Bengaluru, Sep 6 (IANS) Arshi Gupta, the nine-year-old from Faridabad, yet again showcased her undoubted talent and composure with a sizzling performance in the mini max class that saw her snatch maximum points in the fifth round of the FMSCI Indian National Karting Championship RMC India 2026 which concluded at the Meco Kartopia here on Sunday.
In the fourth round a couple of days back at the same venue, Arshi (Leapfrog Racing) won both the championship points scoring races, the pre-final and final, comfortably. She also put in eight consecutive fastest laps in the final today.
Meanwhile, two Bengaluru-based Peregrine Racing teammates, Zidaan Arshaan Anees (Micro Max) and Akshat Misra (Senior Max), triumphed in their respective classes, while Hridaan Sanadhya from Pune (Crest Motorsports) topped the Junior Max category. The trio earned maximum championship points by winning the pre-final and final races.
Almost all the sessions today had their fair share of contacts and collisions, which spiced up the proceedings. Amidst the chaos, Arshi Gupta was simply unstoppable as she won the Mini Max races in a dominating fashion.
One of the exciting races was the Mini Max Final, where Coimbatore’s Shivneel Karthikeyan (MSPORT), son of India’s first Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan, clinched a third spot after fighting his way through the field but could not pass Bengaluru’s Ridhaan Anil Kumarr (Red Rabbit Racing), who finished second behind Arshi.
Meanwhile, Zidaan, after jumping into the lead at the start, maintained a consistent pace, which saw him draw away from the chasing pack that included Round 4 topper Kolhapur’s Ayansh Patil (MSPORT) and the hard-charging Rudrapratap Singh Shekhawat from Gurugram (Leapfrog Racing), both of whom finished on the podium in two races on Sunday.
One of the surprises today was that fancied Rivaan Dev Preetham from Chennai (MSPORT) went winless in the Junior Max class. He was fourth in the pre-final and second in the final, where he exhibited his racecraft and dared to move up from mid-grid to the podium.
The senior class races, marked by 23-kart grids, also dished out nail-biting finishes where the track positions kept changing in both the pre-final and final. Akshat Misra, after holding off the challenge in the early laps, topped both outings. Bengaluru’s Rohaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing) managed to finish ahead of Eshanth Vengatesan in the pre-final. Later, in the final, Rohaan looked good for P2 behind Akshat Misra until he got involved in a collision and dropped out of contention. Eshanth squeezed through for a P2 finish ahead of Mumbai’s Aahil Mecklai (Rayo Racing).
