Heartbreak for Bengaluru boy at World Rotax Max

Portimao (Portugal), Nov 12 (IANS) Bengaluru schoolboy Ruhaan Alva representing the Birel Art India team, marked his debut in the World Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals with a 12th place finish in the Micro Max category, only to be disqualified on a technicality.

The 11-year-old was disqualified for being underweight by a mere 100 grams during the mandatory post-race weigh-in here on Saturday.

As per regulations, the kart along with the driver in full racing gear, including the helmet, should weigh 110 kilograms, but Ruhaan tipped the scales at 109.9 kilograms.

The grand finals saw 360 karters from 59 countries competing in various age-group categories, and Ruhaan came through a week-long competition that saw four rounds of free practice, three qualifying heats, the pre-final and the final with a consistent performance which won him much high acclaim.

Though Ruhaan finished just outside the top 10, he improved with each outing and clocked his best lap of one minute, 07.992 seconds around the 1.5 kilometre long circuit in the 10-lap final that was won by France's Louis Iglesias.

Ruhaan opened the week with a best lap of 01:11.295 in the first of the practice sessions. As he grew in confidence and came to know the track, his times dropped. He qualified 10th for the pre-final and 13th for the final.

Ruhaan thus completed an otherwise excellent season as he finished third overall in his category in the Italian Easykart Championship and second in the FMSCI Indian National championship.

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