A fitting round 2 for FMSCI National Rotax Karting Championship

M­umbai’s Aaroh Rabindra and the Bengaluru duo of Chirag Ghorpade and Arjun Rajiv did the star turn in the second round of the FMSCI National Rotax Karting Championship here on Sunday, winning their respective classes in almost similar fashion. All three fought back from P2 or P3 to emerge victorious in their respective final races in what proved to be an action-packed and closely fought weekend.

In the Senior Max, Manav Sharma of Faridabad (BPC Racing) dominated the qualifiers and pre-finals but couldn’t hold on to his advantage in the day’s marquee race. He was pipped to the post by AarohRabindra (Rayo Racing), who started from P2 but still managed a handsome 3.586-second margin victory in the 20-lap race.

The Junior Max final was won by Chirag Ghorpade (BPC) in a gripping race but young Tijil Rao almost grabbed all the attention in this category. Tijil took part in the races despite being born with club feet, which means he was born with both his legs turned inwards. He underwent four corrective surgeries but his deformity is yet to be completely corrected.

Yash Aradhya and Shahan Ali Mohsin (both of MSport) and Chirag were engaged in a nail-biting tussle. Sai Satish began on pole but he was quickly overtaken by Arjun Syam.

After a few laps, Chirag passed him and held on to the lead until the 15th lap; at that stage, Aradhya overtook him but on the final lap he made a crucial mistake, allowing Aradhya to reclaim the lead. In the Micro Max, all the podium places were claimed by Bengaluru lads. Arjun Rajiv got the better of Ruhaan Alva, who began on pole,