Promising 11-year-old driver Arjun Rajiv, who recently joined Birel ART India, has won in his debut the Micro class of the Rotax Max Rookie Championship. The Rotax Max Rookie Championship, which is considered an important platform for new drivers competing in the Rotax Max Indian National Championship, was held in Bangalore on eight rounds, during the same weekend. The other Birel ART India drivers, Saathvik Raju and Shreyansh Jain, recorded race podiums in the Micro and Senior classes.
"Arjun was very fast, but also consistent and mature. From Friday practice, he consistently improved his lap times, and showed a great level of controlled aggressiveness during several wheel-to-wheel battles", said Marco Bartoli, Birel ART India's Team Principal.
Saathvik Raju and Shreyansh Jain also showed great speed with race podiums, but their championship results were hampered by some DNFs. Jain was particularly unlucky; at the start of Race 4 he overtook three drivers, but was hit by another driver. He then started the following race from 16th, and quickly climbed through the field up to 6th place, but after two gutsy overtakes on the outside of the fastest turns of the track, he was pushed off the track by another driver.
"We are very pleased with the performances of all our drivers. They have shown great promise and speed. This is definitely a good start to what is going to be an exciting racing season," said team director and former Asian & Indian National Champion Preetham Muniyappa.
