Pune teenagers Arjun Chheda and Sai Shiva Sankaran began their campaign in the third round of the MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2025 at the Madras International Circuit with impressive victories in the MRF Formula 2000 and Formula 1600 races on Sunday.
Arjun Chheda Dominates MRF F2000
Seventeen-year-old Arjun Chheda capitalized on a poor start from pole-sitter Ishaan Madesh of Bengaluru to take the top position in the MRF F2000 race. Finishing third was another Bengalurean, Tarun MB, who briefly occupied the second spot before losing ground to Madesh in the first lap. Reflecting on his race, Ishaan, the recently crowned National karting champion, said, “It was my signature start, but hopefully, I will do better tomorrow.” Arjun celebrated his fourth win of the season but acknowledged, “I had my moments, but managed to keep it all together.”
Sai Shiva Sankaran Secures MRF F1600 Win
In the MRF F1600 race, Sai Shiva Sankaran, also 17 and from Pune, started from pole position and successfully defended his lead against two competitors from Bengaluru, Arjun S Nair and Nigel Abraham Thomas. This victory further solidified his position at the top of the points standings. “I made a lot of mistakes in the first part of the race but got into my rhythm in the last three laps. Hopefully, I will not repeat the mistakes tomorrow,” Sai Shiva remarked.
Biren Pithawalla’s Strong Performance in ITC
Surat’s Biren Pithawalla (N1 Racing) took advantage of a retirement by championship leader and pole-sitter Arjun Balu (Race Concepts), whose car faced electrical issues during the formation lap. Pithawalla, the defending champion, won the premier Indian Touring Cars (ITC) class, which ran concurrently with the ITC 1625, Indian Junior Touring Cars, and the Super Stock class, featuring a grid of 19 cars. He started from P5 and immediately jumped into the lead by the first lap, ultimately cruising to victory ahead of Lonavla’s Dhruv Chavan (Buzzing Hornet) and Malaysian Perajun Krishnan (Performance Racing). Pithawalla praised his team, stating, “My team did a fantastic job in getting the car (Volkswagen Polo) ready for the race in quick time.”
Notable Performances in Other Classes
Nikhanth Ramabalu topped the ITC 1625 class, followed closely by his Performance Racing teammate, 80-year-old Vidyaprakash Damodaran, who finished in P2, marking an all-Coimbatore finish.
Bengaluru’s Rithwik Thomas (Race Concepts) edged out Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) from Nellore in the IJTC category, while veteran Diljith TS (DTS Racing) from Thrissur maneuvered past Sri Lanka’s Kesara Godage (Performance Racing) in the Super Stock class.
In the MRF Saloons race, Chikkamgaluru’s Tarushi Vikram delivered a remarkable performance starting from the pit lane. However, she incurred a 10-second penalty for going off track limits while overtaking Akshay Muralidharan (Coimbatore), who was declared the winner. Tarushi was pushed down to P2, with Bengaluru’s Siddharth Kountinya finishing in a distant third.
Vinith Kumar Wins Formula LGB 1300
The day concluded dramatically, with Vinith Kumar securing victory in the Formula LGB 1300 race despite a semi-spin exiting the final corner on the last lap. Joel Joseph finished closely behind in second, while Lokith Lingesh Ravin completed the podium.