Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 1 : Fourteen-year-old Kiaan Shah from Mumbai earned his maiden National victory in Round 3 of the Meco FMSCI National Karting Championship, as per a release from Meco FMSCI National Karting Championship.
Racing for Team Rayo Racing, Kiaan's domination over the entire weekend, held at the Madras International Karting Arena (MIKA), helped secure a win in the finals of the Junior Rotax category.
Kiaan's weekend began on a strong note, topping the time sheets in both official practice sessions. He went on to bag Pole Position (fastest) in Qualifying with a lap time of 50.530 seconds on the highly competitive grid, with 8 out of 18 racers within half a second of him.
The Chennai duo of Shivaan Karthik (50.672 seconds) & Eshanth Vengatesan (50.731 seconds) were an extremely close second and third, respectively, at the 1.2km long FIA Grade 1 International Karting Circuit.
"I was really focused this weekend and thank the team and all those working with me for the good kart, which enabled me to win. My parents have been my biggest support, and I really thank them too," said Kiaan after his win.
Eight-time National Champion and founder of Rayo Racing, Rayomand Banajee added, "Kiaan has some of the best racecraft I have seen. This win has been overdue. He is quick and has been working hard. This was a very well-deserved win, and I am confident that this is just the beginning."
Heat 1 began with Kiaan making a good start from pole. He quickly opened up a gap between himself and the others. Behind him, Pune's Arafath Sheikh & Swarnav Das, both from Crest Motorsports, had overtaken the Chennai duo. Eventually, they finished in that order, with Kiaan maintaining a comfortable 2.5-second gap to Sheikh.
Heat 2 was a similar story after the start, with Kiaan taking the lead. Sheikh was soon in second. However, this time, the Pune racer had better pace, and he soon closed in on Kiaan's rear bumper and soon overtook him to win the race. Vengatesan was third.
The important pre-final had Kiaan start on pole position once again. He made a fantastic start, but a crash at the back on Lap 2, brought out the red flag. The race was restarted, and once again, Kiaan had an excellent start. Every lap, he marginally pulled away and widened the gap to Sheikh in second. Kiaan won the 14-lap Pre Final ahead of Sheikh and another home town racer, Kairav Roberson (MSport).
The ultimate showdown of the weekend saw Kiaan once again make a fantastic start from Pole in the Final. The Mumbai lad quickly opened up a gap. Sheikh, Vengatesan and Bengaluru's Rishik Reddy were exchanging positions and that allowed Kiaan to extend his lead. However, post the halfway mark, the MSport duo of Vengatesan and Reddy closed the gap to Kiaan.
Kiaan defended well, and Sheikh joined the trio to make it a 4-way intense battle for the lead. Kiaan held his ground and once again pulled away. This time, he maintained a gap to earn his first overall victory at the National Level. Rishik Reddy and Eshanth Vengatesan were second and third.
Kiaan started 2-stroke karting two years ago with Rayo Racing. This year, he has also signed up for his first full season in the Asian Rotax Championship, where he is currently running second with 2 podiums.