The first round of the MMSC FMSCI National Racing Championship commenced at the MMST track in suburban Sriperumbudur near here with free practice sessions and the qualifying round of the MRF International Challenge series.
Championship leader Pietro Fittipaldi, grandson of former Formula One champion Emerson Fittipaldi, showcased his racing pedigree by taking the pole position in the MRF International Challenge ahead of Harrison Newey (England), India's Tarun Reddy and Mick Schumacher.
Also grabbing the limelight was Chennai's Karthik Tharanisingh who emerged quickest during the Free Practice sessions in the MRF Formula 1600 class of the National Racing Championship as he began the defence of his title on a strong note ahead of tomorrow's qualifying round.
The rather warm conditions at the MMRT track, which received rave reviews from the overseas drivers competing in the MRF International Challenge series, saw some impressive timings.
Harrison, son of noted F1 designer Adrian Newey, had good outings in the practice sessions but it was Fittipaldi who put the hammer down in the qualifying session as the pair will start from the front row in the first of four races this weekend.
Chennai teenager Tarun Reddy, who is sixth in the championship standings, did a fine job to qualify third and ahead of Mick Schumacher, son of seven-time World F1 champion Michael Schumacher.
Fittipaldi said: "I decided to save my tyres for qualifying and focus on getting the balance right in practice. It paid off as the car felt really good in qualifying and I was able to push. The MMRT track is a very challenging circuit to drive on and a lot of fun. It is always best to start on pole position, so I hope to convert this into a win tomorrow."
Meanwhile, the Saloon cars too had an outing by way of two Free Practice sessions. In the Indian Junior Touring Cars class, Goa's Keith D'Souza and Dr VJ Senthil from Trichy topped a session each while in the Super Stock category, local challenger Alisha Abdullah and Bengaluru's Veeresh Prasad were the quickest.
The qualifying sessions and races are scheduled for tomorrow and Sunday.
