Young racing talent Sai Sanjay dished out a dominating performance in the top category for the fastest Formula cars in India to be crowned the National champion in the MRF Formula 2000 class, in the MMSC FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship 2022 here at the Madras International Circuit.

Sai Sanjay, the 20-year-old from Salem, won his maiden National title in his debut season in the premier open-wheel Formula category. He notched 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.

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“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 experienced racing in 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 the 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.