Anindith leads c’ship

Anindith stretches his lead in the Euro JK17 championship while Chittesh leads in the LGB F4 class

ROUND THREE OF THE JK NRC took place at the Kari Motor Speedway, on September 2 and 3. While this was the penultimate round for the Euro JK 17, the LGB Formula 4 and Gixxer Cup races, this was the final round for the youngsters in the Red Bull Road to Rookies qualifiers.

Euro JK 17

Anindith Reddy started on pole in front of Vishnu Prasad and Nayan Chatterjee. However, Ricky Capo won, followed by Akash Gowda and Nayan. Anindith won race 2, but Nirmal who was in second place spun at the last corner, allowing Akash to take second and Ashwin Datta took third.

In race 3, Anindith lead from the start to finish. Vishnu finished second and Ricky finished third. Vikash Anand started race 4 on pole and a jump start followed by a spin at C1 saw him drop positions. The race was won by Vishnu, followed by Anindith and Akash.

LGB F4

Kolhapur’s Chittesh Mandody qualified on pole with Diljith T S in P2 while Vishnu Prasad qualified in P3. Chittesh took the win followed by Rohit Khanna and Vishnu in race 1. Race 2 was a reverse grid from eighth, and Diljith finished the race first. Raghul Rangasamy finished in second with Sandeep Kumar in third. Diljith won race 3, Sandeep placed second and Raghul placed third after a fighting through the ranks.

Suzuki Gixxer Cup

Joseph Matthew was on pole, followed by Syed Muzammil Ali and Lalmawipuia. Malsawmdawngliana gave him a tough fight but Joseph held on to the lead to claim the victory by a fine margin. Joseph started race two on pole, but dropped down after the start. Sachin Chaudhary took the lead but Malsawmdawngliana pipped him of the lead in the last lap, forcing Sachin in to second and Joseph in third.

Road to Rookies Cup

Lalhruaizela had already secured his berth as India’s representative at the Rookies Cup qualifiers to be held in Spain. He started the last race of his season in P2, behind Jaden and with Lalnunsanga in P3. The three were neck in neck down to the last lap, but ultimately it was Jaden who made it to the chequered flag first followed by Lalnunsanga and Lalhruaizela. ⌧ In a one-of-a-kind event, Syed Asif Ali won the Gulf Monsoon Scooter Autocross aboard his TVS SXR 150. Riding in the premier Group B upto 210cc class, Asif won the event in his home town of Bhopal by lapping the course in 2 minutes 57.41 seconds. TVS Racing completed a 1-2-3 in the class with Imran Pasha and Aakash Satpute joining Asif Ali on the podium. In the Group C 110-160cc class, Aprilia’s SR 150 reigned supreme with Muzaffar Ali, Aprilia Racing’s Pinkesh Thakkar and Venkatesh Shetty sealing the podium. Nidhi Shukla, riding for the Aprilia Racing team on the SR 150, was the fastest lady of the event. Reigning champion Gaurav Gill wins his second rally of the season in Japan. This has been an exciting season of the APRC so far with both Gill and teammate Ole Christian Veiby winning two rallies so far. Gill had a tough time in the previous rally in Malaysia and the win in Japan helps him breathe a sigh of relief. Team MRF-Skoda has wrapped up the manufacturer’s championship yet again. Gill has a 21-point lead heading into the final round in Chikmagalur, India; a rally where he has had a good record.