Coimbatore: When the race directors summon two drivers after the race to congratulate them for a good race, it must be a race to remember. That is what exactly happened in Race 2 of the Volkswagen Ameo Cup 2017 at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Sunday.
On yet another action packed day, Delhi’s Karminder Singh and Chennai’s Sandeep Kumar shared the honours as they finished 1-2 in the Race 1 and in the reverse order in the Race 2.
Race 2 started in a reverse grid, meaning Bangladesh’s Tauhid Anwar, who finished fourth in the first race started on pole, with Aditya Pawar, who finished third in the second, followed by Sandeep Kumar and Karminder Singh. But by the time half a lap of 2.1 kilometres circuit was done, Sandeep took the lead with Karminder on his tail, and Kolhapur’s Dhruv Mohite in the third position.
What followed for next 14 laps was a thrilling contest between the two drivers who gave their absolute best, and it reflected on their smiling faces in the post race conference as they admired each other’s racing skills.
“I think the race was one of the best races in a long time, and Karminder should get the equal credit for it as we have a lot of respect for each other, It was really nice to be on the top spot after a long time,” said Sandeep.
“He (Sandeep) drove phenomenally and made zero mistakes. It’s very difficult to overtake on this track. Also my tyre temperatures were going high, so I had to take it little easy and then again have a go at him, but he had an error free drive,” said Karminder, who won Race 1 earlier in the day in 19 minutes 34.489 seconds.
Thrilling contest
The 23-year old Karminder, who had to see the tail of Sandeep’s No 6 car, throughout, threw everything at Sandeep, but the Chennai driver defended his position throughout as he finished the race in 18 minutes, 06.633 seconds, just 0.00.467secs ahead.
What made the race thrilling was the drivers battled it out till the end despite the small contact they made trying to get one over each other, as Karminder lost his left headlight, while a part of Sandeep’s right rear bumper flagging around for the best part of the race.
Mixed day for Dhruv
Kolhapur’s Dhruv Mohite had shown his mettle by Qualifying third, but a bad start in Race 1 when he lost places going into the first corner. In Race 2, he had the best seat on the track as Sandeep and Karminder battled for the top spot and he stayed on their tail throughout, without committing any mistake.
Chinnappa shines
Bengaluru’s Deepak Paul Chinnappa of Race Concept, showed his class as he won both races in the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship.
Chinnappa, who had to be content with the second spot in Race One on Saturday with gearbox and other mechanical issues, dominated the day’s proceedings winning the both races on Sunday.
Results:
Volkswagen Ameo Cup:
Race 1 (15 laps): 1.Karminder Singh (Delhi) 19mins, 34.489secs; 2. A Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) 19:35.336; 3. Aditya Pawar (Mumbai) 19:46.022.
Race 2 (15 laps): 1. A Sandeep Kumar 18:06.633; 2. Karminder Singh 18:07.100; 3. Dhruv Mohite (Kolhapur) 18:08.009.
Indian Touring Cars:
Race 2 (15 laps): 1.Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) 17:48.438; 2. Ashish Ramaswamy (Red Rooster Performance) 17:54.56; 3. Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) 17: 57.590.
Race 3 (15 laps): 1. Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) 17:55.863; 2. Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) 18:03.284; 3. D Vidya Prakash (Prime Racing) 18:25.280.
