Abhirath, Jehan dominate in final round of Rotax Karting

HYDERABAD: Abhirath Shetty drove a flawless race to register a stunning win over championship leader and favourite Kush Maini in the fifth and final round of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship on Saturday.
Bangalore schoolboy Abhirath of Meco Racing marked his presence in the Micro Max category with two podium finishes.
The 12-year old Abhirath, an eighth standard student of the BNM School, was second behind 10-year-old Kush Maini (Maini Racing), also from Bangalore, in the first pre-Final, but avenged the defeat in the second pre-Final that witnessed a very close contest among all the seven entrants.
Equally noteworthy was Mumbai schoolboy Jehan Daruvala's performance in the Junior Max category where he won the first pre-Final pipping championship leader Arjun Maini (Maini Racing).
In the second pre-Final, Jehan of Rayo Racing spun when leading, dropped to sixth but eventually finished second behind Arjun after edging past Krishnaraj Mahadik (Mohite's Racing) with a daring move on the inside at the last corner of the final lap.
"I was under pressure from Arjun and made a slight mistake, touched the tyre barrier and spun. Otherwise, I would have won the race. Thereafter, I put my head down as I was determined to finish in the top three," said Jehan.
In the senior Max category, Chennai teenager Vishnu Prasad (Meco Racing) and Rayo Racing's Ameya Bafna shared the honours by winning the pre-Final 2 and 1, respectively.
Bafna was trifle fortunate to win the first outing when Prasad, running a close second, retired with a mechanical problem. However, in the second pre-final, it was Prasad from start to finish as he took the lead while Bafna went into a tyre barrier in his anxiety to pass the Chennai lad.
It left Championship leader Chittesh Mandody (Mohite's Racing) to hold off Raj Bharath (Meco Racing) in a tight finish.
Results:
Micro Max - Pre-Final 1 (12 laps): Kush Maini (Maini Racing) 1 (9mins, 25.644secs); Abhirath Shetty (Meco Racing) 2 (09:29.400); Mira Kirit Erda (Mohite's Racing) 3 (09:29.775). Pre-Final 2 (12 laps): Abhirath Shetty (Meco Racing) 1 (09:29.867); Kush Maini (Maini Racing) 2 (09:30.120); Mira Kirit Erda (Mohite's Racing) 3 (09:30.352).
Junior Max - Pre-Final 1 (18 laps): Jehan Daruvala (Rayo Racing) 1 (12:35.463); Arjun Maini (Maini Racing) 2 (12:35.916); Tarun Reddy (Meco Racing) 3 (12:42.765). Pre-Final 2 (18 laps): Arjun Maini (Maini Racing) 1 (12:35.639); Jehan Daruvala (Rayo Racing) 2 (12:45.303); Krishnaraj Mahadik (Mohite's Racing) 3 (12:45.531).
Senior Max - Pre-Final 1 (20 laps): Ameya Bafna (Rayo Racing) 1 (14:00.419); Chittesh Mandody (Mohite's Racing) 2 (14:09.966); Raj Bharath (Meco Racing) 3 (14:12.073). Pre-Final 2 (20 laps): Vishnu Prasad (Meco Racing) 1 (14:08.814); Chittesh Mandody (Mohite's Racing) 2 (14:12.079); Raj Bharath (Meco Racing) 3 (14:12.760).