Rajvirdhan emerges champ: Indian Touring cars
CHENNAI, November 26: (JK Release) V Rajvirdhan (Prime Racing) claimed the drivers’ championship in the premier Indian Touring Cars class with a race to spare in the 14th JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship in great style on Saturday, making light of the wet conditions to take the checkered flag for the fourth time in 11 starts this season.
Diljith Shaji, an 18-year-old Thrishoor lad, emerged champion in the Indian Junior Touring Cars class with some careful driving although he finished outside the podium, even as last year’s champion B Balavijay and his MotoRev India teammate Gokul Krishna drove aggressively for a 1-2 finish ahead of HCZ Racing’s Feroze Khan.
With Formula LGB Swift championship leader R Deepak spinning during the second lap and finishing outside the points, his Mars Racing team-mate Ameya Walavalkar opened up a seven-point lead by nursing his misfiring car to fourth place on Saturday. It sets the stage for a gripping finale on Sunday when the final race of the season will be run.
Rajvirdhan, who started third in the race today and with a 48-point lead over N Leelakrishnan, caught the eye at the start when he passed last year’s champion Sidharth Kishore (Performance Racing) at the first corner, but conceded the second place to him at the next turn. He then played the waiting game for a couple of laps before he made another move.
“I could sense over the first two laps that my car was able to make quick exits from the corners and I knew there would opportunities to overtake the leaders,” Rajvirdhan said. “After losing both races to Leelakrishnan in the penultimate round last month, I badly wanted to be able to beat him. I am happy I was able to do that
“It feels great to be able to close out the championship with a victory,” Rajvirdhan said. “To be honest, I would have been okay to finish seventh or eighth and take the drivers’ championship but I knew I had a good, fast car and wanted to complete the season with victories. I enjoyed going past Sidharth and Leelakrishnan on the third lap and then had to just stay on the track.”
Diljith, who started with a 40-point lead over Balavijay, ran the risk of spending time in the slush beyond the kerbs but chose to back off rather than get into a gripping duel with Gokulkrishna. “I knew I had to finish the race and be among the top five drivers to be able to seal the championship with one race to spare,” he said. “I am pleased with what our team and I have achieved.”
Deepak admitted to not liking wet conditions and was crestfallen after finishing outside the points and conceding the championship lead to Walavalkar. “After a bad qualifying and starting 15th, I was going well and had gained a few places in the first two laps when I spun just before the hair-pin bend. It was real hard work after that and a 11th place finish is no consolation,” he said.
Walavalkar had a good start and was able to pass K Prashant to be in second place for half the race before his car started misfiring. “I realized that there was no use fighting for a podium finish and losing all points. I was happy to be able to bring the car home,” he said. “I had no idea that Deepak was badly off and would not secure any points today.”
Goa’s Avdumber Hede claimed pole position from championship leader Vishnu Prasad (Chennai) in the Polo R Cup with a good opening lap in qualifying this morning. Title contender Rahil Noorani (Mumbai) will start fourth behind Oshan Kothadiya (Pune).
Saturday’s results (provisional):
Formula LGB Swift (15 laps): 1. Chitesh Mandody (Meco Motorsports) 19:04.173; 2. Sarosh Hataria (Meco Motorsports) 19:09.668; 3. K Prashanth (TVS Girling) 19:14.361; 4. Ameya Walavalkar (Mars Racing) 19:15.159; 5. S Narendran (TVS Girling) 19:24.938; 6. Sandeep Kumar (TVS Girling) 19:24.938. Fastest lap: Chitesh Mandody 1:14.810.
Indian Touring Cars (15 laps): 1. V Rajvirdhan (Prime Racing) 19:50.518; 2. N Leelakrishnan (Rad Racing) 20:08.170; 3. Sidharth Kishore (Performance Racing) 20:08.367; 4. B Vijayakumar (Prime Racing) 20:14.595; 5. D Vidya Prakash (Prime Racing) 20:16.627; 6. G D Rajkumar (Prime Racing) 20:24.670. Fastest lap: Rajvirdhan 1:17.665.
Indian Junior Touring Cars (15 laps): 1. B Balavijay (MotoRev India) 20:27.924; 2. Gokul Krishna (MotoRev India) 20:33.766; 3. Feroze Khan (HCZ Racing) 20:38.279; 4. Diljith Shaji (LCT Sigaram Sports) 20:38.390; 5. M Gautham (Performance Racing) 20:39.524; 6. S Sreeram (LCT Sigaram Sports) 20:41.491. Fastest lap: Fahad Kutty 1:20.565.
