2019 JK Tyre NRC, Round 2: Raghul Rangasamy takes LGB Formula 4 lead

Round 2 of the 2019 JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship got underway at the Kari Motor Speedway over the weekend and saw plenty of nail-biting action in the different classes. The premiere class of the series saw three different race winners, but it's reigning LGB Formula 4 champion Raghul Rangasamy, who jumped to the top of the standings in the category. The round also played host to the inaugural JK Tyre Inter-College Cup races. Here’s a rundown of what Round 2 served up in each class:

LGB Formula 4

The three races in the LGB Formula 4 class saw some hard-fought battles. Two privateers – Manav Dougall and Akshay Kapoor – locked out the front row for the first race, followed by Diljith TS and Vishnu Prasad. Prasad was able to gain three places on the opening lap itself to move into the lead, but Diljith TS was right behind him and successfully overtook him on the next lap. Sohil Shah was able to take advantage of the tussle between the two frontrunners and passed both of them to take the lead and eventually win the race.

Diljith TS started the reverse-grid second race from 7th place, but steadily made his way up the order and ended up clinching victory ahead of Rangasamy and Sandeep Kumar A. However, Rangasamy did go on to win the third race of the weekend. His MSport teammate Prasad was leading the race with a big margin when a safety car wiped out his advantage and he had to settle for 2nd place, followed by Sohil Shah. This takes Rangasamy's points tally up to 47 – just two ahead of Prasad.

Mira Erda once again took victory in the women’s category. She’s currently leading the standings in the category, followed by Megaa KS and Anushriya Gulati.

Results
Race 1
1. Sohil Shah (20:05.863); 2. Diljith TS (20:08.136); 3. Vishnu Prasad (20:08.263)

Race 2
1. Diljith TS (18:14.76); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (18:14.96); 3. Sandeep Kumar A (18:15.31)

Race 3
1. Raghul Rangasamy (20:29.90); 2. Vishnu Prasad (20:29.92); 3. Sohil Shah (20:29.10)

Suzuki Gixxer Cup

Tanay Gaikwad dominated in the Suzuki Gixxer Cup, winning both races over the weekend to collect the maximum possible 20 points. He now joins Syed Muzammil Ali at the top of the standings. Syed Muzammil Ali himself narrowly missed out on victory and had to settle for 2nd place in both the races.

Results
Race 1
1. Tanay Gaikwad (10:07.050); 2. Syed Muzammil Ali (10:07.119); 3. Sidharth Sajan (10:15.558)

Race 2
1. Tanay Gaikwad (14:18.57); 2. Syed Muzammil Ali (14:18.64); 3. Shazan Khan (14:32.58)

Red Bull Road to Rookies

Ikshan Shanbag continued his winning streak in the Red Bull Road to Rookies class, winning both the races in Round 2 as well. As a result, Shanbag comfortably won the 2019 Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup, earning the opportunity to represent India at the qualifiers for the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup – an international competition that serves as a feeder to the MotoGP Moto 3 championship.

Aditi Krishnan and Aryan Gaurav completed both the races of the weekend in 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.

Results
Race 1
1. Ikshan Shanbag (10:35.841); 2. Aditi Krishnan (10:51.180); 3. Aryan Gaurav (10:53.688)

Race 2
1. Ikshan Shanbag (14:56.415); 2. Aditi Krishnan (15:20.919); 3. Aryan Gaurav (15:23.780)

JK Tyre Novice Cup

Aaroh Ravindra enjoyed a strong Round 2 in the JK Tyre Novice Cup. He managed to finish on the podium in all three races – winning Race 1 and 3, and finishing Race 2 in 2nd place, to hold on to his place on the top of the standings with a total of 52 points. Chirag Ghorpade bagged two 2nd-place finishes over the weekend to slot into overall 2nd place with 39 points.

Results
Race 1
1. Aaroh Ravindra (12:17.448); 2. Chirag Ghorpade (12:19.122); 3. Mohamed Ryan (12:19.620)

Race 2
1. Mohamed Ryan (12:11.047); 2. Aaroh Ravindra (12:17.177); 3. Udbhav Goyal (12:20.106)

Race 3
1. Aaroh Ravindra (18:19.30); 2. Chirag Ghorpade (18:24.87); 3. Mohamed Ryan (18:29.31)

JK Tyre College Cup

David Ryan was the standout performer in the inaugural round of the JK Tyre Inter-college Cup, winning both the races on the first day. Sai Prithvi S ended up winning the last race, but a 2nd-place finish was enough for Ryan to hold on to the overall 28-point lead. Sai Prithvi S and Kedin Akhil are tied for 2nd overall with 16 points each.

Results
Race 1
1. David Ryan (11:44.004); 2. Aman Chaudhary (12:07.282); 3. Sai Prithvi S (12:10.876)

Race 2
1. David Ryan (10:22.369); 2. Chetan Surineni (10:33.006); 3. Kedin Akhil (10:44.975)

Race 3
1. Sai Prithvi S (10:20.80); 2. David Ryan (10:22.73); Chetan Surineni (10:46.82)