Vishnu, Mandody make clean sweep at National Racing C'ship

Chennai's Vishnu Prasad and Kolhapur's Chittesh Mandody did the star turn in the opening round of the 20th JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship, completing a clean sweep in their primary races at the Kari Motor Speedway here Sunday.

Vishnu had his task cut out in the morning, in front of a packed crowd including 500 school children, with the reverse grid coming into play in the Euro JK 17. He began at P6, that too behind the two drivers who were on his tail all through Saturday: Nayan Chatterjee (P5) and Anindith Reddy (P4).

That, however, didn't deter him as he waited for his opportunity to storm past a determined Vikash Anand who started on pole. He was unstoppable, thereafter, showing amazing pace, calm and control under pressure.

It was expectedly easier for him in the fourth and last Euro JK race of the day, as he had the advantage of starting in front of the pack. He clocked the fastest lap of the day (1:01.246 minutes), finally getting the better of Anindith Reddy who had been the quickest racer until then.

Anindith made up two places, starting from P4, to take the second position for a fairly rewarding opening round. Nayan Chatterjee also grabbed his third podium, by keeping pace with Anindith.

It was an exciting day for Coimbatore's motor sports' fans, with music, stunts and high speed action being the order of the day.

The races, however, proved to be the show stealer, with the day's second LGB4 race claiming the top honours. Kolhapur's Chittesh Mandody and Vishnu Prasad were engaged in a neck and neck battle, exchanging the lead in a series of daring moves.–PTI

The race saw two restarts, one of them owing to a collision that even saw a car flying in the air. Chennai's Saran Vikram added further to the drama in the closing laps, joining the duo to make it a three-way clash as the chequered flag beckoned.