Jehan Daruvala wins a race in the inaugural Formula 3 Spanish Grand Prix

The team Prema Racing driver was the only Indian on the 30-car grid

Indian racer Jehan Daruvala has created history by winning the second race of the all-new Formula F3 Grand Prix in Spain.  In the second and third position were Hitech Grand Prix’s Jüri Vips and Niko Kari of Trident.

It must have been a proud moment for Jehan, the lone Indian in the race and billions of other Indians as the Indian national anthem was played probably for the first time at an F1 Grand Prix in front of a full crowd. The Indian racer, from team Prema Racing, started from the second position on the 30-car grid and quickly took the lead before the first corner itself. His lead though was cut short, as there was an accident at the back involving four cars at turn 1 in the first lap itself and the safety car was called into action.

When the race restarted, Jehan was on pole and after five laps with Niko Kari breathing fire down his neck, Jehan still held his ground.  However, in the ninth lap, another accident happened which involved  Simo Laaksonen  (MP Motorsport) and Campos Racing’s Alex Peroni. The latter sent the former spinning off the track and into the wall as he was trying to defend his position.  Simo retired Alex was handed a 10 second penalty and the safety car came out for the second time in the race. Due to this, the 7.4-second lead built by Daruvala crumbled as the remaining racers assembled on the grid for another restart. But the Indian racer just got a strong start and built a lead of 1.5 seconds in just two laps.  

In the final two laps, Vips closed on Kari and took P2. Daruvala dominated the race with an unassailable lead to take the chequered flag ahead of the Hitech man in second, Kari in P3.

“I was in control of the race, except for the first restart. After that, I was just managing the pace. I have to thank everyone at Prema Racing for giving me a fantastic car. I did not overdrive it although if I needed more I could have pushed in the final couple of laps.” the former multiple International Karting Champion said.

In the overall driver standings, Robert Shwartzman (Prema Racing) is on top after the first round with 37 points, followed by  Christian Lundgaard (Art Grand Prix) in second with 24 points and Daruvala in third with 23 points. PREMA Racing leap to an early lead in the Team’s Championship, taking 81 points from the first event of the season, 32 points ahead of ART Grand Prix in second with 49, with Hitech Grand Prix occupying third place with 20 points.

The all-new FIA F3 Championship was created by merging the erstwhile GP3 Championship and FIA F3 European Championship, resulting in an ultra-competitive 30-car grid. The championship will be the perfect training ground for the world’s best upcoming talents, to race at F1 events and get the opportunity to prove themselves to all the F1 teams.

France will host the second round of the FIA Formula 3 on June 21-23.

About Jehan Daruvala

Jehan Daruvala began his career in karting at the age of 10. Since then he has won the Indian National Karting Championship, the Malaysian Junior Yamaha Karting Championship, the FIA CIK Asia Pacific KF3 Championship and the British Superone National Karting Championship. Jehan remains the only Indian on the podium of any FIA World Championship when he was the second runner up in the FIA CIK World Karting Championship. Jehan also remains the only Indian to win a Grand Prix, when he won the New Zealand Grand Prix and later went on to become the only Indian to win a race in the erstwhile FIA F3 European Championship, which used slower cars. Earlier this year Jehan was selected by Prema Racing, one of the world’s most successful Junior Racing teams.

Desert Storm 2019: Aabhishek Mishra and Adrien Metge take the top honours

After four days and 2000km, the 2019 edition of the rally culminated in Jaisalmer

For the fourth time, Aabhishek Mishra from Jaipur won the Desert Storm rally in the Xtreme category (cross-country rally for cars) and he is the third person to defend his title successfully along with six-time winner Sunny Sidhu and Suresh Rana in this class. Driving a Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara with co-driver Srikanth Gowda, he conquered the scorching heat, the desert and his opponents with a cumulative time of 9 hours 21 minutes and 45 seconds for a commendable victory.

This is the first time that Chandigarh based Samrat Yadav and co-driver Kunal Kashyap entered the rally with the Toyota Fortuner. They drove consistently throughout the rally clinch the second spot in the rally with cumulative timings of 9 hours 41 minutes 34 seconds. In third place were Lakhpa Tsering and co-driver V Venu Rameshkumar in their Polaris RZR 1000, who, despite being slow in the earlier stages, gained time quickly and finished the rally with cumulative timings of 9 hours 47 minutes 30 seconds. In the fourth and fifth place were Capt AVS Gill (co-driver Diwakar Kalia) and Sanjay Razdan (co-driver Karan Aukta) with cumulative timings of 10 hours 9 minutes 59 seconds and 10 hours 23 minutes 7 seconds respectively.   

"We were against some top teams and the win feels special" - Aabhishek Mishra

Aabhishek Mishra from team Sparky's Garage was elated after winning the Xtreme category against what he touts as one of the best drivers’ line-up ever at Desert Storm. He said, “This win feels incredibly special to me and my co-driver due to the fact that we were competing against some of the top teams and best rally racers in the country and we came out victorious despite being budget privateers. We always had a strategy in mind which was to stay consistent in the initial few days and preserve the vehicle for the 200 km stage. Until the day of 200km stage, we had started to realize that Team Mahindra Adventure was falling apart and our vehicle was still pretty much in good shape. From there onwards, we upped our game and went straight for the kill. I am thankful to my co-driver Srikanth and the entire squad at Sparky’s Garage for making this win a reality.” 

In the Moto Category, Sherco TVS rider Adrien Metge won the country’s longest motorbike rally with a cumulative time of 6 hours 13 minutes and 25 seconds. CS Santosh came second with a cumulative time of 6 hours 19 minutes and 0 seconds. He lost time in the second day and though he clocked the fastest time in the 190km marathon stage yesterday, Santosh was not able to catch the Frenchman. TVS Racing’s Abdul Wahid Tanveer who clocked a cumulative timing of 6 hours 35 minutes 28 seconds, rounded off the podium in the Moto category.  

Ankur Chauhan (and co-driver Prakash M) was the other big winner, with best rankings in all five legs in the Endure Category (Regularity rally or Time-Speed-Distance rally). In second and third place were Capt. Abhilasha Singh (co-driver Aashish Agarwal) and Team Army Adventure Wing’s Aman Katoch (co-driver Siddhartha Nandal). The Ndure category results are evaluated on the basis of average rank after all five legs.

After four days of tough racing, the competitors were felicitated in a glittering ceremony at the Marriot Resorts and Spa in Jaisalmer.  Among the key awards won, the Team Trophy (Xtreme Category) went to Team Army Adventure Wing, Team Trophy (Moto) to TVS Racing, Team Trophy (Ndure) to Team Army Adventure Wing. The Coupe des Dames (Best Female Contender) Awards were claimed by Khyati Mody in the Xtreme category, Aishwarya Pissay in the Moto category and to Capt. Abhilasha Singh in the Ndure category.

India’s Dakar hero and Hero MotoSports’ rider CS Santosh put a strong show in the rally. This is his first rally after the 2019 Dakar, where he suffered a massive crash and could not continue further. Even in the second stage today in the Desert Storm rally, Santosh had navigational issues due to a broken GPS mount coupled with the low visibility due to a sand storm (not for nothing it is called Desert Storm rally). Despite the setbacks, he held on to his second place this makes him the fastest Indian rally rider in the Desert Storm 2019, which is commendable. It was also an incident-free rally for him. 

CS Santosh on the Desert Storm and his next rally

“This is also the first year I rode without any major incidents or penalties over the course of the race so I’m finally making progress.  Happy to say the bike is improving every time I get on it and we had absolutely no problems! Next stop is Baja Aragon in July!” 

Congratulations to all the winners!

Images by Northern Motorsport and Polaris India

Desert Storm 2019 day 3: Gaurav Gill slips to eighth position

Aabhishek Mishra and Adrien Metge continue their domination in the Xtreme and Moto categories; CS Santosh won the stage today

The penultimate day of the Desert Storm saw some shuffle in the results. It was a 190km marathon stage and it was the longest stage of the rally. This stage put the navigational skills of the competitors and caught them unawares. Team Sparky's Garage Aabhishek Mishra (co-driver Srikanth Gowda) in their rally prepped Maruti Suzuki Vitara blitzed the stage today with a time of just 02:49:49.

Close behind their heels, in second position is Samrat Yadav (co-driver Kunal Kashyap) in second position in their Toyota Fortuner with a time of 3:00:44 to complete today’s morning stage. Capt AVS Gill (Diwakar Kalia) also from Team Sparky Garage was in good form and he jumped from fourth to third place after today’s stage, completing today’s stage in 03:03:01.

 It was tough for Mahindra Racing’s Gaurav Gill (co-driver Musa Sherif), as he crashed into a barbed fence; he suffered mechanical issues and drove again. But he had lost precious time – he took a little over four hours to complete the stage (4:09:26). At the end of the stage as of today, he has dropped to eighth position. Lhapka Tsering (co-driver Venu Rameshkumar) driving their Polaris ATV jumped two places to P4 from P6 yesterday.

In the Moto category, Hero MotoSports’ CS Santosh won the SS6 with a time of 02:44:30, with Sherco TVS rider Adrien Metge two minutes behind him. Not all was easy, as Santosh ran a loop twice and went 10km in the wrong direction. Despite this setback, he won the penultimate stage according to the partial provisional results. “This year I stayed on the bike and avoided the big crashes I had the last years. Last day tomorrow so I’m looking forward to finish and bring this home!” Santosh is second overall as of now. 

However, Adrien is first overall as of now, with a total time of 5:16:49. He also found the navigation quite complex and the scorching heat was not helping either. Maintaining his third position is TVS Racing’s AW Tanveer, who finished SS6 in 2:45:56 minutes. Teammate Aishwarya Pissay did not start the stage due to technical issues and will restart the stage tomorrow again. R Natraj and Rajendra RE from TVS Racing are in P4 and P5 respectively.

All results mentioned are provisional.

Adding more drama, another eight riders in the Moto and four drivers in the Xtreme category dropped out of contention due to the extreme conditions. The Desert Storm finishes tomorrow and competitors in the Xtreme and Moto category have to cover 160km and 80km respectively. 

Images by Northern Motorsport and TVS Racing

Desert Storm 2019, day 2: Aabhishek Mishra and Adrien Metge take the lead

Many competitors retired due to mechanical issues and extreme heat; Hero MotoSports’ CS Santosh is in the second position behind TVS Racing’s Adrian Metge

One of the first images in the initial stages of the Desert Storm 2019 was a rally spec Maruti Suzuki Vitara’s fiery end. According to sources, the extreme heat coupled with some electrical issues resulted in a fire in the car and soon, it was burning. The crew is okay and they have escaped unhurt. Sanjay Agarwal (co-driver Smitha N) drove the car in question and they were strong contenders in the Xtreme Category until this unfortunate event took place. As many as eight competitors in the Moto and four competitors in the Xtreme category could not complete the stages on the first day due to the extreme conditions.

The second day of the rally saw the competitors cover a distance of 560km in two stages in Bikaner and Jaisalmer. The competitors covered a distance of 80km on the first day. 

In the Xtreme class, Aabishek Mishra (co-driver Srikanth Gowda) from Team Sparky Garage is leading after two days. Mahindra Adventure's Gaurav Gill (co-driver Musa Sheriff) was in the fourth position after the first day due to some navigational issues and technical snags. His rally spec XUV500 was also stuck in the sand and he lost precious time. However, he bounced back strongly and made his move the morning, jumping up two places in the leader board with a time of 01:10:11 in SS4 for a cumulative tally of 03:25:46, just three minutes off the leader. Privateer Samrat Yadav (co-driver Kunal Kashyap) held on to his third position.

In the first day, it was Mahindra Adventure’s Sunny Siddhu (co-driver Ashwin Naik), who was on top; but due to some issues with his car after SS4, he dropped down the order and Aabhishek made most of the opportunity to emerge as the new leader.

In the Moto category, TVS Racing’s Adrien Metge is leading with a total time of 02:03:34 hours after SS4. This is his second rally in India. Eight minutes behind him was CS Santosh with a total time of (02:11:20). In day 1, he lost a little over two minutes and today, he lost some more time in the stages but overall, it was a good second day according to him. AW Tanveer is in the third position. Rajendra RE and R Natraj are in P4 and P5 respectively. Aishwarya Pissay from TVS Racing had a couple of falls (no injuries), a 20-minute penalty and is in 23^rd position. Hero MotoSports’ Sathyaraj A (Group B) also suffered engine problems and is out of contention.

In the Ndure Category, Ankur Chauhan (co-driver Prakash M) was in the lead with a cumulative leg penalty of just 13 minutes 38 seconds after eight sections. Behind him were Deepak Sachdeva (co-driver Japjyot Singh Dhingra) and Capt Abhilash Singh (co-driver Aashish Agarwal).

All the results mentioned above are provisional.

The Desert Storm rally is one of the toughest rallies in India, looking at the challenges competitors have to face in this race of endurance to test man and machine. Tomorrow is one of the longest stages in the rally and the competitors are preparing to tackle the extreme conditions once again.

Images by Northern Motorsport and TVS Racing

Desert Storm 2019: Let the action begin!

This is the 17^th edition of the Desert Storm; organised by Northern Motorsport and backed by FMSCI, there are three categories event

The much-awaited Desert Storm 2019 has kick-started from DLF Saket in Delhi. The participants, including India’s Dakar Hero CS Santosh (Hero MotoSports) and three-time APRC champion Gaurav Gill (Mahindra Adventure), blazed into Bikaner for the opening stages.

More than 120 competitors and the Army is making a comeback!

The Desert Storm 2019 has three stages – Xtreme (34 teams, with driver and co-driver), Ndure (eight teams, with driver and co-driver) and Moto (40 riders). The Army is also back with its team, ready to take on the Thar Desert – they are taking part with 10 teams in the four-wheeler class and three teams in the Moto class. Other participants include Sandeep Sidhu, Lhakpa Tsering and Philippos Matthai leading the four-wheeler brigade, while TVSRacing’s R Nataraj, Aishwarya PM and Imran Pasha set the tone for the two-wheeler class. Also in the fray is Sathyaraj A from Hero MotoSports in the Moto class. Also making an entry for the first time is the Toyota Fortuner, ready to make a dent in Mahindras and Gypsys.

“This is the most amazing line-up that I have ever seen. Almost all the top manufacturers are here which is the best thing that could have happened to the sport”, said Gaurav Gill at the flag off.

Competitors have to brave extreme heat among other challenges

There are 10 special stages for the Xtreme and seven for the Moto category. According to the organisers, each stage will be tougher than the last and there is also a 200km special stage to test the endurance of man and machine in the extreme environment. Taking into consideration the extreme heat (hovering around 50°C in the desert, they say), the organisers have set the stages in the early morning or late evening, providing some relief to the competitors.

2000km in the next four days

For the Ndure category, it is TSD (time-speed-distance) format. This will provide useful experience to the participants in this class to take part in the Xtreme class in the next edition of Desert Storm. All competitors will cover a distance of 2000km in the next four days. The four-day rally will culminate in Jaisalmer.

With extreme heat, unforgiving terrain, and a combination of dunes and fast tracks, the Desert Storm is one of the toughest rallies in the country. Will the champions be able to tame the Storm? Let us wait and watch as the action unfolds.

Images by Northern Motorsport

McLaren teases its upcoming GT

The GT will be the fourth model under the company’s Euro 1.2 billion Track25 business plan; it is all set to be unveiled on May 15

McLaren has dropped a teaser image of its upcoming GT, which is all set to make its world debut on May 15. This is a part of the company’s Track 25 business plan, which was announced at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2018. The company plans to introduce 18 new cars or derivatives by the end of  2025.

The teaser image shows the rear of the car, with its two exhaust pipes mounted above the diffuser.  Two LED strips make up for the rear taillights and the GT also sports a ducktail rear spoiler. There are two large air intakes on the sides of the car. McLaren says it will be a superlight Grand Tourer and that will have the characteristics of the Speedtail. The McLaren GT will redefine the rules of the GT segment according to the company.

The first two cars of the Track25 business plan were the McLaren Speedtail and the 720S Spider, both of which were launched in 2018. This year, McLaren confirmed the 600LT Spider as the third model under its ambitious business plan. In 2019, the company also opened its McLaren Composites Technology Centre to produce lightweight carbon fibre tubs. There are no more details of the McLaren GT as of now, so stay tuned for more details.

Click here to see the teaser video of the McLaren GT.

Ajmera IndiKarting Series 2019: Aaroh Ravindra wins the Pro Senior title

Aaroh, Shaurya, and Raiden win big in the finals of Ajmera IndiKarting Series held recently in Mumbai

The finals of Ajmera IndiKarting Series, the country’s largest karting series concluded recently in Wadala, Mumbai. The annual karting series, ‘Clash of the Go-Karts’ received more than 500 entries from all over the country including Kashmir, Kerala, Vijayawada, Gujarat, Haryana, making it one of the biggest motorsport events in the country.

Racing for all!

There were several categories in the Ajmera IndiKarting series – Pro Senior, Pro Junior, Pro Cadet, Amateur, Women’s, Inter-school, Inter-college, Veterans, Corporate, Senior Plus and Open. The series saw a mix of national and international racers. The sheer number of categories in the series itself is impressive as it offered a platform for both experienced and aspiring racers to showcase their talent and gain some racing experience.  

The Indikarting Series, conceived by Rayomand Banajee and backed by FMSCI, aims at promoting motorsport at the grassroots level while also giving established drivers the platform to display their talent. Here is the list of winners in the various categories:

The classes

In the Pro Senior category, Team Rayo Racing’s Aaroh Ravindra won two of the three races and finished the third race on the podium. Amravati’s Sarvesh Bode and Saif Rais from Mumbai took the second and third positions in the first race.

In the Pro Junior category, Shaurya Kapani won all three races. Hoshmand Elavia and Tej Patel rounded the podium in the first race. Veer Sheth took the second place in the second and third races, outsmarting Hoshmand in both the races.

In the Pro Cadet category (7 to 12 year old youngsters), Raiden Samervel won all three races ahead of Nirvaan Chandna and Nigel Shaju from Pune. Jamie Shaw took the top honours in the Amateur category, ahead of Ayan Sharma and Chandan Hegde. In the Women’s category, Diana Pundole took a good lead but she spun because of a backmarker not giving way and had to settle for second place. Jhanvi Bhavsar drove a flawless race to win the title, while Namasvi Bhuptani claimed the third spot.

In the Inter-School category, Raghav Vaishnav from St. Lawrence High School won the class, ahead of Tej Patel of Podar International School. In third place was Aziz Hirkani from Lilavati Podar School. Jai Hind College’s Jamie Shaw won the Inter-College category. Behind him were Madhav Krishna of Cathedral & John Connon College and Shubham Raje Jr. College’s Ayan Sharma who finished second and third respectively.

Aman Singh Bhui from Amrit Elastomers, won the Corporate finals. Monish Jain of Heena Gems and Akshay More of DINS Technology completed the podium. In the Veterans category, Suraj Singh Bhui took top honours in the class, followed by Danesh Banajee and Monish Jain. The Open category saw Aman Singh Bhui winning ahead of Danesh Banajee and Akshay More. Utsav Thakkar pipped Yash Doshi to win the Senior Plus class while Raghav Vaishnav finished third.

Sarvesh Bode in the Senior, Shaurya Kapani in the Junior and Raiden Samervel in the Cadet categories won the Pros titles. Mihir Patel from Mumbai took home the prestigious Akshay Patil Memorial Trophy.

 Rayomand Banajee, founder of IndiKarting

“It was fantastic to see the huge turnout for the event. Racers came in from all parts of the country and this speaks volumes about the appeal for motorsport. We will be kicking off our National Series later in the year and hope to see participation in even greater numbers.”