Shahan, Akash and Ricky crowned 2015 National Karting Champions

Micro Max Winners JK Tye FMSCI National Rotax Karting Champonship 2015Bangalore: Nikhil Bohra from Bangalore (Team Meco Racing), Mohhamed Nallwalla from Mumbai (Team Rayo Racing) and Bangalore boy Ricky Donison (Team BPC Racing) emerged champions in the Micro Max, Junior Max & Senior Max categories in Round 5 of the 12th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Karting Championship which concluded at the Meco Kartopia here on Sunday.

The 2015 season of the championship concluded on a hot and sunny day here in Bangalore at the newly built karting track Meco Kartopia. The last and final day of the season witnessed thousands of motorsport fans in attendance who had come from all corners to cheer for their favorite karting star. To keep the audiences entertained, there was a special bike stunt show which left the onlookers asking for more. The excitement in the atmosphere was high as the drivers geared up to give it their best shot in the last set of races for this season.

At the end of the five round championship, Shahan Ali Mohsin lifted the trophy of the overall champion in the Micro Max category, Akash Gowda was declared overall champion in the Junior Max category & Ricky Donison became the 2015 JK Tyre National Karting champion in the Senior Max category.

Ricky Donison bagged two more trophies for securing the maximum number of wins and also for the maximum number of pole positions. Mohd Zain Ali bagged the Best Newcomer of the year award, Shahan Ali Mohsin was awarded the Best Driver of the Year award, Nirmal Umashanker got the Akbar Ebrahim trophy for the Most Improved Driver of the Year and Mira Erda bagged the Most Promising Female Driver of the year award.

At the end of Day 1 Shahan, Manav and Ricky were leading in the Micro, Junior and Senior Max categories respectively. Day 2 started off with the pre-finals & final races of each category.

A whole lot of excitement unfolded in the pre-final race of the Micro Max category. The leader Shahan started off from pole position and kept his lead for the first ten laps. However in the second last lap, Nikhil Bohra who was closely following Shahan made his move and took the lead in the last corner and eventually took the chequered flag. Shahan had to settle in for the second place. Aditya Swaminathan who started third, used his excellent maneuvering skills and made his way to the second position in the very second lap of the race. However in a matter of time the focused Shahan whose eyes were on Nikhil overtook him. There was an intense battle between Aditya, Chirag and Ruhaan who kept charging at each other throughout the 12 laps race. The fight for the third place was a sight to watch as an interesting battle was brewing between them. On multiple occasions, Chirag made his way past Ruhaan however Aditya kept up to his pace and manage a third place finish.

The final race of the Micro Max had an exciting closure. Nikhil and Shahan kept battling for the podium finish however Nikhil kept his lead and at the end of 15 laps, he finished first. Shahan tried his best to overtake but he knew that his championship title was safe even if he finished second and therefore took no chances and kept his second place secured. Ruhaan Alva extended his lead from Chirag who was constantly chasing him for the third place and ensured his third place on the podium. With this second place finish, Shahan sealed his championship title in the Micro Max category.

In the pre-final race of Junior Max, Nirmal Umashanker who started from the pole position maintained a comfortable lead from the start to finish. Following him closely was Bangalore lad Akash Gowda who ensured that he does not let go off his second place throughout the race. However, the current leader in the championship table Mohammed Nallwalla who was disqualified yesterday because of technical infringement started off in the seventh place and moved up to the third place. However in an effort to make a move on Akash Gowda, he fell behind by three positions. But he didn’t give up and after an intense battle with Yash Aradhya for third place, he overtook Yash on a tight corner in the last lap and took the third place.

In the last and final race of the Junior Max, Mohammed Nallwala was back in his form and sealed his leadership position by taking away the chequered flag ahead of everyone. Nirmal Umashanker, Akash Gowda, Manav Sharma and Yash Aradhya fought bumper to bumper for the second and third place finish. It was a clean race with no DNFs (did not finish) and at the end, Nirmal finished second and following him closely was Akash Gowda. With this third place finish, Akash Gowda sealed his championship title in the Junior Max category. As he lifted the trophy, he received a huge applause from his friends from his school who had come all the way to cheer for him.

The pre-finals of the Senior Max was closely fought. After a tough 18 laps race, Ricky Donison whose eyes were on the podium ensured he kept his lead from start to finish. The very experienced Vishnu Prasad was out of the track in corner 1 and after repeated attempts, his engine restarted and he was back in the race. With years of experience behind him, he not just managed to finish in the eighth place but also set the fastest lap of the race. Dhruv Mohite and Krishnaraj Mahadik had a close face off for second and third place till the end. When the chequered flag came out, Dhruv & Krishnaraj followed Ricky in the second and third place respectively. Ameya Bafna had a long battle for the third place but he eventually finished sixth as towards the end he lost speed.

The final race was filled with action as the young lads fought it out. Ricky was leading the race since the beginning. The real fight was between Vishnu, Nayan, Krishnaraj and Ameya who were battling it out on the track. Ricky maintaining his dominance finished the race first. Vishnu Prasad was back in his form and managed to retain his place at the second position throughout the race and clocked the second best time. Ameya who was in the third place as the race began eventually fell behind as Nayan took over and crossing the finish line third.

The overall champion of the Junior Max & Senior Max from here will now move to participate in the World Karting finals to be held in Portugal this year. The top three overall champions in the Junior Max & Senior Max category will be seen driving the JKFB02 cars in the JK Tyre Racing Championship 2016.
The winners of Round 5 were awarded in the podium ceremony held after the races. The overall champions of the 12th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Karting Championship were awarded in a glittering ceremony later in the evening. The 2015 season of JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Karting Championship witnessed a lot of action and excitement and will be back next year for the 13th season of the championship.

Provisional Results
PRE-FINALS:

Micro Max (12 laps)

Nikhil Bohra – 11:57.711
Shahan Ali Mosin – 11:58.438
Aditya Swaminathan – 12:07.581

Junior Max (15 laps)
Nirmal Umashankar – 13:39.033

Akash Gowda – 13:42.624

Mohmmed Nallwalla – 13:44.390

Senior Max (18 laps)
Ricky Donison – 16:28.801

Dhruv Mohite – 16:31.150

Krishnaraj D Mahadik – 16:31.426


FINAL RACE RESULTS
Micro Max (15 laps)
Nikhil Bohra – 14:59.428

Shahan Ali Mohsin – 15:02.508

Ruhaan Alva – 15:02.832

Junior Max (18 laps)
Mohammed Nallwala – 16:18.543

Nirmal Umashanker – 16:19.821

Akash Gowda – 16:25.426

Senior Max (20 laps)

Ricky Donison – 18:09.290
Vishnu Prasad – 18:17.966
Nayan Chatterjee – 18:22.488
Overall championship points:
Micro Max:
Shahan Ali Mohsin – 435 points
Ruhaan Alva – 413 points
Nikhil Bohra – 412 points

Junior Max:

Akash Gowda – 413 points
Mohammed Nallwalla – 406
Nirmal Umashanker – 396 points

Senior Max:

Ricky Donison – 424 points
Nayan Chatterjee – 411 points
Dhruv Mohite – 396 points