Breaking news
Indian Open Wheel
Chatterjee: "I was crowned champion in people's eyes"
Nayan Chatterjee says he was happy to be “crowned champion in people’s eyes” after losing out the 2018 JK Tyre National Racing title through little fault of his own.
Rachit Thukral
Edited: Sep 27, 2019, 6:39 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Chatterjee was running in a championship-winning position when Manav Sharma outbraked himself on the approach to turn 1, slamming into the back of Chatterjee’s car and forcing him into retirement.
The incident paved the way for Karthik Tharani to clinch the title, while Chatterjee was denied a Euro JK crown for the second time in three years.
Despite losing out the title in dramatic circumstances, Mumbai-based Chatterjee says he draws satisfaction from the fact that his pace earned him plaudits from everyone in the paddock.
“To be honest when I felt the hit from the back, I thought it’s game over,” Chatterjee told Motorsport.com India, recalling the championship-deciding crash.
“In fact I came into the pits and I got my overalls off. And I packed my bags and Hari [Singh] and Sanjay Sharma came in [and said] that you still finished second in the championship.
“So that’s the only reason I got with my shorts and my t-shirt on the podium.”
He added: “To be honest I was crowned championship in front of all the people’s eyes. And that’s what matters to me.”
Nayan Chatterjee
Photo by: M Saad
Chatterjee had been hit by misfortunate earlier in the season as well, with a snapped cable forcing him to retire from the very first race of the year.
But perhaps the biggest hit came in the second round, where a leaking hose pipe prevented him from winning a third consecutive race in a row.
The same technical issue had ramifications on the final race of that weekend as well, forcing him to take a new chassis - and with it a hefty grid penalty.
Nevertheless, he managed to fight his way through the field to secure a podium finish, showing he had the place to secure a clean sweep of four out of four wins in round 2.
“I started on pole,” he recalled. “I was leading the race with seven seconds when my hose pipe started to leak.
“I had to surrender the lead and start shifting at 3000-4000 rpm so that I would not end up ceasing the engine. I still finished second.
“But then it was a reverse grid [in race 4], due to some complication they had to change my car and I was given a five place grid penalty.
“So I was starting dead last on the grid, 12th. And I finished third in that race also.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Indy 500 winner Power unveils image on Borg-Warner Trophy
Next article Triple Eight to assess 'body blow' penalty impact
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Rachit Thukral
Jorge Martin the slowest Aprilia in Australia practice: “I'm used to riding with the Ducati here”
MotoGP
MotoGP
Australian GP
45 min
Jorge Martin the slowest Aprilia in Australia practice: “I'm used to riding with the Ducati here”
Ducati says Aprilia “can do whatever they want” amid team order talks in MotoGP
MotoGP
MotoGP
Australian GP
1 h
Ducati says Aprilia “can do whatever they want” amid team order talks in MotoGP
More from
Nayan Chatterjee
Chennai MRF: Chatterjee, Prasad share Saturday wins
Indian Open Wheel
Indian Open Wheel
MRF F1600: Chennai II
Chennai MRF: Chatterjee, Prasad share Saturday wins
MRF F1600: Chatterjee leads after double win in Chennai opener
Indian Open Wheel
Indian Open Wheel
MRF F1600: Chennai
MRF F1600: Chatterjee leads after double win in Chennai opener
Tharani’s “heart sank” when Chatterjee was taken out
Indian Open Wheel
Indian Open Wheel
JK Tyre: Greater Noida
Tharani’s “heart sank” when Chatterjee was taken out
Latest news
Belgian firm to take over Renault/Alpine engine facility in Viry
WEC
WEC WEC 5 min
Belgian firm to take over Renault/Alpine engine facility in Viry
Jorge Martin the slowest Aprilia in Australia practice: “I'm used to riding with the Ducati here”
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
45 min
Jorge Martin the slowest Aprilia in Australia practice: “I'm used to riding with the Ducati here”
2027 Winter Series calendar: Three series across five circuits
General
Misc General 1 h
2027 Winter Series calendar: Three series across five circuits
Ducati says Aprilia “can do whatever they want” amid team order talks in MotoGP
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
1 h
Ducati says Aprilia “can do whatever they want” amid team order talks in MotoGP
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe