Coimbatore, July 11 : As many as 74 youngsters representing 10 teams across four categories form highly competitive grids as the first round of the MECO-FMSCI National Karting Championship Rotax Max Classes, starting on Saturday.

The Championship comprises six rounds, with the grand finale slated for November 8-9. The four National champions in the Senior Max, Junior Max, Mini Max and Micro Max categories, identified at the conclusion of the championship, will represent India in the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in Bahrain (November 29 to December 6).

The 2025 season is featured by the introduction of the Mini Max category for racers under 11 years of age, positioned between the Micro and Junior Max classes.

The Senior Max has attracted 34 entries. Bengaluru racers Rishon Rajeev (Birel Art India) and brothers from Peregrine Racing Rohaan Madesh and Ishaan Madesh are expected to dominate, while the competition among the trio is likely to be close and thrilling.

The Junior Max category will be headlined by last year's champion Pune's Arafath Sheikh (Crest Motorsports) and Chennai's Eshanth Vengatesan (MSPORT) with a clutch of rookies ranged against them.

Competition is expected to be extremely sharp in the Mini Max class, which has a bunch of racers who have moved up from Micro Max. Rivaan Dev Preetham (Chennai, MSPORT), along with Hamza Balasinorwala (Mumbai, Crest Motorsports), Rehan Khan Rasheed (Chennai, MSPORT), Yatharth Gaur (Faridabad, Leapfrog Racing) and Danish Dalmiya (Pune, Rayo Racing), who were consistently claiming podiums in the Micro Max class last year, have all moved to the new Mini category.

The departure of the top five leaves the Micro Max field open with Bengaluru's Shiv Tummala of Peregrine Racing and Mumbai's Aarav Surekha of Rayo Racing, being the front runners.

Saturday's schedule has official practice, qualifying rounds and heats, while the pre-finals and finals are slated for Sunday.

/IANS