Chennai racer Amith Kutti launched his campaign at the fourth edition of Indian eRacing Championship in style to win both the Pro races. The event is sponsored by Mumbai Falcons in association with Volkswagen Motorsport India.
The defending champion, Kutti, warded off Season 2 winner Sai Prithvi’s challenge to take a commanding lead after Round 1. Meanwhile, Bangalore’s Ujjwal Belwariar won the Junior race, edging past Sayee Saran who had taken pole position.
Reigning champion Amith Kutti and Sai Prithvi were engaged in a keen battle for pole on the Spa Francorchamps Circuit, with the former finishing ahead in 2:13.718. Prithvi was a close 0.13 seconds behind while Niranjan Kumar was third. The latest season of the Indian eRacing Championship (earlier ISRL), extends to eight rounds and will see multiple new classes as the season progresses. A women’s class along with two separate amateur classes are also set to be introduced soon.
“We are proud to be associated with the Indian eRacing Championship. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IR eSports team has done a stellar job in keeping the spirit of motorsport flying in the minds of racers,” said Ameet Gadhoke, owner of Mumbai Falcons.
Details of the race
Race 1 began on a furious note with three cars attempting to enter a corner side by side in the first lap itself before Kutti and Prithvi pulled away. However, a massive crash in the midfield saw multiple cars suffering severe damage. Kutti eventually won just 0.75 seconds ahead of Prithvi while Hyderabad’s Bhanu Teja was third. Sonipat’s Ankit Tyagi was fourth.
With the reverse grid coming into play for the top 12, Ankit Roy started with the advantage of the pole. But after just a few corners, he made a mistake and went off-track, setting off a chain reaction of incidents, resulting in numerous cars suffering damage. Ankit Tyagi took the lead while Kutti made his way up to fourth. Kutti was on a charge though and eventually grabbed the lead as also the race ahead of Tyagi and Teja.
F3 Asia Race winner and guest racer for the weekend, Sri Lanka’s Eshan Pieris, representing the CMSC, suffered technical issues and an accident in Race 1. The highly-rated racer started seventeenth in Race 2 and made some excellent moves to finish fifth. Macau’s Frederico Joaquin finished fourteenth, climbing from 21st, after missing Race 1.
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Speaking on the Indian eRacing Championship, Sirish Vissa, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport India said “The Indian eRacing Championship is virtually making motorsport racing fun, exciting and a unique learning experience for our young and aspirational racers in India. With the continuous development of this platform, it intends to offer a near realistic experience along with reaching out to a wider audience of potential race drivers. It is our constant endeavor to bridge the gap between the virtual and real-world of motorsport by partnering with IR eSports.”