JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2013, Round-3
DAY 1:
Ameya, Kush & Pradyumna Claim Pole Position for Sunday Pre-Finals
~Round 3 of JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2013 kicks-off in Coimbatore~
~Battles Get Closer at Kari Motor Speedway, leaders look to consolidate position~
Coimbatore, August 17 2013: Ameya Bafna of Rayo Racing, Kush Maini of Dark Don Racing and Pradyumna Vipul Danigund of Mohite’s Racing claimed the pole positions of Senior Max, Junior Max and Micro Max category respectively in the Round 3 of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2013 at Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore on Saturday.
The championship’s 36 racers in three categories - Micro Max (7 to 12 years), Junior Max (13 to 16 years) and Senior Max (15 and above) are competing at Kari Motor Speedway - the fastest karting track in India - which offers many challenges to racers allowing them to display their driving skills in order to prove their metal.
Defending champion Ameya Bafna won Heat 1 and finished Runners-up in Heat 2 to claim the pole position for Sunday’s Senior Max Pre-Final Race of the 10th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship, going on in Coimbatore - Speed City of India. Chittesh S Mandody of Mohite’s Racing will start at 2nd position after claiming 3rd position in Heat 1 and wining Heat 2. His teammate Dhruv S Mohite will start at 3rd position as he finished at 4th in Heat 1 and clinching 3rd position in Heat 2.
In Junior Max, Kush Maini of Dark Don Racing claimed the pole position in his category after winning Heat 1 and Heat 2.
Kush, who also races in JK Racing India Series in the JK Tyre Racing Championship this season, outclassed other racers as he maintained a huge lead in both the Heats. Akash Gowda of Meco Racing will start Pre-Final race at 2nd position after showing his brilliant racing skills and kept challenging Kush through-out the Heats. Championship leader Krishnaraaj D Mahadik of Mohite’s Racing will start from 3rd position after finishing 2nd in Heat 1 and 3rd in Heat 2.
In Micro Max, defending champion Pradyumna of Mohite’s Racing will start at pole position as he won Heat 1 and finished 2nd in Heat 2. This is the first round where Pradyumna faced a tough challenge from another racer – Yash Aradhya of Meco Racing. Yash overtook Pradyumna many timed in Heat 2 and kept him in pressure. After a long tough battle, Yash finished Heat 2 as winner and clinched 2ndpole position for Sunday’s Pre-Final Race. Paul Francis of Meco Racing will start at 3rd position as finished behind Pradyumna and Yash in both Heats.
DAY 2:
Nayan, Kush & Pradyumna Win Round 3 of JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2013
~Kush and Pradyumna Dominate Junior Max and Micro Max Respectively~
Coimbatore, August 18 2013: Nayan Chatterjee of Rayo Racing (Senior Max), Kush Maini of Dark Don Racing (Junior Max) and Pradyumna Vipul Danigund of Mohite’s Racing (Micro Max) won the Round 3 of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2013 in at Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore on Sunday.
The championship’s 36 racers in three categories - Micro Max (7 to 12 years), Junior Max (13 to 16 years) and Senior Max (15 and above) competed at Kari Motor Speedway - the fastest karting track in India and displayed their excellent driving skills.
In the Senior Max category, Nayan won the toughest race of the Round after beating top racers such as defending champion Ameya Bafna of Rayo Racing and Vishnu Prasad of Meco Racing. Birthday boy Vishnu, started at 3rd position, took early lead by overtaking pole position holder Chittesh S Mandody (Mohite’s Racing) and Ameya in first few seconds. In the next lap, Chittesh took an attempt to overtake Vishnu but he lost control of his kart, which cost him the podium finish. In the battle for 3rd position, Dhruv S Mohite (Mohite’s Racing), who started at 4th, was overtaken by Nayan Chatterjee (Rayo Racing) after few initial laps.
In the 6th lap, Ameya was trying to overtake Vishnu and Vishnu was fighting to save his leading position. But he failed to restrict Ameya, who became the new race leader. Moreover, in this short period of time, Dhruv emerged from behind and pushed Vishnu further down at 3rd position. In 22nd lap, Dhruv collided with race leader Ameya and both went out of the track. Seeing this opportunity, Nayan overtook Vishnu and claimed the first position. Dhruv recovered quickly and re-joined the race at 2nd position ahead of Vishnu, while Ameya managed to continue his race at 4th position.
With this victory, Nayan toppled Vishnu in the championship table with 255 pts, just one point ahead of Vishnu (254 pts). Ameya Bafna is at third position with 244 pts. “Today’s race was very tough and there were lots of ups and downs. It was very difficult to maintain the position as I was getting constant threat from other racers. I just maintained my racing line and patiently waiting others to make mistakes. I am very much happy with my first place podium finish,” Nayan, who is the winner the Round 1, said after the race.
In the Junior Max, Kush Maini of Dark Don Racing dominated both Final and Pre-Final races and was way ahead of rest of the karters. In the Final race, Kush took the early lead and maintained the lead till the chequered flag. He was chased by Krishnaraaj D Mahadik of Mohite’s Racing, who attacked Kush in last few laps but Kush handled the pressure well and didn’t allow him to overtake.
The real battle was for the third position, where Tejasram, Abhirath Shetty, Akash Gowda (all from Meco Racing), Arya Chirag Gandhi (Rayo Racing) and Ananth Shanmugam (Meco Racing) were fighting neck-to-neck. Tejasram was leading the pack for couple of laps but an unfortunate incident changed the positions of all the racers. Abhirath’s kart broke down in the middle of the race, which gave opportunity to Arya Chirag and Ananth to topple two front racers - Tejasram and Akash – and both claimed 3rd and 4th positions respectively.
“It was a good weekend for me. I am thankful to my mechanics who made my kart quite fast. The weather is also very pleasant, which helped me to focus on my racing line. I enjoyed racing very much and very happy to finish as winner,” Kush said after the race. Krishnaraaj is leading the championship table with 255 pts, followed by Tejasram (244) and Akash Gowda (240).
Defending champion Pradyumna V Danigond of Mohite’s Racing won Final and Pre-Final Race of the Round 3 in Micro Max category and maintained his lead in the championship table. He again outplayed other racers with his better racing skills. However, he received a tough competition from Yash Aradhya of Meco Racing, who constantly challenged him through-out the race. The real fight was for the second position where Yash was fighting with his teammate Paul Francis. Yash claimed the 2nd position in Pre-Final race but he was beaten by Paul Francis in the Final and he finished at 3rd podium in the Round 3.
“The race was good. Other racers like Yash Aradhya and Paul Francis were also raced very well. I got good competition from Yash and he overtook me many times. But I’m happy to finish at first place,” Pradyumna said after the race. He has maintained his lead in the championship table with 266 pts, ahead of Yash (254) and Shishnu (240).
JK Tyre is credited with introducing the concept of karting in India and has patronized karting circuits across the country. JK Tyre together with MECO Motorsports introduced professional karting in 2004 with the introduction of the Rotax 2-stroke kart engines. It was then that the current championship came into being and is today the most revered karting contest in India. World class racing drivers such as Narain Karthikeyan, Karun Chandhok, Armaan Ebrahim and Aditya Patel have graduated from this karting championship.
RESUILTS – FINAL RACE (22 laps)
Senior Max
1. Nayan Chatterjee (Rayo Racing)
2. Dhruv S Mohite (Mohite’s Racing)
3. Vishnu Prasad (Meco Racing)
Junior Max
1. Kush Maini (Dark Don Racing)
2. Krishnaraaj D Mahadik (Mohite’s Racing)
3. Arya Chirag Gandhi (Mohite’s Racing)
Micro Max
1. Pradyumna V Danigond (Mohite’s Racing)
2. Paul Francis (Meco Racing)
3. Yash Aradhya (Meco Racing)
RESUILTS – PRE-FINAL (22 laps)
Senior Max
1. Chittesh S Mandody (Mohite’s Racing)
2. Ameya Bafna (Rayo Racing)
3. Vishnu Prasad (Meco Racing)
Junior Max
1. Kush Maini (Dark Don Racing)
2. Krishnaraaj D Mahadik (Mohite’s Racing)
3. CS Tejasram (Meco Racing)
Micro Max
1. Pradyumna V Danigond (Mohite’s Racing)
2. Yash Aradhya (Meco Racing)
3. Paul Francis (Meco Racing)