Mohsin overcomes 10-second penalty to win opening round

BENGALURU: Shahan Ali Mohsin and Ricky Donison opened their title defences with contrasting wins in the opening round of the 13th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Championship

BENGALURU: Shahan Ali Mohsin and Ricky Donison opened their title defences with contrasting wins in the opening round of the 13th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Championship at the Meco Kartopia track on Sunday.

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While Mohsin had to overcome a 10-second penalty and a spirited Micro Max competitor in Ruhaan Alva, Donison dominated the field in the Senior Max category. Manav Shrama of BPC Racing triumphed in the Junior Max category.

Mohsin, who raced within himself in Saturday’s heats, was the quickest in the pre-final from the get go. A jumpstart however brought about the 10-second penalty which put the Meco Racing driver in third position despite coming in first.

The visibly distraught 11-year-old chose to let his kart do the talking in the final race. Mohsin climbed to second on the first lap and then proceeded to play a 14-lap-long cat and mouse game with leader Alva. The Agra boy bided the time following Alva before overtaking him on the penultimate lap to finish with a timing of 15min47secs.

“The jumpstart was very disappointing, but I needed to keep my eye on the win and begin on the right note,” said Mohsin, who is also leading the Cadet class in the Asia Max Championship with two rounds remaining. “It was a tough weekend for me due to some technical issues. I had to make it to the podium.”

In the Senior Max category, Donison picked up from where he left off in the heats, clean sweeping the two races to extend his imperious run. While the local boy “couldn’t believe how perfect the weekend has been,” the third-placed Nayan Chatterjee summed it up well. “Ricky was untouchable this weekend.”

The writer’s trip is sponsored by JK Tyre