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Exciting Opening Round of the MRF Indian National Car Racing Championship 2024

The inaugural round of the MRF Indian National Car Racing Championship (INCRC) commenced in Chennai on February 17 at the Madras International Circuit. Here’s a summary of the action over the two days.

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Exciting Opening Round of the MRF Indian National Car Racing Championship 2024
MRF 2000s, Photo Credits Shameem Fahath

Day 1, 17th February, Saturday

Mumbai’s Biren Pithawalla (N1 Racing) pulled off a fine win in the premium Indian Touring Cars class while Performance Racing’s Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwalla from Chennai took the honours in the Indian Junior Touring Cars segment and Chandigarh’s Angad Matharoo (Buzzing Hornet Motorsport) topped the Super Stock category.

Exciting Opening Round of the MRF Indian National Car Racing Championship 2024
Biren Pithawalla (N1 Racing) #90, Photo Credits Shameem Fahath

Late in the evening, Pune’s Diana Pundole won the MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios) race with ease in a race interrupted by a safety car period following a three-car collision.

Meanwhile, Nellore’s Viswas Vijayaraj and Arya Singh from Kolkata took the front row in that order for their team, DTS Racing, after a start-stop-start qualifying session interrupted by a red flag due an on-track incident.

Exciting Opening Round of the MRF Indian National Car Racing Championship 2024
(Visvas Vijayaraj, DTS Racing, Photo  credits Shameem Fahath)

The eight-lap race in the MRF Formula category witnessed some fine action. Pole-sitter 17-year-old Jaden Rahaman Pariat from Shillong looked poised to win in the F2000 class going into the last lap when disaster struck. “There was some issue with my car and I had to switch off and switch on eight times in the last lap. Luckily, I had a sufficient lead and managed to finish second,” said a disappointed Jaden after he virtually gifted a win to Surineni, 17, who was trailing throughout the race. Another Bengalurean, Tarun Muthaiah finished third. In contrast, 15-year-old Abhay Mohan comfortably won in the Formula 1600 class ahead of the Mumbai pair of Zahan Commissariat and Raaj Bakhru who was docked a 20-second penalty for a jump start.

Exciting Opening Round of the MRF Indian National Car Racing Championship 2024
(Chethan Surinenei, Formula 2000s #6, Photo Credits Shameem Fahath)

Biren, starting from pole, was off to a good start and held off Ritesh Rai (Arka Motorsport) with cousin Ananth Pithawalla (N1 Racing) running third. The position remained unchanged until the latter half of the eight-lap race when Ananth squeezed past Rai at Turn-3 with a contact between the two, and moved into P2 behind his cousin Biren. In the penultimate lap, Ananth retired when the left front tyre, that was on a slow puncture, burst, and Rai regained the second spot. By then, Biren had pulled off sufficient lead to win handily, followed by Rai and Deepak Ravikumar (Performance Racing), making his debut in this class. 

Day 2, 18th February

Bengaluru’s Abhay Mohan, the youngest competitor at 15 years of age, in the MRF Formula 1600 category, swept to a triple crown while another teenager, Jaden Rahman Pariat from Shillong notched a double in the MRF Formula 2000 class as the first round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship 2024 concluded at the Madras International Circuit here on Sunday.

Mumbai’s Biren Pithawalla (Team N1 Racing) crowned himself with a grand double in the Indian Touring Cars category as did Angad Matharoo (Buzzing Hornet Motorsport) from Chandigarh in the Super Stock class.

Also notching a double was Pune’s Diana Pundole, a mother of two, in the MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios) category besides one P3 finish, while DTS Racing dominated the Formula LGB 1300 triple-header, with a podium sweep as Nellore’s Viswas Vijayaraj won two races and team-mate Arya Singh, the other with Balaprasath finishing third in all three outings.

Exciting Opening Round of the MRF Indian National Car Racing Championship 2024
(Diana Pundole with her trophies from Round 1, Photo Credits Shameem Fahath)

Jaden, the 17-year-old from Shillong, displayed impressive pace to win both the races today in the MRF F2000 category to make up for his P2 finish yesterday when he surrendered a massive lead in the last lap due to engine issues. Bengaluru’s Chetan Surineni, the Race-1 winner yesterday, came in second in both the outings today.

Reviewing his performance this weekend, Jaden said: “I did some preparation by watching my onboard videos from my December race. I realised there was plenty in the car. It was a question of putting things together which I did this weekend. I feel there is still a lot I can extract from this car. Of course, my stint in British Formula 4 helped, but the F2000 is far quicker and I felt very comfortable this weekend.”

Exciting Opening Round of the MRF Indian National Car Racing Championship 2024
(Jaden Rahman Pariat, Formula 2000s #5, Photo Credits Shameem Fahath)

Abhay Mohan, as in the first race yesterday, was in a league of his own in both the outings today to complete a triple crown and underline his talent and potential. “My only target for this round was to be on top, which I did. The car too was pretty good and so were the MRF tyres. My preparation was to get fit and learn from my Formula LGB 1300 outing last season. Yes, I feel good to have won all three races this weekend,” said Abhay.

Exciting Opening Round of the MRF Indian National Car Racing Championship 2024
(Abhay Mohan winning all 3 races in Round 1, Photo by Shameem Fahath)

Biren, having won a close Race-1 on Saturday, started P4 on the reverse grid in today’s 10-lap Race-2, but in the very first lap, seized the lead, hotly pursued by Ritesh Rai (Arka Motorsport) and, cousin and team-mate Ananth Pithawalla.

The trio quickly distanced themselves from the pack before both Rai and Ananth packed up with punctures. Rai rejoined after a visit to the pit, but it was too late. Ananth suffered yet another tyre-burst to finish the weekend without points. Meanwhile, Biren was in cruise mode and comfortably won the race ahead of pole-sitter Pratik Sonawane (Buzzing Hornet Motorsport) and Deepak Ravikumar (Team Performance Racing).

Down the combined grid, Srinivas Teja (Team Performance Racing) edged out Race-1 winner and team-mate Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala in the Indian Junior Touring Cars class, while Matharoo fought his way to his second win of the weekend with a late burst in the Super Stock category.

The results (Provisional):

Day 1:
MRF Formula 2000 

Race-1: 1. Chetan Surineni (Bengaluru) (12:49.401); 2. Jaden Rahman Pariat (Shillong) (13:20.579); 3. Tarun Muthaiah (Bengaluru) (13:58.255).

MRF Formula 1600

Race-1: 1. Abhay Mohan (Bengaluru) (13:49.827); 2. Zahan Commissariat (Mumbai) (14:00.386); 3. Raaj Bakhru (Mumbai) (14:23.370).

Indian Touring Cars

Race-1: 1. Biren Pithawala (Mumbai, Team N1) (15:21.359); 2. Ritesh Rai (Chennai, Arka Motorsports) (15:22.782); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Performance Racing) (15:34.211).

Indian Junior Touring Cars

Race-1: 1. Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala (Chennai, Performance Racing) (15:35.231); 2. Srinivas Teja (Chennai, Performance Racing) (15:41.732); 3. Nikunj Vagh (Mumbai, Team N1 Racing) (15:53.915).

Super Stock

Race-1: 1. Angad Matharoo (Chandigarh, Buzzing Hornet Motorsports) (16:48.478); 2. Balaprasath (Coimbatore, DTS Racing) (16:52.781); 3. Anirudha Arvind (Chennai, Redline Racing India) (16:54.402).

MRF Saloons Toyota Etios

Race-1: 1. Diana Pundole (Pune) (18:10.588); 2. Anirudha Arvind (Chennai) (18:15.446); 3. Jai Prashanth (Coimbatore) (18:15.850).

Day 2:

MRF Formula 2000
Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Jaden Rahman Pariat (Shillong) (15mins, 44.717secs); 2. Chetan Surineni (Bengaluru) (16:02.706). Tarun Muthaiah (Bengaluru) who finished third was disqualified for a black flag violation. Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Jaden Rahman Pariat (12:35.788); 2. Chetan Surineni (12:50.154); 3. Tarun Muthaiah (13:31.154).

MRF Formula 1600 

Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Abhay Mohan (Bengaluru) (17:14.365); 2. Zahan Commissariat (Mumbai) (17:26.618); 3. Monith Kumaran (Chennai) (15:47.911+1 lap). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Abhay Mohan (13:51.711); 2. Zahan Commissariat (14:00.143); 3. Raaj Bakhru (Mumbai) (14:03.179).

Indian Touring Cars 

Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Biren Pithawala (Mumbai, Team N1 Racing) (19:14.983); 2. Pratik Sonawane (Pune, Buzzing Hornet Motorsport) (19:35.983); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:36.365).

Indian Junior Touring Cars 

Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Srinivas Teja ((Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:43.845); 2. Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala (Chennai, Performance Racing) (19:44.608); 3. Yug Italiya (Mumbai, Team N1 Racing) (19:54.746).

Super Stock 

(Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Angad Matharoo (Chandigarh, Buzzing Hornet MS) (21:03.892); 2. Manan Patel (Mumbai, Redline Racing) (21:04.737); 3. Anirudha Arvind  (Chennai, Redline Racing India) (21:13.128).

MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios) 

Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Anirudha Arvind (Chennai, Redline Racing) (20:47.868); 2. Jai Prashanth Venkat (Coimbatore, Redline Racing) (20:54.145); 3. Diana Pundole (Pune, Redline Racing) (20:54.735). 

Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Diana Pundole (16:31.795); 2. Anirudha Arvind (16:33.562); 3. Kesara Godage (Sri Lanka, Redline Racing) (16:43.645);

Formula LGB 1300 

Race-1 (8 laps): 1. Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) (14:57.600); 2. Arya Singh (Kolkata, DTS Racing) (15:00.136); 3. Balaprasath (Coimbatore, DTS Racing) (15:14.379). 

Race-2 (8 laps): 1. Arya Singh (15:07.040); 2. Viswas Vijayaraj (15:11.098); 3. Balaprasath (15:15.423). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Viswas Vijayaraj (14:56.286); 2. Arya Singh (15:01.417); 3. Balaprasath (15:06.693).

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Indian Motorsports

Rehan Khan from Chennai joins Champion of the Future Academy Program

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Rehan Khan from Chennai joins Champion of the Future Academy Program

Rehan Khan, an 11-year-old karting sensation from Chennai, has been selected for the prestigious Champion of the Future Academy Program.

2025 will mark the second full season of the international series. The Champions of the Future Academy Program spans six weekends. Introductory two days will be set for round 1 for the drivers to get acquainted with the material and officials and six double header race weekends, four of which being in Europe and two outside of the European Union. The aim of the Academy program is to increase the inclusion into professional kart racing through the arrive and drive concept. Promoted and hosted by RGMMC, the events will take place on high level circuits all around the world.

As a student at Don Bosco Egmore school, Rehan has already made an indelible mark in Indian motorsports, becoming the only driver to hold the fastest lap time record at every FMSCI-approved track in his class across India.

Rehan’s exceptional talent has now earned him a place in the globally recognized Champion of the Future Academy Program, where he will join 36 other karting prodigies from around the world. This opportunity will allow him to further develop his skills and compete in Europe.

With an impressive track record in India, Rehan has shattered records and demonstrated unwavering consistency in his performances.

The Champion of the Future Academy Program offers young drivers the training and exposure needed to compete at the highest level of motorsport.

CHAMPION OF THE FUTURE ACADEMY – CALENDAR 2025

Rehan Khan from Chennai joins Champion of the Future Academy Program

“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all my sponsors for believing in me and supporting my journey. Your trust and encouragement have played a vital role in helping me achieve my dreams, and I promise to continue striving for success both on and off the track,” Rehan said.

As he embarks on this exciting new chapter of his career, Rehan is determined to build on his success in India and continue to raise the bar as he prepares to compete on the European circuit.

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Akshay Bohra gets his first WIN of the year: FRMEC 2025

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Akshay Bohra gets his first WIN of the year: FRMEC 2025

Akshay Bohra has bagged his first win in 2025 and his first win in the Formula Regional category after placing first in Race 2, Round 4 of the Formula Regional Middle East Championship 2025 at Yas Marina Abu Dhabi.

Akshay, who recently won the Euro 4 Champion, making him the first Indian to win a European single-seater title made his step up to Formula Regional (Formula 3) cars this year.

READ MORE: Akshay Bohra steps up to FRECA and FRMEC in 2025

Akshay Bohra during FRMEC Pre Season Testing.
Akshay Bohra during pre-season testing for FRMEC 2025 in Yas Marina.

FRMEC 2025

The 2025 season of Formula Regional Middle East Championship or FRMEC kicked off in Yas Marina. The championship hosted 2 rounds in Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi before travelling to Dubai for Round 3 at the Dubai Autodrome.

Akshay Bohra faced a challenging start to his campaign. In Round 1, he suffered two DNFs in three races, while Round 2 was plagued by a general lack of pace—something he acknowledged himself. Having scored just three points in his first six races, Akshay headed to Dubai looking to make a strong comeback at a circuit he enjoys racing on.

Akshay Bohra gets his first WIN of the year: FRMEC 2025
Akshay during Round 2 of FRMEC at Yas Marina. (Photo: FRMEC)

In Race 1 at Dubai, Akshay finished P11—just one place short of securing reverse grid pole for Race 2. However, in Race 2, he demonstrated much stronger pace, keeping up with the more experienced drivers and climbing to P7 overall, P3 in the Rookie category. A post-race penalty for a competitor promoted him to P6 overall, marking a step in the right direction.

Race 3, however, proved to be difficult. On Lap 1, he had to take avoiding action due to an incident ahead, dropping to the back of the grid after starting P14. The race saw multiple safety car interventions, limiting his chances to recover positions, and he eventually finished P18.

Akshay Bohra gets his first WIN of the year: FRMEC 2025
Akshay during Round 3 of FRMEC at Dubai Autodrome (Photo: FRMEC)

First win in Formula Regional

The championship returned to Yas Marina for Round 4, marking its final visit to the venue for the season. Having gained significant mileage at the circuit from pre-season testing and the earlier rounds, Akshay was eager to capitalize on his experience.

The weekend began on a positive note, with Akshay finishing P6 in Free Practice. In Qualifying 1, he set a lap time of 1:50.675, placing him P10 on the grid—seven-tenths off the leader. However, technical issues in Qualifying 2 prevented him from setting a lap time, meaning he would start Race 3 from the back of the grid.

Race 1 saw a steady drive to P10, which crucially placed him on pole position for the reverse grid Race 2.

In Race 2, Akshay made a strong start, holding onto the lead on Lap 1 before the safety car was deployed due to an incident on track. Unfazed, he maintained his composure at the restart, defending his position against pressure from more far experienced drivers such as FIA Formula 3 driver Nikita Bedrin in the closing stages. In a calm and controlled drive, Akshay secured his first victory in the championship—a landmark moment in his Formula Regional career.

Akshay Bohra gets his first WIN of the year: FRMEC 2025
Akshay Bohra takes the chequered flag first in Race 2 in Round 4 of FRMEC (Photo: FRMEC)

Round 4 wrapped up with Race 3, having started back of the grid, Akshay Bohra made up 10 places to come home at 16th in a race with long Safety Car interventions.

This win marks a significant step forward for Akshay as he continues his climb up the junior formula ladder. With growing confidence and improved performances, it could be the first of many victories to come.

Follow Akshay Bohra on Instagram to get constant updates about his career. Follow us at Desi Racing Co to get updates from the world of motorsports.

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Indian Motorsports

Goa Street Circuit Set to Become India’s Newest Motorsport Destination

Goa Tourism gives Principal approval to the Goa Street Circuit. The new Street Circuit will make a debut during the 2025 Indian Racing Festival.

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Goa Street Circuit Set to Become India’s Newest Motorsport Destination

Racing Promotions Private Limited (RPPL), the organizer of the Indian Racing League (IRL) and the FIA Formula 4 Indian Championship (F4IC), has announced a new street track in India – the Goa Street Circuit.

After breaking the news on Sunday, February 9, 2025, RPPL confirmed that the Goa Street Circuit has received principal approval from Goa Tourism. The track will make its debut in 2025 as part of the Indian Racing Festival (IRF), which is set to run from August 24, 2025, to November 17, 2025.

A New Addition to India’s Growing Racing Calendar

Goa Street Circuit Image
2024 Indian F4 Championship – Chennai Formula Racing Circuit

The new Street Circuit joins the Hyderabad Street Circuit and the Chennai Formula Racing Circuit (CFRC), making it the third street track in India.

“The Indian Racing Festival 2025 is set to redefine motorsports in India, pushing the boundaries of speed, skill, and spectacle like never before. This season, we are thrilled to bring the high-octane action to the vibrant streets of Goa, a destination synonymous with energy, passion, and world-class experiences,” – Mr. Akhilesh Reddy, Chairman & Managing Director of Racing Promotions Pvt. Ltd. (RPPL).

Goa Aces to Race at Home for the First Time

Goa Aces by JA Racing, a team competing in the Indian Racing Festival and owned by Bollywood icon John Abraham, will race on home soil for the first time since the team’s inception in 2019.

Goa Street Circuit Set to Become India’s Newest Motorsport Destination
Bollywood Actor and Team owner of Goa Aces by JA Racing, John Abraham

“Motorsport is thrilling, intense, and electrifying – just like Goa! I am beyond excited to bring the Goa Aces to our home circuit. The Goa Street Race will be one of the most exciting races of the season, and I can’t wait to see the energy, passion, and speed take over the streets.” – John Abraham, team owner of Goa Aces by JA Racing.

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