The Hindu : Sport : Ameya, Ayub, Rayomand do well

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 18, 2005

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Ameya, Ayub, Rayomand do well

Sports Reporter

DOUBLE DELIGHT: Ayub Khan, Ameya Walvalkar and Rayomand Banajee, who scored a double each in the first leg of the JK Tyre National racing championship.

COIMBATORE: It was pretty hot and humid the whole day long, but Ameya Walavalkar of Mumbai, Rayomand Banajee of Pune and Ayub Khan of Chennai tackled the tough conditions well to claim a double each in the first leg of the eighth JK Tyre national racing championship at the Kari Motor Speedway in Chettipalayam, near Coimbatore, on Sunday.

The action-packed event was the opening race of the Formula LGB category.

Pole sitter Gaurav Gill, the 2004 champion, got off to a flying start and maintained a happy lead for a good six laps.

The picture changed in the seventh with Ameya overtaking Gill after slipstreaming on the first curve and Gill snatching it back on the fourth. The very next lap saw Ameya playing the trick to Gill's right and carried it on comfortably to C4.

It was a neck-and-neck between the two in the next few laps. In the 13th, Gill pressed hard and even threatened to overtake Ameya in the first corner. But, Ameya, a clever driver as he is, gave no room for his opponent. In the process, Gill went wide and spun himself to lose three places and the top spot. The last lap saw Ameya with a healthy lead taking the chequered flag, while Gill put up a brave show to beat the challenge of his rivals to finish second.

In the second race, Ameya had no problems whatsoever. He started smart and by lap five built up a three-second advantage over Gill. That was enough to win him a sweet double. Rajaram, back in racing after a long layoff, drove brilliantly to claim the novice prize.

Ayub Khan, the 2001 national champion, who was struggling with the car till Saturday morning, set it right on time to win both the races in the Esteem Saloon class.

Rayomand Banajee, who knows the Kari circuit like the palm of his hands, raced with great comfort to win the FISSME class races.

The results (FISSME) Race 1 (15 laps): 1. Rayomand Banajee 19:45:064, 2. Gaurav Dalal 19:51:497, Amitrajit Ghosh 19:53:094. Novice: Kapil Khanna 20:46:755. Tuner: Venkat & Kumar. Fastest lap: Rayomand: 01:18:112.

Race 2. 1. Rayomand 21:34:237, 2. Amitrajit Ghosh 21: 36:301, 3. Gaurav Dalal 21:40:811. Novice: Saahil Shelar 21:52:781. Tuner: Bhaskar. Fastest lap: Rayomand 01:18:145.

Esteem Saloon (Race 1): Ayub Khan 20:25:948, 2. Radha Selvaraj 20:27:394, 3. K.E. Kumar 20:38:794. Novice: Saran Vikram 20:38:880. Tuner: Satish. Fastest lap: Ayub 01:20:652.

Race 2: 1. Ayub Khan 20:36:491, 2. Radha Selvaraj 20:46:108, K.E. Kumar 20:51:907. Novice: Divya. Tuner: Mohan & Maladri. Fastest lap: Ayub 01:21:017.

Formula LGB (Race 1): Ameya Walavalkar 18:28:609, 2. Gaurav Gill 18:34:223, 3. Sarosh Hataria 18:35:662. Novice: Fazal Khan 18:50:054. Tuner: P.D. Sathyanarayana.

Race 2: 1. Ameya 18:23:283, 2. Gaurav Gill 18:29:689, 3.Sarosh Hataria 18:34:297. Novice: Rajaram 18:51:271. Tuner: Amalraj.

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