Sai Sanjay crowned National champion in premier MRF Formula 2000 Class

Sai
Sanjay,
the
20-year-old
from
Salem,
won
the
National
title
in
his
debut
season
notching
up
three
race
wins,
and
displayed
mature
driving
skills
and
consistent
performance
throughout
the
season
that
got
him
eight
podium
places.
He
garnered
201
points
from
the
12-race,
four-round
Nationals
and
won
with
a
race
to
spare
beating
second-placed
Ryan
Mohamed
by
(165)
36
points.

“I
am
very
excited
and
the
moment
feels
surreal.
It’s
an
honour
to
be
crowned
the
Indian
National
Champion
of
the
fastest
national
car
racing
series
in
India.
We’ve
had
a
great
season,
the
pace
was
consistently
there
and
the
hard
work
of
my
team,
mechs,
finally
paid
off.
Thanks
to
JA
Motorsport
and
MRF
Racing
for
giving
us
an
opportunity
to
race
in
these
cars,”
Sai
Sanjay
said.

A
Mechatronics
student
at
VIT
Chennai,
Sai,
made
his
motorsports
debut
in
2015
and
after
gaining
some
international
exposure
racing
in
the
karting
championships
in
the
UAE
and
also
became
the
Rotax
Senior
Max
UAE
vice-champion
in
2018.
He
made
the
switch
to
formula
cars
the
same
year
and
raced
in
the
LGB
Formula
1300
and
MRF
1600
championships.

He
also
has
experienced
racing
the
well-known
Volkswagen
Polo
Cup
in
2021.
All
along,
he
notched
up
many
podiums
and
dished
out
many
fastest
laps
and
made
the
switch
to
faster
Formula
cars
for
a
successful
winning
debut
in
the
top
class
of
the
country.
Sai
is
currently
a
part
of
NK
Racing
Academy
and
is
being
mentored
by
India’s
first
Formula
1
driver,
Narain
Karthikeyan.

“Coaching
by
Aditya
Patel
and
Armaan
Ebrahim
during
the
season
also
helped
polish
my
skills,”
he
added.
And
the
restart
of
the
MRF
Formula
2000
class
after
two
years
of
pandemic,
gave
a
huge
opportunity
for
the
consistent
performer.

“I
thank
my
family
for
being
the
biggest
and
best
support
in
this
huge
journey.
I
will
continue
to
push
limits
and
try
reaching
new
heights,”
he
concluded
and
had
a
special
word
of
thanks
for
Rajarajan,
the
race
mechanic,
for
pushing
and
encouraging
him.
Sai
will
continue
in
the
Formula
races
and
hopes
to
go
racing
abroad
in
pursuit
of
his
dreams.

In
the
other
championship
classes,
Viswas
Vijayraj
won
the
LGB
F1300
National
title
while
veteran
Arjun
Balu
bagged
the
ITC
crown,
his
11th
National
title.
Ritesh
Rai
(Super
Stock)
and
Akkineni
Anand
Prasad
(IJTC)
were
the
other
National
champions.