Tijil Rao shines in 2021 JK NRC Round 2

The second round of the 2021 JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship (JK NRC) saw some intense battles at Coimbatore’s Kari Motor Speedway. Three different winners were crowned in the LGB Formula 4 class, but it was Tijil Rao who stole the show, appearing on the podium for all three races.

Ruhaan Alva continued his dominant run in the Novice Cup, while Anfal Akdhar and Anish Damodara Shetty picked up wins in the Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup.

• Sayed, Diljith and Rao win LGB F4 races
• Penalty denies Anish Damodara Shetty double win
• Ruhaan Alva dominates Novice Cup

LGB Formula 4

Ahura Racing’s Amir Sayed made his way up from fourth position on the grid to win the opening race of the round. However, the next day was dominated by Dark Don Racing, with the team claiming all the podium spots.

T.S. Diljith resisted pressure from Vishnu Prasad to win Race 2. Towards the end of the race, Prasad switched focus to defending his position, but ultimately lost out to the Dark Don Racing duo Tijil Rao and Sandeep Kumar, who completed the podium.

After finishing second in the first two races, Rao finally bagged a spot on the top for winning Race 3.

Results

Race 1

1. Amir Sayed (Ahura Racing) – 26mins 03.085secs

2. Tijil Rao (Dark Don Racing) – 26mins 03.524secs

3. Sandeep Kumar (Dark Don Racing) – 26mins 04.623secs

Race 2

1. TS Diljith (Dark Don Racing) – 23mins 10.852secs

2. Tijil Rao (Dark Don Racing) – 23mins 18.310secs

3. A. Sandeep Kumar (Dark Don Racing) – 23mins 18.521secs

Race 3

1. Tijil Rao (Dark Don Racing) – 21mins 34.441secs

2. Sandeep Kumar (Dark Don Racing) – 21mins 36.264secs

3. Ashwin Datta (Dark Don Racing) – 21mins 36.452secs

Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup

After dominating the practice sessions and qualifying, Anish Damodara Shetty went on to win Race 1 from pole position. He was locked in a tight battle with Allwin Xavier and made his race-winning move only in the final lap.

Shetty couldn’t replicate his success the next day with a 30-second penalty for overtaking under yellow flags – slashing his chances to score another win. Anfal Akdhar ended up taking victory ahead of Allwin Xavier and Raj Kumar.

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Results

Race 1

1. Anish Damodara Shetty – 13mins 54.772secs

2. Allwin Xavier - 13mins 55.503secs

3. Anfal Akdhar – 14mins 00.130secs

Race 2

1. Anfal Akdhar -  5mins 53.042secs

2. Allwin Xavier – 5mins 53.387secs

3. Raj Kumar – 5mins 55.744secs

Novice Cup

MSport’s Ruhaan Alva continued his dominant run in the JK Tyre Novice Cup. Two rounds and six races later, the 15-year-old remains undefeated.

Results

Race 1

1. Ruhaan Alva (MSport) – 14mins 33.431secs

2. Jaden R. Pariat (MSport) - 14mins 36.442secs

3. Aadithya Parasuram (Hasten Performance) – 14mins 42.833secs

Race 2

1. Ruhaan Alva (MSport) – 13mins 22.885secs

2. Jaden R. Pariat (MSport) - 13mins 23.794secs

3. Joel Joseph (DTS Racing) – 13mins 42.994secs

Race 3

1. Ruhaan Alva (MSport) – 21mins 08.051secs

2. Jaden R. Pariat (MSport) – 21mins 12.389secs

3. Gaurav Kochar (Momentum Motorsports) – 21mins 12.949secs