Picariello and Reddy win in MRF Challenge

Indian Tarun Reddy won his first race of the MRF Challenge 2015 after beating Tatiana Calderon in race two of Round 3 of the MRF Challenge 2015 at the Dubai Autodrome.

The race was red-flagged on lap three when Guiliano Alesi crashed. The final result was based on the combined times of the race before the red flag and the last five laps of the race.

While Calderon crossed the finish line in first place after overtaking Reddy, the Indian driver was adjudged the winner after winning the race by 0.260secs. Russian driver Nikita Troitckii got his second podium of the day with a third place finish. Earlier in the day Alessio Picariello continued his great form by winning Race 1 after a three way battle with Pietro Fittipaldi and Troitckii, who finished in 2^nd and 3^rd place.

In Race one, pole sitter Picariello kept his lead into the first corner while Troitckii held on to 2^nd place with Fittipaldi jumping a slow starting Sean Walkinshaw into 3^rd. Female driver Tatiana Calderon had a qualifying session to forget but made up for it with a great start. She hunted down 4^th place man Harrison Newey on lap 2 to move up another place. The battle for the lead was heating up with Picariello unable to shake off Troitckii and Fittipaldi. Fittipaldi took advantage of the battle to pass Troitckii on lap 6 and move into 2^nd place.

Behind them Calderon was 4^th place with fast charging Indian Reddy moving up from 10^th on the grid to 5^th on lap 7 after some good overtaking moves. Picariello crossed the finish line in first place with Fittipaldi and Troitckii in tow, the top three being covered by less than a second. Calderon finished in 4^th place with Reddy in a strong 5^th place, ahead of Max Fewtrell. Harrison Newey finished in 7^th place, ahead of Nerses Isaakyan, Dylan Young and Giuliano Alesi.

Race two started with Max Fewtrell on reverse grid pole, alongside Reddy. Reddy got the jump on him and moved into first place into the first corner. He was followed by Fewtrell, Troitckii, Calderon and Picariello. Alesi crashed at the end of lap 1 with Sean Walkinshaw also crashing out in a separate incident which brought out the safety car. The race was finally red-flagged on lap 3 to clear the car and fix the barrier. Picariello suffered a steering problem and was forced to pit and start from there for the restart ending his dream run of results. The race was to be restarted and be a 5 lap encounter.

Reddy led from the start and was followed by Fewtrell and a fast starting Calderon. Calderon started putting pressure on Reddy and finally passed the Indian on the penultimate lap. Calderon crossed the finish line in first place with Reddy holding off 4 cars to finish in 2^nd place. He was adjudged the winner by tiniest of margins with Calderon having to settle for 2^nd place. Troitckii finished in 3^rd, followed by Fewtrell, Isaakyan, Fittipaldi and Young.