The title contenders go head to head again in the fourth round of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting championship, at the 650-metre Kart Centre circuit in Lahari Resorts here over the weekend with very little separating the top guns in terms of points.
In the Micro Max (7 to 12 years) category, defending champion Pradyumn V Danigond (Team Mohite's Racing) leads the field with 266 points, just 12 ahead of talented Bangalore karter Yash Aradhya of Meco Racing.
The Junior Max (13 to 16 years) has Krishnaraj Mahadik (Team Mohite's Racing) on top with 255 points while Tejasram (244) and Akash Gowda (240) are within striking distance of the leader.
Nayan Chatterjee (Rayo Racing), Vishnu Prasad (Meco Racing) and defending champion Ameya Bafna (Rayo Racing) will be locked in another tight battle in the Senior Max (15 years and above) category with only 11 points separating the trio.
In all, 45 karters will be seen in action over the weekend as qualifying and Heat races will be held Saturday, while the pre-finals and final races are scheduled for Sunday.
This season, two new karting teams, Dark Don Racing from Chennai and Bangalore-based India Karting, made their debut in the championship providing close competition to established Meco Racing, Rayo Racing and Mohite's Racing.