Kini clinches Formula Swift title

CHENNAI - Ajay Kini of Wallace Sports clinched the title in the Formula LGB Swift class despite finishing fifth in the first of the two races at the sixth round of the 13th JK Tyre National Racing Championship here Saturday.

Kini from Bangalore did just enough to secure the points that put him beyond the competition with a tally of 77 to leave teammate Gautam Parkeh trailing in second at 64 with just one more race to be run Sunday.

Having got his calculations right, Kini preferred to drive sensibly without taking any risk and it allowed R.Deepak (Mars Racing) to win from S.Narendran (TVS Girling) and Parkeh.

Kini won only two races this season as compared to four by Ameya Walavalkar (TVS Girling), but had seven other podium finishes as that reflected his consistency. Walavalkar (63 points) was last in Saturday’s race and it effectively ruled him out of contention.

Earlier, Siddharth Kishore (Performance Racing) showcased his racing genes to deliver a stunning victory and line himself for the Super Saloons championship title.

With the skies staying clear and the temperature just right, the racing conditions were just perfect and the 30-year-old Kishore, son of legendary two-wheeler champion Subhash Chandra Bose, made two places to win the first race in style ahead of Raj Viruthan (Prime Racing) who had started from pole.

With the final race of the season to be run on Sunday, Kishore moved to within five points of championship leader Sailesh Bolisetti (RAD Racing) who finished a disappointing fourth behind Viruthan’s father, B Vijayakumar (Prime Racing).

Kishore is now on 73 points to Bolisetti’s 78 while Viruthan is way behind on 53, followed by Vijayakumar (47).

Starting third on the grid, Kishore moved past Vijayakumar and pursued Viruthan who under pressure ran wide entering the Bridge Complex to lose position in the third of the 10-lap race.

It was Kishore’s second consecutive win after scoring maximum points in the second race of the previous round while Bolisetti, who has five wins to his credit, struggled with an ill-handling car.

The race for the honours tightened in the Formula LGB class also as championship leader Ajay Kini (Wallace Sports) finished a distant fifth to pick up five points to move to 77. Team-mate Gautham Parekh pouched six by coming in third and took his tally to 64

The results:

Super Saloons - Race 1 (10 laps): Siddharth Kishore (Performance Racing) 1 (20mins, 40.248secs); Raj Viruthan (Prime Racing) 2 (20:43.406); B Vijayakumar (Prime Racing) 3 (20:48.994).

Indian Junior Touring Cars - Race 1 (10 laps): Feroze Khan (Haute Car Zone) 1 (20:42.987); Emmanuel Clarke (Moto Rev India) 2 (20:43.813); TS Diljith (Meco Motorsports) 3 (20:44.252).

Formula Rolon - Race 1 (10 laps): Rahil Noorani (Meco Racing) 1; Vikash Anand (VA-RAD Racing) 2; Chittesh Mandody (Mohite’s Racing) 3. (Timings not available).

Formula LGB - Race 1 (10 laps): R Deepak (Mars Racing) 1 (19:49.747); S Narendran (TVS Girling) 2 (19:57.457); Gautham Parekh (Wallace Sports) 3 (19:57.629).