Indian Racing League | Kyle makes merry for Kichcha’s Kings Bengaluru

Kyle Kumaran with his mother Denys Kumaran after winning the race
| Photo Credit:
Rayan Rozario

Japan’s Itsuki Sato, the winner of the F4 India race
| Photo Credit:
Rayan Rozario

Dubai-based Kyle Kumaran, representing Kichcha’s Kings Bengaluru, registered a commanding win in the third round of the Indian Racing League opener, a part of the Indian Racing Festival, at the Kari Motor Speedway, Chettipalayam, on Saturday.

It was all the more sweet for Kichcha’s Kings as Swiss Neel Jani, a former Formula One test driver, finished third behind Black Birds Hyderabad’s Nikhil Rabindra.

“I don’t think I’ve done a race that I’ve won so slowly in my life before. Also, I was lucky to get good starts whenever I needed them. I must say it was a conservative race, won in the slowest possible time,” said Kyle, who hails from Chennai.

For Kyle, it’s a familiar track. He had won a few races in the JK Tyre National Racing’s novice class earlier but this time he felt it was boring as he did not have to push so hard.

Japan’s Itsuki Sato made merry in the weekend’s opening race of the F4 India championship. It was a lights-to-flag win for the Ahmedabad Apex Racers’ driver on his maiden trip to India. It took some time for him to learn the lines but once he did, there was no looking back.

“The car, the tyres and the track, for that matter everything, looked different to me compared to the Japanese championship. The Japanese surface has more grip but the one here looks very hard. So, it was a bit difficult for me,” said Sato.

In the second round of the JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship, Kolkata’s Mehul Agarwal of Dark Don Racing finished on top of the podium in both the races for the Formula LGB4 cars.

The results (provisional): F4 India: Race 1: 1. Istuki Sato (Ahmedabad Apex Racers, Japan) 27:10.989; 2. Ghazi Motlekar (Kolkata Royal Tigers, Mozambique) 27:31.350; 3. Saishiva Sankaran (Speed Demons Delhi) 27:31.469.

LGB F4: Race 1 (15 laps): Mehul Agarwal (Dark Don Racing, Kolkata) 20:13.69; 2. Dhruvh Goswami (MSport, Bengaluru) 20:17.203; 3. Aditya Patnaik (Dark Don Racing, Navi Mumbai) 20:17.538. Race 2: 1. Mehul 18:01.251; 2. Dhruvh 18:05.480; 3. T.S. Diljith (Dark Don Racing, Thrissur) 18:06.376.

IRL Driver A: Race 1 (22 laps): 1. Kyle Kumaran (Kichcha’s Kings Bengaluru) 26:34.556; 2. Akhil Rabindra (Black Birds Hyderabad) 26:36.855; 3. Neel Jani (Kichcha’s Kings Bengaluru, Switzerland) 26:36.934.