JK Tyre - FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2012 - Round 1 Results

The 9th JK Tyre Rotax Max National Karting Championship got off to a great start at the MMS Kartainment Track in Hyderabad.  An enticing motorsport environment pieced together under an overcast sky, the drop in temperature was embraced by most drivers, who were dreading the thought of being cramped into an overpowered tony kart with overheating tendencies. 

But while the relief from the heat was a suppressed celebration in the pits, the anticipation and anxiety going into the first of five rounds at the JK-Tyre National Rotax Karting Championship proved to be vital ingredients in what could easily be described a grand opening act. 

Races across three categories, namely the Micro Max, Junior Max and Senior Max (in order of hierarchy) brought together drivers from four very experienced professional racing outfits for the country’s ultimate go-karting showdown, and a chance to walk away with the cup of a Champion.

Micro Max Category:

In the Micro Max category eleven-year old girl Mira Kirit Erda (Team Maini Racing) from Baroda put in a stellar performance that saw her topping the qualifying with a best lap time of 46:460 seconds and took pole position followed by Pradyumn V Danigond and Phaneesh HB, both representing Team Mohites Racing.

Despite a disturbing racing incident in the first lap of the final race that forced Phaneesh to retire early and resort to treatment from a very prompt ambulance service that stormed onto the race track for his immediate aid, the moods of surrounding spectators and the race marshals were quickly uplifted by the bumper to bumper battle that followed between the top two drivers, Pradyumn V Danigond (Team Mohites Racing) and Mira Kirit Erda (Team Maini Racing) when the race was finally started anew.

With Pradyumn and Mira biting at each others’ heels all through the race and repeatedly trading leadership positions on many occasions during the race consecutive laps, the intensity of the competition got the crowds up on their feet and at the edge of the race track. In the closing laps of the race Mira turned up the heat by clocking the fastest lap time at 46.368 seconds, but Pradyumn eventually got the better of Mira, but just by a margin of 0.221 seconds followed by Mrinal Chatterjee (Team Rayo Racing). At 27.5 Pradyumn tops the round followed by Mira and Mrinal with 26 and 25 points respectively.

Junior Max Category:

The Junior Max class competition was a very closely contested affair, but with more at stake and a larger pool of talented drivers battling it out for the best position on the grid in the final race, even the heats and qualifying rounds were immensely exciting and fiercely competitive. 

With Kush Maini, Krishnaraj Mahadik, Dhruv S Mohite and Abhirath Shetty taking the top four positions at the starting grid it was just a matter of time before they managed to break away from the ten drivers struggling to keep up behind them. 

Get latest updates on
the automobile community

Login Now

As the lead pack began to tear off from the rest, a bunch up during closing laps of the race turned the tables for Arya Gandhi and Surya Raguram, who tried to make the most of the opportunity and sneaked into the number two and three position followed by Kush at number four. 

However a post scrutiny of the race incident by the stewards stamped a penalty on driver Arya Gandhi and final results saw Kush Maini retain his podium position at No 3, and Arya moving up to number 2. The undisputed leader however, was Krishnaraj who passed the finish line with a lead of over 10 seconds. Krishnaraj’s consistent performance puts him on top of the table at the end of the first round with 55 points followed by Surya (52 points) and Kush (50 points).

Senior Max Category:

In the senior most racing class, it was Ameya Bafna and Mithun Ganatra who pretty much raised the bar of the competition in a feud that almost appeared personal. For the final race in the Senior Max category Ameya and Mithun were joined by Gaurav Davare for the top three position at the starting grid.

Going into the first corner with more aggression than precision sadly resulted in race leader Ameya Bafna spinning out and losing the lead early on. From that point on it was Mithun Ganatra, Gaurav Davare and Anshuman Chatterjee who picked up the pace and built a solid lead over the other drivers. 

Gaurav managed to hold on to the lead for most of the race, before an ill incident between Anshuman Chatterjee and Mithun slowed him down and made way for Raj Ganatra to occupy the top spot which he held on to till the end.

Amidst the chaos upfront, former Rotax Max National Champ Vishnu Prasad was stealthily pulling ahead after starting 8th on the grid for the final race. Outpacing most of the drivers who started out in front of him, Vishnu painstakingly moved up to the fourth position with just a few laps to go, before finally overtaking Gaurav Davare in an aggressive but very well timed maneuver at a hairpin corner and earned his rightful third position by the end of the race. The constant improvement through the weekend earned Raj 55 points and the top spot, followed by Mithun (52 points) and Gaurav (48 points).

The prizes were given away to the winners by veteran rallyist Iqbal Patni, while Team Mohites Racing was awarded the ‘Best Team’ award for the Micro Max and Junior Max categories, Team Rayo Racing got it for the Senior Max category.

Race results

FINALS