Pratik Sonawane and Viswas Vijayraj won the Polo Cup and Formula LGB 1300 titles, respectively.
The delayed 2022 season of the MRF MMSC Indian National Car Racing Championship wrapped up with a final round at the Madras International Circuit. Sai Sanjay and Arjun Balu emerged as the big winners, taking home the MRF Formula 2000 (F2000) and Indian Touring Cars titles, respectively.
Elsewhere, Viswas Vijayraj clinched the Formula LGB 1300 title, while Pratik Sonawane took home the crown in the revived Polo Cup series.
- Balu secures Indian Touring Cars crown
- Sanjay wins MRF F2000 title ahead of Mohamed and Nandan
MRF F2000
It was a tense title decider in the MRF F2000 class, with five drivers fighting for victory heading into the finale. Sohil Shah stood out, winning all three races over the weekend. However, the 21-year-old from Bengaluru had to skip two of the four rounds this season, and had to settle for fourth overall.
Sai Sanjay’s two podium appearances was enough for him to secure the overall title, ahead of Ryan Mohamed and Divy Nandan.
Indian Touring Cars
Quite a few leading drivers ended up being disqualified from the Indian Touring Cars races due to technical infringements. Race Concepts’ Arjun Balu and Arka Motorsports’ Arjun Narendran, who finished first and second in Race 1, were both later disqualified.
Narendran was disqualified from Race 2 as well, but returned to win Race 3. However, Balu’s Race 2 win and second place in Race 3 was enough for him to seal the title. This is the veteran racer’s 11th national title.
Formula LGB 1300
Initial Formula LGB 1300 class leader Raghul Rangasamy (MSport) dropped out of contention after being disqualified for ignoring a black flag in the final race. This allowed Viswas Vijayraj (DTS Racing) to seal the title after finishing the race in second place, behind Tijil Rao (Momentum Motorsports).
Polo Cup
With Volkswagen Motorsport India operations handed over to Rayo Racing, the revived Polo Cup returned to the national championship in the penultimate round. That round was dominated by Sandeep Kumar. But since he was just a guest driver, Pratik Sonawane took the overall championship lead.
Despite not winning a race in the finale, Sonawane did enough to win the title. He did make one podium appearance in the round, finishing second in Race 1. Ritesh Rai and Avik Anwar won a race each.
As for the remaining classes, Performance Racing’s Ritesh Rai and Akkineni Anand Prasad won the Super Stock and Indian Junior Touring Cars titles, respectively. The title in the MRF Saloons class, featuring the Toyota Etios, was won by Justin Singh.
2022 MRF MMSC Indian National Car Racing Championship winners
| 2022 MRF MMSC Indian National Car Racing Championship winners | |
|---|---|
| Class | Winner |
| MRF F2000 | Sai Sanjay |
| Indian Touring Cars | Arjun Balu |
| Formula LGB 1300 | Viswas Vijayraj |
| Polo Cup | Pratik Sonawane |
| Super Stock | Ritesh Rai |
| Indian Junior Touring Cars | Akkineni Anand Prasad |
| MRF Saloons | Justin Singh |
Also see:
2023 Formula Bharat winners announced