The JK Tyre-Meco Motorsports Rotax Max Kart Open 2013 came to a scintillating end with the conclusion of Round 2 today at The Kart Centre – Lahari Resorts in Hyderabad. While Paul Francis (Meco Racing), Tejas Ram (Meco Racing) and Arjun Khaire (Meco Racing) took home the Rookie titles in the Micro Max, Junior Max and Senior Max categories respectively; Yash Aradhya (Meco Racing), Krishnaraj Mahadik (Mohite’s Racing) and Nayan Chatterjee (Rayo Racing) were crowned champions in the Open class.
The Micro Max class was one of the most closely fought with just 2 points separating the top 2. While Yash Aradhya (Meco Racing) and Pradyumn V Danigond (Mohite’s Racing) won 5 races each, the eventual champion Yash put in a consistent performance to pip Pradyumn to the title. With 5 wins, 4 second place finishes and a third place finish, Yash finished on top with 95 points. Pradyumn finished second with a total of 91 points and putting in a commendable performance, Rookie driver Paul Francis from Bangalore racing for Meco Racing finished on 82 points.
Speaking after being crowned the overall champion in the Micro Max class Yash said, “Though yesterday was not a very great day for me, we made up with a great performance today despite the tough competition. I am glad to have won the title and I hope to continue the form in the upcoming season.”
Solapur lad Krishnaraj Mahadik representing Mohite’s Racing stamped his authority in the Junior Max class with total of 8 wins out of 10 races including a clean sweep of all the 5 races today. He took the overall title with 89 points. Nayan Chatterjee representing Rayo Racing stuck to Krishnaraj like a shadow all through the 5 races today and despite coming close quite a few times, was unable to get ahead of the eventual winner. Nayan finished second with a tally of 77 points followed by Rookie driver Tejas Ram (Meco Racing) in the third spot with 73 points.
The overall champion in the Junior Max class, Krishnaraj said, “It was a very satisfying weekend, I began well yesterday right from the qualifying and a consistent performance ensured me the championship. This has been a very good outing for me and I am certain it will help me as we get into the racing season.”
In the Senior Max category Nayan Chatterjee (Rayo Racing) decimated the competition with 8 wins and scoring 97 points from a maximum possible 100. Trailing him was teammate and the current national champion Ameya Bafna who finished on 85 points. Dhruv S Mohite (Mohite’s Racing) had a good start to the racing weekend with 2 wins on Saturday before his form dipped and despite a good comeback today, only managed to accumulate 77 points which earned him the third spot in the Open class.
Speaking after taking the title in the Senior Max class Nayan Chattterjee said, “I am delighted to have won this title, all of us at Rayo Racing have put in a lot of effort to put a good kart on the track and I would like to dedicate this victory to the team. A season that begins with a victory does a world of good and I am hoping to capitalise on that in the upcoming national championship.”
In the Rookie class of the Micro Max category Paul Francis representing Meco Racing finished first with a total of 82 points followed by Hyderabad-lad Shahan Mohsin (Meco Racing) and Arjun S Nair (Meco Racing) on 66 and 51 points respectively.
Tejas Ram (Meco Racing) with one win and 4 third-place finishes accumulated 73 points to take home the Rookie title in the Junior Max class. Finishing a close second on 62 points was Mahaveer R (Meco Racing) with Aaroh Ravindra (Rayo Racing) completing the top three with a tally of 47 points.
The Rookie class in the Senior Max category was topped by Arjun Khaire (Meco Racing) who finished with 69 points followed by Brael Dias (Rayo Racing) from Mumbai and Divijraj Thakaran (Meco Racing) on 59 and 26 points respectively.
Known as the JK Tyre-MMS Rotax Rookie Cup till last year, this was the fourth edition of the event presented by JK Tyre Industries Limited in association with Meco Motorsports. 30 of the country’s youngest and most talented racers including the only girl in the competition Alisha Abdullah from Chennai are participated in the event.
The winners in each of the three classes received a trophy, a kart training program, waiver of entry fee for the JK Tyre-Rotax Max National Karting Championship, complete karting gear from Alpine Stars and a free set of tyres for each round of the championship. The Kart Open winners got a free training program in the F4 Formula Cars as well as trophies for each round and for the Championship.
JK Tyre is credited with introducing the concept of Karting in India and has patronized karting circuits in seven cities of the country. JK Tyre together with Meco Motorsports introduced the professional level of karting in 2004 with the introduction of the Rotax 2 Stroke Kart Engines. It was then the JK Tyre Rotax Max National Karting Championship came into being and today it is the only National Karting championship of the country. The winners of the JK Tyre Rotax Max National Karting Championship are selected to represent the country in the Rotax Max World Finals held every year.
Final Championship Standings:
Open Class
Micro Max: 1. Yash Aradhya 94 points; 2. Pradyumn V Danigond 91; 3. Paul Francis 82.
Junior Max: 1. Krishnaraj Mahadik 89 points; 2. Nayan Chatterjee 77; 3. Tejas Ram 73.
Senior Max: 1. Nayan Chatterjee 97 points; 2. Ameya Bafna 85; 3. Dhruv S Mohite 77.
Rookie Class
Micro Max: 1. Paul Francis 82 points; 2. Shahan Mohsin 66; 3. Arjun S Nair 51.
Junior Max: 1. Tejas Ram 73 points; 2. Mahaveer R 62; 3. Aaroh Ravindra 47.
Senior Max: 1. Arjun Khaire 69 points; 2. Brael Dias 59; 3. Divijraj Thakran 26.