Motorsport Reviews

The second round of the X-30 class of the 2019 JK Tyre-FMSCI National Karting Championship was held in Bangalore at the Meco Kartopia circuit and saw the racers show some incredible talent through last weekend. Nirmal Umashankar dominated the Senior Category in the X-30 class winning all four races over the weekend. The Chennai-based racer has managed to lead the championship with a collection of 40 points, taking his collective total in the series to 76 points after two rounds. Nirmal is an established Euro JK category racer of JK National Racing Championship (JK NRC).

Toyota secured its second victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans dominating the endurance race with a 1-2 finish. The manufacturer's No. 8 TS050 piloted by Fernando Alonso, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima drove the car to victory after taking the lead from sister car No. 7 with drivers Mike Conway, Jose Maria Lopez and Kamui Kobayashi with just an hour of the race remaining. The No. 7 did lead for most of the 24 hour race, but suffered two punctures that dropped the car to second place in the closing stages. In addition to the 24 Hour Le Mans win, the No. 8 car crew have also been crowned world endurance champions with Nakajima driving the final stint and has become the first Japanese to win the title.

Indian racer Arjun Maini will be competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans series this weekend. The 21-year-old becomes the youngest Indian driver to be a part of the iconic race weekend, and only third after Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok. Arjun is part of the team RLR MSport and will be driving the new Oreca 07 in the endurance LMP2 class. The European Le Mans Series will see Arjun compete with 19 other entries, while sharing racing duties with teammates John Ferraro and Norman Nato, the latter being a winner in Formula 2.

Agra-based racing talent Shahan Ali Mohsin dominated the first round of the 2019 JK-FMSCI Rotax National Karting Championship. The newest season of the karting series brings JK Tyre back as a title sponsor and the first round was held at the Meco Kartopia in Bengaluru over the weekend. Racing for Team MSport, Shahan turned out to be the star over the two days winning both races (pre-final and final) in the Senior Max category. The young racer is off to a good start with 89 points, taking the lead in the championship.

A team of stunt riders on TVS Apache bikes has set a new record for the longest non-stop bike stunt show, performing for 6 hours non-stop.

The Federation of Motorsport Clubs of India (FMSCI) has recognised the Volkswagen Ameo Cup as a National Championship. Newly christened as the Ameo Class in the National Championship, the series will continue to run in the current format, albeit with more weightage thanks to the new status. The announcement comes as a big plus for Volkswagen Motorsport India, which has been running its one-make series since 2010 in the country. The winner of the Pro and Junior category will be officially recognised as the National Champion of the Ameo Class category from this year onward.

The stewards' decision reminded Ferrari that they had the right to appeal, although technically the sporting regulations state that in-race penalties such as the one handed to Vettel cannot be protested.

Bottas finished the race in 4th place. Ferrari's Leclerc managed to hand Ferrari a podium finish as well by securing third place.