National Racing Championship: Ruhaan, Tijil steal the show on final day of round 1
In the opening race, all eyes were on the Dark Don Racing stars but Bengaluru's Ruhaan stamped his class with a stunning final lap victory
Coimbatore: Ruhaan Alva (MSport) and Tijil Rao (Dark Don Racing) signed off on a merry note winning a race each in the premier LGB Formula 4 class of the 26th FMSCI National Racing Championship at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Sunday.
It turned out to be a battle royal all the way. In the opening race, all eyes were on the Dark Don Racing stars but Bengaluru’s Ruhaan stamped his class with a stunning final lap victory.
Arya Singh (Dark Don Racing) dominated for the most part but Ruhaan played catch-up with some brilliant driving. The former was beginning to feel the pressure. There was a little bumping and jostling now and then between the two but Ruhaan kept searching for space to sneak in. He managed to find one in the final lap and crossed the line much to the the joy of his team.
The second was as good as the first but Tijil did one better than the rest to clinch the thriller. With the reverse grid in play, it was Saran Vikram Tmars (Mars Racing) who started on a blitz note staying in the lead for a good five laps, however, it was Ruhaan who overtook him and was primed for victory.
But as luck would have it, Ruhaan spun out of the race giving the Dark Don’s a fresh leash of life with Diljith and Tijil battling it out for the victory.
While it looked like the senior pro-Diljith would close the round on a high, it was the young Tijil who showed grit and great skills to overtake in the 13th lap. It was a sight to behold as both the racers were involved in a to and fro action but eventually Tijil brought in his car ahead of others to end on a high.
In the JK Tyre Novice Cup, Bengaluru’s Arjun S. Nair of Momentum Motorsports, who cracked a double on Saturday, for once could not celebrate on top of the podium in the first race as his teammate Neythan McPherson from Pune staved off a stiff challenge from Aman Nagdev (MSport) and Arjun took the flag.
The nine-lap race saw the safety car out twice and that took some flow and shine out of the event. Aman and Arjun finished second and third respectively.
But in the second race, Joel Joseph (DTS Racing) came out victorious, while Arjun and McPherson wrested the next two spots.
Hubballi’s Sarvesh Balappa, starting on P2, ruled the field in the JK Tyre presents 250 Cup. Pole sitter G. Abhinav (Coimbatore) brought some cheer to the home crowd clocking the fastest time of 1:25.00.
He maintained a good pace but not good enough to outsmart Sarvesh at the end. Bengaluru’s Rohit Lad had to rest content for the third spot.
In the Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup, it was the Bengaluru boys who stole the show with a clean sweep.
Abhishek Vasudev emerged victorious with an impressive timing of 13:53.248 minutes, while his city-mates, Ullass Nanda (13:53.651 minutes) and Md. Samrul Zubair (13:57.403 minutes) were the other who stood second and third on the podium respectively.
Results (Day 2):
LGB Formula 4 Race 3
1. Ruhaan Alva, MSport: 22:09.037 minutes; 2. Arya Singh, Dark Don Racing: 22:09.084 minutes; 3. Tijil Rao, Dark Don Racing: 22:10.131 minutes
LGB Formula 4 Race 4
1. Tijil Rao, Dark Don Racing: 27:51.142 minutes; 2.Diljith TS, Dark Don: 27:51.822 minutes; 3.Saran Vikram Tmars, Mars Racing: 28:05.523 minutes
JK Tyre Novice Cup Race 3
1. Neythan McPherson: Momentum Motorsports; 14:28.205 minutes; 2. Aman Nagdev; MSport: 14:28.801 minutes; 3. Arjun S Nair, Momentum Motorsports: 14:29.264 minutes
JK Tyre Novice Cup Race 4
1. Joel Joseph, DTS Racing: 16:20.908 minutes; 2. Arjun S Nair, Momentum Motorsports: 16:21.077 minutes Momentum Motorsports; 3. Neythan McPherson, 16:21.077, Momentum Motorsports
JK Tyre presents Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup Race 2
1. Abhishek Vasudev, 13:53.248 minutes; 2. Ullass Nanda 13:53.651 minutes; 3. Md. Samrul Zubair 13:57.403 minutes
JK Tyre 250 Cup
1. Sarvesh Balappa: 15:16.3452;2. Abhinav G: 15:19.623 minutes; 3.Rohit Lad: 15:27.436 minutes
