Hyderabad: Vishnu Prasad of Meco Racing won four races in Senior Max category to clinch the Round 2 of the JK Tyre-FMSCI Rotax Max National Karting Championship 2013, held at the JK Tyre-MMS Kartainment Track in Hyderabad on Sunday. Krishnaraj Mahadik of Mohite won the Junior Max category and defending champion Pradyumn V Danigund won the Micro Max.
The 840-metre track is one of the most challenging karting circuits in India, packed with tough corners and hairpins. Total 41 racers in three categories - Senior Max (15 and above), Junior Max (13 to 16 years) and Micro Max (7 to 12 years) –representing five teams in the Round 2.
Vishnu showed his class in the Round 2 and won four consecutive races – Final, Pre-Final, Heat 1 and Heat 2. In the Final race, he started on pole position and maintained his outstanding lead through-out the 25-lap race. The fight was for the second position, where 2nd place finisher and Round 1 winner Nayan Chatterjee (Rayo Racing), Chittesh Mondody (Mohite) and defending champion Ameya Bafna (Rayo Racing) were challenging each other. After five laps, Chittesh’s kart broke down, which forced him to quit the race. Since then, Ameya Bafna chased his team-mate Nayan and finished at 3rd place podium.
“It was the best weekend for me. The track is very fast but I just maintained my driving line. I think now I’m in a good rhythm now. I only need to maintain the same for next rounds,” Vishnu addressed the media at the post-race press conference.
In the Junior Max category, Krishnaraj Mahadik of Mohite, started from the second position in the grid, won the Final race of the Round 2. He was chased by Tejas Ram of Meco Racing through-out the race and claimed the second position. The eye-catcher was Abhirath Shetty of Meco Racing who started at 9th position and overtook six racers clinch the 3rd podium. It was actually Mahaveer, pole position holder, who finished at second but was given seven-place penalty for cutting-through the track.
“It was a tough race for me as I got a tough competition from Mahaveer, who is an excellent racer. I was just looking for any opportunity to overtake him and I managed that. It was a hard weekend for me as I was struggling in first few races. But all went well at the end,” Krishnaraj stated at the press conference.
In the Micro Max, Round 1 winner Pradyumn V Danigund continued his winning spree and won the Round 2 of the 10th JK Tyre-FMSCI Rotax Max National Karting Championship. He led the pack through-out the 15-lap race and didn’t allow others to come closer to him. Sahishnu Bagamane of Meco Racing, who started at third position, was chasing 2nd place Yash Aradhya and managed to overtake him after couple of laps. However, he unfortunately collided with a back marker and that cost him the position. He later finished at 3rd position behind 2nd place finisher Yash Aradhya.
“It was a good race. I just followed the driving line and stick to the rule book. Yash Aradhya and Sahishnu Bagamane gave me good competition as they raced very well. I enjoyed the weekend and had good fun on the track,” Pradyumn said at the press conference.
In the Pre-final - Senior Max, Vishnu Prasad of Meco Racing won his third consecutive race in the Round 2 by winning the Pre-Final race. Vishnu led the pack through-out the 22-lap race. Vishnu was followed by Nayan Chatterjee of Rayo Racing and Chittesh Mondody of Mohite. Ameya Bafna of Rayo Racing showed his class as he started at 7th position and finished at respectable 4th position. He also gave constant threat to 3rd-place Chittesh and once managed to overtake him. But in the next lap, Chittesh claimed back his 3rd position.
The Junior Max race was the most exciting race of the day. This category race saw few accidents and the major was of Mrinal Satyajit Chatterjee (Mayo Racing). He hit the tyre wall with a high speed that flipped his kart on the track. He received injuries, which forced him to quit the Round 2. Later, doctor stated that he is fine and he was back in the next race.
The pre-final was won by Mahaveer of Meco Racing, who started at pole position and maintained his lead. The race was not easy for him as he was received constant threat from his teammate Krishnaraj Mahadik. Krishanraj overtook Mahaveer twice and was leading the race for few laps. But it was Mahaveer’s race who showed his excellent skills and kept himself ahead of others. Another racer from the same team, Tejas Ram, showed superb racing as he started at 8th position and overtook five racers one-by-one to finish at 3rd position in the 19-lap race.
In the Micro Max category, Pradyumn Danigund of Mohite proved his level again as he finished the race at the top position after starting from 4th position. Pradyumn overtook three racers within first few couple of laps and later on, led the race. But, it was Yash Aradhya’s race who started at 8th position, beat front racers like Rahil Kocchar of Dark Don Racing and Paul Francis of Meco Racing to finish at 2nd position. Sahishnu Bagamane of Meco Racing, who started at pole position, fought hard to keep himself in top positions and managed to finish at 3rd place.
On Day 1 Heats, Vishnu Prasad of Meco Racing showed superb racing skills as he won both Heat 1 and Heat 2 at Senior Max category on Saturday. In Junior Max category, Abhirath Shetty and Mahaveer of Meco Racing won the Heat 1 and Heat 2 race respectively. In the Micro Max category, Shahan Mohsin of Meco Racing and Pradyumn Danigund of Mohite won the Heat 1 and Heat 2 races respectively.
In the Heat 2 – Senior Max category, Vishnu Prasad took lead from the first lap and since then, he didn’t allow other racers to come closer to him. He steered his kart till the end of the 15-lap race. But the real fight was for the second position, which was between Chittesh Mandody of Mohite and Round 1 winner Nayan Chatterjee of Rayo Racing. Nayan won the battle at the last moment after he managed to overtake Chittesh. On other hand, defending champion Ameya Bafna, who started at 13th position, displayed his outstanding racing skills to finish at respectable fourth position.
In the Junior Max, two bright racers of Meco Racing fought for the top position. Mahaveer started at pole position and led the race in the first few laps. But after that, his teammate Abhirath Shetty overplayed him and maintained his lead till the chequered flag. Aaroh Ravindra of Meyo Racing came from behind and overtook his front racers to finish at third spot.
In the Micro Max, defending national champion Pradyumn V Danigund of Meco Racing again proved that there is no one better than him in his category. He started his race from fifth position, but in the very first lap, he reached at the second spot. And from the second lap, he was leading the race and finished as a winner. He was thoroughly followed by his teammate Paul Francis, who finished at second position. Shahan Mohsin of the same team claimed third spot.
Earlier, in the Heat 1 - Senior Max category, Ameya Bafna of Rayo Racing was leading the race till 12th lap but in next lap, he faced a mechanical problem and his car broke down. He just managed to finish the race at 13th position in the 15-lap race. Vishnu Prasad of Meco Racing, who was chasing Ameya Bafna, claimed the first position. Chittesh Mondody of Mohite, who started at seventh place, pushed Nayan Chatterjee to third place to finish his race at second position.
In the Junior Max, Meco Racing team dominated the race as they claimed all the tree top positions. Mahaveer, who started at the pole position, maintained the lead to win the Heat 1. However, he received constant threat from his teammate and second-place finisher Abhirath Shetty. Akash Gowda, who started from fifth position, raced hard to overtake two front racers and finished at top three spots. Krishnaraj Mahadik of Mohite, who received ten-place grid penalty, managed to finish at 6th position.
Micro Max category’s Pradyumn Danigund of Mohite, who received ten place penalty for using unspecified battery, started the Heat 1 from back of the grid. But, in this race, he overtook all the front racers one by one in 10 laps and finished the race as a winner. Yash Aradhya of Meco Racing, who started the race at the third position, managed to overtook pole position holder Paul Francis of the same team.
However, Race stewards this time found technical infringements in top four karts and disqualified them. The stewards penalised all the four racers and made them to start Heat 2 race from back of the grid. The new winner of Heat 1 was debutant Sahishnu Bagamune of Meco Racng, followed by second place Amir Sayed of Rayo Racing and third place Rahil Kochhar of Dark Don Racing.
