Bengaluru’s Joel Joseph and Coimbatore’s S. Vinod emerged champions of the four-wheeler Unrestricted and Indian Open categories respectively in the JK Tyre FMSCI Indian National Drag Racing Championship (INDRC) at the Kari Motor Speedway circuit in Chettipalayam, on Thursday.
Joel, who dominated the opening two rounds of the four-round series, enjoyed a good run at the start.
He finished on top in the third round of the Indian Open class and looked well set to seal the championship. It was at this juncture that his car let him down badly.
He could not start the fourth round due to a mechanical failure and had to rest content for the second spot.
Vinod took home the top honour with 152 points followed by Joel at 150.
“It is my first year and I am really pleased to have clinched the championship. I am doubly pleased because I was on a complete street car [Mitsubishi Cedia] with a turbo-charged setup. I must thank N. Leelakrishnan [seven-time national rally champion] of Red Rooster Performance for building the car for me,” said the 27-year-old Vinod. “I will be on a proper race-spec car the next time around,” he quickly added.
Joel was obviously disappointed. “I must call it bad luck,” he said. But the 30-year-old tallied 138 points to wrest the championship in the INDRC unrestricted class. Siblings Gaddafi Malik and Akram Malik finished second and third respectively.
Md. Javeed Khan and Rizwan Khan, with 194 points apiece, turned out to be the masters in the INDRC two-wheeler Indian Open and unrestricted class respectively.
The results:
INDRC 4W Indian Open:Round 3: 1. Joel Joseph; 2. B.L. Jagadish; 3. Jayanth Somanathan. Round 4: 1. Jayanth Somanathan; 2. S. Vinod; 3. Charen Chandran.
INDRC 4W unrestricted: Round 3: 1. Akram Maalik; 2. Gaddafi Malik; 3. Joel Joseph. Round 4: 1. Gaddafi Malik; 2. Akram Malik; 3. Manik.
INDRC 2W Indian Open: Round 3: 1. Md. Javeed Khan; 2. V. Raja; 3. Zayeem Ahmed. Round 4: 1. Md. Javeed Khan; 2. Syed Ahmed; 3. V. Raja.
INDRC 2W unrestricted: Round 3: 1. Rizwan Khan; 2. Mohammed Riyaz; 3. Sanjay Reddy. Round 4: 1. Mohammed Riyaz; 2. Rizwan Khan; 3. Sanjay Reddy.
Championship standing: INDRC 4W Indian Open: 1. S. Vinod 152 pts; 2. Joel Joseph 150; 3. Ravindra Boppana 136. Unrestricted: 1. Joel Joseph 138 pts; 2. Gaddafi Malik 94; 3. Akram Malik 94.
INDRC 2W Indian Open: 1. Md. Javeen Khan 194 pts; 2. A. Antony 88; 3. Nisarulla H. Khan 82. Unrestricted: 1. Rizwan Khan 194 pts; 2. Mohammed Riyaz 158; 3. A.R. Shabbir 90.
