Over 50 drivers enter Indian National Racing Championship

Arjun Navendran in action

Coimbatore, June 18 (IANS)

After a gap of three months, the Indian National Racing Championship (INRC) resumes with the third round to be run here over the weekend at the Kari Motor Speedway with over 50 drivers in the fray.

With five races in the single-seater category, including the Formula LGB 1300 which is part of the National Championship for about two decades, and the MRF Formula F1600 series, which will be run on the same weekend, there is plenty of action in store for racing enthusiasts.

The National Championship comprises competitions in the Formula LGB 1300 powered by Swift engine and saloon car class which in turn has three separate categories – Super Stock (stock), Indian Junior Touring Cars (IJTC) (1600cc) and the Indian Touring Cars (ITC) (modified).

The MRF F1600 sports a 1.6 litre Ford Duratec engine putting out 140 horsepower and fitted with a Hewland five-speed sequential shift gearbox.

The previous two rounds held in Sriperumbudur were marked by close, wheel-to-wheel racing and much the same is expected at the smaller and tighter track here.

While Arjun Narendran heads the ITC class with three wins from four starts, Sidharth B. and Fahad Kutty are tied on 83 points, each with two wins in the IJTC category. Similarly, Varun Anekar and Abhinay Bikani are locked with 68 points having won two races apiece in the Super Stock class.

Mohit Aryan, who topped two of the three races, heads the Formula LGB 1300 class with 38 points, two clear of Chetan Korada, who has one win and two third-place finishes.

The leaderboard positions are as close in the MRF F1600 class where Karthik Tharani (80), who has won two of the four races, Gautam Parekh (76) and Arjun Narendran (70) head the pack while further down the grid, a mere 10 points separate six drivers.

"The circuit is a little tricky and the weather and wind always play a big part here. Last year was really tough for me so I plan to make up for it and fight for my first win here in a Formula car this weekend. It is going to be an exciting race," Tharani said.

Local favourite Narendran will double his duties as he participated in the ITC as well as MRF F1600 championship and is confident heading into this weekend.

Narendran, the 2014 ITC champion, said, “I really enjoy driving at this circuit and am optimistic heading into this weekend. Karthik (Tharani) and Goutham (Parekh) will be hard to beat but I am feeling a lot more comfortable with the car and raring to go this weekend.”

The MRF F1600 is the best single-seater series in India. The winner of the championship gets a free round in the F3-style India-based MRF Challenge which features the MRF Formula 2000 car and is raced internationally.

Last year four Indians from the MRF F1600 graduated to the MRF Challenge with 2014 winner Tarun Reddy, who has since moved to FIA Formula 4, also winning the first round in Qatar.