF1600 (Race 1): 1. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (15mins, 01.880secs); 2. Chetan Korada (Chennai) (15:10.711); 3. Arya Singh (Kolkata) (15:11.709).

Indian Touring Cars – Race 1: 1.Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) (16:50.960); 2. Ashish Ramaswamy (Red Rooster Performance) (17: 02.745); 3. C Raja Ram (Prime Racing) (17:26.277).

Saloon Cars (Race 1) – Esteem: 1. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) (17:49.329); 2. Narendran (RAD Racing) (17: 51.486); 3. Ananth Pithawala (Team N1) (17: 59.385).

Super Stock: 1. Varun V Anekar (Race Concepts) (18:12.176); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Quickshift Racing) (18:33.902); 3. Bala Vijay B (Performance Racing) (18:42.584).

Indian Junior Touring Cars: 1. Hisham EKP (DTS Racing) (18: 15.268); 2. Mikhail Merchant (Team Game Over) (18:27.330); 3. Prabhu AS (Red Rooster Performance) (18:35.509).

Formula LGB 1300 (Race 1, 13 laps) – Open: 1. Yash Aradhya (Momentum Motorsports) (16:14.230); 2. Aanjan Patodia (Momentum Motorsports) (16:14.778); 3. Arya Singh (DTS Racing) (16:16.906). Rookie: 1. Yash Aradhya; 2. Aanjan Patodia; 3. Arya Singh.

Race 2 (Open): Aanjan Patodia (Momentum Motorsports) (16:35.848); 2. Arya Singh (DTS Racing) (16:40.056); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Wallace Sports) (16:48.463). Rookie: 1. Aanjan Patodia; 2. Arya Singh; 3. Yash Aradhya (Momentum Motorsports) (16:48.495).

Volkswagen Ameo Cup (Race 1): 1. Sourav Bandyopadya (Mumbai) (16:05.858); 2.Karminder Singh (Delhi) (16:13.204); 3. A Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (16: 14.485).

Regards

Akash

 

[Akash1886]

Update

​

Chennai, August 20: Winning both the races today, Hyderabad’s Anindith Reddy extended his domination in the MRF FF1600 class while Arjun Narendran, the Coimbatore-based defending champion in the Indian Touring Cars category also completed a double as the fourth round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship concluded at the MMRT track on Sunday.

With the fifth and concluding round to be run on September 16-17, Reddy, who leads Chennai’s Sandeep Kumar by 29 points, is well placed in the championship whose winner earns a ticket to the Mazda Road To Indy shootout in the United States later this year.

It was smooth sailing for Reddy in both the races today as he put in a flawless performance to destroy the opposition as he more than made up for a disappointing outing on Saturday when he finished fifth after being forced to pit early in the race for repairs on the nose cone.

Similarly, Narendran of Red Rooster Performance, with the two wins this weekend, narrowed the leeway to just seven points after championship leader Bengaluru’s Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) dropped crucial points with a non-finish in Saturday’s first race and third place finish in the next outing today. Narendran won both races virtually unchallenged, after the initial jostling for track positions.

“I had a good weekend. The car felt great, no problems at all. I am happy that my campaign is back on track with the two wins this weekend after the sort of start I had to the season when I failed to score a win in two rounds,” said Narendran.

Mikhail Merchant from Mumbai (Team Game Over) also scored a double in the Indian Junior Touring Cars category as did Bengaluru’s Varun Anekar (Race Concepts) in the Super Stock class.

In the Esteem Cup, Mumbai’s Anant Pithawalla (Team N1) consolidated his position at the top of the leaderboard with three podium finishes on the weekend while Mamallapuram’s Raghul Rangasamy, who won two races in the triple-header, completed a fine double.

Delhi’s Karminder Singh stamped his authority in the Volkswagen Ameo Cup by winning both the races today to enjoy a lead of 104 points going into the concluding round next month when the remaining three races are to be run.

The results (Provisional):

MRF FF1600 – Race 2 (15 laps): 1. Anindith Reddy (Hyderabad) (14: 57.509); 2. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (15: 01.399); 3. Chetan Korada (Chennai) (15:15.305). Race 3 (15 laps): 1. Anindith Reddy (14: 58.193); 2. Sandeep Kumar (14: 58.410); 3. Chetan Korada (15:10.826).

Indian Touring Cars – Race 2 (15 laps): 1.Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) (16:52.608); 2. Ashish Ramaswamy (Red Rooster Performance) (16:58.568); 3. Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) (17: 08.741).

Saloon Cars – Super Stock (Race 2, 12 laps): 1. RP Rajarajan (Performance Racing) (14:30.913); 2. Varun V Anekar (Race Concepts) (14: 31.640); 3. Bala Vijay B (Performance Racing) (14: 49.918). Race 3 (12 laps): 1. Varun V Anekar (14:25.775); 2. RP Rajarajan (14:37.434); 3. Bala Vijay B (14:40.081).

Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race 2, 12 laps): 1. Mikhail Merchant (Team Game Over) (15:27.157); 2. Hisham EKP (DTS Racing) (14:27.335+1 lap); 3. Kamlesh Parmer (Team N1) (14:28.859+1 lap). Race 3 (12 laps): 1. Mikhail Merchant (15:20.098); 2. Hisham EKP (14:17.583+1 lap); 3. Prabu AS (Red Rooster Performance) (14:28.191+1 lap).

Esteem Cup (Race 2, 12 laps): 1. Narendran Sankaran (RAD Racing) (14: 19.391); 2. Sidharth Balakrishnan (Red Rooster Performance) (14: 24.264); 3. Anant Pithawala (Team N1) (14:25.896). Race 3 (12 laps): 1. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) (14:15.558); 2. Anant Pithawalla (Team N1) (14:22.634); 3. Narendran Sankaran (RAD Racing) (14:29.254).

Volkswagen Ameo Cup – Race 2 (15 laps): 1. Karminder Singh (Delhi) (17:05.639); 2. Jeet Jhabakh (Hyderabad) (17:19.305); 3. Dhruv Mohite (Kolhapur) (17:20.487). Race 3 (15 laps): 1. Karminder Singh (17:06.047); 2. Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Mumbai) (17:08.962); 3. Dhruv Mohite (Kolhapur) (17:15.446).

Regards

Akash