Anindith Reddy opens up big lead in Round 3

Coimbatore: Hyderabad’s Anindith Reddy was the day’s highlight performer, opening up a sizeable lead in the Euro JK 17 category, while Diljith T.S. had a grand double in the LGB Formula 4 in the 20th JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Sunday.

For championship leaders Joseph Mathew (Suzuki Gixxer Cup) and Lalhruaizela (Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup), it was not a good day at the office with both suffering their first defeats in three rounds. But the duo managed to hold on to their positions on the leaderboard despite the day’s results.

Aizawl’s Malsawmdawngliana took the top spot followed by Ahmedabad’s Sachin Chaudhary while Chennai’s Mathew finished third. He, however, is still comfortably placed in the championship battle with 56 points in his kitty, a neat 17 points separating him from the field.

Manipur’s Lalhruaizela fell behind state mate Lalnunsanga early in the race and thereafter, struggled to his way past the pack.

Lalhruaizela though had a lot to cheer for, as he booked an all-expenses paid trip to Spain for the prestigious Road to MotoGP qualifiers in October. He collected a grand total of 56 points while Lalnunsanga had 46.

The day, however, belonged to Reddy who gathered 18 points to his 15 added on Saturday. The performance took him to 96 points before the grand finale at the Budhh International Circuit in November.

His main contender Vishnu Prasad, the leader after Round 2, made up for a disastrous Saturday that saw him DNF in both the races. He too collected 18 points, coming second in the day’s first race and winning the second. But he is still behind by 14 points and will need a near miracle to topple Reddy.

The LGB Formula 4 was equally exciting, with Diljith  of Dark Don Racing showing exemplary skills. He took advantage of the reverse grid that came into play on Sunday to clinch both the races. He began from the pole in Race 1 and made it a start-to-finish affair. He was equally dominant in the second, not allowing anybody a chance to gatecrash into his party.

Overnight leader Chittesh Mandody, who forced a grand victory on Saturday, couldn’t overcome the handicap of the reverse grid and had to make do with the fourth position in the opening race. In the second, he managed the fifth place to wrap up his weekend with 19 points.

It was enough to take his tally to 61 to open up a handy eight-point lead over Prasad. The latter began the weekend on par with Chittesh at 42 points, but couldn’t even finish in the morning for an ominous start. He fought his way to the fourth place in the second for a sum of 11 points.

The victor, Diljith, however, was still way behind on the leaderboard on 29 points.

Results: Euro JK 17: Race 1 (15 laps): 1. Anindith Reddy (15:41.209); 2. Vishnu Prasad (15:42.622); 3. Ricky Capo (15:52.375); Race 2 (15 laps): 1. Vishnu Prasad (16:30.165); 2. Anindith Reddy (16:31.057); 3. Akash Gowda (16:37.973)

LGB Formula 4: Race 1: 1.  Diljith T.S. (18:06.101); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (18:12.194); 3. Sandeep Kumar A (18:12.287) Race 2: 1. Diljith T.S. (19:01.443); 2. Sandeep Kumar A. (19:04.289); 3. Raghul Rangasamy (19:09.908)

Gixxer Cup: 1. Malsawmdawngliana (14:15.595); 2. Sachin Chaudhary (14:16.355); 3. Joseph Mattew (14:18.080)

Red Bull Rookie Cup: 1. Jaden Gunawardena (11:36.996); 2. Lalnunsanga (11:37.376); 3. Lalhruaizela (11:37.628).