Chennai: The Madras International Karting Arena (MIKA), inaugurated only last week, will host its maiden competitive event, the fifth and final round of the MECO-FMSCI National Karting Championship Rotax Max Classes 2024 this weekend and with 54 entrants in the fray and titles up for grabs, the two-day event, commencing on Saturday, September 28, is expected to dish out high octane action.
The big incentive for the participants is that the championship winners in each of the three categories – Micro Max, Junior Max and Senior Max – will represent India in the 24th Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals 2024 to be held at Sarno, Italy, from October 19 to 26.
Considering that it would be the first competitive outing at the MIKA track, not counting a three-day unofficial practice sessions previous weekend, it will be a fresh start for all the racers as they will have to learn and master the track layout in quick time.
The previous four rounds witnessed intense competition across all categories resulting in bunching up of title contenders on the leaderboard. With a maximum of 110 points (55 each for Pre-Finals and Finals) on offer in the concluding round of the season, the championship is wide open.
Chennai’s 11-year-old Rivaan Dev Preetham (MSPORT) leads the championship in the Micro Max, on the back of two dominating performances with a double by winning the Pre-Finals and Finals in Rounds 3 and 4, that helped him to open a 32-point lead over Hamza Balasinorwala (Rayo Racing) going into this weekend.
The title fight is much closer in the Junior Max with Pune’s Arafath Sheikh (Crest Motorsports) ahead of Aahil Mecklai of Rayo Racing from Mumbai, by just 17 points.
Former National champion Ruhaan Alva (MSPORT) from Bengaluru heads the Senior Max category with some strong results, notably in Round 2 where he topped both Pre-Finals and Finals. Consequently, he enjoys a 22-point advantage over Chennai’s Varun Hari Praveen (Peregrine Racing).
Ranged behind the front-runners in all the categories, are some equally talented racers capable of scripting surprise results.
The two-day card provides for official practice and Qualifying sessions besides Heats 1 and 2 for all categories on Saturday while Pre-Finals and Finals, both of which offer championship points, are scheduled for Sunday, followed by podium ceremonies.