Vishnu Prasad and Ajay Kini and Hyderabad’s Anindith Reddy Konda emerge victors in Jk tyre racing championship day 1

Chennai drivers Vishnu Prasad and Ajay Kini and Hyderabad’s Anindith Reddy Konda, on Saturday, clinched wins in the JK Racing India Series, Formula LGB 4 and JK Tyre-Volkswagen Vento Cup races respectively on the first day of the second round of the Round 2 of the 18th JK Tyre Racing Championship.

Being held at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore, Kolhapur lad Krishnaraj Mahadik, Kini and Konda finished first in the qualifying races in the JK Racing India Series, Formula LGB 4 and JK Tyre-Volkswagen Vento Cup respectively. Competition was stiff with the top 10 drivers finishing within a second behind each other in the qualifying.

In the JK Racing India Series, 12 drivers lined up on the grid. Prasad finished first and was followed by Mahadik and Kush Maini. As the lights went off, 15-year-old Maini overtook pole sitter Mahadik on the second lap but was soon overtaken by the experienced Prasad on the third lap. Prasad stretched his lead as Mahadik tried to catch up but was only able to overtake Maini. Foreign driver Constantino Peroni gave the boys tough competition and finished in the top 10. However, it didn’t turn out to be a good race for Sandeep Kumar, Ameya Bafna and Dhruv Mohite as they crashed out of the race. Round 1 winner Akhil Rabindra finished eighth.

In the Formula LGB4, the drivers from Team Dark Don took the top three spots in qualifying and therefore started in the same order in Race 1. Multiple spins and five drivers going off the track made it the most exciting race of the day. Kini started on pole and he never lost the lead en route to the chequered flag.

With the safety car coming out twice, Raghul Rangaswamy did well to bag the second spot after a seventh place start. Thrissur’s Diljith TS (Team Avalanche Racing) finished third. Kolhapur’s Chittesh Mandody (Team Dark Don Racing) started second but had to settle for a seventh place finish. Round 1 winner Prasad, who started sixth on the grid, gained a place and finished fifth. Bengaluru boy Sudarshana Rao Karwal’s (Team Dark Don Racing) race ended in disappointment as he spun off the track.

Race 2 was restarted after a major collision between five cars at corner two on the very first lap. It was race over for Karthik Shankar, Karwal and Rohit Khanna after the incident. After the restart, it was a closely fought battle for the top three positions between Kini, Rangaswamy, Chittesh Mandody and Diljith.

Diljith was close to securing a second place but in the eleventh lap, a hit from behind made him spin off the track and out of the race. Kini finished first, Rangaswamy finished second and Krishnaraj Mahadik finished third.

In the JK Tyre-Volkswagen Vento Cup, Konda finished first and was followed by Ishaan Dodhiwala (Hyderabad) and Karminder Singh, from New Delhi, taking the third place.

Results (provisional):

JK Racing India Series (15 laps):Race 1: 1. Vishnu Prasad – 16:32.381; 2. Krishnaraj Mahadik – 16:33.490; 3. Kush Maini – 16:38.288

Formula LGB 4 (15 laps): Race 1: 1. Ajay Kini – Team Dark Don Racing – 20:45:770; 2. Raghul Rangaswamy – Meco Racing – 20:49:034; 3. Diljith TS – Avalanche Racing – 20:52.200. Race 2 (restart race): 1. Ajay Kini – Team Dark Don Racing – 17:09.068; 2. Raghul Rangswamy – Meco Racing – 17:18.976; 3. Krishnaraj Mahadik – Dark Don Racing – 17:19.701.

JK Tyre-Volkswagen Vento Cup (10 laps, restart race): 1. Anindith Reddy Konda – 13:22.137; 2. Ishaan Dodhiwala – 13:22.997; 3. Karminder Singh – 13:26.965. Ends