Sunday, 20 May 2012 11:23

Kolhapur, June 11, 2011: Day 1 of Round 2 of the JK Tyre FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2 witnessed participation of 34 participants from across the country at Circuit 09, Kolhapur today. After an exciting Round 1, young drivers from across the country were all set to fight it for the top grid positions in the heats and the qualifying sessions which were held today.  

It was Team Meco Racing and its drivers who dominated the qualifying round in the Senior category. Seasoned driver Vishnu Prasad from Chennai clinched the pole position followed by Nanjappa PD from Bangalore. Closing in third was Raj Bharath from Bangalore. In Heat 1, Sandeep Kumar of Chennai took the first place followed by Samyak Shah from Mumbai. Third place was taken by Bangalore boy Raj Bharath. In Heat 2, Raj Bharath led the grid followed by Ameya Bafna from Mumbai from Team Rayo Racing. Sandeep Kumar finished third.

In the Junior Max category, Mumbai lad Jehan Daruvala from Team Rayo Racing was back in action after Round 1 where he closely missed the first position. He grabbed the first place; second position was taken by local lad Krishnaraj Mahadik from Team Mohites Racing. Following them in the third place was Surya Raguram from Chennai from Team Meco Racing. In Heat 1 of 15 laps, while Jehan and Krishnaraj finished first and second respectively, Arjun Maini from Bangalore from Team Maini Racing finished third thus making his position back in the top three. It is indeed a very tough battle for the drivers in the Junior Max category as they give each other a neck to neck competition. In Heat 2, Jehan continued his lead followed by Dhruv Mohite from Kolhapur from Team Mohites Racing. Finishing third was Tarun Reddy from Chennai from Team Meco Racing. Arjun Maini recorded his best lap time of 43.687 in Heat 2.

In the Micro Max category, Round 1’s winner Kush Maini from Bangalore from Team Maini Racing once again remained unchallenged and finished first followed by Pradyumna Danigond from Kolhapur from Team Mohites Racing. Gaurav Prakash Marne from Kolhapur from Team Mohites Racing finished third in the qualifying round.  The battle continued between Kush, Pradyumna and Gaurav for the top three in both the heat races as they finished first, second and third respectively. Pradyumna Danigond recorded the best lap time of 48.291 in Heat race 2.

Qualifying results:
Senior – 1st -Vishnu Prasad – 47.988, 2nd – Nanjappa PD – 48.249; Raj Bharath – 48.276
Junior – 1st - Jehan Daruvala – 48.319; 2nd – Krishnaraj Mahadik – 48.710; 3rd – Surya Raguram – 48.896
Micro Max  – 1st - Kush Maini – 52.028, 2nd- Pradyumna Danigond – 53.023, 3rd – Gaurav Prakash Marne – 53.613
After a thrilling round of races today, the main action will unfold tomorrow in the pre-finals and finals which will decide the leaders of Round 2.

Sunday, 20 May 2012 11:23

Kolhapur, June 5, 2011: The maiden round of the 8th edition of the JK Tyre FMSCI Rotax Max National Karting Championship got off to a rousing start on Saturday, June 4, 2011 at the 1.1 km long track Circuit 09 in Kolhapur. 39 drivers from across the country stormed the tracks with some heart pulsating action and thrilling races over two days of the weekend. The weather did try to play spoilsport as the city received heavy rainfalls on the qualifying day but it did not deter the drivers’ confidence in giving their best shot during the race weekend.

Day 1 witnessed the qualifying & the heat races which was well contested by all the participants. All the three classes witnessed a very fierce tussle between the top karters of the country fighting for the top positions on the grid on day one. In the Micro Max category, Pradyumna Danigond finished first followed by Akash Gowda and Kavin Vinay Lazarus. In the Junior Max category, Krishnaraj Mahadik led in the top slot, He was followed closely by Tarun Reddy and Akhil Ranibdra. In the Senior Max category, Ameya Bafna finished first followed by Chittesh Mandody in the second place. Vishnu Prasad finished third in the qualifying round.

The pre-finals and the final rounds were held on Sunday, June 5, 2011. Tables turned drastically as none of the winners of the qualifying races across categories managed to finish podium in the pre-final and the final race. The pre-finals witnessed an engaging battle between the top drivers. In the Micro Max category, young Bangalorean Kush Maini from Team Maini Racing, Gaurav Prakash Marne from Kolhapur from Team Mohites Racing and Kavin Vinay Lazarus from New Delhi from Team Mohites Racing lead the grid in the first, second and third positions respectively. In the Junior Max, there was a lot of scrutiny over the final results because of a crash between Bangalore boy Arjun Maini of Team Maini Racing and Kolhapur lad Dhruv Mohite of Team Mohites Racing. However, the final result was Mumbaikar Jehan Daruvala of Team Rayo Racing who finished first followed by Tarun Reddy of Team Meco Racing. Kolhapur lad Krishnaraj Mahadik of Team Mohites Racing finished third. It was a clean race in the Senior Max category as Chittesh Mandody from Kolhapur from Team Mohites Racing emerged as the clear winner followed by Chennai lad Vishnu Prasad from Team Meco Racing. Sandeep Kumar of Chennai from Team Meco Racing finished third. Ameya Bafna who started in the second position lost out on his position in the top three could only finish 6 laps.

The engines revved up as the drivers in the Micro Max category were ready for the final round of Round 1 of the championship. Kush Maini led the formation lap followed and continued to lead in the races as they began. He sat on a comfortable lead but the real battle was behind him for the second and third position with drivers like Akash Gowda, Mira Kirti Erda, Gaurav Prakesh Marne and Kavin Vinay Lazarus fought intensively for the positions. After being overtaken a lot of times by his close rivals, Akash Gowda finally made it to the second position in the grid and following him was Gaurav Prakash Marne. The only girl contestant in the grid, Mira did not let the boys succeed easily and gave them a tough competition. Her performance in Round 1 is highly commendable. The best team trophy award went to Team Maini Racing.

After being declared the winner, Kush Maini of Micro Max category said, “I feel very good and confident as it was a great start to the championship by winning both the pre-finals and the finals. My qualifying was a disaster as I had a mechanical problem but slowly made my way up through the heats. I’m looking forward to the next round in Kolhapur.”

Light drizzles delayed the Junior Max races by some time but once the drivers were there, the race was worth a watch. While Jehan Daruvala started off in the first place in the 20 laps final in the Junior Max category, he couldn’t hold on to his lead position for long as Arjun Maini overtook him after 6 laps. Unperturbed by his defeat in the pre-finals, the passion and commitment of the 12 year old led him to victory as he took the chequered flag. Following him was Jehan Daruvala and third place was taken by Dhruv Mohite. Team Maini Racing was awarded the Team trophy once again.

An elated Arjun Maini, winner of Junior Max said, “It felt good to win the opening round of the championship. I started fourth for the finals and I was confident that I had the pace. My kart gave me as much support as I needed to win and also set the fastest lap. I had a good start and moved into the second quickly and then after around 6 laps I overtook to take the lead and held on to the position.”

It was a great day for Chittesh Mandody who commenced the season on a winning note by racing away to his first podium of the season in the Senior category. Chittesh got off to a good start and ensured that he maintained his lead till the end. Giving him close competition was Vishnu Prasad but then Chittesh managed to take a comfortable lead after ten laps leaving the Chennai lad way behind. Following them in the third slot was Sandeep Kumar. The team trophy in the Senior class was bagged by Team Mohites Racing.
Chittesh Mandody said, “The race was good. I had a tough start as the first ten laps Vishnu Prasad was too close but I thoroughly enjoyed the race. I thank my team, my father for being a wonderful support and I look forward to the next round of races.”

It was a great weekend and the participants are looking forward to the next round scheduled in Kolhapur on June 11-12, 2011.

Results:

Micro Max (15 LAPS): 1st –Kush Maini – 12:10:231, 2nd- Akash Gowda –12:19:893, 3rd - Gaurav Prakash Marni – 12:20:378

Junior Max (20 LAPS): 1st – Arjun Maini -14:40:115, 2nd - Jehan Daruvala- 14:41:745, 3rd - Dhruv Mohite- 14:51:617

Senior Max (22 LAPS) – 1st – Chittesh Mandody- 16:11:437, 2nd - Vishnu Prasad- 16:16:743, 3rd - Sandeep Kumar: 16:31:658

The picture gallery here:

Sunday, 20 May 2012 11:23

Kolhapur, June 03, 2011: The 8th edition of the JK Tyre Rotax Max National Karting Championship kickstarts this weekend at Circuit 09, Kolhapur. With over 53 seasoned and new drivers in the fray from across the country, the battle is surely going to be very intense and competitive. With top drivers like Kush Maini, Abhirath Shetty, Jehan Daruvala, Tarun Reddy, Raj Bharath, and Chittesh Mandody the competition is going to be hotly contested across categories.

The Championship in its 8th year consists of 6 rounds held across the country – Kolhapur, Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Greater Noida. This year has witnessed over 13 entries in the Micro max category (age group 7-12 yrs), over 18 entries in the Junior Max category (age group 13-15 yrs) and over 22 entries in the Senior Max category (age group 15 yrs and above) representing five professional teams namely – Meco Racing from Chennai, Amaron Pro Racing from Hyderabad, Mohites Racing Academy from Kolhapur, Rayo Racing from Mumbai and Red Rooster from Bangalore.

Mr. Sanjay Sharma, Head- Motorsports-JK Tyre & Industries Limited said, ““It is heartening to see such an overwhelming response this season. We have grown leaps & bounds.  Year on year we have produced champions through our national karting championship who have done India proud at the international level. The global success of our prodigies from Narain Karthikeyan to Karun Chandhok to Armaan Ebrahim to Raj Bharath is the best reward we could have asked for.”

The winners of the Junior and Senior Max categories will get the opportunity to represent India in the Rotax Max World Finals in November. The highest points scorer after two rounds in the Junior Class will get nominated to go for the CIK World Finals Preliminary Championship in 3 Countries, namely Italy, France and Bahrain.

The event has been the stepping stone for the karters in the country to establish themselves in the country and then to represent India at the international level. Many of the India’s best drivers have graduated from this championship and over 70 percent of the Senior Class grid are also racing in the VW Polo Cup and Formula LGB Swift class in the JK Tyre National Racing Championship.

JK Tyre is credited with introducing the concept of Karting in India and has patronized Karting circuits in seven cities of the country. JK Tyre together with MECO Motorsports introduced the professional level of karting in 2004 with the introduction of the Rotax 2 Stroke Kart Engines. It was then the JK Tyre Rotax Max National Karting Championship came into being and today it is the only National karting championship of the country. The winners of the JK Tyre Rotax Max National Karting Championship are selected to represent the country in the Rotax Max World Finals held every year. Raj Bharath, the only Indian driver to race in the JK Racing Asia Series is a national karting champion and has represented India in the world karting finals last year. Raj has proved his mettle on the Indian track and is now showcasing his racing prowess at the international circuit.

JK Tyre through its annual karting championship brought into existence the concept of team culture and currently there are 5 professional teams taking part in the form of Mohites Racing Academy, Rayo Racing, Red Rooster Racing, Amaron Pro Racing with MECO and MECO Racing.

JK Tyre - MECO Motorsport academy, the only racing academy in India runs its own training programs and the winners of these programs get a direct entry in the JK Tyre Rotax Max National Karting Championship.

Sunday, 20 May 2012 11:23

Final round of the JK Tyre-MMS Rotax Rookie Cup 2011 concludes in Kolhapur

~ Delhi lad Karminder Singh from Meco Racing clinches the championship in Senior category~
~Puneite Gaurav Rajan Davare from Mohites Racing claims top honours in Junior category ~
~ Kolhapur racer Gaurav Rakesh Marne from Mohites Racing ousts competition in Micro Max category~