: Bengaluru's Sohil Shah took the honours in the first race of the LGB Formula 4 class in the second round of the JK Tyre National Racing Championship here on Saturday.
The MSport driver took advantage of an acrimonious but sensational battle between Vishnu Prasad, who finished second and Kerala's T S Diljith, who came in third, to emerge the winner.
After a delayed start due to technical safety regulations, two privateers Manav Dougall and Akshay Kapoor, both from Delhi, found themselves at P1 and P2. Diljith (Dark Don) and Vishnu (MSport) began at P3 and P4 and brought the race alive at the first corner itself, jumping into the lead.
Chennai's Vishnu Prasad veered to the outside line and smartly overtook the three racers head of him. But Diljith made his move in the second lap, shooting past Vishnu to set up a tense dog-fight. Vishnu chased Diljith relentlessly, forcing him into his first mistake in the 8th lap.
Sohil took advantage of their engaging tussle to jump into the lead. The 18-year old showed nerves of steel to build on it and eventually win the race.
In the JK Tyre Suzuki Gixxer Cup, Pune's Tanay Gaikwad converted his pole position to a comfortable victory, beating last round's winner Syed Muzammil Ali (Bangalore). Tanay clocked the fastest lap time of 1:23.750 to mark his superiority on the day.
Results (Provisional): LGB Formula 4: Race I: 1. Sohil Shah 20:05.863; 2. T S Diljith (20:08.136; 3. Vishnu Prasad 20:08.263.
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