Latest news with #SprintChampionship
Hans India
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Hans India
Mahaveer Raghunathan holds P2 in Italian GT Championship after Mugello round
Italy: As the Italian GT Championship reaches its halfway mark, Mahaveer Raghunathan continues to make a strong impression in his debut season with AF Corse, currently holding P2 in the overall Sprint Championship standings, just two points off the leader, and P3 in the Endurance Championship. Mahaveer shares driving duties in the Endurance Cup with Italian racers Lorenzo Ferrari and Riccardo Ponzio, forming a strong and well-balanced trio for AF Corse. Mahaveer and his co-drivers began the season with a strong showing at Misano, finishing P4 despite an early-race contact that cost them valuable time. The team recovered well with solid pace and strategy but missed the podium by just 1 second. In race 1, Mahaveer finished P2 with competitive pace and a smart strategy. In race 2, he delivered a stellar drive, jumping to P1 after the pitstop and maintaining the lead under pressure. He dominated the restart and crossed the finish line with a commanding race win, moving to the top of the championship standings. A strong qualifying effort saw the team start P3. Mahaveer and his teammates maintained front-running pace throughout the race and brought the car home in P2. Despite carrying a 15-second success handicap from the previous win, the team finished P4, narrowly missing the podium by just one-tenth of a second. Finished P5 after an unfortunate sequence of events. A poorly timed safety car right after the pitstop neutralized their strategy, preventing tyre warm-up and leaving Mahaveer vulnerable at the restart. A subsequent contact led to further position losses. Mahaveer shared, 'Overall, the first half of the season has been solid. Four podiums and a win are encouraging, but I know we can push for more. I've learnt a lot, not just about raw speed but about race craft, restarts and managing races under pressure. I'm looking forward to applying those lessons and coming back stronger at Imola on August 3rd.' From the Pit Wall: Amato Ferrari, Team Principal – AF Corse said, 'I've been working with Mahaveer since the WEC rookie test in Bahrain last November. He's a very focused driver, always immersed in driving and racing. Since joining the team, Mahaveer has adapted well to the Ferrari 296 GT3. The engineers are pleased with his progress. He is working well alongside Lorenzo Ferrari in the sprint and in the endurance championship with Lorenzo and Riccardo Ponzio. The goal for all of us is the same, to win the championship, so we keep pushing.' With two more rounds each in the Endurance and Sprint formats still to come, Mahaveer Raghunathan and the AF Corse team are in strong contention, fully focused on turning early-season promise into a championship-winning campaign.
Otago Daily Times
09-07-2025
- Automotive
- Otago Daily Times
MacDonald, Ralston tied for SSCC title
Liam MacDonald and Anthony Ralston, both of Invercargill, shared the top award when they were declared the joint winners of the Southland Sports Car Club Champions Trophy at the club's 2024-25 prizegiving at Teretonga Park in Invercargill on Monday night. MacDonald put his name on the trophy for the 12th time having first won it in 2013 and every year since except 2017 while for Ralston it was the first time he has won the trophy that his father Robert won in both 2009 and 2010. The championship is decided on points across all the club's disciplines and MacDonald earned his share of the title by winning the Keith McFadzien Trophy for the Motorkhana Championship for the seventh time from Andrew Kennedy and Craig Allan, the SSCC Speed Trophy for the Sprint Championship for the fifth time in succession with Allan second and Vega Mukri third. He also won the Stresscrete 1601cc and over Speed Trophy in ClubSport and took the Warren Robbie Memorial Trophy for winning the overall ClubSport Championship for the fifth time from Allan and Mukri. Meanwhile Ralston, who competed in both the ClubSport and Race Championships, won the Auto Centre Trophy for the 2501cc and over Race Class from Lynden Prebble and Kyle Dawson and the Erskine Flying Farewell Trophy from Prebble while he finished runner-up in the overall Race Championship behind Prebble who hails from Dipton with Kevin Underwood of Invercargill third. The results of both MacDonald and Ralston saw them level on points to share the overall club championship for the first time in recent memory. Craig Allan of Invercargill was the Club Championship runner-up after finishing second in the Sprint Championship, third in the Motorkhana Championship and runner-up in the ClubSport Championship. Other winners on the night were Blake Cooper who won the Discount Tyres 0-1600 Championship Speed Trophy in ClubSport and also took the club's Junior Driver Award for the second year running. Nieko Scoles won the 1601cc-2500cc Race Championship from Bradley Dawson and Warren Kett while Rachael Beck won the SSCC Club Championship Ladies Champion Trophy, the ninth time she has taken the honour since her first win in 2010. The Macks Panel & Paint Marshall Of The Year was Greg McLeod who has been involved with incident recovery at the circuit for almost 20 years. He has missed very few race meetings at Teretonga Park in all those years and is always happy to assist with any other tasks that are needed. By Lindsay Beer
Otago Daily Times
08-07-2025
- Automotive
- Otago Daily Times
MacDonald, Ralston tied at top for SSCC title
Liam MacDonald and Anthony Ralston, both of Invercargill, shared the top award when they were declared the joint winners of the Southland Sports Car Club Champions Trophy at the club's 2024-25 prizegiving at Teretonga Park in Invercargill on Monday night. MacDonald put his name on the trophy for the 12th time having first won it in 2013 and every year since except 2017 while for Ralston it was the first time he has won the trophy that his father Robert won in both 2009 and 2010. The championship is decided on points across all the club's disciplines and MacDonald earned his share of the title by winning the Keith McFadzien Trophy for the Motorkhana Championship for the seventh time from Andrew Kennedy and Craig Allan, the SSCC Speed Trophy for the Sprint Championship for the fifth time in succession with Allan second and Vega Mukri third. He also won the Stresscrete 1601cc and over Speed Trophy in ClubSport and took the Warren Robbie Memorial Trophy for winning the overall ClubSport Championship for the fifth time from Allan and Mukri. Meanwhile Ralston, who competed in both the ClubSport and Race Championships, won the Auto Centre Trophy for the 2501cc and over Race Class from Lynden Prebble and Kyle Dawson and the Erskine Flying Farewell Trophy from Prebble while he finished runner-up in the overall Race Championship behind Prebble who hails from Dipton with Kevin Underwood of Invercargill third. The results of both MacDonald and Ralston saw them level on points to share the overall club championship for the first time in recent memory. Craig Allan of Invercargill was the Club Championship runner-up after finishing second in the Sprint Championship, third in the Motorkhana Championship and runner-up in the ClubSport Championship. Other winners on the night were Blake Cooper who won the Discount Tyres 0-1600 Championship Speed Trophy in ClubSport and also took the club's Junior Driver Award for the second year running. Nieko Scoles won the 1601cc-2500cc Race Championship from Bradley Dawson and Warren Kett while Rachael Beck won the SSCC Club Championship Ladies Champion Trophy, the ninth time she has taken the honour since her first win in 2010. The Macks Panel & Paint Marshall Of The Year was Greg McLeod who has been involved with incident recovery at the circuit for almost 20 years. He has missed very few race meetings at Teretonga Park in all those years and is always happy to assist with any other tasks that are needed.
