Chennai’s A. Sandeep Kumar (Dark Don, 66 pts) edged out teammate Ashwin Datta (63 pts) by three points to emerge the Formula LGB4 champion of the 23rd JK Tyre National racing championship at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Sunday.
The national championship class went right down to the wire. Going into the weekend, Ashwin, with 39 points, looked calm and composed to wear the crown. But, Sandeep had other ideas.
It was just one point that separated the two going into the final race and it looked like anybody's game.
The duo, starting from the back of the grid, planned it well but Ashwin crashed out in the very first lap, while Sandeep hung on to finish fifth. He earned four valuable points, which was good enough to lift the title. Vishnu (54pts), who emerged the winner, had to rest content for the third place in the overall standings.
“I did my maths before going into the last race. But we both decided to race clean and let the best man win on track. Unfortunately, Ashwin was involved in a crash and I had to fight hard to the finish line,” said Sandeep.
Amir Sayed (MSport) had sealed the JK Tyre Novice Cup title with miles to spare but he did not wish to go slow. He further upped his pace to make it a perfect 12/12 finish.
The results (Provisional): FLGB4: Race 1: 1. Mohamed Ryan (MSport) 20:21.929; 2. Vishnu Prasad (MSport); 3. A. Sandeep Kumar (Dark Don). Race 2: 1. T.S. Diljith (Dark Don) 23:58.426; 2. A. Sandeep Kumar; 3. Sarosh Hataria (Ahura Racing). Race 3: 1. Vishnu Prasad 21:01.907; 2. Mohamed Ryan; 3. Sarosh Hataria.
JK Tyre Novice Cup: Race 1: 1. Amir Sayed (MSport) 14:17.157; 2. Chetan Surineni (Momentum); 3. Aman Chaudhary (DTS). Race 2: 1. Amir Sayed 16:34.084; 2. Chetan Siruneni; 3. Neym Rizvi (Msport).