On the opening day of the third and final round of the 28th FMSCI JK Tyre National Racing Championship at the Kari Motor Speedway on Saturday, Dhruvh Goswami (MSport) turned in an impressive win in the opening race and followed it up with a second-place finish in the second to reduce the gap to just one point behind championship leader Diljith TS (Dark Don Racing) in the LGB Formula 4 category, the blue riband event of the competition.
Looking ahead to Sunday's final two races in India's longest-running single-seater championship, Bengaluru's Goswami, an 18-year-old class 12 student of St Joseph's, who is gunning for his maiden National title after winning the Rookie event last year, said, "Just looking to go toe-to-toe with Diljith. This championship almost
always comes down to the last race. "
In the opening race of the fourth round of the FIA-certified Formula 4 Indian Championship, part of the Indian Racing Festival, French driver Sachel Rotge of Kichcha's Kings Bengaluru enjoyed a commanding victory, capitalising on a late mistake from leader Shane Chandaria of Chennai Turbo Riders. Reflecting on the win, Rotge said "I had to stay focused. it's not over with two more races tomorrow". In addition, Kolkata Royal Tigers' Ghazi Motlekar delivered an impressive drive, climbing from fourth on the grid to finish second.
Anish Shetty sealed the Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup, presented by JK Tyre, in the Professional Category with a round to spare as he won the opening race of the weekend after starting second on the grid. "I had a good start and didn't leave anything to chance," said the Bengaluru rider after securing his second title in this category.
The GT-R650s race was spiced up by the presence of American racing legend and three-time MotoGP World Champion Freddie Spencer.
Jai Prashanth Venkat of Coimbatore is just one point away from securing the JK Tyre Levitas Cup, India's newest single-make racing series that debuted this season, as he finished second in the day's opening race and won the second.
"I'd say things fell together nicely for me," said Venkat, a former IJTC Touring Car champion. The championship concludes with two races on Sunday to determine its inaugural champion.
Bhuvan Bonu (MSport) won both the races in the JK Tyre Novice Cup, India's entry-level single-seater series, on Saturday which puts him in contention to finish among the leaders in the championship standings with one race remaining.
The Novice Cup is a crucial platform for India's emerging racers to showcase their skills and gain competitive experience.
Provisional Results:
Levitas Cup Race 1 - Gentlemen
1. Sidharth Balasundaram- 14:32.727
2. Jai Prashanth Venkat-14:53.680
3. Vinod S- 14:59.745
Levitas Cup Race 1 - Rookies
1. Balaji Raju- 14:47.508
2. Tejas GS- 14:52.727
3. Ashwin Pulagiri- 14:53.510
Levitas Cup Race 2 - Gentlemen
1. Jai Prashanth Venkat- 14:30.848
2. Sidharth Balasundaram- 14:31.491
3. Nitin A R- 14:46.828
Levitas Cup Race 2 - Rookies
1. Akshay Muralidharan- 14:32.046
2. Balaji Raju- 14:34.511
3. Tejas GS- 14:46.225
Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup - Amateurs
1. Johring Warisa - 14:23.996
2. Bryan Nicholas - 14:28.317
3. Saran Kumar - 14:38.833
Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup - Professionals
1. Anish Shetty - 14:02.338
2. Navaneeth Kumar - 14:02.667
3. Kayan Patel- 14:05.996
Novice Cup Race 1
1. Bhuvan Bonu (MSport)- 13:57.813
2. Lokithlingeash Ravi (DTS Racing)- 13:59.863
3. Abhijit Vadavalli (Momentum Motorsports)- 14:00.429
Novice Cup Race 2
1. Bhuvam Bonu (MSport)- 14:07.700
2. Avi Malavalli (MSport)- 14:09.755
3. Ojas Surve (Momentum Motorsports)- 14:12.130
LGB F4 Race 1
1. Dhruvh Goswami (MSport)- 19:58.578
2. Ruhaan Alva (MSport)- 19:59.261
3. Diljith T S (Dark Don Racing)- 20:00.012
LGB F4 Race 2
1. Mehul Agarwal (Dark Don Racing)- 24:20.393
2. Dhruvh Goswami (MSport)- 24:20.551
3. Ruhaan Alva (MSport)- 24:20.812
Formula 4 Indian Racing Championship Race 1
1. Sachel Rotge (Kichcha's Kings Bengaluru)- 26:50.931
2. Ghazi Motlekar (Kolkata Royal Tigers)- 26:56.598
3. Shaan Chandaria (Chennai Turbo Riders)- 26:57.794
