‘My first National title has taken longer expected, but it feels great’

Rayo Racing’s Krish Gupta with his trophy after winning the National karting title

Rayo Racing's Krish Gupta clinched his maiden National Rotax Karting Title with a podium finish in the Senior Category in the sixth and final round of the Meco FMSCI National Rotax Karting Championship at the Kartopia Circuit in Bengaluru on Monday.

After a poor qualifying saw him start from way down in 16th place, Krish made amends and pulled off some brilliant moves with 10 overtakes in each of the two heats to finish sixth in both.

The crucial pre-finals, which carried Championship points, saw Krish start in sixth. He made a brilliant start and jumped from sixth to third. Midway through the race, he made a move into second where he stayed until the chequered flag. Chennai's Eshanth Vengatesan from MSport won the Pre-Final.

Krish started second in the final, but fell to third at the start. Later, he was passed by Bengaluru's Ishaan Madhesh. He made up one more position, but eventually finished third in the final, behind Vengatesan and Bengaluru's Ruhaan Alva from MSport. Krish finished ahead of both his closest Championship rivals in the pre-finals and the finals. That allowed him to extend his Championship lead and win the title ahead of Pune's Arjun Chheda of Crest Motorsport and Bengaluru's Akshat Misra.

Rayo Racing's Krish has put in some fantastic performances throughout the Championship, with four podiums in total, including two wins and two third places. He clinched the title with 428 points ahead of Chheda with 415 points and Misra on 414. Besides a glittering National Trophy, the Rayo Racing driver also got the ticket to officially represent India in the Rotax World Finals in Portimão Portugal, where the Champions of over 56 countries will compete for the World Title.

"My first National title has taken longer than I would have liked. It feels great to finally be a National champion. I really want to thank my parents, my team and mechanics, Steve who did a brilliant job tuning my kart all season and Ameya, for all the effort they have put in," said an elated Krish.

Eight-time National Champion Rayomand Banajee added: "Krish has been deserving since a few years now. He missed out earlier due to reasons outside his control. He has upped his game tremendously and really deserves this National Title."