National Racing C'ship: Tijil Rao, Arya Singh dominate LGB Formula 4 class; double for Arjun Nair in Novice Cup

Coimbatore, Aug 26 (IANS) Dark Don Racing boys, Tijil Rao and Arya Singh won a race apiece in the LGB Formula 4 class in the season’s opening round of the 26th National Racing Championship, which got off to a fantastic start at the Kari Motor Speedway circuit here on Saturday.

Tijil started the day finishing on top of the podium in the opening race. It was not easy though for the Bengaluru youngster as his teammates Arya Singh (Kolkata) and T.S. Diljith (Thrissur) gave him a run for his money. 

The lead kept changing hands lap after lap. But Tijil, despite the pressure, kept his cool and surged ahead in the final lap to take the checkered flag in style.

It did not matter for Team Dark Don Racing as Arya and Diljith wrested the next two positions. 

In the second race, Arya gained sweet revenge over Tijil with a thrilling win. It was wheel-to-wheel racing between the two and, with three laps to go, it looked like anybody's game and, with it, another clean sweep for Dark Don Racing. 

The deployment of the safety car made it even more exciting for the spectators but not for the top three contenders as the back markers gained a slight advantage.

At this juncture, all eyes were on Arya and Tijil but the former did one better than the latter when it mattered most to finish the day on a merry note. Tijil and Viswas Vijayaraj of Ahura Racing had to rest content with the second and third spots respectively, the organisers informed in a release on Saturday.

Bengaluru’s Arjun Nair, representing Momentum Motorsports, started the season on a super note as well, clinching a sweet double in the JK Tyre Novice Cup. He clocked the fastest timing in both races and showed all that he had the race pace to beat the best.

R. Anand of Chennai scored over a strong field to take the top spot on the podium in the Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup. 

In an incident-filled race, which had to be restarted due to a couple of accidents, Md. Samrul Zubair of Hyderabad gave Anand a run for his money but in the end, Anand crossed the line with rather consummate ease.