Round 4 of JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting 2013.

Vishnu Prasad, Krishnaraj Mahadik & Paul Francis Win Round 4 of JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting 2013

~Vishnu (Senior Max) and Krishnaraj (Junior Max) Maintain Leads in the Championship Table~

Hyderabad, September 1 2013: Vishnu Prasad of Meco Racing, defending champion Krishnaraj Mahadik of Mohite’s Racing and Paul T Francis of Meco Racing won the Senior Max, Junior Max and Micro Max respectively of the Round 4 of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2013 at Kart Centre in Hyderabad on Sunday.

In the Round 4, 34 karters in three categories - Micro Max (7 to 12 years), Junior Max (13 to 16 years) and Senior Max (15 and above) showed their best performances at the 650-metre long track in Lahari Resorts, where the racers battled hard to secure maximum points in the most prestigious grassroots level motorsport championship in the country.

Vishnu Prasad again showed his class and raced excellently to win the Senior Max category in the  FINAL race, beating the best karters of the country. Pole position holder Vishnu received only threat at the first corner where Dhruv Mohite’s of Mohite Racing, started at 2nd position, overtook him. Vishnu fought back his place just after first lap and led the whole race till the chequered flag. Seeing this tussle, Chittesh S Mandody of Mohite’s Racing and Rayo Racing’s Ameya Bafna overtook Dhruv and pushed him at 4th position. Nayan Chatterjee of Rayo Racing also joined the pack and all fought for the 2nd position.

After five laps, Dhruv and Nayan indulged in a tussle for 4th position and due to that, Nayan lost few places. After few more laps, Ameya managed to overtake the toughest racer of the grid Chittesh and claimed the 2nd position. Vishnu finished as the winner and Chittesh finished at 3rd podium place. After Round 4, Vishnu is leading the championship in Senior Max with 322 points, 14 points ahead of Rayo Racing’s Nayan and Ameya, who are at 2nd and 3rd place respectively with 308 points.

The Junior Max Final race started with an unfortunate collision at the first corner involving all the leading five karters, and due to that pole position holder Kush Maini of Dark Don Racing lost many places. Krishnaraj Mahadik materialised the opportunity and took the lead. Krishnaraj was racing faster than others and he maintained his lead till the chequered flag.

That collision also gave chance to Dark Don Racing’s Mira Erda and Sri Lankan racer Eshan David Pieris to hold 2nd and 3rd positions respectively till the last lap, where they collided with each other. Eshan pushed Mira to overtake her and in this tussle, both racers’ kart stopped in the middle of the race. Seeing this opportunity, Arya Chirag Gandhi of Rayo Racing and Akash Gowda of Meco Racing claimed the 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.

Eshan and Mira finished at 7th and 8th position respectively. After Round 4, defending champion Krishnaraj maintained the top position in the Junior Max championship with 344 points, almost clinch the 10th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship title, and 22 points ahead of Akash, who is at 2nd place with 322 points. Tejasram of Meco Racing still holding the third place with 311 points.

In Micro Max, pole position holder Paul Francis and defending champion Pradyumna V Danigond of Mohite’s Racing were racing neck-to-neck. Both racers overtook many times in the first five laps. In the fifth lap, Paul was trying to overtake Pradyumna and during the tussle, Pradyumna’s engine stopped suddenly. He lost all the places and started again behind the pack. Since then, Paul led the whole race and won the Micro Max category of Round 4.

But the battle was open for second position where Nikhil Bohra of Indian Karting, Arjun S Nair and Yash Aradhya of Meco Racing were fighting for the honour. Both managed to overtake each-others through-out the race. In 7th lap, Nikhil was trying to overtake Yash for the second position and like Pradyumna, Yash’s engine also stopped unfortunately during the scuffle, which forced him to quit the race.

Nikhil finished at 2nd position but he lost the place to third-place finisher Arjun as he overtook him under Yellow Flag. Arjun and Nikhil finally claimed 2nd and 3rd podium places. After the Round 4, Pradyumn is leading the championship table with 345 points, almost claimed the Micro Max title of the 10th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship as he is 21 points ahead of Yash, who is at 2nd position with 324 points. Sahishnu Bagamane of Meco Racing is still holding third position with 312 points.

In the PRE-FINAL Senior Max, Vishnu Prasad, who started at 2nd position, outplayed all the racers and overtook pole position holder Chittesh Mandody just after three laps. Since then, he led the whole race and maintained a good distance from rest of the pack. Nayan Chatterjee and Ameya Bafna were fighting for third position and in 6th lap, Nayan tried to overtake his teammate but unfortunately he skid, which him three positions. Dhruv Mohite displayed his spectacular racing and materialised the opportunity to overtake Nayan. After 12 laps, Dhruv fiercely overtook Ameya Bafna for third position and in the last lap, he overtook his teammate Chittesh and finished at 2ndposition.

In Junior Max, Kush Maini dominated the Pre-Final and was way ahead of other racers. He led the whole race and finished as a winner. The fight was for 2nd position where Krishnaraj Mahadik and Arya Chirag Gandhi were competing through-out the race. Arya managed to overtake Krishnaraj in 5th lap, but Krishnaraj fought back his place after few laps and finished 2nd in the Pre-Final.

In the Micro Max, Paul Francis gave brilliant competition to Pradyumna and overtook him in the remaining last two laps. Pradyumna tried to overtake Paul in the last corner, but Paul didn’t allow him to pass and finished first with the chequered flag. Nikhil Bohra, who started at 7th, displayed a marvellous racing and overtook three racers to claim the 3rd position.

There are three new faces in the Round 4 of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2013 - Ashish Narrandas of South Africa (Senior Max), Eshan David Pieris of Sri Lanka (Junior Max) and 2007 national karting champion Nikhil P Kashyap (Senior Max).

Experienced racer from South Africa Ashish Narrandas, who is currently racing in the JK Tyre Racing Championship 2013, is enjoying his break from the current season by karting first time in his life. Meco Racing’s Narrandas fared well in the Qualifying session but couldn’t continue his performance due to some problem in his kart. He finished last in both Final and Pre-Final races.

15-year-old Eshan David Pieris may open doors to many Sri Lankan karters, who can participate in professional karting championship in India at cheaper price than any other South-East Asian country or Europe. Dark Don Racing’s Eshan, whose father David Pieris raced in India in 70’s and 80’s, is racing in India first time and finds the competition level very high in Junior Max category. Eshan finished at 7th and 10th positions in Final and Pre-Final respectively.

Nikhil Kashyap, who is 2007 national karting champion (Junior Max) and 2010 runner-up (Senior Max), is racing after two years after taking a break for his studies. Kashyap also raced in Formula Rolon after karting and was 2nd runner-up in 2010. The Meco Racing racer has joined the aggressive pack of championship leaders in Senior Max - Vishnu Prasad, Nayan Chatterjee, Ameya Bafna and Chittesh Mandody. Nikhil finished at 7th and 8th position in Final and Pre-Final respectively.

The country’s most revered karting championship - currently in its 10th successful year - is the only karting event in the country that has produced drivers who have participated and won in top races abroad. JK Tyre is credited with introducing the concept of karting in India and has patronized karting circuits across the country. JK Tyre together with Meco Motorsports introduced professional karting in 2004 with the introduction of the Rotax 2-stroke kart engines. It was then that the current championship came into being and is today the most revered karting contest in India.

RESULTS – FINALS

Senior Max (25 laps)

1.     Vishnu Prasad (Meco Racing)

2.     Ameya Bafna (Rayo Racing)

3.     Chittesh S Mandody (Mohite’s Racing)

Junior Max (22 laps)

1.     Krishnaraj Mahadik (Rayo Racing)

2.     Arya Chirag Gandhi (Rayo Racing)

3.     Akash Gowda (Meco Racing)

Micro Max (15 laps)

1.     Paul T Francis (Meco Racing)

2.     Arjun Nair (Meco Racing)

3.     NIkhil Bohra (Indian Karting)

RESULTS – PRE-FINALS

Senior Max (22 laps)

1.     Vishnu Prasad (Meco Racing)

2.     Dhruv Mohite (Mohite’s Racing)

3.     Chittesh S Mandody (Mohite’s Racing)

Junior Max (20 laps)

1.     Kush Maini (Dark Don Racing)

2.     Krishnaraj Mahadik (Rayo Racing)

3.     Arya Chirag Gandhi (Rayo Racing)

Micro Max (11 laps)

1.     Paul Francis (Meco Racing)

2.     Pradyumna V Danigond (Mohite’s Racing)

3.     NIkhil Bohra (Indian Karting)