MRF Challenge: Jamie Chadwick takes championship lead with a race win 

Chennai, February 09: Jamie Chadwick, one of only two female drivers on the grid, scored a fine win to move into the championship lead, just one point ahead of Max Defourny, in the third and final round of the MRF Challenge, at the MMRT, here today. With three more races to be run tomorrow (Sunday), Chadwick from UK, who has won four races in 12 starts, has 218 points to Belgian Defourny’s 217.

Chadwick, 20, starting Race-2 second on the reverse grid, had a brilliant start as she moved past pole-sitter Dylan Young of Australia and over the 20 laps, built up a sizeable lead for a deserving win, her fourth in 12 starts in the championship. Young finished second, almost a second behind Chadwick, while German Andreas Estner took the third spot.

For Defourny, 20, it has been a disappointing weekend thus far, having garnered just 10 points from two races today, having finished seventh and sixth.

“I had a good start today and went into the lead. I then managed to hold on to my advantage. In the context of the championship, every point matters to me. So, I am happy. Tomorrow, with three races to be run, it is going to be a long day and I hope I can collect the points,” said Chadwick.

Earlier, in Race-1, Pasma, starting from pole position, had a great start and after surviving strong challenge in the first lap, gradually pulled away to complete a comfortable win, his second in the championship. “I had a good start and managed to open a big gap. I am very happy that I scored my second win of the championship,” said 18-year old Pasma from Finland.

Behind the leader, Michelangelo Amendola (Belgium) also came through for second spot without being seriously challenged while 16-year old Jack Doohan (Australia), the son of former five-time World 500cc champion Mick Doohan, completed the podium with an impressive drive.

Championship leader Defourny finished a forlorn seventh, the same position he had started the race from, while his arch-rival Chadwick, did well to gain a spot to finish fifth and collect crucial points to narrow the leeway with the Belgian.

Meanwhile, Chennai collegian, 20-year old Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motor Sports), pulled off a sensational win in the second race of the Formula LGB 1300 category of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship, after starting 11th on the grid. Off to a blistering start, Datta sliced his way into the lead by the end of the second of the 10-lap race and then held off a fighting Karthik Krishna (Hasten Performance) with K Suriya Varathan (M Sport) coming in third.

Race Concepts enjoyed a 1-2-3 finish in the Super Stock (Saloon cars) class with Rithvik Thomas finishing ahead of team-mates Joel Joseph and Prateek Benya.

The results:

MRF Challenge (F2000): Race-1 (20 laps): 1. Patrick Pasma (Finland) (30min, 42.140sec); 2. Michelangelo Amendola (Belgium) (30:47.192); 3. Jack Doohan (Australia) (30:53.293). Race-2 (20 laps): 1. Jamie Chadwick (UK) (30:51.643); 2. Dylan Young (Australia) (30:52.669); 3. Andreas Estner (Germany) (30:53.260).

MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship – Formula LGB 1300 (Race-1, 8 laps): 1. Tijil Rao (Momentum Motor Sports) (20:04.219); 2. Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motor Sports) (20:05.309); 3. K Suriya Varathan (M Sport) (20:06.090). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motor Sports) (19:50.799); 2. Karthik Krishna (Hasten Performance) (19:51.142); 3. K Suriya Varathan (M Sport) (19:51.332).

Saloon Cars (Super Stock – Race 1, 10 laps): 1. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) (20:33.163); 2. Joel Joseph (Race Concepts) (20:39.841); 3. Prateek Benya (Race Concepts) (20:59.922).

MRF F1600 (Race-1, 10 laps): 1. Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) (16:47.925); 2. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (16:57.206); 3. Arya Singh (Kolkata) (16:57.719).