The 2026 MRF Indian National Racing Challenge 4W kicked off with Round 1 held at the Madras International Circuit. This year’s championship attracted a total of 56 entries across multiple classes.
Teenagers Saishiva Sankaran and Bhuvan Bonu emerged as the star performers in the MRF Formula 2000 and Formula 1600 classes. But the opening round also saw seasoned racers like Ritesh Rai, Diljith TS and Pratik Sonawane highlighting their experience with emphatic wins.
MRF Formula 2000
After winning the 2025 Formula 1600 title, Sankaran moves up to the Formula 2000 category this year. Despite suffering poor starts, the 18-year-old gained ground and defeated Aditya Patnaik to take victory in all three races.
MRF Formula 2000 Race 1
1. Saishiva Sankaran - 14mins 47.457sec
2. Aditya Patnaik – 14mins 48.121sec
3. Swarnav Das – 14mins 53.134sec
MRF Formula 2000 Race 2
1. Saishiva Sankaran - 20mins 11.403sec
2. Aditya Patnaik – 20mins 13.709sec
3. Krishay Gutte – 20mins 15.857sec
MRF Formula 2000 Race 3
1. Saishiva Sankaran – 16mins 22.565sec
2. Aditya Patnaik – 16mins 27.649sec
3. Swarnav Das – 16mins 33.095sec
MRF Formula 1600
Gyan S won the first Formula 1600 race after Bonu suffered a drop in power in the closing laps. But Bonu bounced back the next day, with the 16-year-old surviving some tough moments to win the remaining two races.
MRF Formula 1600 Race 1
1. Gyan S – 16mins 28.952sec
2. Priyanka Vijay – 14mins 52.355sec + 1 lap
3. Bhuvan Bonu – 14mins 59.959sec + 1 lap
MRF Formula 1600 Race 2 (only two finishers)
1. Bhuvan Bonu – 21mins 19.141sec
2. Evan Shrawan – 21mins 47.811sec
MRF Formula 1600 Race 3
1. Bhuvan Bonu - 18mins 10.216
2. Gyan Satish – 16mins 22.952sec + 1 lap
3. Shivansh Bejoy – 16mins 34.435sec + 1 lap
Indian Super Touring Cars
Former Indian National Champion Arjun Narendran returns to active racing after several years away. He qualified in pole position for the first Indian Super Touring Cars race, but spun out of the lead. To further add to his woes, he was unable to start Race 2 as the necessary repairs to his car could not be completed in time.
With his key rival out of the running, Ritesh Rai ended up taking victory in both the races.
Indian Super Touring Cars Race 1
1. Ritesh Rai (Buzzing Hornet Motorsports) – 19mins 01.310sec
2. Aman Nagdev (Buzzing Hornet Motorsports) – 19mins 15.179sec
3. Jeet Jhabakh (Buzzing Hornet Motorsports) – 19mins 23.583sec
Indian Super Touring Cars Race 2
1. Ritesh Rai (Buzzing Hornet Motorsports) – 19mins 05.125sec
2. Aman Nagdev (Buzzing Hornet Motorsports) – 19mins 18.370sec
3. Jeet Jhabakh (Buzzing Hornet Motorsports) – 19mins 23.919sec
Super Stock
Diljith TS led a clean sweep for DTS Racing in the Super Stock Class. Deepa S John, the only female racer in the class, also finished on the podium in both races.
Super Stock Race 1
1. Diljith TS (DTS Racing) – 20mins 58.700sec
2. Deepa S John (DTS Racing) – 19mins 02.465sec + 1 lap
3. Lal Kattikulam Bharathan (DTS Racing) – 19mins 07.680sec + 1 lap
Super Stock Race 2
1. Diljith TS (DTS Racing) – 20mins 58.700sec
2. Lal Kattikulam Bharathan (DTS Racing) – 21mins 03.047sec
3. Deepa S John (DTS Racing) – 19mins 21.307sec + 1 lap
Polo Cup
Former Polo Cup and Ameo Cup champion Pratik Sonawane fought off rookie Neel Shah to win both races in this class. Hitarth Bhatt and Balaji Raju also enjoyed strong Polo Cup debuts, with each driver scoring a P3 result.
Polo Cup Race 1
1. Pratik Sonawane – 19mins 38.049sec
2. Neel Shah – 19mins 40.454sec
3. Hitarth Bhatt – 19mins 43.247sec
Polo Cup Race 2
1. Pratik Sonawane – 19mins 39.604sec
2. Neel Shah – 19mins 55.514sec
3. Balaji Raju – 20mins 00.495sec
Formula LGB 1300
Viswas Vijayaraj also took a clean sweep, this time in the Formula LGB 1300 class. This included the reverse grid Race 2, where he started from P8 on the grid, but made it to the front of the pack by the end of the first lap.
Over in the Junior category, Sri Lankan racer Kaveen Diyyan Rajapaksa enjoyed a fruitful round, winning all three races.
Formula LGB 1300 Open Race 1
1. Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) – 18mins 53.431sec
2. Vinithkumar (DTS Racing) – 18mins 58.267sec
3. Liron Jaden Samuels – 19mins 03.051sec
Formula LGB 1300 Open Race 2
1. Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) – 22mins 21.644sec
2. Vinithkumar (DTS Racing) – 22mins 24.307sec
3. Liron Jaden Samuels (DTS Racing) – 22mins 27.640sec
Formula LGB 1300 Open Race 3
1. Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) – 13mins 15.418sec
2. Liron Jaden Samuels (DTS Racing) – 13mins 23.756sec
3. Vinithkumar (DTS Racing) – 13mins 24.135sec
Formula LGB 1300 Junior Race 1
1. Kaveen Diyyan Rajapaksa (Momentum Motorsports) – 19mins 21.510sec
2. Abhijit Vadavalli (Momentum Motorsports) 19mins 39.205sec
3. Yash Vikram Singh (Delta Speeds) – 19mins 39.596sec
Formula LGB 1300 Junior Race 2
1. Kaveen Diyyan Rajapaksa (Momentum Motorsports) – 22mins 41.719sec
2. Abhijit Vadavalli (Momentum Motorsports) – 22mins 51.719sec
3. Aadam Junaid (Momentum Motorsports) – 22mins 54.102sec
Formula LGB 1300 Junior Race 3
1. Kaveen Diyyan Rajapaksa (Momentum Motorsports) – 13mins 36.878sec
2. Shatveer Shetty (Meco Racing) – 13mins 43.726sec
3. Yash Vikram Singh (Delta Speeds) – 13mins 51.885sec
Dinshaw Magol
