National Racing Championship: Parekh takes MRF FF1600 championship lead

The fourth round of the National Racing Championship concluded at Chennai’s Madras Motor Race Track on Sunday, with 21 year old Arjun Narendra winning three races across two different categories.

MRF 1600: Parekh takes championship lead with race one win

Goutham Parekh surged to the lead of the MRF 1600 standings after securing a victory in race one and bagging another podium in the second race of the weekend.

In race 1, erstwhile championship leader Karthik Tharani led from pole position, with Parekh jumping Narendran to take second.

The order at the front stayed the same until Tharani was handed a drive-through penalty for jumping the start. This allowed Parekh to cruise to the finish line, with Narendran finishing seven seconds behind in second. Tharani recovered by the end of the 10 lap race to finish in third place.

The second race saw Arjun Narendran pass reverse pole-sitter Chetan Karoda to seal victory, with Parekh finishing just three tenths behind in second.

Tharani’s second race was compromised when he ran wide at the first corner, losing crucial positions. He recovered enough to take the final spot on the podium, but saw Parekh steal the championship lead from him.

MRF 1600 - Race 1 Results (Top three)

1. Goutham Parekh (17mins, 30.851secs)
2. Arjun Narendran (17:39.655)
3. Karthik Tharanisingh 3 (17:46.034).

Race 2 Results (Top three)

1. Arjun Narendran (20:55.388)
2. Goutham Parekh (20:55.717)
3. Karthik Tharanisingh (21:03.205)

Formula LGB 1300: double win for Daniel

Anish Racing’s Sudanand Daniel was the dominant driver in the Formula LGB 1300 category, winning both the races scheduled over the weekend.

The two races shared glaring similarities with early race leader Mohit Aryan spinning out at both occasions, allowing teammate Daniel to forge ahead. Although Aryan was able to recover from his mistakes, it put a sizeable dent in his championship lead.

Formula LGB1300 - Race 1 Results (Top three)

1. Sudanand Daniel (Anish Racing) (19:43.654)
2. Chetan Korada (Wallace Sports) (19:52.244)
3. Mohit Aryan (Anish Racing) (19:57.597)

Race 2 Results (Top three)

1. Sudanand Daniel (Anish Racing) (19:45.908)
2. Mohit Aryan (Anish Racing) (19:51.189)
3. Rahul Rangasamy (Wallace Sports) (19:52.304)

Indian Touring Cars: Two in a row for Narendran

There was no stopping Arjun Narendran as he secured a double win in the Indian Touring Cars category.

During the first race, Narendran led from start-to-finish, eventually winning the race by a margin of four seconds over Ashish Ramaswamy. His second win - from fourth on the reverse win - was even more proverbial as he battled his way up the field to take the top spot on the rostrum.

ITC - Race 1 Results (Top three)

1. Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Racing) (19:19.608)
2. Ashish Ramaswamy ( Red Rooster Racing) (19:23.899)
3. C Rajaram (Prime Racing) 3 (19:36.299)

Race 2 Results (Top three)

1. Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Racing) (19:09.178)
2. Ashish Ramaswamy (Red Rooster Racing) (19:36.487)
3. Deepak Paul Chinnapa (Race Concepts) (19:38.234)