Mumbai's Kiaan, Krish excel in last two rounds to finish second in National Karting Championship

Mumbai (Maharashtra)[India], November 10 : Mumbai's Kiaan Shah (Rayo Racing) dominated the Junior category of the FMSCI National Rotax Karting Championship with back-to-back wins in round 5 and round 6.

Krish Gupta (also from Mumbai and Rayo Racing) finished third and second in the last two rounds in the Senior Category.

The stellar run over the weekend saw Kiaan and Krish jump on the leaderboard to finish second overall in their respective categories.

Rounds 5 and 6 were held together, requiring significantly more energy and fitness from the racers. Junior qualifying for Round 5 didn't go as per plan for Kiaan, who could only manage fifth in qualifying, 0.352 seconds off Chennai's Shivaan Karthik (MSport), who bagged pole.

Kiaan made a good start from fifth, though, and quickly climbed up the order, finishing second behind Karthick, who won by 1.45 seconds. The Pre-Final was straightforward, with Kiaan starting and finishing second, once again behind Karthik.

Kiaan made a good start in the final, soon getting into the lead. However, he was soon challenged by Pune's Arafath Sheikh (Crest Motorsport). A mega battle ensued, and soon more racers got into the fray to make it a 5-kart battle for the lead. Eventually, Kiaan kept his cool to win comfortably ahead of Chennai's Eshanth Vengatesan (MSport)

The senior qualifying for Round 5, was a closely contested affair with Bengaluru's Ishaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing) bagging pole ahead of Krish Gupta (Rayo Racing) by 0.216 seconds. Kiaan Shah, making his Senior debut, was a mere 0.055 behind in third.

Madesh comfortably won Heat 1 ahead of Sheikh and Gurgaon's Aarav Dewan (Leapfrog Racing). Madhesh also won the Pre-Final ahead of Gupta, who raced well, climbing from fourth. Kochi's Laksh Bafna (Kartcrew Motorsports) was third. The exciting final for the seniors had Madesh win ahead of Dewan, while Krish came in third.

Round 6 was also closely contested. Rayo Racing's Aarav Sureka from Mumbai bagged his second pole position of the season in the Micro category. However, a DNF in the Pre-Final dashed his hopes of a podium.

The Junior Qualifying for Round 6 had Vengatesan bag the pole in Qualifying, ahead of Sheikh & Karthik in third. So close were the top four that Kiaan, in fourth, was just 0.16 seconds behind the first fastest. Heat 1 saw Kiaan make a blistering start from fourth. At Corner 2 he moved to third. At corner 5, he moved into second. Before the last corner, he bagged the race lead and went on to win the race ahead of Sheikh and Chennai's Kairav Roberson (MSport) in third.

The Junior Pre-Final had Kiaan Start on Pole and win ahead of MSport's Chennai duo of Karthik & Roberson. The Final saw the Rayo Racing racer making a good start & immediately opening up a half-second lead. Kiaan eventually bagged his second consecutive win and third of the championship, ahead of Karthik and Sheikh in third.

The Senior Qualifying for Round 6 had Madesh on pole, Krish in second and Bengaluru's Nikhlesh Raju (MSport) in third. Heat 1 had Madhesh win ahead of Krish (Rayo Racing) & Pune's Arjun Chheda (Crest Motorsport).

Madhesh won the Pre-final, while Krish maintained his second position to finish ahead of Dewan (Leapfrog Racing). The final saw Madesh take the early lead, with Krish close behind. Madesh eventually won ahead of Krish and Chheda.

The performances of Kiaan and Krish in the last 2 rounds saw them jump up in the standings to finish second in the National Championship. Rayo Racing's Danish Dalmiya from Pune had an excellent final after recovering from issues earlier in the weekend. His fourth place in the final sealed third place in the National Championship standings.

Kiaan Shah will be racing this coming weekend in his biggest race to date. He will compete in the FIA Karting World Cup in Malaysia, which takes place on November 15 and 16.

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