The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Akhil Khuslani thrills Indian hearts

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Akhil Khuslani thrills Indian hearts

Sports Reporter

— Photo: M. Periasamy

Akhil Khuslani.

Coimbatore: Leading from lights to flag is what all racing drivers dream of. And, Akhil Khuslani of India enjoyed just that. The 18-year-old from Hyderabad looked cool on a rather hot day to clinch the senior category crown in the second round of the JK Tyre Rotax Mojo Max Asia karting challenge at the Kari Motor Speedway in Chettipalayam, near here, on Sunday.

Akhil made a cracking getaway and looked comfortable in the first half of the race. But strangely midway through he started to experience problems with his engine and was beginning to slow down, though not like a snail. Mikko Nassi of Finland did a better job this time. He screamed past strongman Ameya Walvalkar of India and started to focus his attention on the leader.

Mikko tries hard

Mikko, who is studying in Malaysia, was working pretty hard to drag himself upfront and deliver what he is capable of. But, at the end, it was Akhil who had the last laugh.

“I came here for testing and ended up wearing the crown. It feels really nice,” said Akhil, who is currently into flying. “The kart behaved well and for the first 10 laps the engine ran perfect. But, from lap 11, I started to experience carburettor problems. Thankfully I won,” he added.

Mikko was a disappointed man. “It was a great race but I am a bit upset that I was not able to take the top spot. Nevertheless, it was good and fair racing,” said the Finnish driver.

The results: Seniors (20 laps): 1. Akhil Khushlani (India) 17:03:812, 2. Mikko Nassi (Finland) 17:04:029, 3. Ooi Fei Hoong (Malaysia) 17:10:992.

Juniors (15 laps): 1. Parth Ghorpade (India) 13:43:913, 2. Samyak Shah (India) 13:50:484, 3. Muhammed Nabil (Malaysia) 13:51:801. Micro Max (10 laps): 1. Dhruv Mohite (India) 08:16:851, 2. Brendan Seibl (Singapore) 09:06:714, 3. Krishna Mahadik ((India) 09:17:565. Novice Senior (15 laps): 1. Bhushan Jadhav, 2. Sneha Sharma, 3. Saurav Bandyopadhayay. Novice Junior: (15 laps): 1. Vikash Anand, 2. Sandeep Kumar, 3. Abha Mankar.

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