CHENNAI: The inaugural edition of X1 Racing League ended on Sunday. In the final leg, hosted by Madras Motorsport Racing Track, Mumbai Falcons won two of the three races. Bangalore Racing Stars took the third spot.
Behind the wheel for Mumbai were Kush Maini and Mikkel Jensen, who worked in tandem to script podium finishes in all three races. They came second, behind Bangalore in the third. Bangalore — driven by the other Maini brother, Arjun, and Englishman Oliver James Webb — set the standard in the first race. But they came third and second in the other two.
The first race on a hot, sultry day took a heavy toll. Six cars stalled due to mechanical reasons. The safety vehicle came in after a car blew an engine. Five more ended up the same. Thus, the other two races featured a six-car grid, with each team having only one vehicle.
Bangalore began Race 1 at fourth, behind Mumbai, DG Racing Ahmedabad and Hyderabad Black Birds.
Bangalore’s game plan was a level ahead of their rivals’. Although Mumbai set a few hearts racing with a late surge, they held on win by a mere 56 milliseconds. Hyderabad, piloted by Vitantonio Liuzzi and Gosia Rdest, came third (27:28.969s).
With the reverse-grid format being employed in the second race, Delhi’s Gaurav Gill started at pole and kept his lead intact till he pitted. Raghul Rangasamy took over from the three-time Asia Pacific Rally champion and steered Delhi to second, behind Mumbai. They clocked 28:21.637s, 19:415s behind the winners. Bangalore, who started fifth, came in third.
Despite home fans cheering vigorously for the squad of five from Chennai, the Narain Karthikeyan-owned side failed to make the grade. Even Karthikeyan came last in the second race.
Race 3 also went in favour of Mumbai, with Bangalore and Hyderabad taking second and third. Only Chennai and Ahmedabad failed to make a mark in this leg.
Results (provisional):
Race 1: 1. Bengaluru Racing Stars (Arjun Maini/Oliver Webb, 27:23.458s), 2. Mumbai Falcons (Kush Maini/Michel Jensen, 27:24.018s), 3. Blackbirds Hyderabad (Vitantonio Liuzzi/Gosia Rdest, 27:28.969s). Race 2: 1. Mumbai Falcons (28:02.222s), 2. AD Racing Delhi (Gaurav Gill/Raghul Rangasamy, 28:21.637s), 3. Bangalore Racing Stars (28:25.847s). Race 3: 1. Mumbai Falcons (27:59.175s), 2. Bangalore Racing Stars (28:03.838s), 3. Blackbirds Hyderabad (Luizzi / Akhil Rabindra, 28:28.382s). Overall: 1. Mumbai Falcons (4 out of 7 races), 2. Bengaluru Racing Stars (3 out of 7 races).