2016 National Racing Championship: Karthik Tharani and G Vikash Anand take double wins in Round 2
The second round of the MMSC FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship came to an end this weekend, with Karthik Tharani and G Vikash Anand taking double wins on Day 1 and 2, respectively in the MRF FF1600 championship. Tharani, who had managed a double win in the first round that was held in January, was the fastest in both practice sessions, but managed to qualify second behind Anand for the first race. However, with a good start, he managed to take the lead and win the race.
Tharani started fourth on a reverse grid in Race 2, and although he lost a position, he made up for it before the Safety Car was deployed. Soon after that, race leader Raghul Rangasamy spun out, and Tharani saw his chance and took the win.
Day 2 didn't go as well for Tharani as he was penalised with a 30 second penalty for "causing avoidable collision," which pushed him from third to eighth. In the second race, he only managed a ninth place finish. Meanwhile, Vikash Anand saw his chance and took his first and second win of the season.
"I am at a loss for words. It has been a year and a half since I raced and I am surprised how competitive I have been since yesterday. It was a great battle with Goutham Parekh âÂ" a clean, fair fight âÂ" and I am overjoyed to win on the last lap," said Anand on his double win.
In the Indian Touring Car championship, Arjun Narendran of Red Rooster Racing took first place in Race 1 ahead of team-mate, N Leelakrishnan and Deepak Paul Chinnappa of Race Concepts. In Race 2 however, Chinnappa took the win ahead of the Narendran and Leelakrishnan. The Indian Junior Touring Car championship saw Anant Pithawalla score a double win, while Keith DeSouza finished third in Race 1 and second in Race 2. In the Super Stock class, Dean Mascarenhas took first in Race 1, ahead of Veeresh Prasad and Alisha Abdullah. In Race 2 however, Veeresh managed get past Mascarenhas to take first place.
Raghul Rangasamy meanwhile, won all three LGB 1300 races this round, while CS Tejas Ram took second in Race 1 and 3. Alex Bora finished third in the same races and second in Race 2.
Results Day 1 MRF FF1600Race 1 (10 laps):
- Karthik Tharani (Chennai) (20:02.032)
- G Vikash Anand (Chennai) (20:03.740)
- Raghul Rangasamy (20:08.842)
Race 2 (10 laps):
- Karthik Tharani (19:56.321)
- Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (19:57.390)
- Anindith Reddy (Hyderabad) (19:59.357)
Indian Touring Cars
Race 1 (6 laps):
- Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Racing) (11:37.531)
- N Leelakrishnan (Red Rooster Racing) (11:37.806)
- Deepak Paul Chinnapa (Race Concepts) (11:38.555)
Indian Junior Touring Cars
Race 1 (10 laps):
- Ananth Pithawalla (Team N1) (20:53.436)
- Charen Chandran (Red Rooster Racing) (20:56.015)
- Keith DeSouza (Unimek Racing) (21:06.932)
Super Stock
Race 1 (10 laps):
- Dean Mascarenhas (Race Concepts) (21:28.623)
- Veeresh Prasad (Race Concepts) (21:29.185)
- Alisha Abdullah (RAD Racing) (21:42.070)
Formula LGB 1300
Race 1 (8 laps):
- Raghul Rangasamy (WSRF) (16:15.299)
- CJ Tejas Ram (WSRF) (16:16.891)
- Alex Bora (WSRF) (16:17.670)
Race 2 (8 laps):
- Raghul Rangasamy (WSRF) (16:07.254)
- Alex Bora (WSRF) (16:12.039)
- CJ Tejas Ram (WSRF) (16:15.806)
MRF FF1600
Race 3 (10 laps):
- G Vikash Anand (Chennai) (17:12.816)
- Raghul Rangasamy (Chennai) (17:22.252)
- Goutham Parekh (Chennai) (17:25.743)
Race 4 (10 laps):
- G Vikash Anand (Chennai) (17:23.836)
- Goutham Parekh (Chennai) (17:24.158)
- Raghul Rangasamy (Chennai) (17:27.965)
Indian Touring Cars
Race 2 (6 laps):
- Deepak Paul Chinnapa (Race Concepts) (11:41.607)
- Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) (11:41.916)
- Narayanaswami Leelakrishnan (Red Rooster Performance) (11:45.184)
Indian Junior Touring Cars
Race 2 (10 laps):
- Anant Pithawalla (Team N1) (21:03.205)
- Keith DeSouza (Unimek Racing) (21:18.877)
- Siddarth Praveen (Mega Racing) (21:24.565)
Super Stock Race 2 (10 laps):
- Veeresh Prasad (Race Concepts) (21:33.526)
- Dean Mascarenhas (Race Concepts) 21:37.773)
- Alisha Abdullah (RAD Racing) (21:42.034)
Formula LGB 1300
Race 3 (8 laps):
- Raghul Rangasamy (WSRF) (19:46.767)
- CJ Tejasram (WSRF) (19:47.426)
- Alex Bora (WSRF) (19:47.887)