The 2024 season of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship kicked off with Round 1 at the Madras International Circuit. 17-year-old Jaden Pariat won two races in the headlining MRF Formula 2000 category. 15-year-old Abhay Mohan, the youngest competitor this season, also delivered a standout performance, winning all three Formula 1600 races.
MRF Formula 2000
The MRF Formula 2000 category only had three entries. In Race 1, Pariat had to surrender a massive lead in the last lap due to engine issues. Chetan Surineni ended up winning that race, while Pariat settled for second place.
But he followed that up with two back-to-back wins the next day. “I did some preparation by watching my onboard videos from my December race," said Pariat. "I realised there was plenty in the car. It was a question of putting things together, which I did this weekend... I feel there is still a lot I can extract from this car. Of course, my stint in British Formula 4 helped, but the F2000 is far quicker and I felt very comfortable this weekend.”
Results
Race 1
1. Chetan Surineni – 12mins 49.401secs
2. Jaden Rahman Pariat – 13mins 20.579secs
3. Tarun Muthaiah – 13mins 58.255secs
Race 2
1. Jaden Rahman Pariat - 15mins 44.717secs
2. Chetan Surineni – 16mins 02.706secs
Race 3
1. Jaden Rahman Pariat – 12mins 35.788secs
2. Chetan Surineni – 12mins 50.154secs
3. Tarun Muthaiah – 13mins 31.154secs
MRF Formula 1600
Abhay Mohan dominated in the MRF Formula 1600 category, winning all three races. “My only target for this round was to be on top, which I did. The car too was pretty good and so were the MRF tyres. My preparation was to get fit and learn from my Formula LGB 1300 outing last season,” he said.
Zahan Commissariat finished P2 in all the races, securing three consecutive podiums.
Race 1
1. Abhay Mohan – 13mins 49.827secs
2. Zahan Commissariat – 14mins 00.386secs
3. Raaj Bakhru – 14mins 23.370secs
Race 2
1. Abhay Mohan – 17mins 14.365secs
2. Zahan Commissariat – 17mins 26.618secs
3. Monith Kumaran – 15mins 47.911secs +1 lap
Race 3
1. Abhay Mohan – 13mins 51.711secs
2. Zahan Commissariat – 14mins 00.143secs
3. Raaj Bakhru – 14mins 03.179 secs
Indian Touring Cars
After finishing second in the championship last year, Biren Pithawala returns for another go at securing the Indian Touring Cars title. He’s started the season on a strong note after winning both races in the season-opener.
Deepak Ravikumar also made it to the podium in both races, with a pair of P3 finishes. Ananth Pithawalla, meanwhile, walked away with no points after suffering punctures on both days.
Race 1
1. Biren Pithawala (Team N1 Racing) - 15mins 21.359secs
2. Ritesh Rai (Arka Motorsports) – 15mins 22.782secs
3. Deepak Ravikumar (Performance Racing) – 15mins 34.211secs
Race 2
1. Biren Pithawala (Team N1 Racing) – 19mins 14.983secs
2. Pratik Sonawane (Buzzing Hornet Motorsport) – 19mins 35.983secs
3. Deepak Ravikumar (Performance Racing) – 19mins 36.365secs
Indian Junior Touring Cars
Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala won the first Indian Junior Touring Cars race, ahead of his Performance Racing teammate Srinivas Teja. But Teja had the upper hand the next day and defeated Jamnagarwala to win Race 2.
Results
Race 1
1. Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala (Performance Racing) – 15mins 35.231secs
2. Srinivas Teja (Performance Racing) – 15mins 41.732secs
3. Nikunj Vagh (Team N1 Racing) – 15mins 53.915secs
Race 2
1. Srinivas Teja (Performance Racing) - 19mins 43.845secs
2. Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala (Performance Racing) – 19mins 44.608secs
3. Yug Italiya (Team N1 Racing) – 19mins 54.746secs
Super Stock
Buzzing Hornet Motorsports’ Angad Matharoo was another driver who took a clean sweep, securing victory in both races over the weekend. Redline Racing’s Anirudha Arvind joined him on the podium with a pair of P3 finishes.
Race 1
1. Angad Matharoo (Buzzing Hornet Motorsports) – 16mins 48.478secs
2. Balaprasath (DTS Racing) – 16mins 52.781secs
3. Anirudha Arvind (Redline Racing) – 16mins 54.402secs
Race 2
1. Angad Matharoo (Buzzing Hornet Motorsports) - 21mins 03.892secs
2. Manan Patel (Redline Racing) – 21mins 04.737secs
3. Anirudha Arvind (Redline Racing) – 21mins 13.128secs
MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios)
Diana Pundole scored double wins in the MRF Saloons Toyota Etios one-make category, along with one P3 result.
In addition to his Super Stock outing, Anirudha Arvind also saw success in MRF Saloons. He finished on the podium in all three races, including victory in Race 2.
Race 1
1. Diana Pundole (Redline Racing) – 18mins 10.588secs
2. Anirudha Arvind (Redline Racing) – 18mins 15.446secs
3. Jai Prashanth (Redline Racing) – 18mins 15.850secs
Race 2
1. Anirudha Arvind (Redline Racing) – 20mins 47.868secs
2. Jai Prashanth Venkat (Redline Racing) – 20mins 54.145secs
3. Diana Pundole (Redline Racing) – 20mins 54.735secs
Race 3
1. Diana Pundole (Redline Racing) – 16mins 31.795secs
2. Anirudha Arvind (Redline Racing) – 16mins 33.562secs
3. Kesara Godage (Redline Racing) – 16mins 43.645secs
Formula LGB 1300
Viswas Vijayaraj secured two race wins in the Formula LGB 1300 category. But he was defeated by DTS Racing teammate Arya Singh in Race 2.
Race 1
1. Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) – 14mins 57.600secs
2. Arya Singh (DTS Racing) – 15mins 00.136secs
3. Balaprasath (DTS Racing) – 15mins 14.379secs
Race 2
1. Arya Singh (DTS Racing) – 15mins 07.040secs
2. Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) – 15mins 11.098secs
3. Balaprasath (DTS Racing) – 15mins 15.423secs
Race 3
1. Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) – 14mins 56.286secs
2. Arya Singh (DTS Racing) – 15mins 01.417secs
3. Balaprasath (DTS Racing) – 15mins 06.693secs
Also see:
Sandeep Kumar wins MRF Formula 2000 title