COIMBATORE: Vishnu Prasad might be a seasoned campaigner, but it would still have required a brave punter to put money on him to win his debut race in the Euro JK17 category. Especially after some trouble in the qualifying session which saw him start from P4 in Race 1.
A new car, three ahead of him, and if he did fancy a podium finish, he needed a good start. Instead, he got a great one as he took the lead in the opening lap and held on to the advantage for the rest of the race to take home his maiden win in the Euro JK17 category on the opening day of the JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship at Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore.
In Race 2, he took advantage of his pole position and overcame a stiff challenge from Anindith for a grand double. “At P4, the start was always going to be the key. It is a new car and over the week I have got used to it. So once I got the lead, I was conscious not to do anything silly and just held on to the advantage,” Vishnu said.
It wasn't all that easy. Hyderabad's Anindith kept testing Vishnu, but not even the best lap of the day of 1:00: 911minutes could take him past the eventual winner. While he finished second in Race 1, he had to settle for the third spot in the second, having failed to grab a golden chance to take the lead.
If Anindith had a mixed outing, Nayan Chatterjee of Mumbai must be cursing himself. Being in pole position, he yielded ground to Vishnu and Anindith in Race 1 and in Race 2 held in the afternoon session he did better to finish second. The two foreigners — Paolo Ippolito (Italy), Ricky Capo (Australia) — made good early impression. While the Italian finished fifth and seventh, Capo took eighth place in the second.
The most action-packed event of the day was the LG4, which saw Chittesh Mandody of Avalanche Racing taking the honours. Staying calm and composed throughout the windy afternoon, he won by clocking the best lap time of 01:11:097 minutes. TS Diljith of Dark Don Racing came second, while private racer Vikram came third.
In the JK Tyre Suzuki Gixxer Cup, which saw 22 riders, Chennai's Joseph Mathew came first, while Mumbai's Sanjeev Mhatre and Lalmawipuia of Aizwal came second and third, respectively.
In the Road to Rookie Cup, Sri Lanka's Jaden Gunawardena proved to be the fastest, but it was Aizwal boys Lalhruaizela and Lalnunsanga who grabbed eyeballs by taking the remaining two podium places.
Results
Euro JK 17 (Race 2): 1. Vishnu Prasad 2. Anindith Reddy 3. Nayan Chatterjee. Euro JK 17 (Race 1): 1. Vishnu Prasad 2. Nayan Chatterjee 3. Anindith Reddy.
LGB4 (Race 1): 1. Chittesh Mandody 2. Diljith TS 3. Saran Vikram. Gixxer Cup: 1. Joseph Mathew 2. Sanjeev Mhatre 3. Lalmawipuia. Road to Rookie Cup: 1. Jaden Gunawardena 2. Lalhruaizela 3. Lalnunsanga.