Stage set for first round of national racing championship

: The first round of MRF MMSC FMSCI National Racing Championship 2018 kicks off at the refurbished and renovated MMRT circuit in Sriperumbudur near here tomorrow.
The highlight of the weekend races will be fourth and concluding round of the MRF Challenge which boasts of a full grid of 18 2-litre formula cars, considered to be the quickest in Asia, said a press release here.
The national championship, which has attracted over 30 entries, will see the saloon cars in four categories the top-end Indian Touring Cars, Indian Junior Touring Cars, Super Stock and Esteem Cup. Also in the mix are two support events, the Volkswagen Media Race and the Superbikes.

Seventeen-year old Brazilian Felipe Drugovich heads the championship table in the MRF Challenge, having won eight of the 12 races contested over three rounds in Bahrain, Dubai and Abu Dhabi during November-December last year.
He leads Indonesian Presley Mortono, also 17, by 86 points going into the final round of four races.
In the national championship, the ITC races this weekend will be without its two prominent drivers, defending champion Arjun Narendran and second-placed Deepak Paul Chinnappa, both having opted out due to work commitments.
Their absence will open the doors for others, notably Bengaluru's Ashish Ramaswamy who finished third in the championship last year behind Arjun Narendran and Chinnappa, and will again spearhead Red Rooster Performance challenge.

With all four categories in saloon cars to be run from a common grid, there will be no dearth of on-track action due to hectic jostling for positions.