Ashish grabs pole position in racing nationals

Bengalurus Ashish Ramaswamy of Arka Motor Sports team set the benchmark by qualifying for pole position among saloon cars as the first round of the MRF MMSC fmsci National racing championship commenced at the Madras Motor Racing Track here on Friday.

Meanwhile, two 17-year olds Indonesian Presley Martono and championship leader Felipe Drugovich from Brazil, qualified for the front row in the fourth and concluding round of the MRF Challenge as the top six drivers finished within a second of each other to set the stage for some thrilling battles over the next two days during which four races will be run.

Drugovich, coming off a brilliant run in the previous round in Abu Dhabi where he won all four races, started the day strongly by topping the first of the two free practice sessions, but Martono who trails the Brazilian by 86 points, responded by claiming the honours in the second outing before carrying that form into the qualifying session to grab pole position.

Qualifying behind Martono and Drugovich were Dutchman Rinus van Kalmthout, Julien Falchero (France), Pavan Ravishankar (Singapore) and compatriot Danial Frost.

Ashish, who had finished third in the championship last year, enjoyed a virtually trouble-free run through the day as he was the quickest in the free practice sessions before putting the hammer down in the qualifying where he clocked 01:53.520, well clear of second-placed team-mate V Nikanth Ram from Coimbatore (01:55.816).

--IANS

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