Donison, Aradhya top heats

Close racing marked the heats in the various classes in the opening round of the 13th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Championship at the Meco Kartopia in Bengaluru on Saturday.

At the official practice session in the morning, it became clear that the top favourites would be the drivers to beat. Through the day, lap times dropped as they got used to the conditions and the track got quicker.

The highlight of the day were the heats in each of the three classes — Micro Max ( 7- 12 years), Junior Max ( 13- 16 years) and Senior Max ( above 15 years) — that will decide the starting order for the pre- finals and finals.

In Heat 1 of the Senior Max ( above 15) class, defending champion Ricky Donison of BPC Racing threw down the gauntlet with a comprehensive win after shooting into lead in the first corner even as Nayan Chatterjee of Meco Racing tried his best to catch the leader.

In Heat 2, Donison was once again the man to beat, opening up a five length gap which remained till the end of the race. Chatterjee again finished second, while Ameya Bafna of Rayo Racing improved upon his fourth place in the first heat to take third, improving his starting order for the prefinals on Sunday.

In the Junior Max category, which features participants of 13 to 16 years of age, Yash Aradhya asserted his authority in both heats all the way.

While in the Micro Max category involving racers of 7 to 12 years if age, top favourites dominated.

Ruhaan Alva won the first heat after fending of pressure from Shahan Ali Mohsin, but in the second heat, Shahan got the better of Alva to set up an interesting final day. Arjun R. finished third in both the heats.