All revved up
Cut-throat competition treated us to some exciting races at the Indian National Car Racing Championship
SHAHAN ENJOYED A GOOD START FROM POLE POSITION
ROUND 3 OF THE MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship 2021 was held at the Madras Motor Race Track in Chennai, with Covid-19 protocols and was the concluding round of the Indian National Car Racing Championship, as opposed to the usual five rounds.
Agra’s Shahan Ali Mohsin won the MRF F1600 class, successfully battling it out against the schoolboy Chirag Ghorpade who finished just over a second behind the pace. Rishon Rajeev from Bengaluru finished third. 17-year old Shahan enjoyed a good start from pole position, cruising on towards his third win of the season. While Chirag continues to top the leaderboard when it comes to championship points, Shahan’s victory took his points tally to 109, just 14 short of Chirag’s.
In the Formula LGB 1300, Ruhaan Alva enjoyed a lights-to-flag victory, being unchallenged throughout the eight-lap race that was interrupted by a Safety Car period due to an accident. Viswas Vijayaraj and Mohd Ryan, running in second and third, were engaged in a fierce battle behind the leader and spun off after contact. This allowed Deepak Ravikumar, who was running fourth to move into P2 and defend his spot to the chequered flag, ahead of teammate Tijil Rao. Tijil put in a great performance during the race, moving up the grid from P19 to third position.
Ishaan Dodhiwala claimed victory in the premier Indian Touring Cars class ahead of veteran Arjun Balu, the championship leader from Coimbatore. Dodhiwala, who came in as a replacement for absentee teammate Anindith Reddy, steered clear of a Turn 1 incident involving Balu and Jeet Jhabakh and claimed his first win of the season. Balu and Jhabakh, who tried to pass taking the inside line, came together and went off track, allowing Dodhiwala to slip into the lead. While Balu quickly recovered, the race stewards docked Jhabakh a 15-second penalty for “causing an avoidable collision”.
Varun Anekar chalked up a victory in the Indian Junior Touring Cars class while Deepak Ravikumar from Chennai bagged pole position in the Super Stock category, the duo posting the fastest lap times in their respective categories. Oshan Kothadiya from Pune scored his maiden win of the season in the Volkswagen Polo category, with Sandeep Kumar setting the fastest lap time. Haryana’s Justin Singh and Mumbai veteran Fahad Kutty, who started P11 on the reverse grid, won a race each in the MRF Saloon Cars (Toyota Etios) category. Singh also put in the quickest lap of the day in the MRF Saloon Cars Class. ⌧