Coimbatore, October 14: Chennai’s Ashwin Datta moved a step closer to his maiden Euro JK title in the 21st JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship as a dramatic Round 3 -- replete with ups, downs and upsets --came to an end here on Sunday.
Ashwin (74 points after R3 ), who was just two points ahead of Nayan Chatterjee (66 after R3) as the action began on Saturday, made the most of Nayan’s DNF to widen his lead. But Chennai’s Karthik Tharani (68 after R3) won the next two races to come back into the equation.
The final race of the weekend, however, saw a totally new set of winners, with Nirmal Uma Shankar, Brayan Perera and Yash Aradhya claiming the podium places. Ashwin finished fourth, though, ahead of his key competitors to be 6 points ahead of the field
The LGB Formula 4 too proved to be topsy-turvy but Vishnu Prasad (59) managed to keep his nose barely ahead despite not having the best of weekends.
Delhi's Rohit Khanna seemed to be cruising ahead after winning the first race on Day 1 and starting Day 2 with another victory. However, a series of incidents led to a number of protests, that saw him being penalized by 20 seconds and slip down from No. 1 to 13.
In the final race, Rohit just couldn't recover his poise and ended up with a DNF. Vishnu too had a poor race, finishing ninth and without a point. Raghul Rangasamy is now on the second place on the Championship table with 57 points.
The other Chennai star Joseph Mathew too had an eventful race, beating Malsawmdawngliana literally at the post. Joseph began cautiously, allowing his rival from Aizawl to take the lead. He overtook him at the halfway stage only to see Malsawmdawngliana streak past him in the final lap.
Just as victory seemed in Malsawmdawngliana's grasp, Joseph outwitted him, winning by a wafer-thin margin of 0.087 seconds. This is Joseph's sixth straight victory in the three rounds and puts him firmly in line for another title.
The JK Tyre Novice Cup too saw a dramatic turn of events, which led to Surya Varathan claiming the championship and Tijil Rao taking the second place.
Hashim EKP, who had won all three races over the weekend to move ahead, was disqualified as he had contravened the competition norms.
Race 3: 1. Karthik Tharani (15:37.117); 2. Nayan Chatterjee (15:38.043); 3. Ashwin Datta (15:40.886)
Race 4: 1. Nirmal Uma Shankar (15:42.818); 2 Brayan Perera (15:46.014); 3. Yash Aradhya (15:47.130)
Race 2:1. Chittesh Mandody (Avalanche; 18:47.313); 2. Sarosh Hataria (Dark Don; 18:47.409); 3. Sohil Shah (MSport; 18:47.957)
Race 3:1. Chittesh Mandody (20:11.953); 2. Sarosh Hataria (20:12.040); 3. Raghul Rangasamy (MSport; 18:13.676)
1. Joseph Mathew (14:02.704); 2. Malsawmdawngliana (14:02.791); 3. Syed Muzamil Ali (14:13.359)
1. Tijil Rao (Momentum; 18:40.030); 2. K Surya Varathan (MSport; 18:40.342); 3. Jamwal Digveshar (Prudent; 18:56.462)
JK Tyre has always been closely associated with the world of sports. Almost three decades back the company laid down a long term and sustained approach to promote Motorsport. Participating in this form of the sport has helped the company in continuously updating its products to meet the challenges of gruelling Indian conditions. The sport at that time in India was perceived for elite but JK Tyre took upon itself to package and redesign the sport to suit the masses. The company not only made the sport affordable but also equivalent to International operating standards. JK Tyre’s foray into Motorsport was a well thought out strategic decision to not only use and develop this virgin branding platform but also to realize the dreams of making India a force in the field of motor sport.
In 2011, the company acquired the Formula BMW Series and rechristened it as the JK Racing Asia Series (JKRAS). With this acquisition, JK Tyre created history in Indian Motorsport by becoming the first Indian company to acquire an FIA accredited series. By taking over the series, JK Tyre promises to utilize it as a platform to encourage and support the world’s best racing drivers and promote India as one of Asia’s motorsport capitals.
Thus, JK Tyre has conquered two steps in the motorsport program where the new racing aspirants first establish themselves in
India, then graduate to Asian level i.e. to Formula BMW, which is now JKRAS and then they move to higher levels of racing. JK Tyre now stands closer to achieving its mission of bringing world-class motorsport to the Indian masses. The Racing and Karting programme by JK Tyre has been the breeding ground for the country's motorsport talents like Narain Karthikeyan, Armaan Ebrahim, Karun Chandhok, Aditya Patel and other emerging talent.
Another pioneering initiative was the launch of the Truck Racing Championship in India in partnership with Tata Motors. The company developed & designed “JetRacing”-the new generation truck racing tyres especially for this application. With this, JK Tyre became the first tyre company to produce truck racing tyres in India. The combination of the Prima trucks fitted with Jet Racing received an overwhelming response from participants and has definitely brought in a revolution in the Indian racing scenario.
Anwesh Koley
anwesh.koley@jkmail.com
Monsum Hazarika
monsumh@gmail.com
Mob: +91 9999648056
CALENDAR 2024
