2015 MRF 1600 Season Review

Karthik Tharani has proved his mettle in both touring cars and single seaters. Can he procure enough sponsorship to take the next step?

Karthik Tharani’s rise to prominence in the domestic motor racing scene has been nothing short of remarkable.

Having clinched the Volkswagen Polo R Cup last year, Tharani made a full-time switch to single seaters this season in the MRF FF1600. And although he played second fiddle to Goutham Parekh and Arjun Narendran in the first round, he was quickly up to pace when the action resumed in Chennai.

Racing at home turf again, Tharani dominated the weekend, sweeping all sessions en route to a double victory. He followed this triumph with another win in a rain-sodden Coimbatore, before bad luck befell in the penultimate round of the season.

Having surged to the lead of the race by first corner, Tharani made contact with Narendran’s car, slipping back to seventh.The Chennai-born driver recovered to take the final spot on the podium, but crucially fell 13 points behind Parekh going into the final round.

The points deficit in the championship would have brought back memories of the 2014 Polo Cup, where he faced the mammoth task of overtaking a 72 point disadvantage. And history repeated itself a year later, with Tharani again coming on top.

In race one, the two Chennai-based drivers fought tooth and nail for top honours, with the battle culminating in unfortunate circumstances. On the final lap, Tharani moved to the outside of turn 4, to gain the inside line in the following corner. As Tharani lined a move, the two drivers made contact, sending Parekh out of the race. Tharani, meanwhile, cruised to victory and turned the tables in his favour in the championship.

Parekh fought back from eight on the grid to take victory in the final race, but the damage had already been done. Tharani sealed the title, despite a drab race where he lost multiple positions at the start.

What’s next for Tharani?

With the National Racing title now in his hands, Tharani is already looking forward to the future, with MRF Challenge very much on his radar.

“The MRF Challenge remains a possibility this year,’’ Karthik Tharani told autoX when questioned about his future plans. He has previously stated about racing in sportscars as well.

But as things stand, Tharani is yet to accumulate a budget of Rs. 30 lakh to contest the championship. And it raises one question: shouldn’t the MRF 1600 winner be offered a fully-sponsored full season drive in MRF Challenge?

Until MRF decides to change its stance, however, the Chennai-born driver is left to evaluate all his options. Perhaps, he could take the same sportscar route followed by his elder brother Prashant, who raced in the 24 Hours of Paul Ricard earlier this year.

BIC’s absence

While not hosting a round of MRF Challenge at the Buddh International is still acceptable, that cannot be said about MRF FF1600. The National Racing Championship must visit country’s best facility at least once to give drivers a perspective of the tracks they are likely to race at in the future.

But then, it all boils down to money. Booking the Buddh International Circuit and its facilities, plus the the cost of transporting cars and personelle, means that hosting races at Coimbatore’s Kari Motor Speedway and the Madras Motor Race Track in Chennai can be done at a fraction of the cost.

Narendran clinches Touring Car crown

Apart from his MRF F1600 commitments, Arjun Narendran was also seen in action in the Indian Touring Car Championship.

And although he couldn’t really put a fight to championship contenders Tharani and Parekh in the single seater series despite two wins, things went his way in ITC, as he sealed his second title with relative ease.

However, the racing in this category was overshadowed when KE Kumar‘s car burned to nothing at the start of the pit-straight, bringing the proceedings to an abrupt halt. Kumar was initially hesitant to allow marshals to use fire extinguisher on his car, for it will require the engine to be opened again.

But the situation soon went out of control and the seemingly inadept marshals failed to put off the fire, once they had the permission to do so.