Bengaluru’s Sawan, Mumbai’s Ashi, Delhi’s Jashmehar star in Round 2 of Sodi Sprint National Karting Championship

by Priya Jadhav

Hyderabad, November: Bengaluru’s Sawan Satyanarayanan, Mumbai’s Ashi Hanspal and Delhi’s Jashmehar Jubbal stole the honours in Round 2 of the Sodi Kart Sprint of the JK Tyre FMSCI Naional Karting Championship 2019, winning their respective categories in Hyderabad late on Sunday.

Sawan Satyanarayanan came up with a power-packed performance to claim the Senior Category title, taking just 9:13.764 minutes to complete the 12 laps. Adheet Prashar of Hyderabad finished second (9:16.366) while Ashwin M Nair of Cochin clocked 9:17.070 to take the last place on the podium.

All three have qualifies for the final round of the championship to be held in Chennai in the third week of December.

Akshay Hoover, Hari Gopal Nayak and Pramil Singh, who finished with fourth, fifth and sixth, were also handed drives in the finals.

In the Girls’ Class, Ashi Hanspal reigned supreme, posting a time of 10:57.406 minutes to finish the race. Muskan Jubbal finished second (10:57.839) while the third place went to Kadambari of Nagpur (11:04.767).

 

Delhi’s Jashmehar Jubbal took the top honours in the Junior Category, with a time of 9:29.538 minutes while Agnishwar Verma of Chennai took the second place (9:32.888) and Vulli Gopal of Hyderabad the third (9:35.136). Apart from these three (Jubbal had qualified in the opening round itself, Rahul Reddy, Aadithya Raja, Jasmeh Singh Dingra and Muskan Jubbal booked a ticket for the finals.

About JK Tyre Motorsport:: JK Tyre has been closely associated with the world of motorsports for almost three decades back. The company laid down a long term plan to popularise and promote the sport in the country. Its first target was to change the notion that this was a sport for the elite. So it packaged and redesigned it in a spectator-friendly way, drawing the masses to the sport.

We then endeavored to spot, nurture and sharpen the drivers to turn them into world champions. With this goal in mind, we conceptualized the JK Tyre National Racing Champion in 1997. Our efforts started paying dividends in just a few years’ time, with the likes of NarainKarthikeyan and Karun Chandhok going all the way to the F1 rung, the highest level of single-seat racing in the world.

Since then, a number of stars emerged, including ArmaanEbrahim, the Maini brothers (Kush and Arjun), Anindith Reddy Konda, amongst many others. 

Before all this, JK Tyre had a successful stint in rallying too, conquering the scene in the early 90s. At the same time, gradually, we moved on to various disciplines, including cross-country rallying and off-roading, leaving a mark in each of them with their unique and innovative ways.  

JK Motorsports is also very proud of the role it has played in bringing women into motorsports in a big way. Apart from encouraging them to get into the sport through karting as kids, we also gave them opportunities in various national championships.

Last year was particularly rewarding for us as an All-Women Racing team was introduced for the first time in the LGB 4 category. In addition, we also undertook various other initiatives to encourage them to try motorsports, even if for fun to begin with.

We tied up with the Young Women's Wing of FICCI to conduct the YFLO Power Drive, a TSD Event for their lady members. The event saw more than 100 ladies participating in the event and driving all the way to Manesar from Delhi. We also associated with the Times Group and executed the JK Tyre Times Women’s Drive, North with as many as 300 ladies taking part in this FMSCI approved TSD Drive from Delhi to ChandigarhWe also had the Rally to the Valley, again only for women, which was another major hit. Over 300 women participated in it, driving from Mumbai to Lonavla. The entire route saw spectators line up as the ladies, in their decorated cars and fancy attires, raced in their quest for mega prizes. 

To supplement JK Tyre’s entry into the two-wheeler market, the JKNRC hosted the Suzuki Gixxer Cup and the Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup categories and saw enthusiastic participation from across the country.

Today, the company is synonymous with motorsports, and even more so with racing, creating a lot of goodwill for the brand. Right from budding racers to accomplished drivers in the country, everybody owes their rise and success to JK Tyre.