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MECO Launch Rally Academy

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MECO Motorsports Academy in association with JK Tyre launches ‘The Rally Academy’ in Hyderabad Coimbatore, June 21, 2011: MECO Motorsports, in association with JK Tyre, will launch ‘The Rally Academy’ at the MECO Motorsports Ministry of Speed facility in the GMR complex at the Rajiv GandhiInternational Airport in Hyderabad next month. The announcement was made by Mr Akbar Ebrahim, President, MECO Motorsports and Mr Hari Singh, Manager Motorsports, JK Tyre & Industries Limited, on the sidelines of the recently concluded Round 1 of the 14th JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship 2011. The Academy will offer two levels of training – Basic and Advanced program over two and three days respectively. The MMS Academy will be headed by Hari Singh, 5 times National Rally Champion, Asia Zone Rally Champion and Akbar Ebrahim along with former rallyist Rohitaaz Kumar who will be the On Site Instructor. PWRC Champion, Karamjit Singh from Malaysia will be assisting the Rally Academy as aGuest Instructor. JK Tyre will be supporting the Academy by providing two fully prepared Mitsubishi Cedia and Lancer Rally Cars along with Dirt and Tarmac Rally Tires. JK Tyre & MECO Motorsports plan to set up similar academies in different parts of the country. Mr Akbar Ebrahim, President, MECO Motorsports said, “It has always been my passion to impart all the knowledge and experience gained in my national and international racing career to young Indian drivers. To be able to watch Narain Karthikeyan, Karun Chandhok, Armaan Ebrahim excel in their international racing career gives me immense satisfaction as all of them have been through the academy.” “The new crop of drivers like Aditya Patel, Ashwin Sunder, Vishnu Prasad and Chittesh Mandody are all shaping up so well. I am sure the Rally Academy and the association with Volkswagen will provide more such opportunities to talented drivers from India,” he further added. Mr Hari Singh, Manager, Motorsports, JK Tyre & Industries said, “At JK Tyre, we have always believed in promoting and encouraging young talents through our various motorsport programs. The Rally Academy is the first of its kind in India where we will provide the youngsters the right kind of training and support to enter into the professional world of rallying.” Karamjit Singh said, “Many competitive national and international rallies have gained momentum in India. With the launch of The Rally Academy, I’m sure very soon we will have an Indian making us proud at the world level.” To further support the vast training programs organized and conducted by MECO Motorsports, the company has also introduced the Racing and Karting Simulators. These Simulators have high end data logging and telemetry software’s fitted on to it, thus enabling drivers to see their brake, throttle and steering techniques after each session in the simulator. The MECO Motorsports Racing Academy in association with JK Tyre has now got into an association with Volkswagen and will be introducing the VW Polo Car to its fleet of racing cars. The Racing Academy has been providing training programs to interested racing drivers till now in the formula cars. With effect from July 2011 the Racing Academy will now provide training programs for those interested in racing in Touring cars, mainly in the JK Tyre-VW Polo Cup in India and abroad.

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JK Karting Natl C’shipsRnd 2

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Round 2 of the JK Tyre FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2011 concludes in Kolhapur ~ Chittesh Mandody, clinch win in the Senior category ~ ~ The Maini brothers from Bangalore – Arjun & Kush once again dominated the championship in the Junior & Micro category~ Kolhapur, June 12, 2011: Round 2 of the 8th edition of the JK Tyre FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2011 saw dominating performances by Chittesh Mandody, Arjun Maini and Kush Maini as they emerged as leaders in the senior, junior and micro max categories at the Circuit 09 track in Kolhapur. The pre–finals and the finals witnessed excellent performances by the winners as well as the contenders. The little masters of the Micro max category in the pre–finals got off to a roaring start. After a successful Round 1, the li’l champ from Bangalore Kush Maini from Team Maini continued to maintain his lead in the first position. It was local lads from Kolhapur of Team Mohites Racing who made it to the second and third place. Pradyumna Danigond settled for the second position and following him in the third place was Gaurav Prakash Marne. In the Junior Max category, all eyes were on Jehan Daruvala and Dhruv Mohite out of the 12 karters in the fray. It was a battle for the top position between Mumbai lad Jehan Daruvala from Team Rayo Racing and 13 year old Kolhapur boy Dhruv Mohite from Team Mohites Racing. With an absolute control over his machine, Jehan came up with a scorching performance to record a very comfortable win. Finishing in a very distant second place was Dhruv Mohite and third place was taken by Mumbai boy Arya Gandhi from Team Rayo Racing. After a heavy downpour, the pre–finals in the Senior category started off as the drivers revved up the engine for the formation lap. It was a close encounter between Ameya Bafna, Raj Bharath and Sandeep Kumar. Mumbai lad Ameya Bafna was back in his elements as he took the lead position and retained it till he took the chequered flag. The real battle was for the second and the third position. Bangalore boy Raj Bharath from Team Meco Racing maintained his second position but he was over taken by his team–mate Chennai lad Sandeep Kumar after a few initial laps. Saif Rais from Team Meco Racing took everyone by surprise when he overtook Raj for the third spot. But Raj did not give it up so easily and finally made it to the top three in the pre–finals leaving Saif far behind. The finals of the three classes saw the top contenders of each category putting all their learning and experiences to useas they fought for the top honors. In the Micro Max category it was a clean sweep by Kush Maini as he left his contenders way behind and registered his second win in the championship. It was a tough battle for the second and third position as the Kevin, Pradyumna and Gaurav were seen trying to outbeat each other. Pradyumna Danigond finished in second and Gaurav Prakash Marne closed in third. After a comfortable win in the pre–finals, Jehan Daruvala started off in the lead position in the formation lap. After a disappointing qualifying and pre–finals, there was manifold improvement in Arjun Maini from Team Maini Racing as he was back in form and took charge of the grid in the third slot after overtaking Arya Gandhi and slowly making his way to the lead. After ruling the tracks in the few initial laps, Jehan was overtaken by Dhruv Mohite and there was a fierce battle between Jehan and Arjun for the second place. The game entirely changed when Arjun overtook Dhruv in the last few laps of the race. From there it was no looking back for Arjun as he led his way to the chequered flag. Following him closely was Dhruv Mohite in the second place. Jehan who started off well could not hold on to his pole position and finished third in the final race. The Senior category witnessed a tense and a thrilling tussle for the top position between Ameya Bafna, Raj Bharath and Sandeep Kumar. It wasn’ a good race for Ameya Bafna who despite starting in the first position got disqualified during the course of the race. However, he gave Chittesh Mandody a tough fight as he left no room for overtaking. Local lad Chittesh kept putting pressure on Ameya by continuously accelerating his machine and finally after a few laps and a smart overtaking took to the lead position. Sandeep Kumar and Raj Bharath made it to the second and third place respectively. Final results: Micro Max (15 laps) – 1st – Kush Maini – 12:59:123, 2nd – Pradyumna Danigond – 13.14.578, 3rd – Gaurav Prakash Marne – 13:15:246 Junior Max (20 laps) – 1st–Arjun Maini –14:52:890 , 2nd – Dhruv Mohite – 14:54:035 , 3rd – Jehan Daruvala – 15:02:936 Senior Max (22 laps) – 1st – Chittesh Mandody – 16:33:152, 2nd – Sandeep Kumar – 16:39:055, 3rd – Raj Bharath – 16:42:793

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JK Natl Karting C’ships Opens

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JK Tyre – FMSCI Rotax Max National Karting Championship 2011 opens with some thundering performances by the drivers ~Kolhapur lad Chittesh Mandody won in the Senior Max category~ ~Maini brothers from Bangalore Arjun Maini and Kush Maini dominated in the Junior and the Micro Max category~ Kolhapur, June 5, 2011: The maiden round of the 8th edition of the JK Tyre FMSCI Rotax Max National Karting Championship got off to a rousing start on Saturday, June 4, 2011 at the 1.1 km long track Circuit 09 in Kolhapur. 39 drivers from across the country stormed the tracks with some heart pulsating action and thrilling races over two days of the weekend. The weather did try to play spoilsport as the city received heavy rainfalls on the qualifying day but it did not deter the drivers’ confidence in giving their best shot during the race weekend. Day 1 witnessed the qualifying & the heat races which was well contested by all the participants. All the three classes witnessed a very fierce tussle between the top karters of the country fighting for the top positions on the grid on day one. In the Micro Max category, Pradyumna Danigond finished first followed by Akash Gowda and Kavin Vinay Lazarus. In the Junior Max category, Krishnaraj Mahadik led in the top slot, He was followed closely by Tarun Reddy and Akhil Ranibdra. In the Senior Max category, Ameya Bafna finished first followed by Chittesh Mandody in the second place. Vishnu Prasad finished third in the qualifying round. The pre–finals and the final rounds were held on Sunday, June 5, 2011. Tables turned drastically as none of the winners of the qualifying races across categories managed to finish podium in the pre–final and the final race. The pre–finals witnessed an engaging battle between the top drivers. In the Micro Max category, young Bangalorean Kush Maini from Team Maini Racing, Gaurav Prakash Marne from Kolhapur from Team Mohites Racing and Kavin Vinay Lazarus from New Delhi from Team Mohites Racing lead the grid in the first, second and third positions respectively. In the Junior Max, there was a lot of scrutiny over the final results because of a crash between Bangalore boy Arjun Maini of Team Maini Racing and Kolhapur lad Dhruv Mohite of Team Mohites Racing. However, the final result was Mumbaikar Jehan Daruvala of Team Rayo Racing who finished first followed by Tarun Reddy of Team Meco Racing. Kolhapur lad Krishnaraj Mahadik of Team Mohites Racing finished third. It was a clean race in the Senior Max category as Chittesh Mandody from Kolhapur from Team Mohites Racing emerged as the clear winner followed by Chennai lad Vishnu Prasad from Team Meco Racing. Sandeep Kumar of Chennai from Team Meco Racing finished third. Ameya Bafna who started in the second position lost out on his position in the top three could only finish 6 laps. The engines revved up as the drivers in the Micro Max category were ready for the final round of Round 1 of the championship. Kush Maini led the formation lap followed and continued to lead in the races as they began. He sat on a comfortable lead but the real battle was behind him for the second and third position with drivers like Akash Gowda, Mira Kirti Erda, Gaurav Prakesh Marne and Kavin Vinay Lazarus fought intensively for the positions. After being overtaken a lot of times by his close rivals, Akash Gowda finally made it to the second position in the grid and following him was Gaurav Prakash Marne. The only girl contestant in the grid, Mira did not let the boys succeed easily and gave them a tough competition. Her performance in Round 1 is highly commendable. The best team trophy award went to Team Maini Racing. After being declared the winner, Kush Maini of Micro Max category said, “I feel very good and confident as it was a great start to the championship by winning both the pre–finals and the finals. My qualifying was a disaster as I had a mechanical problem but slowly made my way up through the heats. I’m looking forward to the next round in Kolhapur.” Light drizzles delayed the Junior Max races by some time but once the drivers were there, the race was worth a watch. While Jehan Daruvala started off in the first place in the 20 laps final in the Junior Max category, he couldn’ hold on to his lead position for long as Arjun Maini overtook him after 6 laps. Unperturbed by his defeat in the pre–finals, the passion and commitment of the 12 year old led him to victory as he took the chequered flag. Following him was Jehan Daruvala and third place was taken by Dhruv Mohite. Team Maini Racing was awarded the Team trophy once again. An elated Arjun Maini, winner of Junior Max said, “It felt good to win the opening round of the championship. I started fourth for the finals and I was confident that I had the pace. My kart gave me as much support as I needed to win and also set the fastest lap. I had a good start and moved into the second quickly and then after around 6 laps I overtook to take the lead and held on to the position.” It was a great day for Chittesh Mandody who commenced the season on a winning note by racing away to his first podium of the season in the Senior category. Chittesh got off to a good start and ensured that he maintained his lead till the end. Giving him close competition was Vishnu Prasad but then Chittesh managed to take a comfortable lead after ten laps leaving the Chennai lad way behind. Following them in the third slot was Sandeep Kumar. The team trophy in the Senior class was bagged by Team Mohites Racing. Chittesh Mandody said, “The race was good. I had a tough start as the first ten laps Vishnu Prasad was too close

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