Dimapur, June 16 (EMN): The curtain goes up on the 14th edition of the Meco Motorsports FMSCI National Rotax Max Championship here on Saturday, with defending champion Manav Sharma of Faridabad beginning as the firm favourite in the Senior Max Category.
As many as 140 young racers from India and abroad will be seen in action at the Chicane Circuit, making it one of the most competitive and widely represented event in the history of the championship.
BPC Racing’s Manav, however, faces stiff competition from a number of talented racers, led by Chennai’s Nirmal Umashankar and Sreyas Jain. The Meco Racing star finished second last year and will be hoping to go all this way this time.
The Junior Max category promises to be equally close, with Chirag Ghorpade of Bengaluru (BPC Racing) and Yash Aradhya of Bengaluru (Meco) likely to be in the forefront. It becomes even more interesting with Shahan Ali Mohsin of Agra, the Asia Max Karting Champion who is also the current Micro Max champion, progressing into this category.
FMSCI president Akbar Ebrahim is upbeat about the coming season and believes that Indian motor sport is on the cusp of a breakthrough.
“The new fuel regulations and cylinder control norms have made the competition even tighter, with lap times of top drivers improving dramatically,” Akbar said. “The FMSCI has also involved the Technical Commission and their delegates will oversee the scrutiny to ensure a level playing field for all,” he added.
Akbar is delighted to see racers from UAE and Malaysia taking part in the Indian championship, which he feels will only help Indians get even better.
Ruhaan Alva of Bengaluru (Birel Art) has been in red hot form, having already won two races in the Italian Easykart Championship. The 10-year-old will hope to make the Micro Max his own playground. He will have to watch out for Arjun R, Sathvik Raju and Kunal Vinod though.
The round will see the racers take part in one qualifying race, two heats, one pre-final and one final.
