Rudrapratap Rehan top. Wins for Eshanth , Shiv Neel

Chennai, August 9: Victories were lost and gifted as the third round of the MECO FMSCI Indian National Karting Championship 2026 RMC India dished out heart-stopping finishes at the Madras International Karting Arena.

Snatching dramatic wins in the Finals after surviving the chaotic races that threw up topsy-turvy results, were Eshanth Vengatesan (Senior Max), Rehan Khan Rasheed (Junior Max), Shiv Neel (Mini Max) and Rudrapratap Singh (Micro Max).

Of the lot, Chennai’s Eshanth Vengatesan (MSPORT) was declared winner of the Senior Max Finals when a bunch of front-runners knocked each other out while Pune’s Arjun Chheda (Crest Motorsports) moved up to second place followed by Bengaluru’s Rohaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing).

Earlier, Krish Gupta, Kiaan Shah and Laksh Manish Bafna delivered a 1-2-3 sweep for Rayo Racing in the Pre-Finals but got involved in a collision in the Finals later in the day.

In the Junior Max class, penalties to top finishers decided the winners in both Pre-Final and Finals. Swarnav Das was docked a penalty of 10 seconds which took away his Pre-Finals victory, while elevating Momentum Motorsports Rehan Khan Rasheed to P1, followed by Rivaan Dev Preetham from MSport and Hamza Murtuza Balasinorwala.

Later, in the Finals, Rehan benefitted again following penalties to those who had finished in front of him. Recovering from his inner body injury after the crash during practise session the previous round at MIKA Bengaluru’s Rishik Rohit Reddy from MSport with just over a second difference finished in second, he scaled down to this position after starting on the rear end of the grid, while Mumbai’s Hamza Murtuza Balasinorwala from Crest Motorsports with less than a second difference was third.

In the Micro Max class Finals, Gurugram’s Rudrapratap Singh Shekhwat from Leap Frog Racing was the winner, Bengalurian Zidan Arshaan Anees from Peregrine Racing  with below 3sec difference held on to second position Mumbai’s Aarav  Sureka from Rayo Racing with over a second difference stood third.

Earlier, Aarav Sureka was declared winner of the Pre-Finals race after Rudrapratap was handed a penalty which pushed him to P2. Kolhapur’s Ayansh Patil from MSport finished third.

There was plenty of action in the Mini Max class races today. Bengaluru’s Jishnu Seralathan (Peregrine Racing) won the Finals, but a penalty cost him the victory which went to Shiv Neel (MSPORT), the son of India’s first Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan. Earlier, Jishnu had topped the Pre-Final race.

In the Pre-finals Bengularian Jishnu Seralathan from Peregrine Racing was soaked to a narrow margin for the win, Faridabad’s Arshi Gupta from Leap Frog Racing with just over .100^th of a second difference had to settle for second, while Bengaluru’s Ridhaan Anil Kumar from Red Rabbit Racing also with just over .100^th of a second margin finished thir.

The results (Provisional)s

Senior Max – Finals (18 laps): 1. Eshanth Vengatesan (Chennai, MSPORT) (15:24.827); 2. Arjun Chheda (Pune, Crest Motorsports) (15:25.207); 3. Rohaan Madesh (Bengaluru, Peregrine Racing) (15:26.312). Best Rookie: Eshanth Vengatesan (Chennai, MSPORT). 

Pre-Finals (14 laps): 1. Krish Gupta (Mumbai, Rayo Racing) (11:45.183); 2. Kiaan Shah (Mumbai, Rayo Racing) (11:46.026); 3. Laksh Manish Bafna (Kochi, Rayo Racing) (11:51.598).

Junior Max – Finals (16 laps): 1. Rehan Khan Rasheed (Chennai, Momentum Sports) (14:21.312); 2. Rishik Rohit Reddy (Bengaluru, MSPORT) (14:22.753); 3. Hamza Murtuza Balasinorwala (Mumbai, Crest Motorsports) (14:22.888). Best Rookie: Rehan Khan Rasheed (Chennai, Momentum Motorsports). 

Pre-Finals (14 laps): 1. Rehan Khan Rasheed (Chennai, Momentum Sports) (11:59.241); 2. Rivaan Dev Preetham (Chennai, MSPORT) (11:59.569); 3. Hamza Murtuza Balasinorwala (Mumbai, Crest Motorsports) (12:00.083).

Mini Max – Finals (14 laps): 1. Shiv Neel (Coimbatore, MSPORT) (12:19.928); 2. Raghav Krishnaraj (Coimbatore, MSPORT) (12:22.559); 3. Jishnu Seralathan (Bengaluru, Peregrine Racing) (12:22.779). Best Rookie: Shiv Neel (Coimbatore, MSPORT). 

Pre-Finals (12 laps): 1. Jishnu Seralathan (Bengaluru, Peregrine Racing) (10:35.775); 2. Arshi Gupta (Faridabad, Leap Frog Racing) (10:35.960); 3. Ridhaan Anil Kumarr (Bengaluru, Red Rabbit Racing) (10:36.126).

Micro Max – Finals (12 laps): 1. Rudrapratap Singh Shekhawat (Gurugram, Leap Frog Racing) (11:02.508); 2. Zidaan Arshaan Anees (Bengaluru, Peregrine Racing) (11:04.084); 3. Aarav Sureka (Mumbai, Rayo Racing) (11:05.633). Best Rookie: Yeshwin Vinay Kishore (Chennai, Peregrine Racing). 

Pre-Finals (12 laps): 1. Aarav Sureka (Mumbai, Rayo Racing) (11:03.180); 2. Rudrapratap Singh Shekhawat (Gurugram, Leap Frog Racing) (11:07.875); 3. Ayansh Patil (Kolhapur, MSPORT) (11:09.574).