MOTORSPORTS | Ruhaan Alva wears the LGB Formula 4 crown
The Hindu
Ruhaan Alva (MSport) wins LGB Formula 4 title with 82 points; Dark Don Racing's Arya Singh & Tijil Rao tie for 2nd with 71 points. Arjun S. Nair (Momentum Motorsport) crowned JK Tyre Novice Cup champion with 82 points. Anish Shetty (Bengaluru) wins JK Tyre Presents RE Continental GT Cup. Sarvesh Balappa (Hubballi) wins JK Tyre Presents 250 Cup.
After a lot of sweat and toil, Ruhaan Alva of MSport went home pleased as punch having sealed the LGB Formula 4 title with a tally of 82 points in the final round of the 26th JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Sunday.
The Bengaluru youngster enjoyed a solid 20-point lead over his nearest rival, Arya Singh of Kolkata, going into the final day. He was obviously relaxed but, things changed overnight as Dark Don Racing’s Arya was back in contention for the title after his team appealed to the Indian Motor Sports Appeal Court (IMSAC).
It all happened in the penultimate round last month when the post event scrutiny saw the racers’ point docked for a technical infringement and that saw them slip down the points table.
It did not matter much for Ruhaan as he believed in his driving ability. Going into the last race of the day, he kept a cool head under pressure to finish second, behind Dark Don’s Tijil, for the title.
“I always knew it’s not going to be easy and that it will all go to the final race. I am pleased to have sealed the title in a field that had some young guns,” said an elated Ruhaan after the race.
Interestingly, there was a tie for the second spot, with Dark Don Racing boys Arya and Tijil finishing with 71 points apiece.
Arjun S. Nair, as expected, was crowned the JK Tyre Novice Cup champion. He was in command right through the season and was as thrilled as Ruhaan to finish on top of the championship table with 82 points.
He has worn India’s blues, albeit in an Under-19 World Cup, with K.L. Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat as his teammates. He has proudly adorned the Lion’s Crest — the famed Mumbai cricket logo — in all three formats. He has played with Yuvraj Singh, against Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid and has the likes of Rahul and Joe Root in his illustrious list of dismissals. He is also a software developer for an IT giant, based in California. Virtually every middle-class Indian over the last three decades at some stage dreams of being either a cricketer or an IT professional. Saurabh Netravalkar has been combining two dreams, even after relocating to USA to pursue academics at the prestigious Cornell University in 2015.
Unlike most of the Olympic-bound athletes, who opt to train abroad before the big event, boxer Amit Panghal prefers training in home conditions prior to Paris 2024. A former World championships silver medallist and a World No. 1, Panghal won the 51kg quota place in the only chance he got. He wants to follow his own plans to script success in Paris.