Maiden career win for Ananth, Vishnu finishes 2nd twice

Ananth Shanmugam held off Vishnu Prasad in heart-stopping action-packed last two laps in the FB02 series to clinch the first ever win of his career as Round 2 of the JK Tyre Racing championship concluded here today.
Ananth started from the front in Race 2 in the reverse grid formation in the JK India series, the premier event in the championships, and took advantage to eke out a memorable victory, his first after graduating from Karting level.
Karthik Tharani took the last podium place in Round 2 after finishing seventh in Race 1 early in the morning.
Championship leader Vishnu finished second in both the races on Day 2 behind the pole sitters but extended his lead and domination too. He finished second behind Krishnaraj Mahadik in Race 1.

After the safety car came Race 2 when Akhil Rabindra's car spun, Ananth's lead was cut down considerably but he managed to keep Vishnu behind him.
They went almost wheel to wheel with Vishnu pushing hard but Ananth held off nerves to take the chequered flag ahead of the much experienced Vishnu.

"It's the first win of my career and kudos to Vishnu that he did not make any contact. I knew he will dive in first corner, I saw him coming but I did not make any mistake," said an elated Ananth.
Promising racer Kush Maini, 15, was in podium contention in both races as he was running third but was overtaken in last laps in first corner. He finished fifth in the morning race and fourth in Race 2.

Vishnu said he was disappointed since he could win any race today.
"It was really disappointing. I think the safety car came at the wrong time because I was catching up with Ananth fast. But he defended well," he said.
Asked if the win was satisfying since the pole was not result of qualifying but due to reverse grid, Ananth said, "The race results actually do not reflect the effort and true performance."
In the Formula LGB 4 category, Ajay Kini made it three out of three by winning today's race ahead of Raghul Ramaswamy and TS Diljith. It was yet again an intense competition with the podium finishers were within a second to each other.

Ajay, who is a pilot by profession, had won both the races yesterday.