MRF Challenge final round from today

The previous two rounds witnessed thrilling battles while throwing up some exciting young talent. Championship leader Michaelangelo Amendola, the 17-year-old from Belgium, Britain’s Joshua Mason, and first-timers Yuven Sunderamoorthy, an Indian-American, and Reece Ushijima, a Japanese-American, have caught the eyeballs so far.

A newcomer to the MRF Challenge is England’s 16-year-old Louis Foster, who enjoyed a tremendous run in the British F4 Championship last year to finish third overall. In 2018, he emerged “Champion Rookie” in the Ginetta Junior Championship with nine wins.

After two rounds, Amendola, with three wins in Dubai, is well-placed at the top with 143 points. He is followed by Australia’s 30-year-old Dylan Young (127), who notched up his first and only success so far in seven MRF Challenge seasons. Behind the pair is Mason (115), who managed four podium finishes in the Dubai round.

The top three title contenders, however, have to watch out for Danish teenager Valdemar Eriksen and Jordanian Manaf Hijjawi, tied on 87 points. The above mentioned duo is well clear of Ushijima and Sunderamoorthy, who have 70 points apiece. Denmark’s Largim Ali (43) and the lone Indian in fray, Chetan Korada (19), close out the grid.

With six races to be run, there are plenty of points on offer and it puts premium on consistency given the close competition.