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