MRF Challenge poised for exciting finish
The third and concluding round of the winter series of the Asia’s top single- seater racing championships, the MRF Challenge, will begin in Chennai from Friday.
The two flyaway rounds in Dubai ( November) and Bahrain ( December) showcased the skills of emerging talent such as Belgium’s Max Defourny and British girl Jamie Chadwick. The two 20- year olds between them have won six of the 10 races in the two rounds. Defourny leads the championship with 201 points ahead of Chadwick ( 183) and German teenager Andreas Estner ( 124). As such, there is plenty at stake in the final round with five races to be run.
Joining the championship for the final round are Saudi Arabia’s rising female talent Reema Al Juffali who recently won the TRD 86 Cup race in Abu Dhabi, and 17- year old Glenn van Berlo, from the Netherlands, who is moving to single- seater racing from karting.
The busy weekend will also witness the first round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship 2019 with the MRF Formula 1600, saloon cars in three categories, including the top- end Indian Touring Cars, and the Formula LGB 1300 which has attracted 20 entries.
The races in Dubai and Bahrain dished out extremely close contests up and down the grid, though Defourny and Chadwick have dominated the front- runners.
The Belgian has been the most consistent driver with three wins and six podium finishes in 10 outings while Chadwick also has never held back on the track, winning three races, all of them in the Bahrain round, besides as many podium spots.