Anon-cricketing sporting event attracting an audience of more than 35,000 doesn’t sound very believable. But that is exactly what happened last weekend at the JK Tyre Festival of Speed. The annual event held on a pleasant winter weekend at the Buddh International circuit in Greater Noida saw racers across different car and bike categories in a fierce competition against each other. Apart from the usual categories of Formula LGB4, Suzuki Gixxer cup and the national superbike racing championships the franchise based racing X1 racing league too made its debut at the event. The scale definitely was bigger than previous years and what added to the excitement were a slew of stunt shows performed by experts on cars and bikes. A packed house with screaming fans also added the much needed adrenaline to make the event a stupendous success.
LGB Formula 4
Over the 3 rounds held in Coimbatore earlier this year the battle for supremacy pretty much was between Chennai lads Vishnu Prasad and Raghul Rangasamy. The team mates, arch rivals as well as close friends were tied on were tied on 73 points after Saturday’s two races. But it was Diljith T S and Ashwin Datta who won the first and second races of the day respectively. The only race on Sunday would therefore decide who would be crowned champion in this year’s JK Tyre FMSCI National racing Championship. Going into the final day sharing the leader board, Vishnu and Raghul knew that, for once, they didn’t have to chase victory; they just had to finish ahead of the other to claim the championship. But, true to their reputation, they went all out, providing for a thrilling race, with Vishnu winning in dramatic fashion; Raghul finished third to take the second position in the championship. In the rookie category it was Megaa K. S. who came out on tops with 85 points. Mihir Barve and Akshay Kapoor took the next 2 overall positions.
Suzuki Gixxer Cup
The one make Gixxer cup Suzuki too had a lot of ups and downs for the title contenders. Tanay Gaikwad, Championship leader after the first 3 rounds suffered an unexpected DNF (did not finish) on Saturday. The Pune lad (54 points) slipped to the second position, with Syed Muzammil Ali jumping into the lead. The race win ensured the Bengaluru boy collected 10 points on Saturday to move to 56 points. The margin was too close to call with Sunday’s lone race once again being the decider. Owing to his DNF on the previous day, Tanay had to start from the back of the grid. He valiantly fought his way up but could only manage a third-place finish to settle for the second position in the championship. Muzammil, who had an overnight 2-point lead, made sure that he hit the post ahead of Tanay to clinch the Cup.
X1 Racing League
The inaugural round of the much hyped IPL style city based franchise league of motorsport had national and international racers gracing the Formula 1 track. BRS Racing Bengaluru began the competition on a dominant note, winning the opening day’s two races. The pair of Arjun Maini and Oliver Webb proved to be unbeatable while their teammates, Nayan Chatterjee and Michelle Gatting finished fourth and third in the two races. Mumbai Falcons were the other formidable team, cruising to the third position thanks to Karthik Tharani and Mikkel Jensen in Race 1 and the second position, with Kush Maini and Pippa Mann, starring in Race 2. On Sunday the team from Bengaluru claimed round 1 in style by winning the last race, the relay race, to emerge clear victors. Mumbai Falcons won the other race of the day and had to settle for the second overall position.
JK Tyre Super Bike cup
Luxury motorcycle brand Ducati, swept the 1st and 2nd positions at the championships securing the championship it won in 2018. In the opening race of the weekend Bhumik Lalwani and Dilip Lalwani of Mount Abu clinched the honours, taking the first two places. Simranjeet Singh of Delhi took the third place to set the stage for another close finish. Ducati India’s pilots Rajini Krishnan and Dilip Lalwani successfully bagged the 1st and 2nd position in race 2, in the superbike category aboard the Ducati Panigale V4 S with both bikes running on OEM stock fitments respectively.
On a fast paced Formula 1 track, drivers and riders across categories surely demonstrated nerves of steel to emerge as the heroes of the thrill-a-minute JK Tyre Festival of Speed. Over 35,000 excited and screaming fans had the time of their lives at the Buddh International Circuit, enjoying a wholesome entertainment package topped up by tense races, close finishes and a couple of spectacular crashes too. The sensational showdown was a fitting finish to the 23rd edition of JK Tyre FMSCI national racing championships.