Teen Shahan smokes seniors

It was the Agra lad’s biggest prize – in the senior section – of his blossoming career. Momentum Motorsport’s Tijil Rao (Formula LGB 1300) and Deepak Ravikumar of Performance Racing (Super Stock) bagged National crowns in their respective categories. Also topping the overall chart were Performance Racing’s Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala (Indian Junior Touring Cars), Sandeep Kumar (Volkswagen Polo), Fahad Kutty from Redline Racing (MRF Saloon Cars – Toyota Etios). It is to be recalled that Arjun Balu of Race Concepts had completed the formalities in the Indian Touring Cars category on Saturday.

Shahan (16 minutes, 36.781 seconds), who headed into the third and final MRF F1600 race with a two-point advantage, finished second behind Rishon Rajeev (16:36.017) but ahead of third-placed Chirag Ghorpade (16:37.188). Even in Race 2 earlier in the day, Shahan (19:13.495) came just behind Rishon (19:11.167).

Shahan finished with 194 points and four victories while Chirag (189 points) and Rishon (172 points) ended second and third respectively in the championship. Meanwhile, Balu (19:03.534), who defended his Indian Touring Cars title on Saturday, completed a double over the weekend to make it six wins in eight starts.

Two second-place finishes over the weekend proved sufficient for Hatim (20:34.450 in Race 2 of the fourth and final round) to emerge victorious in the Indian Junior Touring Cars category. Deepak (20:11.966), who had won the Super Stock crown at the conclusion of the third round, ended the season with a win. Tijil (13:37.163) played it smart and safe to finish second in the Formula LGB1300 Race 2.