MOTORSPORTS | Teenagers Ishaan and Sai Shiva rule the roost

Seventeen-year-olds Ishaan Madesh and Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran won the premier MRF Formula 2000 and Formula 1600 titles respectively as the fourth and final round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI National car racing championship concluded at the Madras International Circuit, here on Sunday.

Ishaan, the reigning National Karting champion, finished the weekend and the season with a triple crown as he overcame a stiff resistance from Arjun Chheda, who finished runner-up in the championship standings. Sai Shiva won one of the three races to emerge National champion, sealing the title with a race to spare.

The results (Provisional, all Race 2 of 10 laps, Race 3 of 8 laps unless mentioned): MRF F2000: Race-2: 1. Ishaan Madesh (21min, 00.736sec); 2. Arjun Chheda (21:14.310); 3. Shivesh Selvarathnam (21:19.348). Race-3: 1. Ishaan (12:47.405); 2. Chheda (12:52.727); 3. Tarun M.B. (13:06.385). Champion driver: Ishaan.

MRF F1600: Race-2: 1. Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (21:56.732); 2. Nigel Abraham Thomas (22:02.561); 3. Arjun S. Nair (22:04.050). Race-3: 1. Nigel (13:57.378); 2. Sai Shiva (14:06.172); 3. Gyan S. (14:17.826). Champion driver: Sai Shiva.

Indian Touring Cars: Race-2: 1. Karna Kadur (Arka Motorsports) (19:15.138); 2. Biren Pithawalla (Team N1 Racing) (19:25.275); 3. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts Motorsports) (19:25.733). Race-3: 1. Balu (14:55.495); 2. Pithawalla (15:09.053); 3. Rithesh Rai (Buzzing Hornet) (15:15.953). Champion driver: Pithawalla. Team: Buzzing Hornet Motorsports.

Sai Shiva Sankaran in action in the F1600 class in the MRF MMSC FMSCI National car racing championship at the Madras International Circuit on Sunday, January 25, 2026
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Special Arrangement

ITC 1625: Race-2: 1. Nikanth Rambalu (Performance Racing) (20:22.211). Race-3: 1. Rambalu (16:10.997); 2. Vidyaprakash Damodaran (Performance Racing) (16:11.924). Champion driver: Vidyaprakash. Team: Performance Racing.

Indian Junior Touring Cars: Race-2: 1. Deepak Ravikumar (Performance Racing) (20:03.408); 2. R.P. Raja Rajan (Performance Racing) (20:39.977); 3. Jarshan Anand (DB Motorsports) (21:07.201). Race-3: 1. Viswas Vijayaraj (Performance Racing) (15:31.018); 2. Deepak (15:34.664); 3. Raja Rajan (16:10.218). Champion driver: Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts). Team: Performance Racing.

Super Stock: Race-2: 1. Anirudha Arvind (DTS Racing) (21:12.952); 2. Diljith T.S. ( DTS Racing) (19:24.991 +1 lap); 3. Deepa S. John (DTS Racing) (19:37.628+1 lap). Race-3: 1. Dilijith (16:35.981); 2. Krishanu Dutta Bhuyan (Zion Racing) (16:51.049); 3. Anirudha (16:55.613). Champion driver: Diljith. Team: DTS Racing.

Formula LGB 1300: Race-2 (Open and Junior): 1. Bhuvan Bonu (MSPORT) (21:44.649); 2. Aditya Patnaik (Momentum Motorsports) (21:53.533); 3. Joel Joseph (DTS Racing) (21:54.505). Race-3 (Open and Junior): 1. Vinith Kumar (DTS Racing) (15:09.078); 2. Lokithlingeash Ravi (DTS Racing) (15:09.805); 3. Joel Joseph (DTS Racing) (15:10.039). Champion driver: Joel. Team: DTS Racing.

MRF Saloons: Race-2 (9 laps): 1. Akshay Muralidharan (27:04.714); 2. Tarushi Vikram (27:30.993); 3. Dr M.M. Annamallia (27:33.844). Race-3: 1. Tarushi (17:56.618); 2. Mohammed Arafath (16:01.703+1 lap); 3. Salvius Karthik Roy 16:11.300+1 lap). Champion driver: Akshay).

Volkswagen Polo Cup: Race-2: 1. Ojas Surve (26:21.764); 2. Aditya Patnaik (26:56.419); 3. Aman Nagdev (27:04.902). Race-3: 1. Patnaik (15:43.686); 2. Nagdev (15:48.564); 3. Pratikk Sonawane (15:50.882). Race-4 (8 laps): 1. Nagdev (15:30.275); 2. Ojas Surve (15:31.585); 3. Patnaik (1538:083). Champion driver: Nagdev.