S. Gyan and Saishiva Sankaran scored dramatic victories in the Formula 1600 and Formula 2000 categories, respectively, on the opening day of the MRF Indian National Racing Challenge 4W at the Madras International Circuit (MIC) here on Saturday.

Saishiva capitalised on leader Aditya Patnaik’s struggles with backmarkers in the closing laps to snatch victory in Formula 2000. Gyan, running second for much of the Formula 1600 race, moved into the lead after Bhuvan Bonu suffered a drop in power towards the finish.

Viswas Vijayaraj led a DTS Racing podium sweep in Formula LGB 1300, while Sri Lankan Kaveen Divyan Rajapaksa of Momentum Motorsports topped the Junior category.

Earlier, former National champion Arjun Narendran took pole position in the Indian Super Touring Cars class, while Neel Shah was quickest in Volkswagen Polo Cup qualifying.

Provisional results (all 10 laps unless mentioned): MRF F2000 (Race-1, 9 laps): 1. Saishiva Sankaran 14:47.457s; 2. Aditya Patnaik 14:48.121; 3. Swarnav Das 14:53.134.

MRF F1600 (Race-1, 9 laps): 1. S. Gyan 16:28.952; 2. Priyanka Vijay 14:52.355+1 lap; 3. Bhuvan Bonu 14:59.959+1 lap.

Formula LGB 1300 (Race-1) Open: 1. Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) 18:53.431; 2. Vinithkumar (DTS Racing) 18:58.267; 3. Liron Jaden Samuels 19:03.051.

Junior: 1. Kaveen Diyyan Rajapaksa (Momentum Motorsports) 19:21.510; 2. Abhijit Vadavalli (Momentum Motorsports) 19:39.205; 3. Yash Vikram Singh (Delta Speeds) 19:39596.