2006 JK Tyre National Racing Championship Round 4 : 07-08 Oct 2006 : Chennai Glorious double for Gaurav Dalal and Rayomand Banajee Saran Vikram and Saahil Shelar shine

Chennai, 08th October 2006

After the morning thriller of F1 in Japan, it was the turn of the Indian formula racing cars to scorch the MMST track at Irrungattukottai near Chennai. The 4th leg of the JK Tyre National Racing Championship began on schedule on a hot and sunny day in humid conditions. And hogging the limelight were Gaurav Dalal, Rayomand Banajee, Saran Vikram and Saahil Shelar.

It was a fascinating duel between the two Gauravs – Dalal and Gill from Wallace Sports and Prime Racing - as they came up with one of their best performances in Race 1 of the premium Formula Rolon Chevrolet category. Pole leader Gaurav Gill of Wallace Sports shot off into the lead and despite a fighting effort from Gaurav Dalal was able to maintain the lead till the 7th lap. However Dalal’s perseverance paid off and in the 8th lap a good maneuver pushed him into the lead which he held till the finish. Gill finished 2nd. Mumbai racer Ameya Walavalkar of Team NK Speed finished 3rd. Gaurav Dalal timed the fastest lap of 01:55:978. In Race 2 also, pole leader Gaurav Gill was once again off to a good start and maintained the lead till lap 5 when Gaurav Dalal decided to take control and surged ahead of Gill. There was no looking back for Dalal as he raced away to log in his 2nd victory of the day. Finishing in 3rd place was veteran racer Akbar Ebrahim.

The first race in Formula LGB Hyundai was red flagged in the very first lap with a pile up forcing four vehicles out of the race. And with the only lady participant Divya Miglani from Delhi coming out of the race after 7 laps the total grid came down to seven. The race was restarted as a 9 lapper and championship and pole leader Rayomand Banajee from Pune and Team Meco was off to a good start and was able to retain the lead till the end. Finishing in second place was the Chennai youngster from Wallace Sports Ajay Kini who also had the fastest lap timing of 02:01:457. Another Chennai racer Anand Prasad from Team Meco took the 3rd place. The second race for the Formula LGB Hyundai was very thrilling with a nail biting finish. The race saw C Rajaram of Prime Racing taking the lead until lap 7. But after this, it became a thriller with the leader changing every lap. But finally it was Rayomand Banajee who received the chequered flag, followed by Rajaram of Prime Racing and Anand Prasad of Meco finished third.

(L TO R) - Rayomand Banajee, Gaurav Dalal & Saahil Shelar

Race 1 in the Formula LGB Swift started with a grid of twelve but was reduced to 8 by lap 5 and to 7 by the penultimate lap. It was dream win for Mumbai lad Saahil Shelar racing for Rams Racing after starting 5th on the grid. Initially pole leader Saran Vikram from Team Wallace held the lead till the best part of the second half of the race with Ashwin Sunder and Saahil in close pursuit. While a technical hitch in Ashwin’s vehicle forced him out of the race in lap 9, Saahil came up with a great effort to move up past Saran and take the chequered flag. Ajay Kini from Team Wallace finished third. Sahil Shelar had the fastest lap timing of 01:59:424. Race 2 saw pole leader Ashwin Sunder failed to capitalize on a good start and fell back to third place while 2nd in grid Saran Vikram made the best of the opportunity to romp home. Finishing in second place was Saahil Shelar.

Results (All races -10 laps)

Formula Rolon Chevrolet – Race 1 – 1. Gaurav Dalal 19:47:327 2. Gaurav Gill 19:48:300 3. Ameya Walavalkar 20:05:491
Race 2 - 1. Gaurav Dalal 19:38:480 2. Gaurav Gill 19:45:532 3. Akbar Ebrahim 20:03:420

Formula LGB Hyundai - Race 1 - 1. Rayomand Banajee 18:37:152 2. Ajay Kini 18:38:110 3. Anand Prasad 19:08:806
Race 2 - 1. Rayomand Banajee 20:38:251 2. Rajaram C 20:38:797 3. Anand Prasad 20:52:-014

Formula LGB Swift - Race 1 - 1. Saahil Shelar 20:18:618 2. Saran Vikram 20:19:511 3. Ajay Kini 20:20:342
Race 2 - 1. Saran Vikram 20:11:253 2. Saahil Shelar 20:13:271 3. Ashwin Sunder 20:14: 787

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