INCRC Round 2: Young Talents, Experienced Campaigners, and Dominant Teams Shine

The MRF National 4W Racing Championship returned for Round 2 in Madras International Circuit having completed Round 1 just last weekend.

Biren Pithawalla (Team N1 Racing), an experienced campaigner from Mumbai won  both the races in the Indian Touring Cars category to take an early lead in the championship and would be looking to consolidate his position in Round-2.

In the Indian Junior Touring Cars category, two Chennai drivers and Performance Racing team-mates, Hatim Shabbir Jamngarwalla and Srinivas Teja won a race apiece and are tied on 43 points to set up an intriguing contest this weekend.

Meanwhile, four drivers, including winner Chandigarh’s Angad Matharoo (Buzzing Hornet Motorsports), were disqualified from Sunday’s Race-2 in the Super Stock category for technical breach of regulations. Consequently, Anirudha Arvind (Redline Racing) from Chennai moved to the top of the points table in this category.

It was the DTS Racing team all the way in the Formula LGB 1300 category as it celebrated a podium sweep in all three races with Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore) winning two and Kolkata’s Arya Singh one.

A compact card of eight races featured in the second round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship 2024. 

On day 1 (24th February),  Teenagers, Jaden Rahman Pariat from Shillong and Bengaluru’s Abhay Mohan extended their domination in their respective MRF Formula categories. Displaying impressive pace, 17-year-old Jaden added another win to the double he had scored in the previous round last weekend during Round-1 in the MRF Formula 2000 category while Abhay, only 15, notched his fourth win in as many starts in the MRF Formula 1600 class.

Earlier, Mumbai’s Biren Pithawalla (Team N1 Racing), starting from pole position, also remained unbeaten in the premium Indian Touring Cars category, recording his third straight win. Biren was hardly challenged as his main rival, Ritesh Rai (Buzzing Hornet Motorsports), retired with a mechanical issue while Biren’s cousin and team-mate Ananth Pithawalla, was stuck in third gear and just about finished the race in distant third position behind Deepak Ravikumar (Team Performance Racing).

Further behind, Chennai’s Srinivas Teja led a podium sweep for Team Performance Racing in the Indian Junior Touring Cars category, ahead of fellow-Chennaiite Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala and Coimbatore’s Yokeshwaran. It was Teja’s second win in three starts, including two in Round-1 last weekend.

Anirudha Arvind (Redline Racing India) was handed victory in the Super Stock category race as the top two finishers, Angad Matharoo (Buzzing Hornet Motorsports) and Justin Singh (Redline Racing India) were disqualified for technical infringements following post-race scrutiny. Balaprasath (Coimbatore, DTS Racing) and Jarshan Anand (Chennai, DB Motorsports) also moved up two spots to finish second and third, respectively.

Earlier in the afternoon, Nellore’s Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) qualified for pole position in the Formula LGB 1300 category with Delta Speed’s Mohit Aryan (Chennai) closing the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s race.

Day 2 at the Madras International Circuit saw more action unfolding with Jaden Rahman Pariat (Shillong) and Abhay Mohan (Bengaluru) achieving  a triple crown apiece in their respective MRF single-seater category.

Pariat, the 17-year-old from Meghalaya, showcased his maturity particularly in today’s MRF Formula 2000, 10-lap Race-2 which he started from P3 on the reverse grid. He tucked in behind Bengaluru teenager Chetan Surineni for the initial couple of laps before making a move to take a lead which he expanded lap by lap to win by the proverbial country mile. “I took my time to settle down and then I made my move. Patience was the key and after I moved to the front, I kept pushing,” said Jaden, who also participated in Formula 4 races in the United Kingdom last year.

In Race-3, Pariat capitalized on his pole position to start for yet another handsome win, his fifth in six starts across two rounds.

Similarly, 15-year-old Abhay Mohan started the MRF Formula 1600 Race-2 in P7, but gradually carved his way through the grid, biding his time and waiting for the front-runners to make mistakes before seizing the opportunity for a fine win. “I was very patient and I knew that I had to grab the opportunity when the guys in front made a mistake which they did eventually. Very happy with this win,” said Abhay who later went on to win Race-3 from pole position for his sixth win in as many starts over two rounds.

Also coming through unbeaten this weekend were Biren Pithawalla from Mumbai (Team N1 Racing) in the Indian Touring Cars category and Chennai’s Srinivas Teja (Team Performance Racing) in the Indian Junior Touring Cars class while Nellore’s Viswas Vijayaraj won two of the three races in the Formula LGB 1300 category.

Earlier, Biren Pithawalla was in his elements while recording his fourth straight win in the Indian Touring Cars category. Starting from P3 on the reverse grid that also included the IJTC and Super Stock cars, Biren snatched the lead by Turn-3 in the very first lap and never looked back. Behind him, Chennai’s Ritesh Rai (Buzzing Hornet Motorsports), despite his best efforts, could not catch up with Biren to finish second ahead of Deepak Ravikumar (Performance Racing).

Further back, Srinivas Teja (Performance Racing) also completed a double, with an untroubled run with Chandigarh’s Angad Matharoo (Buzzing Hornet Motorsports) taking the honours in the Super Stock category.

The second round featured remarkable performances from young talents, experienced campaigners, and dominant teams. The competition remains intense as the championship progresses.

PROVISIONAL RESULTS – ROUND 2

MRF F2000 

(Race-1): 1. Jaden Rahman Pariat (Shillong) (12mins, 33.263secs); 2. Chetan Surineni (Bengaluru) (12:44.187); 3. Tarun Muthiaiah (Bengaluru) (13:36.416).

(Race-2): 1. Jaden Rahman Pariat (Shillong) (15mins, 56.427secs); 2. Chetan Surineni (Bengaluru) (16:05.412); 3. Tarun Muthiaiah (Bengaluru) (16:29.927). 

Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Jaden Rahman Pariat (12:39.637); 2. Chetan Surineni (12:52.399); 3. Tarun Muthiaiah (13:14.384).

MRF F1600 

(Race-1): 1. Abhay Mohan (Bengaluru) (13:43.696); 2. Raaj Bakhru (Mumbai) (13:50.840); 3. Zahan Commissariat (13:53.611).

(Race-2): 1. Abhay M (Bengaluru) (17:22.437); 2. Zahan Commissariat (Mumbai) (17:23.209); 3. Raaj Bakhru (Mumbai) (17:24.049). 

Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Abhay Mohan (13:46.722); 2. Monith Kumaran (Chennai) (13:50.171); 3. Zahan Commissariat (13:54781).

Indian Touring Cars 

(Race-1): 1. Biren Pithawalla (Mumbai, Team N1 Racing) (15:22.341); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Team Performance Racing) (15:29.202); 3. Ananth Pithawalla (Mumbai, Team N1 Racing) (16:18.191)

(Race-2): 1. Biren Pithawalla (Mumbai, Team N1 Racing) (18:54.472); 2. Ritesh Rai (Chennai, Buzzing Hornet Motorsports) (18:58.377); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Team Performance Racing) (19:14.141).

Indian Junior Touring Cars 

(Race-1): 1. Srinivas Teja (Chennai, Team Performance Racing) (15:46.971); 2. Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala (Chennai, Team Performance Racing) (15:47.191); 3. Yokeshwaran (Coimbatore, Team Performance Racing) (16:02.475)

(Race-2): 1. Srinivas Teja (Chennai, Team Performance Racing) (19:34.279); 2. Nikunj Vagh (Mumbai, Team N1 Racing) (19:49.189); 3. Yokeshwaran (Coimbatore, Team Performance Racing) (20:09.989).

Super Stock

(Race-1): 1. Anirudha Arvind (Chennai, Redline Racing India) (16:52.643); Balaprasath (Coimbatore, DTS Racing) (17:01.063); 3. Jarshan Anand (Chennai, DB Motorsports) (17:08.532).

(Race-2): 1. Angad Matharoo (Chandigarh, Buzzing Hornet Motorsports) (20:51.551); 2. Justin Singh (Gurugram, Redline Racing India) (18:53.444 + 1 lap); 3. Anirudha Arvind (Chennai, Redline Racing India) (18:58.579 + 1 lap).

Formula LGB 1300 

(Race-1, 6 laps): 1. Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) (11:22.235); 2. Balaprasath (Coimbatore, DTS Racing) (11:28.841); 3. Mohit Aryan (Chennai, Delta Speeds) (11:31.682).

Race-2: 1. Balaprasath (18:55.936); 2. Viswas Vijayaraj (18:56.118); 3. Gokul Krishna (Chennai, Delta Speeds) (19:16.631). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Viswas Vijayaraj (17:49.603); 2. Balaprasath (18:01.713); 3. Mohit Aryan (18:08.432).