Chennai: N. Leela Krishnan’s double victory in the fifth round of the JK Tyre National Racing Championship at the MMST track saw him climb to the second place in the Indian Touring Cars drivers’ championship on Sunday.

The veteran racer is in with a mathematical chance to stop 27-year-old V. Rajvirdhan (Prime Racing), who finished second in both the races over the weekend, from claiming the crown in the sixth and final round to be held in Greater Noida in November.

The 46-year-old Leela Krishnan’s haul of 50 points over the weekend took his tally to 126 points, only 48 behind Rajvirdhan. T.R. Radha Selvarajan’s championship dreams went up in smoke as he pushed his car to stay ahead of Rajvirdhan and ended up busting the engine on the seventh lap.

Mumbai lad Rahil Noorani won the Polo R Cup opening race on Sunday but a 13th place finish in the afternoon saw his lead reduce to just three points over Vishnu Prasad (Chennai), setting the stage for a intriguing finale at the Buddh International Circuit next month.

Meanwhile, Ameya Walawalkar (Mars Racing) bounced back from two successive disqualifications to secure his fifth win of the season in the Formula LGB Swift class to move within five points of the leader and team-mate R. Deepak.

The championship leader in the Indian Junior Touring Cars class, 18-year-old Diljit Shaji (LCT Sigaram Sports), was pleased after taking his first checkered flag after a superb race with Feroze Khan (HCZ Racing). Defending champion B. Balavijay (MotoRev India) finished third, a brush with Raja Rajan (Performance Racing) early in the race left his car with a broken fender that caused him grief each time he had to turn right.

Rajvirdhan, who mistakenly believed he had already clinched the championship with a 51-point lead over Radha Selvarajan, said he was looking forward to beating a reinvigorated Leela Krishnan in the final round. “It will be a new track for all of us and it will be interesting to drive there, but I will drive with the sole intention of beating Leela Krishnan,” he said.

“I am glad I have had a good weekend,” Leela Krishnan said. “I have had four second place finishes and two wins in the last six races. I had a 2:00.245 in qualifying – which I believe is the fastest qualifying time for Super Saloons on this track – and I am pleased with my car, my race-craft and driving.”

Drawing from his experience of driving in hot and humid conditions, the 31-year-old Walawalkar wore out Chittesh Mandody (Meco Racing), trading the lead with the younger driver at least half a dozen times before ensuring that he kept his car ahead in the last two laps of the 10-lap race. Mandody’s team-mate Sarosh Hataria came back after spinning to claim his first podium finish this season even as Deepak’s fourth-place finish ensured him a five-point lead over Walawalkar.

“It can get very hot and in these conditions, the tyres tend to over-heat. Besides, I am also more aware of when car fatigue is likely to set in. So when I saw Chittesh push his car, I knew that I had to stay on his tail while saving my tyres to make a final push,” Walawalkar said, hoping that his team had got the settings right this time and that his car would pass scrutiny.

Chennai’s Akbar Ebrahim won the six-lap VW Polo Legends Race ahead of Leela Krishnan (Bangalore) and B Vijayakumar (Coimbatore), turning in a best lap of 2:04.528 that is less than a second off the time clocked by Mihir Dharkar in the Polo R Cup race earlier in the day.

Late on Saturday evening, the stewards disqualified Mars Racing’s Ameya Walakwalkar on technical grounds, his team not getting the track width of the car right for the second time running. Sandeep Kumar (TVS Girling) who had finished third was penalised 30 seconds and slid to eight place, leaving Chittesh Mandody (Meco Racing) and Akhil Devrag (TVS Girling) with podium places behind the winner Goutham Parekh (Wallace Sports).

Sunday’s results (provisional):

Formula LGB Swift: 1. Ameya Walawalkar (Mars Racing) 19:50.101; 2. Chittesh Mandody (Meco Racing) 19:50.817; 3. Sarosh Hataria (Meco Racing) 20:02.970; 4. R Deepak (Mars Racing) 20:03.843; 5. Goutham Parekh (Wallace Sports) 20:06.697; 6. Rohit Khanna (Wallace Sports) 20:14.944. Fastest lap: Chittesh Mandody 1:57.562.

Indian Touring Cars: 1. N. Leela Krishnan (Rad Racing) 20:29.371; 2. V. Rajvirdhan (Prime Racing) 20:34.978; 3. Siddharth Kishore (Performance Racing) 20:38.533; 4. C. Rajaram (Prime Racing) 20:42.353; 5. B. Vijayakumar (Prime Racing) 20:52.048; 6. V. Ram Narayanan (Tiger Sports India) 20:52.048. Fastest lap: V Rajvirdhan 2:01.366.

Indian Junior Touring Cars: 1. Diljith Shaji (LCT Sigaram Sports) 21:46.694; 2. Feroze Khan (HCZ Sporting) 21:47.312; 3. B. Balavijay (MotoRev India) 21:57.816; 4. Gokul Krishna (MotoRev India) 21:59.693; 5. Emmanuel Jebaraj (MotoRev India) 22:26.461; 6. Jai Prashant Venkat (LCT Sigaram Sports) 22:27.753. Fastest lap: Diljith Shaji 2:08.243.

Polo R Cup race 1: 1. Rahil Noorani (Mumbai) 20:46.700; 2. Oshan Kothadia (Pune) 20:49.075; 3. Avdumber Hede (Goa) 20:51.552; 4. Mihir Dharkar (Mumbai) 20:53.670; 5. Vishnu Prasad (Chennai) 20:59.563; 6. Munjal Savia (Mumbai) 20:59.563.Fastest lap: Mihir Dharkar 2:03.577.

Polo R Cup race 2: 1. Gaurav Dalal (Chennai) 20:43.175; 2. Vishnu Prasad (Chennai) 20:48.082; 3. Mihir Dharkar (Mumbai) 20:52.651; 4. Munjal Savia (Mumbai) 20:54.435; 5. Oshan Kothadiya (Pune) 20:54.737; 6. Ameya Walawalkar (Mumbai) 20:58.539. Fastest lap: Gaurav Dalal 2:02.840.

Drivers’ standings (based on provisional results of Sunday’s races):

Formula LGB Swift: 1. R. Deepak (Mars Racing) 130 points; 2. Ameya Walawalkar (Mars Racing) 125; 3. S. Narendran (TVS Girling) 90; 4. A. Sandeep Kumar (TVS Girling) 88; 5. Karthik Krishna (TVS Girling) 88; 6. Goutham Parekh (Wallace Sports) and Chittesh Mandody (Meco Racing) 82 each.

Indian Touring Cars: 1. V. Rajvirdhan (Prime Racing) 174 points; 2. N Leela Krishnan (Rad Racing) 126; 3. T.R. Radha Selvarajan (Rad Racing) 123; 4. B. Vijayakumar (Prime Racing) 114; 5. Siddharath Kishore (Performance Racing) 112; 6. C Rajaram (Prime Racing) 71.

Indian Junior Touring Cars: 1. Diljit Shaji (LCT Sigaram Sports) 201 points; 2. B. Balavijay (MotoRev India) 157; 3. Feroze Khan (HCZ Racing) 113; 4. Jai Prashant Venkat (LCT Sigaram Sports) 108; 5. S Narendran (IPL Powerpak Racing) 82; 6. Gokul Krishna (MotoRev India) 64.

Polo R Cup: 1. Rahil Noorani (Mumbai) 311 points, 2. Vishnu Prasad (Chennai) 308, 3. Oshan Kothadiya (Pune) 286; 4. Avdumber Hede (Goa) 273; 5. Mihir Dharkar (Mumbai) 227; 6. Munjal Savia (Mumbai) 206.