JK Tyre Racing returns to Coimbatore (Preview)

The 2.1 km Kari Motor Speedway will be buzzing with high octane motorsport action as Round 2 of the 18th JK Tyre Racing Championship will take place here over the weekend.

Reigning champions and contenders will be participating across three categories of the championship -- JK Racing India Series, Formula LGB 4 and Volkswagen Vento Cup.

In the JK Racing India Series, Round 1 witnessed 11 of India's national champions and one young international driver from Italy fight for the podium. The grid comprises of champions of 2014 National Karting, Formula LGB 4 and Vento Cup.

This weekend will feature three races. Akhil Rabindra dominated the first weekend. The Bengaluru boy won two of the three races in Round 1. Akhil has been vying for the title for over two years and is all charged to take home the crown this year. Vishnu Prasad, Kush Maini, Dhruv Mohite, Ameya Bafna are all capable to win on their day.

In Formula LGB 4, be it seasoned drivers like Chittesh Mandody, Sudarshana Rao, Krishnaraj Mahadik or rookies like Mohd. Nallwala are fearless and with one agenda of gaining the lead in the championship. The drivers represent four teams namely Meco Racing, Rayo Racing, Dark Don Racing and Avalanche Racing.

In Vento Cup, which made its shift from Polo Cup this year, veteran touring car racer and inaugural Polo Cup champion in 2010, Sailesh Bolisetti from Vizag made a strong comeback in the Indian racing scene with a pole position and a win in the first race of the season.

Delhi boy Karminder Singh stole the show in the second race. Anindith Reddy from Hyderabad, who secured a second place in both the races, can prove to be a tough competition for everyone in the coming rounds. Rookies are only two thousandth of a second of the pace of the big boys. With the reverse grid format, it will be interesting to see if the rookies will be able to take over in the coming race weekends.

The four girl participants -- Mira Erda and Sneha Sharma (participating in Formula LGB 4), Neha Dabbas and Ria Dabbas (participating in Vento Cup) -- gave a commendable performance in the first round.