MRF Indian National Racing Challenge 2026: Ishaan Madesh, Gyan S Win at Madras International Circuit

Chennai, India, October 10, 2026: Bengaluru’s Ishaan Madesh and Chennai’s Gyan S, both aged 17, opened the third round of the MRF Indian National Racing Challenge 4W – 2026 with impressive lights-to-flag victories in the MRF Formula 2000 and Formula 1600 categories, respectively, at the Madras International Circuit on Saturday.

Ishaan, who missed the opening round of the championship, delivered a mature performance to win the Formula 2000 race ahead of championship leader Saishiva Sankaran from Pune. Mumbai’s Krishay Gutte finished third.

Gyan, meanwhile, controlled the Formula 1600 race to take victory ahead of points leader Bhuvan Bonu from Visakhapatnam, with Bengaluru’s Tanmay Kothari completing the podium.

The day also witnessed another milestone for Viswas Vijayaraj, who secured his seventh consecutive victory in the Formula LGB 1300 category. Nethan McPherson won the Junior category, Diljith TS triumphed in Super Stock, and Chennai’s Aakash Vivek topped the MRF Saloons category.

Ishaan Madesh beats Formula 2000 championship leader

Ishaan Madesh demonstrated impressive race craft to secure victory in the MRF Formula 2000 category, overcoming an imperfect start to take control of the race.

Starting from pole position, the Bengaluru teenager initially dropped to second at the start. However, he responded quickly, reclaiming the lead by Turn 2 and subsequently managing his advantage with a measured drive.

Rather than pushing excessively and putting unnecessary strain on his tyres, Ishaan maintained a comfortable gap to the chasing pack to secure the win.

His victory came at the expense of points leader Saishiva Sankaran, who had arrived at the round on the back of five consecutive race wins. Ishaan had also beaten Saishiva in the third race of the previous round, underlining his growing competitiveness in the championship.

Saishiva finished second, while Krishay Gutte completed the top three.

For Ishaan, the result provided an encouraging start to his campaign after missing the opening round, while the championship leader had to settle for valuable runner-up points.

Gyan S wins Formula 1600 race at home

Chennai’s Gyan S delivered another strong performance in the MRF Formula 1600 category, recording a lights-to-flag victory in front of his home crowd.

The 17-year-old maintained his position at the front while keeping a close watch on Bhuvan Bonu, the championship leader from Visakhapatnam. Gyan successfully controlled the race to take the chequered flag ahead of Bonu.

Bengaluru’s Tanmay Kothari finished third, completing the Formula 1600 podium.

With Bonu finishing second, the championship leader added to his points tally, but Gyan’s victory gave him a positive start to the third round of the national racing championship.

Viswas Vijayaraj extends Formula LGB 1300 winning streak

Viswas Vijayaraj from Nellore continued his remarkable run in the Formula LGB 1300 category, claiming his seventh consecutive victory across the three rounds of the championship.

The eight-lap race initially saw pole-sitter Viswas lead the field before his DTS Racing teammate Vinithkumar moved ahead during the second half.

Viswas responded with a decisive overtaking manoeuvre on the penultimate lap, braking late into Anand’s Corner to regain the lead. He then held his position until the finish to extend his winning streak.

Vinithkumar secured second place, while veteran driver Diljith TS completed the podium to give DTS Racing two of the top three positions.

Viswas’ continued dominance makes him one of the standout performers of the 2026 MRF Indian National Racing Challenge season.

Nethan McPherson wins Junior category on return

Pune’s Nethan McPherson made a winning return to competition in the Junior category after missing the previous two rounds.

Driving for Delta Racing, McPherson held off the challenge of Sri Lankan competitors Kaveen Rajapaksa and Adam Junaid, who are teammates at Momentum Motorsports, to secure victory.

The result provided McPherson with an excellent start to his campaign after his absence from the earlier rounds.

Diljith TS and Aakash Vivek top their categories

Thrissur’s Diljith TS led a dominant DTS Racing performance in the Super Stock category, securing victory as the team completed a podium sweep.

In the MRF Saloons category, featuring the Toyota Etios, Chennai’s Aakash Vivek emerged victorious to add another homegrown success to the opening day of the third round.

With competitive racing across the Formula 2000, Formula 1600, Formula LGB 1300, Junior, Super Stock and MRF Saloons categories, Saturday delivered an eventful start to the weekend at the Madras International Circuit.

The results set up an intriguing continuation of the third round, with championship leaders Saishiva Sankaran and Bhuvan Bonu looking to respond after finishing second in their respective categories, while Ishaan Madesh, Gyan S and Viswas Vijayaraj will aim to maintain their winning momentum.

The results (Provisional, all 8 laps unless mentioned):

MRF F2000 (Race-1): 1. Ishaan Madesh (Bengaluru) (12 mins, 47.336 secs); 2. Saishiva Sankaran (Pune) (12:50.666); 3. Krishay Gutte (Mumbai) (12:53.825).

MRF F1600 (Race-1): 1. Gyan Satish (Chennai) (13:58.546); 2. Bhuvan Bonu (Visakhapatnam) (13:59.069); 3. Tanmay Kothari (Bengaluru) (14:05.371).

Formula LGB 1300 (Race-1, Open): 1. Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) (15:05.241); 2. Vinithkumar (Tirupur, DTS Racing) (15:05.529); 3. Dilijith TS (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (15:13.891). Junior: 1. Neythan McPherson (Pune, Delta Speeds) (15:18.321); 2. Kaveen Rajapaksa (Colombo, Momentum Motorsports) (15:21.732); 3. Aadam Junaid (Colombo, Momentum Motorsports) (15:31.381)

Super Stock (Race-1): 1. Diljith TS (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (16:42.380); 2. Lal Kattikulam Bharathan (Thrissur, DTS Racing) (16:46.929); 3. Deepa S John (Thiruvananthapuram, DTS Racing) (16:48.315).

MRF Saloons (Race-1): 1. Aakash Vivek (Chennai, Redline Racing India) (17:12.082); 2. S Gokula Rathinam (Coimbatore, Redline Racing India) (17:14.889); 3. Hemachandran R (Puducherry, Redline Racing India) (17:19.637)