India's top karting drivers gear up for final battle of 9th JK Tyre Rotax Max National Karting Championship

- JK Tyre-MMS Kartainment Track at Hyderabad to host the final round on September 22 & 23-
-Pradyumn V Danigond, Kush Maini, and Ameya Bafna lead points table, all set to finish on top in their respective categories-

New Delhi, September 21, 2012: After four rounds of intense battle and exciting races, the track is all set and the drivers are all geared up for the final face-off to win the coveted title of 'National Karting Champions'. As the season draws to a close, over 40 young karters from across the country will come together to burn rubber at the Kartainment Track in Hyderabad for the final round of the 9th JK Tyre National Rotax Max Karting Championship on September 22-23, 2012.

The season witnessed a slew of thrilling races and these young drivers are not going to leave any stone unturned to seal the championship title. The winners of the championship will get a lifetime opportunity to represent India at Rotax World Finals to be held in Portugal.

The qualifying and heat races are scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 22nd, and the pre-final and final races will take place on Sunday, September 23rd, 2012. The series consisted of 5 rounds across three categories viz. Micro Max (7 to 12 years), Junior Max (13 to 16 years) and Senior Max (15 years and above). Participants are representing teams that include Mohite's Racing, Maini Racing, Rayo Racing, and Meco Racing, four of country's top professional karting outfits.

Round 4 of the championship, hosted at Hyderabad's Kart Center - Lahari Resort witnessed the young drivers doing their best to pull together as many points as possible to be in a strong position for the final encounter. Having built a solid lead for himself, Micro Max category leader Pradyumn V Danigond (Mohite's Racing) looks poised for a perfect victory. Things are a little different in the Junior Max category, where Krishnaraj Mahadik (Mohite's Racing), currently in second place, is giving leader Kush Maini (Maini Racing) some great competition. In the Senior Max Category too, the fight for who will eventually come out on top is still very much on with very few points separating the top runners Ameya Bafna (Rayo Racing) and Mithun Ganatra (Maini Racing).

In the exciting Micro Max Category, leaders Danigond, Phaneesh H.B (Mohite's Racing), Yash Aradhya (Meco Racing), Mrinal Chatterjee (Rayo Racing), and Mira Kirit Erda (Maini Racing) exhibited some top-class karting to make their class the most exhilarating in the round. Though Baroda's Erda -the only girl in the championship -gave Kolhapur lad Danigond some stiff competition, Round 4 ultimately belonged to Danigond, who is leading the category comfortably with 176 points. The category will witness a mini-battle for the podium, with Phaneesh - currently in second place with 161, Aradhya in third with 157.5, and Erda and Chatterjee in fourth and fifth with 155.5 and 154 points respectively.

With only 5 points separating him from Junior Max category leader, Bangalore's Kush Maini (338 points), Kolhapur racer Krishnaraj Mahadik (333 points) is going to do everything he can to come out on top. Young Maini, the 2011 reigning champion of the Micro Max category, however, is known to be a fierce contender and will not let go of his position easily. Spectators can therefore expect a great show of talent in this class during the finals. In third place is Dhruv S Mohite (Mohite's Racing) with 315, while Bangalore boy Abhirath Shetty (Meco Racing) is in fourth place, 7 points behind.

In the closely contested Senior Max category, talented Mumbaikar Ameya Bafna is on top in the championship table with 322 points. Mithun Ganatra closely follows with 320 points under his belt. Raj Ganatra (Rayo Racing) and Anshuman Chatterjee (Rayo Racing) are in third and fourth place with 315 and 313 points respectively. Though defending champion Chittesh Mandody made his mark in the Round 4 final by finishing second, he is in tenth place when it comes to standings.

The JK Tyre Rotax Max National Karting Championship has evolved over the years and has become much stronger and at par with international kart racing. It indeed is the breeding ground for young karters to prepare themselves for international level of racing. Armaan Ebrahim-raced in Formula BMW, A1 GP, Renault V6, GP2, Formula2, Indy Lites and World GT1 Championship, Rayomand Banajee-raced in Formula BMW and is currently the team owner of Rayo Racing, the championship winning team of the JK Tyre Rotax Rookie Cup 2012, Aditya Patel-racing for Audi and recently won the 24 hours of Nurburgring, Vishnu Prasad-champion of VW Polo R Cup 2012, Raj Bharath-the only Indian driver at the inaugural season of the JK Racing Asia Series, Parth Ghorpade-racing at the Formula Pilota this year, have all been champions of the JK Tyre National Karting Championship who are making a mark for them internationally. Arjun Maini, Tarun Reddy and Jehan Daruvala who have been the reigning champions have been chosen by the Sahara Force India F1 team and are currently undergoing a Force India Junior Driver Development programme which will provide them with the necessary skills that is required to be a F1 driver.

The championship brought into being the concept of team culture which helps participants to hone their skills and undergo an overall training programme in a professional environment which is crucial for driver development.

JK Tyre is credited with introducing the concept of Karting in India and has patronized Karting circuits in seven cities of the country. JK Tyre together with MECO Motorsports introduced the professional level of karting in 2004 with the introduction of the Rotax 2 Stroke Kart Engines.

Championship Standings after Round 4

Micro Max