Chennai: Goutham Parekh (Wallace Racing) notched up his first win in nine starts this season even as Ameya Walawalkar’s second-place finish allowed him to join his Mars Racing team-mate R. Deepak at the top of the table with 118 points in the Formula LGB Swift class in the fifth round of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Racing Championship at the MMST Track in Sriperumbudur near here on Saturday.
Starting from pole position, former Indian Formula 3 champion N. Leela Krishnan (Rad Racing) savoured the sweet taste of victory on the race track after 18 years by taking the checkered flag for the first time this season in the Indian Touring Cars class.
In T.R. Radha Selvarajan’s absence from the start line, V. Rajvirdhan (Prime Racing) improved his lead in the drivers’ championship to 33 points with a comfortable second-place finish.
B. Balavijay (MotoRev India) bounced back after a disappointing Sunday race in September to post a victory in the Indian Junior Touring Cars class ahead of Diljith Shaji (LCT Sigaram Sports) whose lead in the championship was reduced to 34 points.
Feroze Khan (HCZ Racing), winner of both races last month, had to wage a grim battle with Raja Rajan (Performance Racing) to claim a podium finish.
On a day when the mid-afternoon cloudburst did not affect the track, Goa’s Oshan Kothadiya was 0.009 seconds faster than Vishnu Prasad (Chennai) in the Polo R Cup qualifying, giving him pole position in the first race on Sunday.
Vishnu Prasad, facing a 10-place grid penalty for overtaking when the safety car was on the track in the previous round, will start in the 12th place.
The Indian Touring Cars class – popularly known as the Super Saloons – was remarkable for the start to finish victory that 46-year-old Leela Krishnan secured.
“I have been consistently improving over the last few weekends and it feels good to be able to win a race again. With the reverse grid being used tomorrow, I will start fourth and it will be tough to overtake Rajvirdhan,” he said, rising to fourth place in the standings with 101 points.
Rajvirdhan admitted he was caught napping at the start. “Since I was waiting for the fifth light to go off, not having been aware that the drivers had been notified that there would be just four lights,” he said after having to battle his way past V. Ram Narayanan (Tiger Sports India) and the reigning champion Siddharth Kishore.
“But it was tough to catch up with the master cat. Tomorrow will be interesting as it gives me a chance to enhance my lead,” he added.
With championship leader Deepak struggling at the back of the pack, it became clear that Walawalkar could claim a share of the lead if he finished first or second today. With pole sitter S. Narendran (TVS Girling) struggling from the start and pulling out after two laps, the 24-year-old Goutham Parekh secured a fine victory. He worked his way up from fifth place to the lead after four laps and beat back challenges from Walawalkar and Sandeep Kumar (TVS Girling).
“It has been a messy season for me, but today I was confident after qualifying fifth from the pole. I had a really good start. The car was extremely good and I had confidence on my car.
“I took the lead in the fifth lap and never looked back though there was a stiff competition from Ameya till the finish,” Parekh said.
Walawalkar said though he had the chance of overtaking Parekh, he preferred not to take a risk with the championship title being so close. “I believe there was very little gap between the top 5 in the race. I am happy that now I am tied for the top position with Deepak after that unfortunate incident in the second race of the fourth round and lost 25 points,” he said.
Round 5 (ninth race):
Formula LGB Swift: 1. Gotham Parekh (Wallace Sports) 19:54.126; 2. Ameya Walawalkar (Mars Racing) 19:54.238; 3. Sandeep Kumar (TVS Girling) 19:57.034; 4. Chitesh Mandody (Meco Racing) 19:57.363; 5. Akhil Devrag (TVS Girling) 19:58.441; 6. Saif Mir (Meco Racing) 19:59.799. Fastest lap: Chithesh Mandody 1:56.815.
Indian Touring Cars: 1. N Leelakrishnan (Rad Racing) 20:19.040; 2. V Rajvirdhan (Prime Racing) 20:20.695; 3. Siddharth Kishore (Performance Racing) 20:28.890; 4. V Ram Narayanan (Tiger Sport India) 20:42.722; 5. C Rajaram (Prime Racing) 20:52.699; 6. Deepak Paul Chinnappa (FRK Racing) 21:06.772. Fastest lap: Rajvidrhan 2:00.847.
Indian Junior Touring Cars: 1. B Balavijay (MotoRev India) 21:36.028; 2. Diljith Shaji (LCT Sigaram Sports) 21:36.554; 3. Feroze Khan (HCZ Racing) 21:44.780; 4. Raja Rajan (Performance Racing) 22:03.591; 5. S Narendran (IPL Powerpak Racing) 22:13.221; 6. Gokul Krishna (MotoRev India) 22:14.351. Fastest lap: B Balavijay 2:08.351.
