JK Tyre - FMSCI Rotax Max National Karting Championship 2011 - Round 1 Results

With an exciting season of the JK Tyre Rotax Rookie Championship now behind us, it’s now time for the more serious karting competitors in the country to take their positions on the grid. Though similar to the race format of its very own Rookie Cup, the JK Tyre FMSCI Rotax Max National Karting Championship is a far more prestigious and competitive Karting Championship, winners of which have repeatedly leaped forward into both national and international motorsport tournaments, often fetching great results.

In its 8th edition, the JK Tyre Rotax Max National Karting Championship has once again begun its hunt for the best drivers in the counry, through 6 intense rounds of racing that will take place in four different venues, starting with Kolhapur, and then moving on to Hyderabad, Coimbatore and finally Greater Noida.

Competing across three categories, this years competition has registered 13 entries in the Micro Max Category, over 18 entries in the Junior Max Category and 22 entries in the Senior Max Category all representing famed racing teams the likes of Meco Racing from Chennai, Amaron Pro Racing from Hyderabad, Mohites Racing Academy from Kolhapur, Rayo Racing from Mumbai and Red Rooster from Bangalore.

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Qualifiers

The qualifiers of Round 1 were held as per schedule on Saturday June 4th at Circuit 09 in Kolhapur and as expected resulted in some heated races, with every contender eyeing the best spot on the grid for the final race that was to be held the following day. 

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, 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. 

: ACTION SHOTS FROM ROUND 1

Pre-Finals 

The pre-finals and the final rounds took place the following day (Sunday, June 5, 2011), where the grid positions some way or the other ended up having negligible influence on the pre-final and final race results. 

The pre-finals in a sense set the stage for the final round. In the Micro-Max category, it was young Bangalorean Kush Maini, who took top sport, with Gaurav Prakash Marne and Kavin Vinay Lazarus also putting up a good fight for securing their second and third positions respectively. 

The pre-final race of the Junior Max category caused some tension after a crash between Bangalore racer Arjun Maini and Team Maini Racing’s Dhruv Mohite upset the race flow, finally resulting in Team Rayo Racing’s Jehan Daruvala taking No1. position, followed by Tarun Reddy and Krishnaraj Mahadik  finishing second and third respectively. 

The third and senior most pre-final race category left little room for competition, with Chittesh Mandody from Team Mohites Racing emerging as the clear winner, followed by Chennai’s racing ace Vishnu Prasad coming in second, and Sandeep Kumar finishing third. Ameya Bafna who started in the second position lost out on his position in the top three could only finish 6 laps. 

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Finals

The heated build up to the pre-finals played a catalyst to just that much more excitement in the final round, where the top drivers across all three categories fought hard for a winning postion. After leading the formation lap in the Micro Max category, Kush Maini maintained his lead and finally finished the race in the top position, leaving the competition open for the second and third places, which after an intensive battle was conquered by Akash Gowda (2nd place) and Gaurav Prakash (3rd place).

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. Arjun Maini overtook race leader Jehan Daruvala after 6 laps of the 20 laps final and ended up winning the race. Jehan Daruvala came in behind him in second and third place was taken by Dhruv Mohite.

Chittesh Mandody who commenced the season on a winning note by racing away to his first podium of the season in the Senior category did so quite comfortably, maintaining his lead till the very end. Giving him close competition was Vishnu Prasad, who came in second, with the third slot coming into the hands of Sandeep Kumar. The team trophy in the Senior class was bagged by Team Mohites Racing.  

Winner of the Senior Category, Chittesh Mandody said, “The race was good. I had a tough start as in 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.” 

The next round of the JK Tyre Rotax Max National Karting Championship is scheduled to be held in Kolhapur on June 11-12, 2011

ACTION SHOTS FROM ROUND 1

Following are lap times and results of the final race in Round 1 of the JK-Tyre FMCI Rotax Karting Championship: 

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