Pune Teenagers Shine at MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship 2025

Chennai: Pune teenagers Arjun Chheda and Sai Shiva Sankaran delivered standout performances to claim victories in the MRF Formula 2000 and MRF Formula 1600 categories respectively, kick-starting their campaigns in Round 3 of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship 2025 at the Madras International Circuit (MIC) on Sunday.

Arjun Chheda Claims Fourth Win of the Season in MRF F2000

Seventeen-year-old Arjun Chheda capitalised on a poor start by pole-sitter Ishaan Madesh of Bengaluru to take a commanding win in the MRF Formula 2000 race. Chheda’s controlled drive earned him his fourth victory of the season, further strengthening his championship challenge.

Bengaluru’s Tarun MB finished third after briefly running second before yielding ground to Madesh on the opening lap. Reflecting on the race, Madesh said, “It was my signature start, but hopefully I will do better tomorrow.” Chheda, meanwhile, admitted to a few tense moments but was pleased to keep his composure through the race.

Sai Shiva Sankaran Consolidates Championship Lead in MRF F1600

In the MRF Formula 1600 race, Pune’s Sai Shiva Sankaran, also 17, converted pole position into a crucial win, fending off stiff competition from Bengalureans Arjun S Nair and Nigel Abraham Thomas.

Despite early mistakes, Sai Shiva found his rhythm in the closing laps to extend his lead at the top of the points table. “I made a lot of mistakes in the first part of the race but got into my rhythm in the last three laps,” he said after the race.

Biren Pithawalla Wins Indian Touring Cars After Dramatic Start

Defending champion Biren Pithawalla of Surat (Team N1 Racing) took advantage of a dramatic retirement for championship leader Arjun Balu, whose car failed due to electrical issues on the formation lap, to secure a comfortable victory in the Indian Touring Cars (ITC) category.

Starting from P5, Pithawalla surged into the lead on the opening lap and cruised to victory in his Volkswagen Polo, ahead of Dhruv Chavan (Lonavla) and Malaysian driver Perajun Krishnan. Pithawalla praised his team’s effort after missing qualifying due to a driveshaft failure earlier in the day.

Action Across Categories at Madras International Circuit

Indian Touring Cars 1625: Nikanth Ramabalu led a dominant Performance Racing finish, with 80-year-old veteran Vidyaprakash Damodaran securing second place in an all-Coimbatore result.
Indian Junior Touring Cars (IJTC): Bengaluru’s Rithwik Thomas edged out Viswas Vijayaraj of Nellore in a closely fought contest.
Super Stock: Veteran racer Diljith TS from Thrissur overcame Sri Lanka’s Kesara Godage to take the win.
MRF Saloons: Tarushi Vikram’s stunning drive from a pit-lane start initially earned her the top spot, but a 10-second penalty dropped her to second, handing victory to Akshay Muralidharan of Coimbatore.
Formula LGB 1300: The day ended dramatically with Vinith Kumar holding on to win despite a semi-spin on the final lap, narrowly beating Joel Joseph.

Provisional Results – Round 3, Race 1 (8 Laps)

MRF Formula 2000:

Arjun Chheda (Pune) – 12:46.225
Ishaan Madesh (Bengaluru) – 12:46.796
Tarun MB (Bengaluru) – 13:09.429

MRF Formula 1600:

Sai Shiva Sankaran (Pune) – 13:52.861
Arjun S Nair (Bengaluru) – 13:53.707
Nigel Abraham Thomas (Bengaluru) – 13:55.467

Indian Touring Cars:

Biren Pithawalla (Mumbai, Team N1) – 15:09.224
Dhruv Chavan (Lonavla) – 15:21.522
Perajun Krishnan (Kuala Lumpur) – 15:30.571

Indian Touring Cars 1625:

Nikanth Ramabalu (Coimbatore) – 15:50.915
Vidyaprakash Damodaran (Coimbatore) – 15:57.182

Indian Junior Touring Cars:

Rithwik Thomas (Bengaluru) – 15:47.358
Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore) – 15:47.734
Jarshan Anand (Chennai) – 16:06.863

Super Stock:

Diljith TS (Thrissur) – 16:34.355
Kesara Godage (Colombo) – 16:39.516
Lal Kattikulam Bharathan (Thrissur) – 16:46.063

Formula LGB 1300:

Vinith Kumar (Tirupur) – 15:13.793
Joel Joseph (Ernakulam) – 15:13.853
Lokith Lingesh Ravi (Pollachi) – 15:14.969

MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios):

Akshay Muralidharan (Coimbatore) – 17:02.921
Tarushi Vikram (Chikkamagaluru) – 17:12.409
Siddhanth Koundinya (Bengaluru) – 17:29.551

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