Bengaluru: Bengaluru is all set to host the fifth and final round of the 12th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Karting Championship 2015. After hosting four successful action packed rounds across tracks in Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Bangalore, the grand finals will return toMeco Kartopia on October 10-11, 2015. The qualifying and the heat races will be held on Saturday and the pre-finals and finals will be held on Sunday followed by the championship prize distribution.
Karting is the first step for any motorsport enthusiast to start motorsport career. Each and every race driver on the grid of Formula One still use karting for training. JK Tyre is credited with introducing the concept of Karting in India and has patronized Karting circuits across the country. JK Tyre, in association with Meco Motorsports,ushered in the professional level of karting in 2004 with the introduction of the Rotax 2 Stroke Kart Engines. It was then the JK Tyre Rotax Max National Karting Championship came into being and today it is the only National Karting championship of the country.
The kartersare divided into three categories on the basis of their age: Micro Max (7 yrs-12 yrs), Junior Max (13-yrs-15 yrs) & Senior Max (15 yrs & above). As the 2015 karting season comes to an end, the overall winners will graduate and move up the motorsport progression ladder. Overall champion in the Junior & Senior Max categories will represent India in the World Karting finals scheduled in Portugal this year. In addition to this, the overall top three winners in the Junior & Senior max categories will get a fully sponsored drive in the JK Racing India Series in the 2016 season of the JK Tyre Racing Championship.
With just one round to go, the championship has gone down to the wire. Young karters will give it their best shot in the ultimate round to take home the prestigious National Karting Champion’s trophy. With few point differences among the top three contenders in each category, the weekend promises to be high on adrenaline.
The 2015 karting season witnessed karters from the age of 8 years and above from across the country battle it out for the coveted title. With each passing round, the competition between the karters got intense as they fought fiercely to get a lead and thereon to maintain their lead in the overall championship standings.
In the micro max category, 11 year old Shahan Ali Mohsin from Agra (Team Meco Racing) is dominating the championship points table with 350 points. In the Junior Max, Akash Gowda from Bangalore (Team Meco Racing) is on the lead with 330 points and Ricky Donison from Bangalore (Team BPC Racing) in Senior Max category with 335 points is leading in the overall championship points table.
Shahan from the Micro Max category and Ricky from Senior Max category have been on top of the charts always, impressing the spectators with heir excellent karting skills. Shahan and Ruhaan have always been tough competitors in the Micro Max category, however in Round three and four Nikhil Bohra from Bengaluru proved it to everyone that he is no less. His dedication to win has now helped him occupy third place in the championship points table after four rounds. Arjun S Nair is another tiny tot to watch out for in the ultimate round as he is just two points behind Nikhil and if he wins in Round 5, he will take the final step in the overall championship points table.
It’s going to be a fight to the finish in the Junior Max category as the top three contenders are just few points behind each other. Round four turned the tables for Mohammed Nallwalla who was leading the championship until Round three but a turn of events in the penultimate round and Akash Gowda managed to climb up the chart. However, the championship is still open as there a difference of just 7 points between Akash and Mrinal Chatterjee from Rayo Racing who is currently in second place. Manav Sharma from Junior Max category has been a surprise package. After three rounds of the Championship, Manav came back with a bang and took away the chequered flag in the previous round. Nirmal Umashankar too has been performing extremely well and can definitely be a tough competitor in the final round.
In the Senior Max category, Ricky, Vishnu, Ameya and Nayan are the karters to watch out for. This season has been exceptionally good for Ricky who is currently leading the pack and has dominated in the category round after round. It will be interesting to see how Vishnu, Ameya, Nayan and Dhruv battle it out in this ultimate round.
The six teams participating in the Championship areRayo Racing from Mumbai, Meco Racing from Chennai, Mohite’s Racing from Kolhapur, BPC Racing from Bangalore, Erda Racing from Baroda, Indian Karting from Kolhapur and Dark Don Racing from Chennai.For the coveted Overall team trophy, Team Meco Racing, Team Rayo Racing, Team Mohite’ s Racing and Team BPC Racing are vying for the top honour across the three categories.
The Karting programme of JK Tyre has seen prodigies doing well, both at the national and international levels. Some of these names include those of Karun Chandhok, Armaan Ebrahim, Aditya Patel and Arjun Maini, who have graduated from these karting championships to become motorsport icons.
The races will be webcasted live on www.jktyremotorsport.com
