The second round of the 2021 MRF MMSC Indian National Car Racing Championship saw over 100 entrants take to the Madras Motor Race Track for an action-packed weekend. Chirag Ghorpade and Arjun Balu reaped the rewards after putting up dominating displays in their respective categories.
- Balu dominates in Indian Touring Cars
- Ghorpade wins two out of three MRF 1600 races
- MRF Saloon Cars Etios category makes a return
Read on to find out how the action played out across all the categories:
MRF F1600
The headlining Formula 1600 saw Ghorpade win two out of three races. He held off Shahan Ali Mohsin to claim his maiden win in the category on Saturday. The next day, he added to his tally with a lights-to-flag win in Race 3. Mohsin finished that race in second place, but was handed a 10-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. This promoted Viswas Vijayaraj and Ashwin Datta to second and third respectively.
Dillon Zachariah also scored his maiden victory in the category, winning Race 2 from P2 on the reverse grid.
Results
Race 1
1. Chirag Ghorpade - 13mins 32.919secs
2. Shahan Ali Mohsin – 13mins 34.252secs
3. Rishon Rajiv – 13mins 35.164secs
Race 2
1. Dillon Zachariah - 16mins 37.473secs
2. Suriyavarathan – 16mins 37.844secs
3. Viswas Vijayaraj – 16mins 38.344secs
Race 3
1. Chirag Ghorpade – 10mins 37.982secs
2. Viswas Vijayaraj – 10mins 45.318secs
3. Ashwin Datta – 10mins 45.995secs
Indian Touring Cars
Reigning champion Arjun Balu dominated in the Indian Touring Cars category. In what is his 29th year of racing, the veteran racer is still in top form and took home a commanding win in the first race. The next day he made his way up from third place in mixed conditions following heavy showers.
Balu initially played the waiting game before jumping both Anindith Reddy and Jeet Jhabakah to clinch another win.
Results
Race 1
1. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) – 15mins 19.312secs
2. Anindith Reddy (Rayo Racing) – 15mins 46.386secs
3. Jeet Jhabakh (Rayo Racing) – 15mins 54.693secs
Race 2
1. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) – 17mins 00.366secs
2. Jeet Jhabakh (Rayo Racing) – 17mins 09.508secs
3. Anindith Reddy (Rayo Racing) – 17mins 09.774secs
Volkswagen Polo Championship
Both Volkswagen Polo Championship races were held on Sunday, so the grid had to tackle the mixed conditions out on track. This resulted in plenty of overtaking action and both races saw tight finishes.
Sai Sanjay TS and Ritesh Rai picked up a win each, while Sandeep Kumar finished on the podium in both races.
Results
Race 1
1. Sai Sanjay TS – 16mins 45.578secs
2. Sandeep Kumar – 16mins 46.427secs
3. Sourav Bandyopadhyay – 16mins 53.278secs
Race 2
1. Ritesh Rai – 16mins 57.162secs
2. Avik Anwar – 16mins 57.729secs
3. Sandeep Kumar – 16mins 58.533secs
Super Stock
Deepak Ravikumar continued his Super Stock winning streak with yet another win on Saturday. However, that streak was broken the next day when Rithvik Thomas won Race 2.
Race 1
1. Deepak Ravikumar (Performance Racing) – 16mins 09.974secs
2. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) – 16mins 12.079secs
3. RP Raja Rajan (Performance Racing) – 16mins 17.578secs
Race 2
1. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) – 18mins 32.647secs
2. Deepak Ravikumar (Performance Racing) – 18mins 33.644secs
3. RP Raja Rajan (Performance Racing) – 18mins 50.454secs
Formula LGB 1300
The first Formula LGB 1300 race was marred by a red flag stoppage following a series of crashes. The race was finally reduced to just five laps, and Viswas Vijayaraj ended up winning.
In the next race, seasoned driver Raghul Rangasamy made his way from fifth on the grid to take a well-earned win.
Results
Race 1
1. Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) – 11mins 14.406secs
2. Arya Singh (DTS Racing) – 11mins 15.966secs
3. Deepak Ravikumar (Momentum Motorsport) – 11mins 20.775secs
Race 2
1. Raghul Rangasamy (MSport) – 19mins 34.504secs
2. Tijil Rao (Momentum Motorsport) – 19mins 36.053secs
3. Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) – 19mins 40.848secs
MRF Saloon Cars (Toyota Etios)
Round 2 saw the one-make MRF Saloon Cars category, featuring the Toyota Etios, make a return. The category had made its championship debut last year with just six entries, but boasts of 25 drivers representing two teams – Red Line Racing India and Quest Motorsports – this year.
Fahad Kutty emerged as the frontrunner, taking home two race wins and one podium. A Balaprasath was the other winner in the category, while Jamie Shaw bagged two podium results.
Results
Race 1
1. Fahad Kutty (Red Line Racing) – 17mins 08.849secs
2. Jamie Shaw (Red Line Racing) – 17mins 09.332secs
3. Chandresh Tolia (Red Line Racing) – 17mins 11.833secs
Race 2
1. A Balaprasath (Quest Motorsport) – 21mins 17.190secs
2. Justin Singh (Quest Motorsport) – 21mins 17.925secs
3. Fahad Kutty (Red Line Racing) – 21mins 20.784secs
Race 3
1. Fahad Kutty (Red Line Racing) – 12mins 11.978secs
2. Jamie Shaw (Red Line Racing) – 12mins 16.327secs
3. Jai Prashant Venkat (Red Line Racing) – 12mins 16.595secs
Indian Junior Touring Cars
There were two different winners in the Indian Junior Touring Cars category, with Race Concepts’ Varun Anekar and Charen Chandran (who entered as a privateer) sharing the honours.
Results
Race 1
1. Varun Anekar (Race Concepts) – 16mins 04.162secs
2. Charen Chandran – 16mins 25.674secs
3. Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala (Performance Racing) – 16mins 30.132secs
Race 2
1. Charen Chandran – 18mins 03.480secs
2. K Srinivas Teja (Performance Racing) – 18mins 07.131secs
3. Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala (Performance Racing) – 18mins 11.507secs
Also see:
Shahan Ali Mohsin shines in MRF F1600 Round 1