Focus is on Reddy in Round 3

The battle for the Road To Indy resumes at Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, on Friday when the third round of the MRF national racing championship gets under way with the MRF F1600 series headlining the programme comprising 14 races.

The F1600 is one of the most competitive events as a ticket to the coveted Mazda Road To Indy shootout in the US is on offer for the champion driver at the end of the season.

The winner of the shootout is eligible for a scholarship of $200,000.

Last year, Karthik Tharani took part in the shootout contested by 21 drivers from across the world, but was not among the top six who qualified for the final 30-minute race.

The two rounds of the MRF F1600 so far this year have witnessed extremely close competition for top honours. Anindith Reddy from Hyderabad heads the championship with 93 points.

The weekend’s schedule includes the Volkswagen Ameo Cup, which replaced last season’s Vento Cup.

The double-header in the one-make series dished out exciting fare last weekend in Coimbatore with Karminder Singh (Delhi) and Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) winning one race apiece.

The first round of the championship for four-wheelers is also in the programme with practice runs on Saturday followed by the final sprints on Sunday.

For the first time this season, saloon cars in the top-end Indian touring cars, junior touring cars and super stock will be on the same card along with the entry-level Formula LGB 1300 which also has a rookie class that provides an option for youngsters moving up from karting to open-wheel racing.

The three races in the Indian cars class will be the other highlight of the weekend. The outing in Coimbatore witnessed exciting duels between Red Rooster Performance and Race Concepts, the two front-running teams.

Defending champion Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster) will want a change in fortunes after a winless weekend in Coimbatore where Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) won two of the three races. Narednran’s team mate Ashish Ramaswamy topped the other.