Sohil Shah took the MRF Formula 2000 category pole. File
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Bengaluru youngster Sohil Shah and Chennai’s Ritesh Rai grabbed pole position in the MRF Formula 2000 and Volkswagen Polo Cup categories, respectively, on the opening day of the fourth and final round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship 2022 at the Madras International Circuit, here on Friday.
The 21-year old Shah set a best time of one minute, 31.668 seconds to qualify for the pole position ahead of championship leader Sai Sanjay from Salem (01:32.095) and Gurugram’s Divy Nandan (01:32.246).
Meanwhile, 40-year-old Chennai racer, Ritesh Rai, who is placed eighth in the championship, put in a hot lap of 01:56.000 to earn himself the pole position in the VW Polo Cup. Qualifying in second was Mumbai’s Pratik Sonawane (01:56.419) who heads the points table, while Raaj Bakhru (01:56.605), also from Mumbai, will start tomorrow’s race from third.
Thumbs-up for Circuit
Chennai’s Ritesh Rai who qualified for pole position in the VW Polo Cup category.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Meanwhile, the Madras International Cricut got a big thumbs-up from former three-time British Touring Cars champion Matt Neal, who was invited to witness the final round. Neal labelled the track as unique and rated it seven on a scale of 10. He drove a few laps in the Volkswagen Virtus of the Indian Touring Cars category. “The track has a very fast corner at turn one, a few mid-speed corners and some tight sections like the ‘S’ leading up to the bridge. The track is very technical and challenging,” said Naeal
The results (Qualifying – top 3): MRF F2000: 1. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (1:31.668); 2. Sai Sanjay (Salem) (1:32.095); 3. Divy Nandan (Gurugram) (1:32.246).
Volkswagen Polo Cup: 1. Ritesh Rai (Chennai) (1:56.000); 2. Pratik Sonawane (Mumbai) (1:56.419); 3. Raaj Bakhru (Mumbai) (1:56.605).
