Chetan Shivram emerges Super Titan of the glittering event
For over four decades, JK tyre's mission to bring motorsport to the masses, had an overwhelming response of over 275 entries which affirmed their commitment to Motorsports. The first-ever Re.1 entry fee Autocross was held at Mysuru and the event was promoted by VM Sports foundation with sponsorship from JK Tyre, whose intention was to create and build a platform for the upcoming and professional drivers with a big bonanza of free stay and hospitality. A few invitees from the fraternity were also part of this activity. The nine classes were spread across three days and the drivers had to execute their talent in the 1.8-km twin track. Popular Bollywood director Ramgopal Verma inaugurated the event in the presence of AK Mishra, Director, JK Tyres. The creamy class was the Clash of Titans which hogged the limelight and a major share of the cash prize. Seasoned driver from Bengaluru Chetan Shivram won three regular classes and further went on to win the Clash of Titans.
"We are thrilled to associate with one of the nation's largest autocross events. For over four decades, our mission has been to bring motorsport to the masses, and the overwhelming number of entries in this event reaffirms our commitment. We extend our sincere thanks to Vamcy Merla for providing motorsports enthusiasts with such a platform to showcase their skills. His hospitality sets new benchmarks for other organisers to match and follow. I am really happy to see his commitment to excellence in creating an outstanding experience for all participants." said Sanjay Sharma, Head of Motorsports, JK Tyre.
Day One:
Unrestricted class: Chetan Shivram with over a second lead, which was huge in terms of a short-sprint Autocross event,was the winner of the class followed by Salman Ahmed in second and Bengaluru's Dhruva Chandrashekar finished third with a further 2sec difference.
Indian Open: Chetan Shivram with a total time of 2min 5.708sec defeated Dhruva Chandrashekar by over a second to win the prestigious Indian Open while Ruthvik Gowda completed the podium another second and a half behind.
Ladies class: Pune's Nikeetaa Takkale was the winner with a total time of 2min 11.674sec while Shivani Pruthvi from Davangere who had been out of rallying for quite some timedue to her medical studies, finished second with less than three-second difference. Meena finished third another 22sec behind. Sumitha T finished third a further 18sec in deficit.
Day Two:
1400cc class: Vaibhav Marathe from Goa won the class with a slender margin of 150th of a second over the second finisher Jenu Johnson from Mysuru. Coorg's Abhin Rai came third with further less than a second difference.
2000cc class: Jenu Johnson won the class beating Dhruva Chandrashekar by a second and Chikkamagaluru’s Aeman Ahmed was third.
SUV Petrol/Diesel class: Vidit Jain was the winner followed by Kaariappa in second with a minute difference. Darshan Nachappa Kokkengada finished third with a further over-a-second difference.
Gypsy class: Darshan Nachappa Kokkengadawon the Gypsy class followed by Kaariappa in second with a three-second difference. Ashwin finished third with a difference of over 9sec on the winner.
Day Three:
1600cc class:
It was the third win for Chetan Shivram as he had won both the classes on Day 1. He managed to keep Jenu Johnson behind him with a difference of over 3sec and Rithesh Guthedar was further behind by one-tenth of a second to settle for third.
Clash of Titans: This class was formed by selecting 10 toppers from all the classes. This was the fourth straight win for Chetan Shivram who finished 2sec ahead of second-place finisher Rithesh Guttedar and Dhruva Chandrashekar came a distant third with less than a second behind.
Speaking on the organising challenges, the founder Vamcy Merla of VM Sports Foundation said: "The original venue from Coorg had to be shifted to Mysuru as the last-minute examination dates announcement were clashing. The track was next to the school, so we decided to shift the venue. Earlier, the event was held on the same Mysuru track and it was totally ruptured. Within 7days we had to rebuild the full 1.8-km track. To ensure a smooth surface, the track was worked on, day and night to make it a safe and thrilling terrain. Last minute booking cancellations and rebooking and finding accommodation for all the drivers, tuners and organisers was quite hectic. But we kept it free, so that drivers faced no hardships. Despite all these limitations, we ran with the same intensity and the event drew a huge response. Even permissions were a big burden but thankfully all went on well, as expected."