Photo: Indian F4
Aqil Alibhai won the 2024 Indian Formula 4 title in the final round at Kari Motor Speedway.
Two pre-event test sessions on Friday were on the schedule, although results did not appear from either, then a single 25-minute practice session followed on Saturday morning.
Ruhaan Alva set a 1m05.709s to head title rival Alibhai by 0.188 seconds, with Hady-Noah Mimassi 0.793s behind in third and Chetan Surineni 0.979s off the pace in fourth. Jaden Pariat’s title hopes ended by being absent from proceedings.
The afternoon began with two 10-minute qualifying sessions, and in the first points leader Alibhai mastered a track that was wet and dry to pinch pole by 0.029s. He set a 1m08.816s on his final lap to beat Alva, and Saishiva Sankaran trailed by 0.721s in third. They had gaps of 0.028s and 0.49s respectively to Mimassi and Divy Nandan in fourth and fifth.
Sankaran came to the fore in Q2, with his best effort – a 1m08.471s – denying Alibhai pole by 0.037s. Mimassi was only 0.134s behind in third, Alba was fourth and Dhruvh Goswami completed a top five covered by 0.594s.
When race one began a few hours later there was more rain and wet-weather tyres were used. Alibhai came through the spray for his fifth successive win, keeping Alva at bay by 1.14s.
Mimassi was a further 1.64s behind in low-visibility conditions, while Sankaran had an easier time in clear as he finished a lonely fourth. Nandan edged Goswami for fifth.
A dominant drive by Alva in a dry race two on Sunday was not enough to keep him in title contention, with Alibhai being crowned champion when he met the chequered flag 9.766s behind him in second place.
The battle for third took place half a minute behind, with Nandan gapping himself from Raiden Samervel, Sankaran and Aiva Anagnostiadis at the end.
Alva responded to missing out on the title with another dominant win, his third of the year, in the season-ending race three.
He was victorious by 9.489s over Mimassi, who made it up to ninth in the standings despite missing three of the five rounds, and Alibhai came home 15.541s back in third.
The race did not go to plan for Sankaran, who fell down the order before getting involved in a four-car fight for seventh. He ended up at the losing end of that, finishinf 46.077s behind Alva in 10th.
Results round-up
Race 1 (21 laps)
1 Aqil Alibhai 26m14.474s
2 Ruhaan Alva +1.140s
3 Hady-Noah Mimassi +2.780s
4 Saishiva Sankaran +9.294s
5 Divy Nandan +25.689s
6 Dhvruvh Goswami +26.204s
7 Raiden Samervel +40.632s
8 Giancarlo Artho +50.565s
9 Aiva Anagnostiadis +51.086s
10 Chetan Surineni +1m01.868s
Pole: Alibhai, 1m08.816s
Fastest lap: Mimassi, 1m10.638s
Race 2 (24 laps)
1 Alva 26m55.114s
2 Alibhai +9.766s
3 Nandan +29.873s
4 Samervel +31.857s
5 Sankaran +32.588s
6 Anagnostiadis +32.818s
7 Mimassi +41.834s
8 Zakariya Mohammed +42.376s
9 Surineni +49.197s
10 Goswami +49.621s
FL: Alva, 1m06.492s
Race 3 (24 laps)
1 Alva 27m00.884s
2 Mimassi +9.489s
3 Alibhai +15.541s
4 Goswami +27.091s
5 Samervel +29.485s
6 Anagnostiadis +34.331s
7 Surineni +43.346s
8 Tristan Rajakoski +44.146s
9 Akhil Agarwal +45.292s
10 Sankaran +46.077s
P: Sankaran, 1m08.471s
FL: Alva, 1m06.386s
Championship standings
1 Alibhai 284 2 Alva 262 3 Jaden Pariat 168 4 Nandan 154 5 Hugh Barter 95 6 Isaac Demellweek 92 7 Veer Sheth 87 8 Abhay Mohan 84 9 Mimassi 51 10 Anagnostiadis 47