JK Tyre-Meco Motorsports Rotax Max Kart Open 2014 at Hyderabad
Hyderabad, May 9, 2014: The calm and cool environment of the KartCenter – Lahari resorts here will be the scene of some serious karting action on May 10 and 11. Some of the country’s best karters in the Micro Max, Junior Max and Senior Max classes will battle it out in the JK Tyre – Meco Motorsports Rotax Max Kart Open 2014.
With the field being a mix of experienced and rookie kart drivers, this event gives an opportunity to them all to shake off the rust and sharpen their skills before they take part in the National Karting Championship. For the experienced karters in the Kart Open category, they will be able to judge where they stand and for the drivers in the Rookie Cup, they will get a chance to test their skills against the more experienced drivers. So, it’s a win-win situation for all drivers.
The incentive for the Rookie Cup winners in the Micro Max, Junior and Senior categories is that they will get a waiver of the entry fee for the full National Karting Championship, while the first and second placed drivers will get a chance to undergo a free kart training programme.
In the Senior Max category, it is an eight-man field and Rookie Cup drivers Hiran Prathap (Chennai, Meco Racing) and Rahul Sharan (Bangalore, BPC Racing) look strong and will aim to challenge last year’s Junior Max National champion Krishnaraj D Mahadik, Dhruv S Mohite (both Kolhapur, Mohite’s Racing) and Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai, Rayo Racing), all competing in the Kart Open class.
In the Junior Max category, last year’s Micro Max National champion Pradyumna Vipul Danigond (Kolhapur, Mohite’s Racing) will be up against the likes of lady karter Mira Erda (Baroda, Dark Don Racing), Ricky R Donison (Bangalore, BPC Racing), Nirmal Umashankar Babu (Chennai, Meco Racing) and Akash Gowda (Bangalore, Meco Racing).
In the Micro Max category, eight out of 13 entries (a new high in this category) are from Meco Racing. Paul Francis (Bangalore), Shahan Ali Mohsin (Agra), Yash Aradhya (Bangalore) and Nikhil Bohra (Bangalore), all from Meco Racing, are likely to dominate the proceedings. Francis, Mohsin and Aradhya are in the Kart Open category, while the rest of them are competing in the Rookie Cup. Rahil Kochar (New Delhi, Dark Don Racing), Jahan P Lohar (Mumbai, Mohite’s Racing), Aadityansh Kaulshi (Pune, Rayo Racing), Shaurya Kapani (Mumbai, Rayo Racing) and Chirag Ghorpade (Bangalore, BPC Racing) will be looking to put up a fight from the other teams in the fray.
The practice rounds were held on Friday as the drivers geared up and mechanics were busy trying to set up the karts as best as they could. Now, it’s over to the real thing on Saturday and Sunday.
Thursday’s Press release:
Over 38 entries have been received for the event on May 10 and 11. This marks a 15 per cent increase as compared to the previous year. The teams that will be battling it out this weekend are Rayo Racing, Dark Don Racing, India Karting, Mohites Racing and Meco Racing. The new entrant this time is BPC Racing. These competitors will be battling it out in the Micro Max, Junior Max and Senior Max categories.
This event is a preparatory event of sorts. It has two awards. One section is for regular karters who would like to test their skills and do some fine-tuning to get into shape before the National Karting Championship begins. There is a category for rookie drivers, i.e. drivers who have not won any race in the last five years. This is also for drivers who are entering the sport. Again, this event gives them an opportunity to test their skills against seasoned kart drivers and also stay in contention for the Rookie Awards that supports their participation in the National Karting Championship.
Last year’s Rookie Champions — Micro Max Champion Paul Francis, Junior Max Champion Tejas Raman and Senior Max Champion Arjun Srikant — will be taking part and vying for top honours for the Kart Open Overall Title.
The first round will be held on Saturday. Following the qualifying round, there will be five races for each of the three classes and this will be repeated for the second round on Sunday. The highest points from round one and round two in each of the classes will determine the top three Overall Winners and top three Rookie Winners for the Kart Open and Rookie Cup respectively.
“We are in our 15th continuous year of promoting karting in the country and this kind of commitment and efforts are unparalleled,” said Sanjay Sharma, Head – Motorsport, JK Tyre and Industries.
“You’ll never find good and deserving talent if there are no events for rookies. It is only when one fights in his or her peer group and in apple to apple conditions that one gets to showcase real talent. We are so proud that the talent spotted and nurtured from this level went on to make a mark internationally.
“We are thankful to Akbar Ebrahim for all that he has done by running this event and being the best coach available in this part of the world,” he added.
Akbar Ebrahim of Meco Motorsports, said: “The Rookie Cup was introduced by us to give the newcomers an opportunity to get more prepared for the National Championship. It helps them to understand the level they need to be at when compared to the regulars, though not all regular karters take part in the Kart Open. It also helps build their confidence when they are fighting for an Award amongst newcomers like them.
“Karting is most crucial for drivers planning to get into racing as this level of karting deals with very high speeds and enormous cornering speeds. It also teaches young kids what wheel-to-wheel racing is all about and disciplines them in a way that they start to respect the others. That helps in the overall driving standards and safety. It teaches a young kid, chassis and engine dynamics in terms of chassis setups and engine tuning. It also teaches the young drivers what tyre grip means and tyre management, which is the most important aspect of race car driving,” he added.
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