Diana Pundole becomes first Indian woman racer to win championship title

Diana Pundole from Pune broke the glass ceiling by becoming the first female driver to win a championship title, winning the MRF Saloon category race.

The 28-year-old racer, who also happens to be a mother of two, was ecstatic with her achievement. "I didn’t touch my phone because I wanted to focus on this weekend’s races. I can’t describe the feelings now, but I'm very happy, of course,” she said.

Teenagers Jaden Rahman Pariat (Shillong) and Bengaluru’s Abhay Mohan emerged champions in the premier MRF single-seater categories as the curtains came down on an action-packed fourth and final round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2024, powered by STORM-X at the Madras International Circuit, here on Sunday.

Others to win the championship in their respective categories were: Biren Pithawalla (Mumbai, N1 Racing) in Indian Touring Cars, Srinivas Teja (Chennai, Performance Racing) in Indian Junior Touring Cars, Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) in Formula LGB 1300.

Businessman from Lonavla Dhruv Chavan survived massive battles through six races over the weekend to win the championship in the Polo Cup.

Today, Jaden could not add to his eight wins, as he finished second behind Bengaluru’s Chetan Surineni in both MRF Formula 2000 races today.

However, the 17-year-old Jaden accrued sufficient points to annex his maiden championship with Surineni in second spot on the leaderboard. “I have proved to myself that I have it in me to win a championship. After my win yesterday, I just wanted to bring the car home without trying anything risky, but it’s great to win my first-ever championship. It is also good for Chetan (Surineni) to win both races today,” said Jaden.

Similarly, 16-year-old Abhay Mohan marked his debut season by clinching his maiden championship in the MRF Formula 1600 category though he was denied an all-win record by Mumbai’s Zahan Commissariat. With 11 wins from 12 starts, Abhay emerged champion by a massive margin.

“It is still to sink in. I mean, winning a championship in my debut season is great, but I can’t find words to express my happiness. It was a good run overall and I thank my JA Motorsports, my family and friends for their support,” said Abhay.

Nellore’s 26-year-old Viswas Vijayaraj claimed the title in the Formula LGB 1300 category despite retiring early in the last two races, one of which was won by Mira Erda who, starting from pole, held off stiff competition to score her first-ever win in single-seater since her debut in 2014.

“I have waited for 10 years for this moment. I have been racing in a single-seater class since 2014, but apart from a few podiums, I have never won a race. So, I am absolutely delighted by today’s win which I am told is the first by a female driver in FLGB 1300,” said an ecstatic 23-year-old Mira who is also making a career as a driver-coach.

The day’s post-lunch session was extended due to a couple of crashes and spins leading to Red Flag stoppages with title contenders involved in wheel-to-wheel battles.