Coimbatore, Oct 19 (PTI) Chennai Turbo Riders clinched their fourth win of the season to stake a strong claim to the championship with veteran British driver Jon Lancaster winning Round 4 of the Indian Racing League here on Saturday.
The 35-year-old Lancaster held off pole-sitter and former Formula 1 test driver Neel Jani of Hyderabad Blackbirds, returning to the Indian Racing League championship after missing the previous two rounds, in a tight finish.
In P3 behind the two veterans was India's Sohil Shah of Goa Aces JA Races at the recently upgraded Kari Motor Speedway.
Neel Jani, the 40-year-old from Switzerland who started on pole position, opened a near five-second gap over Lancaster, while 23-year-old Bengaluru driver Shah moved up with some aggressive moves.
Jani slowed down considerably midway through the race after some gear issues as Lancaster moved into the lead and quickly pulled an eight-second lead at one stage.
However, Jani swiftly caught up with Lancaster but could not pass him with the British driver displaying amazing skills to keep his P1 spot.
"We did a lot of work on the car to put things together and it is a big step forward for our team," said Lancaster after the race.
In the Formula 4 Indian Open, South African Aqil Alibhai Hyderabad Blackbirds notched his third win of the season with a near-flawless drive starting from P2 on the grid. He went past pole-sitter Ruhaan Alva of Shrachi Rarh Royal Bengal Tigers and never looked back for victory, which saw him consolidate his position at the top.
Alva, the teenager from Bengaluru, held on to his P2 after coming under pressure from Shillong's Jaden Pariat of Bangalore Speedsters as the duo completed podium behind Alibhai.
Veteran Diljith TS (Dark Don Racing) won the JK-LGB Formula 4 race while Dhruvh Goswami (MSPORT) came in second. Tijil Rao was third.