Chirag Ghorpade dominates the proceedings in F1600
Arjun Balu, Chirag top practice sessions
Chennai, 10 Dec 2021: Sixteen-year Bengaluru schoolboy Chirag Ghorpade dominated the proceedings in the MRF F1600 class by posting a couple of stunning time to become the fasted driver of the day while defending champion Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) from Coimbatore survived a dramatic spin and emerged the fastest among saloon cars as the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship commenced at the MMRT, here on Friday.
Ghorpade, only 16, did 01 minute, 39.809 in the first practice session and went even quicker in the second, clocking 01:39.761. His arch-rival, Shahan Ali Mohsin, the teenager from Agra, who leads Ghorpade in the championship standings following his double in the first round, matched the timing with a 01:39.937 in the morning run, but was way off the pace in the second session due to gearbox issues and was placed ninth.
“I am quite happy with my lap times today, though I need to improve a bit in the first sector,” said Ghorpade.
Earlier, Balu topped both the practice sessions in the premier Indian Touring Cars class. He clocked a best lap of 01:51.680 in the first outing this morning and bettered it with a 01:51.308 in the afternoon despite a vicious spin that led to a brief red flag period.
“We made some setup changes for the second practice session. There was far too much grip in the front and I spun, but am happy that I could still post a quick lap thereafter,” said Balu.
In the Formula LGB 1300 category, Viswas Vijayaraj from Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, clocked 01:53.143 in the second practice session for the best lap. It improved on his 01:54.159 in the earlier outing which his DTS Racing team-mate from Kolkata, Arya Singh, topped (01:53.993).
Bangladesh’s Aiman Sadat (01:57.049) was the quickest in the Volkswagen Polo class as he topped both the practice sessions that promise close battles this weekend with half-a-dozen drivers covered by less than one second.
In the MRF Saloon Cars category (Toyota Etios) that has a grid of 21, Ahmedabad’s Akshay Gupta posted the best lap of 02:05.257 over two practice sessions.
The qualifying sessions for all categories followed by five races will be run on Saturday.
About Madras Motor Sports Club
Since its humble beginnings in 1953, the Madras Motor Sports Club has grown in stature as the hub of motorsport activity in India. Having moved its racing activities from Sholavaram to its present location, the MMRT circuit in Sriperumbudur in 1979, MMSC has kept pace with changing times by upgrading facilities. At a cost of about Rs 20 Crore, the MMSC built a pit complex comprising 20 garages, VIP hospitality suites and a viewing gallery, on the eastern side, apart from a second Paddock on the western side with its own short circuit. Parallelly, MMSC imported timing equipment specifically for Drag racing. The Control Room too was upgraded with state-of-the-art hardware while the track itself was improved to meet the exacting FIA standards for Grade-2 certification. MMSC also constructed a 500-capacity grand stand with provision for garages / storage below. In another upgrade, the MMSC purchased Digi flags from TAG Heuer Chronolec that will be positioned strategically around the track. The facilities are also extensively used by various vehicle manufacturers for testing their products, displays and corporate days.
