Pitambar Wins Super Class Race While Europeans Beat British Racers And 1000 Bhp Tata Prima Truck Creates History!

• Pitambar wins the Super Class race, a category of 10 new Indian truck drivers for this season
• Nagarjuna wins the Champion Class race, a category for top drivers from the last season
• Czech Republic's David Vrsecky wins both the Pro Class races, a category for international drivers from European and British truck racing associations
• Bollywood star and merk ambassador of Tata Motors Commercial unit - Akshay Kumar made a 'Khiladi' entry riding on top of a truck to flag off the Pro Class Race 1
• KK, Siddhartha Mahadevan and Garima Yagnik entertained the crowds with some great music

Greater Noida, 19th March 2017: The 4th season of the one-make T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship organized by Tata Motors at the Buddh International Circuit came to grand closure with rookie trucker Pitambar winning the race in Super Class category. Last season's champion Nagarjuna again won this year in the Champion Class category dominating the race from the start. 

In the Pro Class which consisted of two races - first with 8 laps and second with 15 laps - saw European driver David Vrsecky win both the races. David qualified at pole position on Saturday, had a good start in the first race and won it comfortably. The second race, which went for 15 laps, saw David start from pole, lead the race comfortably for 13 laps but was then chased-down by Hungary's Norbert Kiss until the Finish line on the last lap. 

Winner David Vrsecky (left) with Antonio Albacete (right) before the start of race

David barely managed to hold off Norbert on the last lap and secured his first championship at the T1 Prima Racing. It was a gripping finish to the second race in the Pro Class with plenty of drama and action. David crossed the finish line just 0.257 secs before Norbert, they were neck-and-neck coming out of the last corner of the last lap. 

Down the line, UK's Simon Reid and Ryan Smith were battling intensely for 4th place for at least 10 laps which made the crowd go crazy. Germany's Gerd Körber finished third making it an all European podium at the 4th season. Last year's winner David Jenkins finished 6th in the second race.

Germany's Stephanie Halm - the first and only women trucker to participate in T1 Prima Racing - faced issued with her front tyres in the first race. She complained of lack of grip and poor quality of tyres for her finish at the back-half of the field of 12 drivers. In the second race she had a better run and was constantly battling with other drivers for track position. She ultimately finished 8th in the second race after fighting hard with other masculine drivers. Her achievements were no less than the winner David, as she fought brilliantly with the rest of the men.

Bollywood star Akshay Kumar at 2017 Tata T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship India

Earlier in the Super Class race, 29-year old Pitambar from Uttar Pradesh (UP) was in a league of his own, winning the race and crossing the line 33.226 secs before the second placed 40-year old Shivnihal Singh who also hails from UP. 33-year old Gurujant Singh, again from UP, completed the podium in third place. It was all an UP podium in the Super Class category and interestingly the event was held at Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh!

The 1000 bhp Tata Prima truck

Between the races, the crowd witnessed history being made by Tata Motors in India. A specially tuned Prima truck powered by a 12-litre ISG12 Cummins engine with a pumped up output of 1000 bhp set the lap record of 1:35:674 secs at the 3.1 kms version of the circuit. Tata Motors claimed that it will take quite a few years for any other truck manufacturer in India to beat this lap record.

Final results:

Super Class - 10 Laps

P1 - Pitambar (Uttar Pradesh) - 29 years old

P2 - Shivnihal Singh (Uttar Pradesh) - 40 years old

P3 - Gurujant Singh (Uttar Pradesh) - 33 years old

Champion Class - 10 Laps

P1 - Nagarjuna (Andhra Pradesh) - 29 years old

P2 - Malkeet Singh (Uttar Pradesh) - 34 years old

P3 - Bhag Chand (Rajasthan) - 32 years old

Pro Class - Race 2 - 15 laps

P1 - David Vrsecky (Czech Republic)

P2 - Norbert Kiss (Hungary)

P3 - Gerd Körber (Germany)

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