Bengaluru’s Ishaan Madesh and Nigel Abraham Thomas showcased grit and race management to convert pole positions into victories in the MRF Formula 2000 and Formula 1600 categories respectively, as tricky damp and windy conditions greeted competitors on the opening day of the fourth and final round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship 2025 at the Madras International Circuit on Saturday.
Adding sparkle to the day’s proceedings was Chikkamagaluru’s Tarushi Vikram, who claimed her maiden win of the season with a stunning drive in the highly competitive MRF Saloons Toyota Etios category.
Starting from pole position, Tarushi handled the light drizzle with confidence to finish ahead of Chennai’s Mohammed Arfath and Coimbatore’s Akshay Muralidharan.
Chennai’s Ritesh Rai continued his dominant run in the Indian Touring Cars, while Thrissur’s Diljith TS maintained his supremacy in the Super Stock category.
Rai capitalised on a dramatic retirement of pole-sitter and former champion Arjun Balu, whose front-left wheel came off while leading on the fifth lap, to record his sixth win of the
season.
Rai finished ahead of Karna Kadur of Coimbatore, with defending champion Biren Pithawalla of Mumbai taking third.
Despite finishing fifth, Dhruv Chavan of Lonavala slipped behind Pithawalla in the championship standings. In the ITC 1625 class, Nikanth Rambabu led a Performance Racing one-two, with Vidyaprakash Damodaran finishing second.
Diljith TS led a DTS Racing sweep in Super Stock, finishing ahead of teammate Lal Kattikulam Bharathan, while Anirudha Arvind completed the podium.
Making a strong comeback after missing the previous round, Chennai’s Deepak Ravikumar registered a commanding win in the Indian Junior Touring Cars category.
He was followed home by Viswas Vijayaraj of Nellore and Chennai’s R Raja Rajan, all representing Performance Racing. Despite finishing fifth, Bengaluru’s Rithvik Thomas retained his championship lead.
In the Formula LGB 1300 Open and Junior race, Navi Mumbai’s Aditya Patnaik edged out Visakhapatnam’s Bhuvan Bonu in a thrilling finish, with championship leader Joel Joseph of Ernakulam securing third place.
Both Ishaan Madesh, 17, and Nigel Abraham Thomas, 20, were pushed hard in the single-seater races.
Ishaan defended stoutly against Pune teenager Arjun Chheda through the eight-lap MRF F2000 contest, with Shivesh Selvarathnam of Bengaluru finishing third.
Ishaan now trails Chheda by just two points in the championship standings.
In the MRF Formula 1600 race, Nigel Abraham Thomas managed to create a narrow gap after early jostling to finish ahead of Bengaluru’s Arjun S Nair and Pune’s Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran.
Despite finishing third, Sai Shiva continues to hold a comfortable lead in the championship going into Sunday’s double-header.
The day also saw action in the Volkswagen Polo Cup, where Aman Nagdev of Noida took victory ahead of Aditya Patnaik and Ojas Surve, both from Navi Mumbai.
With two races scheduled on Sunday and multiple championship battles still open, the final round promises an intense and fitting conclusion to the 2025 national racing season.
