Motorsports: Sharath scripts history for Mahindra Racing

Monza (Italy), April 29 (IANS) Mahindra Racing's young Indian rider Sarath Kumar scripted history at the CIV-Italian Championship in Monza where he finished third, his first podium finish here Sunday.

This is the first time an Indian has secured a place on the podium at an international motorsports event in Europe. The Indian rider was originally placed fourth but moved up in the rankings after third place winner Andrea Mantovani was disqualified due to engine irregularities.

Sarath moved off pretty well from the grid and rapidly found a good pace that allowed him to recover many positions to finish 3rd in the 125 GP. The Indian rider also clocked a remarkable time of 25:38:775.

Recently, Sarath also became the first Indian to score points in this competitive Championship during the second round in Imola.

On the other hand, the winner of the first two rounds, Mahindra's Ricardo Morreti was forced into early retirement after his bike suddenly turned off due to technical issues.

After the third round of 125 GP, Sharath climbs up the classification to fifth place with 22 points and Moretti now lies in second position in the standings with 50 points. The next two CIV races will take place on June 23 and 24 at Mugello's Autodromo Nazionale.

"A podium finish at the Italian Championship is a dream come true for me! I got off to a good start and was able to recover a lot of positions up to the 14th place. It was my first time in Monza, a circuit I am quickly getting accustomed to - it's a really fast one! I want to thank all my technical staff, my manager and team Mahindra for their support," said Sharath.

Moretti said it was a very unlucky day on the track for him.

"I was able to take the lead when at Variante Ascari the engine of my bike turned off. I was able to get back to the pits and after that to get back on track, but the problem emerged once again and I had to withdraw from the race. I hope to change this DNF and do better in the rest of the championship because I want to be back to first place in the standings," he said.