It’s going to be an action-packed weekend at the Kari circuit in Coimbatore
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The season’s opening round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship will begin at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Saturday.
The two-day event has attracted 75 entries across various categories. The compact 2.3 km long circuit with 16 turns, will witness both single-seaters, the MRF F2000 and F1600, Formula LGB 1300 and saloon cars that include popular Indian Touring Cars (ITC), newly introduced ITC1625, Super Stock and the Indian Junior Touring Cars (IJTC) besides the Volkswagen Polo Cup.
The two MRF Formula categories contain several familiar names. Veteran Chetan Korada from Chennai will make another attempt in the MRF F2000 with a few young guns, notably 16-year-old Ishaan Madesh (Bengaluru) who has been making a mark in the karting circuit.
The MRF F1600 grid has a promising teenager from Pune, Saishiva Sankaran who made his debut last season with three podiums in six outings after joining the championship for the final two rounds.
The Formula LGB 1300 category has attracted 38 entries across Open and Junior classes with a mix of experienced drivers and rookies.
But the highlight of the weekend will be the touring cars, headlined by local star and a multiple National champion in the ITC class, veteran Arjun Balu, who returns to the championship after a year’s break, driving the super-quick Race Concepts prepared Honda City IVTEC. He will contend with last year’s champion Biren Pithawalla (Team N1) from Mumbai who will be racing in a VW Polo.
The ITC1625 class will witness the championship’s oldest driver, Vidyaprakash Damodaran from Coimbatore who will turn 80 in August, in action along with another local ace Suprej Venkat.
Published – July 18, 2025 05:58 pm IST
