Sowery clinches MRF Challenge title

Talented British teenager Toby Sowery expectedly won the championship with second and fifth place finishes in the concluding races of the MRF Challenge Series (Formula 2000) here Sunday.

Going into Sunday's final two races, the 18-year-old needed just one point to seal the championship and he made no mistake. A fighting second position behind his closest championship rival and compatriot Ryan Cullen in Race 3 clinched the title for Sowery.

Oscar King, also from Britain, won the fourth and final race of the weekend ahead of Hong Kong's Matthew Solomon and Brazilian Gustavo Myasava with Cullen and Sowery filling the top five.

At the end of the three-round, 12-race series, Sowery finished with 221 points and received Rs.65 lakh in prize money while Cullen ended up with 174. India's Raj Bharath came in third at 148, followed by Mitchell Kyle (112) and Chennai teenager Tarun Reddy (87).

"It is just an unbelievable feeling to win this title. It felt great to fight with such good drivers in what was a highly competitive field. A big thank you to MRF and organisers for doing such a great job and giving me such a good car to fight with," Sowery said.

"Every race, every round has been a challenge so I am happy to come away with the title. Driving in Chennai has been unbelievable and from the first session. I have felt comfortable on this circuit. I hope to use this experience to help me in my next season."

In the MMSC-FMSCI National Racing Championship, Arjun Narendran from Coimbatore completed an excellent weekend with a double in the Indian Touring Cars class as he blasted his way to the front and won easily from veterans M. Sivaramakrishnan, who had started last, and D. Vidya Prakash, the oldest competitor at 74.

Narendran showcased his versatility by winning the second race of MRF Formula 1600 after a hard fought battle with Gautham Parekh, who was placed second while Advaith Deodhar completed the podium.

"This weekend has been perfect for me with three wins. I was happy to be competitive in MRF 1600 as I was not happy with the races I did here last year. These cars are really good and the competition is so close and fierce that it is really enjoyable to battle with these guys," said Narendran.

Fahad Kutty took the honours in the second race of the Indian Junior Touring Cars, sparing two seconds to Gokul Krishna with Sidharth B. finishing third.

Provisional results:

MRF Challenge - Race 3 (15 laps): Ryan Cullen (UK) 1 (24mins, 08.570secs); Toby Sowery (UK) 2 (24:09.343); Oscar King (UK) 3 (24:14.190). Race 2 (15 laps): King 1 (24:15.066); Matthew Solomon (HK) 2 (24:18.042); Gustavo Myasava (Brazil) 3 (24:19.282).

MRF 1600 - Race 2 (9 laps): Arjun Narendran (Coimbatore) 1 (17:05.353); Gautham Parekh (Chennai) 2 (17:06.368); Advaith Deodhar (Mumbai) 3 (17:07.995).

Indian Junior Touring Cars - Race 2 (10 laps): Fahad Kutty (Team Game Over) 1 (21:04.997); Gokul Krishna G (Mega Racing) 2 (21:06.595); Sidharth B (Red Rooster Racing) 3 (21:13.502).

Indian Touring Cars - Race 2 (10 laps): Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Racing) 1 (19:27.548); M Sivaramakrishnan (Red Rooster Racing) 2 (19:34.959); D Vidya Prakash (Prime Racing) 3 (19:42.561). Superstock a" Race 2 (10 laps): Abhinay Bikkani (Race Concepts) 1 (19:39.451); Varun V Anekar (Race Concepts) 2 (20:00.888); Chandresh N Tolia (Team Game Over) 3 (20:18.501).

Superbike - Race 2 (6 laps): Sandesh P 1 (11:42.575); Siddhanth S Koundinya 2 (12:11.077); K Yogeshwaran 3 (12:27.394).