JK tyre national racing: Saran Vikram’s Mars car too hot for rivals

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Behind the bustling main paddock, a makeshift garage of Mars Racing cut a different picture.

Young racer Saran Vikram had no time to take a break after the qualifying session as he doubled up as a mechanic along with his dad Shanmugam, who tunes the car. While other teams prepared their vehicles with a handful of mechanics, Mars Racing was a two-man show.

However, the father-son duo produced a blockbuster in the Formula LGB 4 category of the JK Tyre national racing championship here at the Irungattukottai track on Saturday.

Saran, returning to racing after a two-year gap, clinched the pole position with an impressive three-second lead before converting into an authoritative victory.

The whooping nine-second win has only raised eyebrows of stewards who are set to strip his car at the post-event scrutiny on Sunday evening, confirmed an official.

Saran who won the Formula Rolon championship in 2010 was forced to take a break from racing as the series rules don’t permit the champion to defend his crown.

With no financial backing to go international, Saran decided to concentrate on his studies -- a degree in aircraft maintenance.

“Ever since the organisers announced the new class (Formula4), I have been waiting to slip into my racing gear,” said the 20-year-old.

The F4 race also rekindled an exciting rivalry between Saran and Dark Don Racing’s Ashwin Sundar, who is also on his comeback trail.

Ashwin, who finished a distant second, lamented the stewards’ decision to red-flag the race after an accident during the first lap.

Saran made a slow start and Ashwin was leading the race when it was stopped following a shunt involving three cars (Sudanand Rajan, K. Chetan and Akhil Devarag) at second corner. Ashwin said the decision to restart the race spoiled his chance.

Saran, however, made no mistake at the re-start and kept increasing the lead throughout the 10-lap contest.

In a three-horse race for the final podium spot, Chennai’s Karthik Krishna held off Bengaluru’s Sudarshan Rao and Chennai’s Vishnu Prasad.

Earlier, Mumbai veteran Ameya Walavalkar stormed to pole position in the Volkswagen Polo Cup with a fastest lap of 2:01.037s.

Chennai’s A. Sandeep Kumar will start along side him in the front row, while Vizag’s Sailesh Bolisetti, who is a guest driver for the weekend, qualified third.

Interestingly, all the top three’s best timings came in the very first flying lap of the 30-minute session when their tyres were not at optimum operating temperature.

Results

Formula LGB 4: 1. Saran Vikram (Mars Racing); 2. Ashwin Sundar (Dark Don); 3. Karthik Krishna (WSRF).

Indian Touring Cars: 1. V. Rajvirdhan (Prime Racing); 2. Arjun Balu (Tiger Sport); 3. N. Leelakrishnan (Big Foots).

Indian Junior Touring Cars: 1. Md Fahad Kutty (Game Over); 2. S. Narendran (IPL Powerpak); 3. S. Diljith (Eram Group). Volkswagen Polo Cup: 1. Ameya Walavalkar (Mumbai); 2. A. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai); 3. Sailesh Bolisetti (Vizag).