Kart blanche

PITSTOP

Thirty of the best karters in the country converged in Gurgaon last Sunday for the grand finale of the JK Tyre National Karting Championship 2004.

The championship has been run for five years and the action this year was as hectic as usual. Over the course of the year, more than a thousand participants in six cities vied for spots in the final, and the final thirty were the cream of the crop.

The first semi-final of the day, with twelve finalists vying for the top spot, saw Bangalore lad Deepak Chinnappa starting from pole. He made a clean getaway and led from start to finish.

Aditya Patel finished second and moving into third was Amritrajit Ghosh, who made his way up from fifth place on the grid.

The biggest names in karting lined up in the second semi "� reigning National Karting Champion Rayomand Banajee, Ameya Walavalkar and Jigar Muni, among others.

Banajee opened up a sizeable lead to finish first, with Walavalkar second and Kartik Kancharla third. Jigar Muni, sadly, suffered a broken chain and had to retire.

The Senior Category final was a much anticipated affair, but Rayomand Banajee turned it into a one-man show. Capitalising on a first-corner melee, he made a clean getaway and proceeded to drive a brilliant race, lapping the entire field en route to his second successive title. Deepak Chinnapa in second and Ameya Walavalkar in third rounded off the podium.

The junior category, for participants aged 13 to 15, saw much high-drama. The race was red-flagged twice due to first-corner pile-ups and reduced to 12 laps. Akhil Khusklani fought his way to first position, just ahead of Saran Vikram in second and Saahil Shelar in third.

The finals of the cadet class saw Vishnu Prasad start from second on the grid, but he ousted pole -sitter Chittesh Mandody, who finished second eventually, for the title. Karan Goenka came in third.

A freshly-laid track and freezing temperatures meant that the karters had to battle for traction, but all in all, it was an exciting end to the karting season and one hopes to see more in 2005.