Chennai: The 15th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Racing Championship has so far witnessed four rounds of intense racing and with the championship still wide open, the penultimate round scheduled at the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) at Sriperumbudur in Chennai on October 13 and 14, 2012 promises to be a thriller.
Over the years, the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Racing Championship has become the most coveted racing title in the country. The championship has produced some of the top racing talents in the country including Narain Karthikeyan, Karun Chandhok, Armaan Ebrahim and Aditya Patel; all of whom have gone to become drivers of international repute.
Mumbai driver Ameya Walavalkar, racing in the JK Tyre-VW Polo R Cup has been in sublime form this season had mixed fortunes in the previous round. Walavalkar finished Race 1 on top, but faltered in the second. Chennai’s Sandeep Kumar, who is keeping Walavalkar company in second position in the overall championship standings, made the best of this situation to finish first in Race 2 and second in Race 1. With 246 points, Sandeep Kumar is within striking distance of Walavalkar who leads the championship with 272 points. For the third spot, there is an interesting three way battle taking shape, with Avdumber Hede on 209 points getting a run for his money from Rahil Noorani (199 points) and Mihir Dharkar (196 points).
The new Formula LGB 4 class introduced in Round 2 of the championship has thus far provided all the excitement associated with single seater racing. After having missed out in Round 1 of the category, Chennai lad Ashwin Sundar hasn’t looked back finishing first in three and second in two races that have happened since. This reflects on Sundar’s championship standing, with 111 points he is sitting on top of the table followed by another Chennai driver Saran Vikram on 86 points and Bangalore based Sudarshan Rao on 78 points. While Sundar will look to continue his good form during the race weekend, Saran, who has won two earlier races including one in the last round, will be keen to prove his mettle on the track.
The Indian Touring Cars class, which has a selection of some emerging and some well established names from Indian motorsport, has former rally champion Arjun Balu racing from Tiger Sports leading the pack with 118 points. A disappointing previous round cost V Rajvirdhan his championship standing, despite which he stands second with 93 points, followed by the veteran N Leelakrishnan on 81 points. While Balu has won his three previous races and would continue what he has been doing through the forthcoming race weekend, Rajvirdhan would hope to put behind him the previous round and get back to his winning ways to regain the top position in the championship.
The top spot in the Indian Junior Touring Cars class has the closest fight among all the race classes in the championship. One point separates the top two spots with Mumbai’s Fahad Kutty on 137 points followed by Chennai based Feroze Khan on 136 points. In the previous round, Kutty had to retire in the first race due to engine trouble, however he showed his class in the second race, finishing fourth after starting from the back of the grid. Taking advantage of the situation, Khan put in a stellar performance to complete a double by winning both the races, putting him within one point of the table topper. While the contest for the top spot heats up, Trichur based Diljith TS has been delivering consistent performances through the season clocking six podium finishes in eight races, with 115 points under his belt and two rounds to go he has more than an outside chance for the championship.
The qualifying races for all the four categories will be held on Saturday, October 13 followed by two races of the Formula LGB 4 and one race each of Indian Touring Car class and Indian Junior Touring Car Class. Sunday will witness action in two races of JK Tyre - VW Polo R Cup, one race in the Formula LGB 4 class and second races of the Indian Touring Car and Indian Junior Touring Car classes.
With just one round to go after the forthcoming race weekend, the leaders would look to consolidate their positions while the contenders would give it their all to stay in contention for the most prestigious racing title in the country. Round 4 promises a very action-packed and pulsating set of races.
By Indian Sports News Network
