JK Tyre Rotax Max Karting event sees youngsters excel

The curtain came down on the 13th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting  at the Mohite Racing Academy in Kolhapur, Maharashtra on Sunday September 25, 2016 with favourites Ricky Donison, Manav Sharma and Shahan Ali winning their respective categories in commanding fashion.

Donison, who has been virtually invincible for three seasons now, defended his Senior Max title in style to make it a hat-trick of titles. Amazingly, he has finished on pole in all the 14 karting races he has competed so far in his blossoming career; he has won as many as 12 out of them to underline his superiority in this brand of racing.

When he lined up for the finals in front of a packed holiday crowd, he knew that it could be a touch and go affair. He was on pole once again but he was still on 358 points, one point behind championship leader Vishnu Prasad. He was aware that even a minor error or a hint of nerves could easily upset his winning streak.

Donison (BPC Racing) streaked ahead of the field in the first lap itself and clocked the fastest lap in the fifth at 51.717 seconds; he steadily increased the gap thereafter to win the 20-lap race with a solid five seconds to spare. He finished the season with 413 points, leaving the rest to fight for the crumbs.

Mumbai’s Nayan Chatterjee, Vishnu Prasad (both Meco Racing) and Dhruv Mohite (Mohite’s Racing) were locked in a fierce battle behind him, overtaking each other in virtually every lap. Just when it seemed like it would go all the way to the wire, it imploded for Vishnu and Dhruv, as the former forced the latter off the track, unwittingly taking both of them out of contention for the second place.

Nayan took advantage of the mishap to grab the runner-up position in the fifth and final round. But that was good enough for only a third-place finish in the championship with 397 points. Vishnu finished fourth to emerge the overall vice-champion with 408 points.

Shahan Ali of Meco was equally unstoppable in the Micro Max category. The Asian champion underlined his prodigious talent by comfortably winning the championship for the third time in succession. He collected 86 points on Sunday, finishing first in the pre-final and second in the final, for an aggregate of 434 points.

That was a clear 25 points ahead of second-placed Ruhaan Alva of Birel Art, who came up with a stunning last race to take the final round. But Agra’s hero Shahan had already put the championship beyond everybody’s reach by winning the pre-final in the morning and piling up a sizeable lead.

In the Junior Max, Faridabad’s Manav Sharma (BPC Racing) timed his move to perfection, winning both the pre-finals and finals on Sunday to pocket the title. Starting just six points ahead of the field, he knew that he couldn’t afford to make the mistakes that he has been wont to. He didn’t. He finished with 423 points, comfortably ahead of Yash Aradhya (Meco) who ran out of luck on the day that mattered.

Yash was penalised 10 places in the morning round to finish last while in the afternoon he had to settle for the fourth place. Chirag Ghorpade (BPC) who started the day on pole and looked like the youngster to beat on Saturday could only manage 82 points on Sunday for a total of 399 points, good enough for the third place in the championship.

MICRO MAX

Pre-final (12 laps): 1. Shahan Ali (11:36.816); 2. Ruhaan Alva (11:38.401); 3. Aadityansh 3 (11:40.703)

Final (15 laps): 1. Ruhaan Alva (14:27.957); 2. Shahan Ali (14:31.601); 3. Arjun Nair (14:41.441)

JUNIOR MAX

Pre-final (15 laps): 1. Manav Sharma (13:13.289); 2. Jonathan Kuriakose (13:15.484); 3. Pradyumna Daingond (13:16.062)

Final (18 laps): 1. Manav Sharma (15:49.649); 2. Chirag Ghorpade (15:49.865); 3. Jonathan Kuriakose (15:51.975)

SENIOR MAX

Pre-final (18 laps): 1. Ricky Donison (15:34.800);  2 Dhruv Mohite (15:44.691);  3. Nayan Chatterjee (15:44.717)

Final (20 laps): 1. Ricky Donison (17:20.936);  2. Nayan Chatterjee (17:26.727); 3. Mrinal Chatterjee (17:50.086)

Micro-Max Category: The Micro Max is undoubtedly the most fascinating category in the JK TYRE-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship as it sees kids in the age group of 7 to 12 compete like veterans. It is the starting point for every aspiring racer. The winners:

1.Shahan Ali Mohsin: This 12-year-old racing prodigy from Agra has already created ripples by becoming the first Indian ever to win the Asian Karting Championship in Sepang this year. He added a couple of more feathers to his crown by winning the Micro Max title and by also being awarded the Best Karter of the year 2016. Shahan accumulated a stupendous tally of 434 points. He represents Meco Racing Team.

2. Ruhaan Alva: This Bangalore kid won the final of the 13th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship in style to finish second in the championship with 409 points. Ruhaan represents Team Birel Art.

3. Arjun S Nair: Another Bangalore kid from Team Meco Racing, he came third in the championship with 408 points. Arjun also won the Best newcomer trophy.

Junior Max Category: This category consists of racers in the age group of 13-16 years.

1. Manav Sharma: This Faridabad kid won the Junior Max Championship with 423 points by putting up a grand display in the final round in Kolhapur. Manav represents team Perigrine Racing.

2. Yash Aradhya: Another Bangalorean representing Team Meco, Yash came second in the Championship with 403 points.

3. Chirag Ghorpade: Chirag came second in the final round but had to be content with the third position with 399 points in the Championship. He represents team BPC.

Senior Max Category: This category is for racers above 17 years. They also take part in the National Racing Championship in the LGB Formula 4 and EURO JK 16 (F2 Cars)

1. Ricky Donison: Ricky won the Senior Max title with 413 points. He scored the maximum number of wins and maximum number of pole position all through the championship. Ricky represents team BPC Racing.

2. Vishnu Prasad: Vishnu came fourth in the final round but still got away with the second position in the championship with 408 points. He represents Team Meco Racing.

3. Nayan Chatterjee: Nayan came second in the final round and finished third with 397 points in the championship. He represents team Meco Racing.