Chennai, August 23: A clutch of teenagers lit up the first round of the MRF Indian National Racing Challenge 4W – 2006 which concluded at the Madras International Circuit, here on Sunday.
Eighteen-year-old Saishiva Sankaran from Pune completed a hat-trick of wins in the MRF Formula 2000 while Visakhapatnam’s Bhuvan Bonu, only 16, won both the races today in the MRF Formula 1600, while Kaveen Diyyan Rajapaksa from Sri Lanka, also 16, achieved a triple crown in the Junior category of the Formula LGB 1300 class.
At the other end of the spectrum, a trio of seasoned campaigners Ritesh Rai (Indian Super Touring Cars), Diljith TS (Super Stock) and Pratik Sonawane (Polo Cup) remained unbeaten in both their respective races, highlighting their experience and undoubted pace to leave the rest of the grid chasing their shadows.
Saishiva showcased his grit and pace while winning all the three races in the MRF Formula 2000 class. In each of the races, he had a poor start but made ground to win from seemingly hopeless positions. Coincidentally, he conceded but regained the lead from Aditya Patnaik Navi Mumbai on all three occasions. Bonu displayed exemplary composure to survive some tough moments while winning both MRF F1600 races today.
Ritesh, though, was trifle lucky when his arch-rival Arjun Narendran spun and retired when in the lead in the first race and could not start Race-2 as the necessary repairs to his car could not be completed on time. Pratik fought off young Neel Shah who botched up lead positions in both races and yielded ground.
Not to be outdone, Viswas Vijayaraj won both races in the Formula LGB 1300 class (Open) today to add to his win in Race-1 on Saturday for a triple crown.
Viswas started Race-2 today in P8 on the reverse grid but was in the front bunch by the end of the first lap and then moved to the front to notch a win. Later, in Race-3, he scored a lights-to-flag win after starting from pole.
Kaveen Diyyan Rajapaksa also enjoyed a fruitful weekend by winning all three races in the Junior category of the Formula LGB 1300. “I loved every moment here. Back in Sri Lanka, we do not get such big grids. So, it was fun to be competing with so many drivers. I am very happy that I won all three races in the Junior category,” said Kaveen who a fortnight back had won a Formula 1300 race in a Sri Lankan competition.
Provisional results (all 10 laps unless mentioned):
MRF Formula 2000 (Race-2): 1. Saishiva Sankaran (Pune) (20mins,11.403secs); 2. Aditya Patnaik (Navi Mumbai) (20:13.709); 3. Krishay Gutte (Mumbai) (20:15.857). Race-3: 1. Saishiva Sankaran (16:22.565); 2. Aditya Patnaik (16:27.649); 3. Swarnav Das (Pune) (16:33.095).
MRF Formula 1600 (Race-2): 1. Bhuvan Bonu (Visakhapatnam) (21:19.141); 2. Evan Shrawan (Mumbai) (21:47.811). Only 2 finishers. Race-3: 1. Bhuvan Bonu (18:10.216); 2. Gyan Satish (Chennai) (16:22.952 + 1 lap); 3. Shivansh Bejoy (New Delhi) (16:34.435 + 1 lap).
Indian Super Touring Cars (Race-1): 1. Ritesh Rai (Chennai, Buzzing Hornet Motorsports) (19:01.310); 2. Aman Nagdev (Noida, Buzzing Hornet Motorsports) (19:15.179); 3. Jeet Jhabakh (Hyderabad, Buzzing Hornet Motorsports) (19:23.583). Race-2: 1. Ritesh Rai (19:05.125); 2. Aman Nagdev (19:18.370); 3. Jeet Jhabakh (19:23.919).
Super Stock (Race-1): 1. Diljith TS (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (20:58.700); 2. Deepa S John (Thiruvananthapuram, DTS Racing) (19:02.465 + 1 lap); 3. Lal Kattikulam Bharathan (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (19:07.680 + 1 lap). Race-2: 1. Diljith TS (20:58.700); 2. Lal Kattikulam Bharathan (21:03.047); 3. Deepa S John (19:21.307 + 1 lap);
Volkswagen Polo Cup (Race-1): 1. Pratik Sonawane (Mumbai) (19:38.049); 2. Neel Shah (Mumbai) (19:40.454); 3. Hitarth Bhatt (Ahmedabad) (19:43.247). Race-2: 1. Pratik Sonawane (19:39.604); 2. Neel Shah (19:55.514); 3. Balaji Raju (Chennai) (20:00.495);
Formula LGB 1300 (Race-2) Open: 1. Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) (22:21.644); 2. Vinithkumar (Tirupur, DTS Racing) (22:24.307); 3. Liron Jaden Samuels (Tirunelveli, DTS Racing) (22:27.640). Junior: 1. Kaveen Diyyan Rajapaksa (Sri Lanka, Momentum Motorsports) (22:41.719); 2. Abhijit Vadavalli (Bengaluru, Momentum Motorsports) (22:51.719); 3. Aadam Junaid (Sri Lanka, Momentum Motorsports) (22:54.102).
Race-3 (Open – 7 laps): 1. Viswas Vijayaraj (13:15.418); 2. Liron Jaden Samuels (13:23.756); 3. Vinithkumar (13:24.135). Junior (7 laps): 1. Kaveen Diyyan Rajapaksa (13:36.878); 2. Shatveer Shetty (Bengaluru, Meco Racing) (13:43.726); 3. Yash Vikram Singh (Agra, Delta Speeds) (13:51.885).
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