PUNE: The MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship 2018, is set for a grand and thrilling finale as the fifth and final round commences at the MMRT here on Friday with titles up for grabs in all categories.

The busy weekend will also see races in Formula 4 South-East Asia Championship and the Caterham 7 Asian Zonal Championship with drivers from Europe and Asia on the grid.

Chairman of the meet Vicky Chandhok said: “It has been a long season, starting in February this year. We are pleased that the number of entries has shown a significant upward trend, especially in MRF Formula 1600, Super Stock and the Formula LGB 1300. We are indebted to MRF Tyres who have added muscle in more ways than one to our efforts to attract more youngsters to racing.

“This is the biggest positive for us at the MMSC apart from the appreciation we have received from competitors and spectators alike for the upgrades we carried out at the MMRT over the past one year. We plan to build on this to provide better and safer racing environment as we go along.”

Of special interest this weekend would be the triple-header in the MRF Formula 1600 class where four drivers — Raghul Rangasamy (134 points), Goutham Parekh (123), Sandeep Kumar (115) and Ashwin Datta (110) — are in contention for for the championship with a maximum of 75 points on offer.

The Championship winner will earn the right to contest in the Mazda Road To Indy shootout as part of MMSC’s initiative to provide Indians an international platform to further their racing careers. 

The shootout, whose winner is eligible for a scholarship of USD 200,000, will be held in the United States later this year.

The race for titles is as tight in the premier Indian Touring Cars class where a maximum of 50 points are up for grabs over two races. Bengaluru’s Ashish Ramaswamy of Arka Motorsports (131 points) and veteran Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) from Coimbatore (111) are the front-runners.