Coimbatore, 7 July 2018: Chennai’s awesome trio of Karthik Tharani, Vishnu Prasad and Joseph Mathew began the 21st JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship​ on a winning note, even as the all-women’s team of Ahura Racing stole the thunder here on Saturday afternoon.
Karthik Tharani claimed the coveted first race in the Euro JK 18 category, winning the 15-lap race in 15:29.526 minutes. Nirmal Uma Shankar (Chennai) and Manav Sharma (Faridabad) took the other two places on the podium.
Seasoned racer Vishnu Prasad (MSport) staved off a stiff challenge from Sandeep Kumar (Dark Don) and Raghul Rangasamy (also of MSport) to win the highly competitive opening race in the LGB Formula 4.
In the Suzuki Gixxer Cup, defending champion Joseph Matthew was at his imperious best once again, taking the first race of the season in 14:15.877 minutes. He was over 3 seconds faster than Aizawl’s Malsawmdawngliana and Bengaluru’s Syed Muzamil Ali, who was a further 3 seconds behind.
The Red Bull Road to Rookies was once again dominated by the boys from the north-east, with Zothanmawia and Andy Lalhmangaihsang taking the first two places. Jerome Vanlalrengpuia from Mizoram finished third.
The day, however, belonged to the girls from Ahura Racing in their striking red cars and uniforms. The six girls formed an all women’s team and five of them competed in the LGB 4 category, and did well to finish the race.
Racing for the first time ever, Coimbatore’s Megaa KS beat the rest of the girls, impressing with an overall timing of 18:09.051 minutes. Pune’s Dr Ritika Oberoi, a seasoned motorsports competitor, chased her all the way, but was behind by a second.
Race 2 of the Euro JK 18 could not take place on Saturday afternoon as scheduled due to a technical glitch. It will now take place on Sunday, when Round 1 concludes.
Provisional Results: Euro JK 18: 1. Karthik Tharani (Chennai; 15:29.526) , 2. Nirmal Uma Shankar (Chennai; 15:31.424), 3. Manav Sharma (Faridabad; 15:34.487)
LGB 4: 1. Vishnu Prasad (MSport; 18:03.844), 2. Sandeep Kumar (Dark Don; 18:04.983). 3. Raghul Rangasamy (MSport; 18:11.014)
Suzuki Gixxer Cup: 1. Joseph Matthew (Chennai; 14:15.877), 2. Malsawmdawngliana (Aizawl; 14:19.122), 3. Syed Muzamil Ali (Bengaluru; 14:19.181)
Red Bull Road To Rookies: 1. Zothanmawia (Aizawl; 14:23.901), 2. Andy Lalhmangaihsang (Aizawl; 14:47.701); 3. Jerome Vanlalrengpuia (Mizoram; 14:50.264)
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