Saishiva Sankaran of Pune and Chennai's S. Gyan delivered breathtaking last-lap victories in the Formula 2000 and Formula 1600 classes respectively, setting a dramatic tone for the opening round of the Indian National Racing Challenge 4W – 2026 at the Madras International Circuit, Chennai, on 22 August 2026. Meanwhile, Nellore's Viswas Vijayaraj and Sri Lankan Kaveen Diyyan Rajapaksa delivered dominant displays in the Formula LGB 1300 Open and Junior categories respectively.

Sankaran Snatches F2000 Win in Final Lap Drama

Pole-sitter Saishiva Sankaran — last year's F1600 champion — endured a difficult start, slipping behind Navi Mumbai's Aditya Patnaik and running second for much of the 9-lap race. With two laps remaining, Patnaik encountered a backmarker and lost critical time, allowing Sankaran to close the gap. On the final lap, Patnaik ran into another backmarker, and Sankaran seized the opportunity to pass and claim victory, finishing in 14 minutes 47.457 seconds. Patnaik settled for second (14:48.121), with Pune's Swarnav Das completing the podium (14:53.134).

Gyan Pounces on Rival's Power Drop in F1600

Run concurrently with the F2000, the Formula 1600 race produced an equally tense finish. Gyan spent most of the contest in second place, trailing Bhuvan Bonu of Visakhapatnam, with Bengaluru's Priyanka Vijay in third. Late in the race, Bonu suffered a sudden power drop, enabling both Gyan and Vijay to sweep past him. Gyan crossed the line first (16:28.952), Vijay took second (14:52.355 +1 lap), and Bonu had to settle for third (14:59.959 +1 lap).

Vijayaraj Commands LGB 1300 Open; Rajapaksa Rules Junior Class

Viswas Vijayaraj made the Formula LGB 1300 Open race his own from the very first corner, seizing the lead at Turn-1 and stretching his advantage lap by lap for a processionary victory in 18:53.431. The result was a clean podium sweep for DTS Racing, with teammates Vinith Kumar (Tirupur) second in 18:58.267 and Liron Jaden Samuels (Tirunelveli) third in 19:03.051.

In the Junior category, Kaveen Diyyan Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka, representing Momentum Motorsports, took the top step in 19:21.510, ahead of teammate Abhijit Vadavalli (Bengaluru) in 19:39.205 and Yash Vikram Singh (Agra, Delta Speeds) in 19:39.596.

Qualifying Highlights Ahead of Sunday's Races

Former national champion Arjun Narendran of Coimbatore, returning to active competition after several years at the wheel of an Arka Motorsports-prepared Volkswagen Polo, claimed pole in the Indian Super Touring Cars class with a hot lap of 1:49.033. He will be chased on Sunday by a trio of Buzzing Hornet Motorsports drivers — Ritesh Rai (Chennai), Aman Nagdev (Noida), and Jeet Jhabakh (Hyderabad).

In the Super Stock class, veteran Diljith T.S. of Thrissur led a DTS Racing 1-2-3 lockout in qualifying with a best lap of 2:02.678. Mumbai's Neel Shah set the pace in the Volkswagen Polo Cup qualifying session, clocking 1:55.377, ahead of Buzzing Hornet Motorsports teammates Pratik Sonawane (Mumbai), Hitrath Bhat (Ahmedabad), Sidharth Desai (Mumbai), and Dushyant Nagesh (Bengaluru).

With Sunday's feature races still to come, the opening day at Madras International Circuit has already set the stage for a fiercely contested weekend of Indian motorsport.