VOL.2007.109
Date : 03 Oct 2007

JK TYRE ROTAX MAX KARTING CHALLENGE 2007
Aditya Patel to represent India in Senior Class
Chitesh Mandody in Junior Class
in the Rotax Max World Karting Finals in Al-Ain ( Dubai )

The final round of the JK Tyre Rotax Max Karting Challenge was held at the CIK approved International Karting track in Kolhapur. The final was a cliffhanger for both the Junior and Senior categories whereas the Mini Max category was more or less sealed by round 4 in coimbatore.

Ameya Walavalkar from Mumbai and Aditya Patel from Chennai were fighting it out in the senior class, while Vishnu Prasad ( Chennai), Karan Goenka ( Kolkatta), Parth Ghoprpade ( Kolhapur ) and Chitesh Mandody ( Kolhapur ) were all vying for the top slot in the junior class. In the Mini Max class, Shashank Ravishankar from Chennai had sealed the championship by round 4 with continous wins in all the 4 rounds.

In the senior class the suspense went on till the last lap of the final race. Championship leader, Ameya Walavalkar qualified on pole with a couple of tenths to spare. 2nd placed Aditya Patel qualified 3rd with Rayomand Banajee qualifying in 2nd place. The 2 heats belonged to Ameya who paced himself well and won both heats quite comfortably. However, it was the pre final and final races which mattered and the pressure was on all for the Sunday’s two races. Engineers from both teams worked hard on the karts to provide the drivers a winning balance.

In the pre final, Aditya Patel made a good move on Ameya in lap3 and from then on held off Ameya to take the chequered flag. Ameya finished a close 2nd . The final race was the cliff hanger. Whoever won it would take home the trophy and get to go for the Rotax World Finals in Dubai in the senior class.

Aditya started well from pole. Rayomand Banajee who started 3rd made a desperate move on the inside of Ameya and nearly pulled it off, but could not find the grip on the dusty track. Ameya regained 2nd spot and then hounded Aditya. But with Aditya having a better acceleration out of the medium and slow corners, Ameya could not find the pace to challenge him though he had a better top speed down the straights. Aditya slowly and surely opened the gap to 2 seconds and took the chequered flag after a hard and well fought season. Aditya will accompany Chitesh to take part in the Rotax Max World Final, Senior class in Dubai.

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