The JK Tyre National Karting Championship started off with damp & rainy conditions but soon turned sunny & hot on Sunday. Fierce competition was witnessed across all categories in the highest level of Indian Karting. Qualifying was an extremely close affair with 13 drivers within a second. Rayo Racing’s Nayan Chatterjee bagged pole with a stunning time of 29.686 seconds. former champion Chittesh Mandody was 2nd & reigning champion – Ameya Bafna also from Rayo Racing in 3rd.
In the Pre-final it was Chittesh Mandody of Mohite Racing who won & therefore meant that he would start from pole position for the final. The drive of the day however belonged to Ameya Bafna. He started 19th (last) & worked his way up, to 8th position & clocked the fastest lap along the way. The finals were a treat to watch. Ameya Bafna showed why he is the reigning champ. With a blinder of a start, he moved from 8th position to 3rd after the 2nd corner. He briefly led the race, before Chittesh & he made contact. The incident allowed Nayan to pass by. There was no looking back for Nayan after that. He drove a flawless race to win by almost a 3 second margin.
A tough battle ensued between Ameya & Vishnu Prasad of Meco Racing & the 2 drivers exchanged positions numerous times. Ameya came home 2nd to make it 1-2 for Rayo Racing, followed by Vishnu in third. “I am really happy to win my first race in the National Championship. I am glad the hard work has paid off” said an ecstatic Nayan, who had very recently dominated the JK Tyre Open Cup in May this year. Khush Maini of Darkdon won the Junior, followed by Meco Racing’s Akash Gowda. Rayo Racing’s Mrinal Chatterjee who was driving his first race in the Junior category after stepping up from the Micro category, came in a well deserved 3rd place. Arya Gandhi who finished 2nd in the Pre Final was very unfortunate in the Finals. He was running 2nd till the last corner of the last lap & couldn’t finish due to another driver who spun off the track.
Source : CarDekho - Rayo Racing wins the 1st and 2nd Round in Karting