COIMBATORE: When the third wave of Covid-19 gradually struck India in December and January, sporting competitions were affected with some of them either getting postponed or cancelled. The fourth and final round of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Racing Championship met the same fate and the organisers postponed it to February. Come this weekend, one can expect a thrilling finish with the grand finale scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore.
Sanjay Sharma, Head of JK Tyre Motorsport, said that they were well prepared and experienced to handle the situation last month. "Luckily, from experience of postponements in 2020 and 2021, we were a little bit well prepared this time around," he told this daily. "Also, the thing is that sports cannot be compromised. There are a set of kids and racers, who have gone through a lot of training and competed in the first three rounds and around 14 to 18 races. You cannot deny them that laurel, so here we are for the final round."
Over the next two days, racers will be involved in three categories, including Indian make Novice Cup and Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup and LGB Formula 4. The action is going to be intense and competitive, especially in the LGB Formula 4 category, where just 12 points separate the top 5 drivers in the overall championship standings.
At present, Vishnu Prasad is in the lead with 50 points, but Sandeep Kumar is at 48 points. Arya Singh is placed at 41 points with Diljith TS tailing him at 39 points. Leader Vishnu is aware of the tough competition in place and believes there is no room for errors in the final round.
"It is going to be a hard weekend. It is going to be a challenge, but we have to be really competitive. Having an error free weekend is going to be super important. When it is so tight, qualifying becomes very important to set the tone for the race, where we have to see how much we can push," said Vishnu.
And it also remains to be seen if Anish Shetty can excel and maintain his dominance to ride away with the chequered flag or will Allwin Xavier be able to take over in the JK Tyre presents Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup. Meanwhile, as far as the JK Tyre Novice Cup is concerned, Ruhaan Alva has almost sealed his Championship title with 80 points. But a small error here and there from his end can turn the tables around for Jaden Pariat, which makes matters interesting.