Vishnu, Muzammil reign in JK Tyre Festival of Speed

Greater Noida : Chennai's Vishnu Prasad and Bengaluru's Syed Muzammil Ali demonstrated nerves of steel to emerge as the heroes of the thrill-a-minute JK Tyre Festival of Speed here on Sunday.

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.

Eventually, Vishnu of MSport pipped his friend, team-mate and rival, RaghulRangaswamy, to the crown in the coveted Formula LGB-4 category of the JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship.

Going into the final day with 73 points apiece, 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.

The Suzuki Gixxer Cup too followed the script of the season, with Syed Muzammil Ali and Tanay Gaikwad locked in one last fight. Tanay, however, began with a huge disadvantage following a DNF on Saturday.

He began from the back of the grid and 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.

The inaugural X1 Racing competition, Powered by JK Tyre, too proved to be with an instant hit, with its mix of top international and domestic drivers in an exciting new format.

Bangalore Racing Stars, with Arjun Maini, Oliver Webb, Vishnu Prasad and Michelle Gatting, claimed Round 1 in style, thanks to their two wins on Day 1. They also won the last race of the round, the relay race, to emerge clear victors.

Mumbai Falcons, (Kush Maini, Mikkel Jensen, Karthik Tharani and Pippa Mann) won one of the two races of the day and had to settle for the second position.

Rajini Krishnan (JK Tyre Superbike 1000cc), P. Sai Rahil Shetty (JK Tyre Superbike Cup 600cc) and Japan's Karen Ogura (Asia Cup Road Racing) were the other heroes of the day, winning their respective races on Sunday.

RESULTS

Championship winners:

JK Tyre LGB Formula 4: 1. Vishnu Prasad (83); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (79); Diljith T S (68)

JK Tyre LGB Formula 4 Rookie: 1.Megaa K. S. (85); 2. Mihir Barve (73); 3. Akshay Kapoor (62)

JK Tyre Suzuki Gixxer Cup:

1. Syed Muzammil Ali (64); Tanay Gaikwad (60); Sidharth Sajan (36)

Provisional

JK LGB Formula 4:

1. Vishnu Prasad (23:16.961); 2. Ashwin Datta (23:18.060); 3. RaghulRangasamy (23:18.675)

JK Tyre Suzuki Gixxer Cup:

1. Sanjeev Mhatre (23:28.022); 2. Syed Muzammil Ali (23:29.287); 3. Tanay Gaikwad (23:35.746)

Asia Cup Road Racing:

1. Karen Ogura (20:51.318); 2. Eane Jaye Sobretodo (20:51.478); 3. Mei Sakurai (21:01.006)

JK Tyre Superbike 1000cc:

1. Rajini Krishnan (11:49.834); 2. DilipLalwani (11:51.070); 3. Simranjeet Singh (11:53.166)

JK Tyre Superbike Cup 600cc:

1. P. Sai Rahil Shetty (12:21.241); 2. Gurvinder Singh (12:26.929); 3. Vishal Khubchandani (12:41.629)

X1 Racing Powered by JK Tyre:

Race 1: 1. Mumbai Falcons; 2. Bangalore Racing Stars; 3. DGR Ahmedabad

Race 2: 1. Bangalore Racing Stars;

2. Mumbai Falcons; 3. NK Racing Chennai