As in the fourth round a couple of days back at the same venue, Arshi (Leapfrog Racing) won both the championship points scoring races, the Pre-Final and Final, comfortably. She also put in eight consecutive fastest laps in the Final today.
Meanwhile, two Bengalureans and Peregrine Racing team-mates, Zidaan Arshaan Anees (Micro Max) and Akshat Misra (Senior Max) triumphed in their respective classes while Hridaan Sanadhya from Pune (Crest Motorsports) topped the Junior Max category. The trio earned maximum championship points by winning the Pre-Final and Final races.
Almost all the sessions today had their fair share of contacts and collisions which spiced up the proceedings. Amidst the chaos, Arshi Gupta was simply unstoppable as she won the Mini Max races in a dominating fashion.
One of the exciting races was the Mini Max Final where Coimbatore’s Shivneel Karthikeyan (MSPORT), son of India’s first Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan, clinched a third spot after fighting his way through the field, but could not pass Bengaluru’s Ridhaan Anil Kumarr (Red Rabbit Racing) who finished second behind Arshi.
Meanwhile, Zidaan, after jumping into the lead at the start, maintained consistent pace which saw him draw away from the chasing pack that included Round 4 topper Kolhapur’s Ayansh Patil (MSPORT) and the hard charging Rudrapratap Singh Shekhawat from Gurugram (Leapfrog Racing), both of whom finished on the podium in two races on Sunday.
One of the surprises today was that fancied Rivaan Dev Preetham from Chennai (MSPORT) went winless in the Junior Max class. He was fourth in the Pre-Final and second in the Final where he exhibited his race craft and daring to move up from mid-grid to the podium.
The Senior class races, marked by 23-kart grids, also dished out nail-biting finishes where the track positions kept changing in both Pre-Final and Final. Akshat Misra, after holding off the challenge in the early laps, topped both outings. Bengaluru’s Rohaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing) managed to finish ahead of Eshanth Vengatesan in the Pre-Final. Later, in the Final, Rohaan looked good for P2 behind Akshat Misra until he got involved in a collision and dropped out of contention. Eshanth squeezed through for a P2 finish ahead of Mumbai’s Aahil Mecklai (Rayo Racing).
Provisional results:
Senior Max – Finals (17 laps): 1. Akshat Misra (Bengaluru, Peregrine Racing) (15mins, 51.277secs); 2. Eshanth Vengatesan (Chennai, MSPORT) (15:56.416); 3. Aahil Mecklai (Mumbai, Rayo Racing) (15:57.954). Pre-Finals (14 laps): 1. Akshat Misra (Bengaluru, Peregrine Racing) (13:11.439); 2. Rohaan Madesh (Bengaluru, Peregrine Racing) (13:12.760); 3. Eshanth Vengatesan (Chennai, MSPORT) (13:13.459). Best Rookie: Eshanth Vengatesan (Chennai, MSPORT).
Junior Max – Finals (16 laps): 1. Hridaan Sanadhya (Pune, Crest Motorsports) (14:58.444); 2. Rivaan Dev Preetham (Chennai, MSPORT) (15:02.265); 3. Hamza Balasinorwala (Mumbai, Crest Motorsports) (15:04.813). Pre-Finals (14 laps): 1. Hridaan Sanadhya (Pune, Crest Motorsports) (13:12.488); 2. Swarnav Das (Pune, Crest Motorsports) (13:15.148); 3. Rishik Rohit Reddy (Bengaluru, MSPORT) (13:15.975). Best Rookie: Rivaan Dev Preetham (Chennai, MSPORT).
Mini Max – Finals (14 laps): 1. Arshi Gupta (Faridabad, Leapfrog Racing) (13:31.660); 2. Ridhaan Anil Kumarr (Bengaluru, Red Rabbit Racing) (13:39.733); 3. Shivneel Karthikeyan (Coimbatore, MSPORT) (13:39.854). Pre-Finals (12 laps): 1. Arshi Gupta (Faridabad, Leapfrog Racing) (11:34.763); 2. Ridhaan Anil Kumarr (Bengaluru, Red Rabbit Racing) (11:41.565); 3. Shiv Tummala (Hyderabad, Peregrine Racing) (11:42.876). Best Rookie: Arshi Gupta (Faridabad, Leapfrog Racing).
Micro Max – Finals (12 laps): 1. Zidaan Arshaan Anees (Bengaluru, Peregrine Racing) (12:09.957); 2. Rudrapratap Singh Shekhawat (Gurugram, Leapfrog Racing) (12:10.710); 3. Ayansh Patil (Kolhapur, MSPORT) (12:14.196). Pre-Finals (12 laps): 1. Zidaan Arshaan Anees (Bengaluru, Peregrine Racing) (12:08.459); 2. Ayansh Patil (Kolhapur, MSPORT) (12:08.797); 3. Rudrapratap Singh Shekhawat (Gurugram, Leapfrog Racing) (12:16.055). Best Rookie: Shriyan Rao Thakkallapelly (Hyderabad, Peregrine Racing).
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Anand Philar
AP Media Communications
Bengaluru
INDIA
Mobile: +91-94835-48185
