The Indian racing season has finally kicked off for 2020 and the opening round of the 23rd JK Tyre - FMSCI National Racing Championship (JKNRC) brought some wheel-to-wheel action to the circuit. Among the national championships, drivers Ashwin Datta and Amir Sayed dominated the day at the Kari Motor Speedway on the new recently paved circuit. 16-year-old Amir Sayed from Kottayam showed his stellar form to win all four races to win the JK Tyre Novice Cup, while Ashwin Datta won the JKNRC Formula LGB4 championship.
Also Read: JK Tyre Unveils Driver Line-up For 2020 INRC Set To Begin On December 16
On the podium - Amir Sayed bagged the JK Tyre Novice Cup taking all four wins over the weekend
It was Sayed's first time on this circuit but the driver showed immense skill to dominate his rivals on the grid. Even as other drivers struggled through the tricky and slow first corner, Sayed handled it with ease and that turned into an advantage for him as he won both races on Friday with a towering lead. The driver repeated his winning ways on Saturday as well, as he took victories in the two races for the day, taking a clean sweep in the championship.
In the Formula LGB4 class, Dark Don Racing's Ashwin Datta took a rare double victory, securing him the championship. The first race saw MSport's Vishnu Prasad win the race with Dank Don duo Sandeep Kumar and Ashwin Datta on the podium on Friday. The tables turned on Saturday, however, as the second race saw Datta in the lead taking his first win of the weekend. Vishnu dropped to P3 while his teammate Raghul Rangasamy secured P2.
Race 2 also had some nervous moments with quite a few spins that forced the safety car on the track multiple times. Nevertheless, Ashwin managed to keep retain the lead and completed the race under the yellow flag with the safety car out for the fourth time.
Speaking on his performance, Ashwin said, "I was slow in the first sector but I was confident enough as I had the pace. It was a nightmare of sorts with the safety car in several times but, that's what racing is all about."
On the Podium - Dark Don Racing's Ashwin Datta bagged the title in the JK Tyre LGBF4 class, joined by MSport's Vishnu Prasad and Ahura Raing's Sarosh Hataria
The second and final race, Raghul Rangasamy held the advantage at the start before his car started showing troubles. This allowed Vishnu to pass him and take the lead, followed by Ashwin in P2. It was then a battle for the top spot between Prasad and Datta as the former started building a sizeable lead over the rest of the grid. However, with just two laps to go, the safety car was called, which gave Datta the opportunity to pass Vishnu on the second corner. Vishnu tried hard to make a pass in the final stages, but had no success. The driver settled for P2 while Datta went on to claim the victory.
JK Tyre Novice Cup:
Race 1:
1. Amir Sayed (MSport) 15:56m927s; 2. Neym Rizvi (MSport); 3. Dhruvin Gajjar (DTS Racing).
Race 2:
1. Amir Sayed (MSport) 16:23m787s; 2. Dhruvin Gajjar (DTS Racing); 3. Aman Chaudhary (DTS Racing).
Race 3:
1. Amir Sayed (MSport) 11:58m316s; 2. Aman Chaudhary (DTS Racing); 3 Dhruvin Gajjar (DTS Racing).
Race 4:
1. Amir Sayed (MSport) 17:53m731s; 2. Aman Chaudhary (DTS Racing); 3. Dhruv Tyagi (Momentum Motorsports).
JKNRC (FLGB4):
Race 1:
1. Vishnu Prasad (MSport) 21:58.046); 2. Sandeep Kumar A (Dark Don Racing); 3. Ashwin Datta (Dark Don Racing).
Race 2:
1. Ashwin Datta (Dark Don Racing) 20:52.423; 2. Raghul Rangasamy (MSport); 3. Vishnu Prasad (MSport).
Race 3:
1. Ashwin Datta (Dark Don Racing) 22:13.962; 2. Vishnu Prasad (MSport); 3. Sarosh Hataria (Ahura Racing).
