Saran Vikram sets track ablaze on his return after two years on Day 1 of JK Tyre-FMSCI National Racing Championship 2012 - Round 3

~V.Rajvirdhan and Fahad Kutty take top spot in Indian Touring Cars and Indian Junior Touring Cars class respectively~

Chennai, August 25, 2012: Local lad Saran Vikram of Mars Racing braved the afternoon heat and humidity, proving that his skills are a cut above the rest with a deserving win in the LGB Formula 4 race on Day 1 of the 15th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Racing Championship at the MMST track near suburban Sriperumbudur today.

Skipping the first two rounds held in Coimbatore in June and July, Saran got into business straight away, qualifying on pole two seconds ahead of the others. With 22 cars on the grid, Saran missed the start but put himself in front at the second corner. However, the race was ‘red flagged’ as Akhil Devrag and Sudanand Rajan spun off the track during the first lap. The drivers followed the safety car for remainder of the first lap.

At the re-start of the race, Saran - returning to competitive racing after two years - was on the mark and made everyone follow him, taking to the chequered flag in a total time of 20:03.725 seconds in the ten-lap race. Saran also posted a best lap timing of 1:57.781 seconds touching a speed of 113.6 kmph.

Saran explained at the post race media conference saying it is not skill alone. “The chemistry between the driver and the tuner resulted in my win with a good margin,” he said adding, “As a driver, I address my car problems to my father – Shanmugam - who is my tuner”.

Like Saran, another well-known driver, Ashwin Sundar driving for Dark Don Racing, who had ruled the roost winning each category of races at this track, found his winning ways again with a second place finish. Ashwin, who had a stressful run-up to the season in the first two rounds in Coimbatore, started fourth but manoeuvred his way up well to finish second followed by Karthik Krishna of WSRF. Ashwin clocked 20:12.678 seconds while Karthik took 20:17.17 seconds.

In the Indian Touring Cars category, Coimbatore based drivers finished on the podium headed by V.Rajvirdhan of Prime Racing brought about by his determined effort to win the race. Starting two laps behind B. Balavijay and others front-runners Rajvirdhan soon caught up with the leaders one by one displaying his skills particularly at the turns. This was the third time that he fell back to sixth place during the races this season but proved his skills in great measure for the honours. Arjun Balu of Tiger Sports India and veteran driver N. Leelakrishnan finished second and third respectively.

In the Indian Junior Touring Cars category, Mumbai’s Fahad Kutty of Team Game Over put up an excellent performance. He was behind S.Narendran of IPL Powerpak until the last of the ten laps and succeeded in overtaking him at the first corner in the penultimate lap to claim top position. With Narendran placed second, Kerala’s Diljith of Eram Group Sports Club settled for third spot.

In the JK Tyre-Volkswagen Polo R Cup qualifying event, Mumbai’s Ameya Walavalkar finished on pole in a closely fought competition followed by Sandeep Kumar of Chennai. Guest driver and former champion Sailesh Bolisetti of Vizag finished third.

Results:

LGB Formula 4 (10 laps): Saran Vikram (Mars Racing) 1 (20mins, 03.725secs); Ashwin Sundar (Dark Don Racing) 2 (20:12.678); Karthik Krishna (WSRF) 3 (20:17.177)

Indian Touring Cars (10 laps): Vijaykumar Rajvirdhan (Prime Racing) 1 (20:09.588); Arjun Balu (Tiger Sport) 2 (20:12.563); N Leelakrishnan (Big Foots Racing) 3 (20:18.095)

Indian Junior Touring Cars (10 laps): Fahad Kutty (Team Game Over) 1 (26:08.935); S Narendran (IPL Powerpak) 2 (26:10.033); Diljith Shaji (Eram Group Sports Club) 3 (26:14.065)