Mahaveer Raghunathan Becomes First Indian To Win Boss GP Championship

Mahaveer Raghunathan has created history by becoming the first Indian to win a European Racing Championship. The Chennai lad raced to victory in the last two races of the Boss GP Championship (Formula Class) at Imola on October 1. The 19-year-old took a total of 263 points in seven rounds to take the championship title. Raghunathan joins the league of Indian drivers Narain Karthikeyan, Karun Chandhok, Arjun Maini, Jehan Daruvala and many more as he secures a podium internationally. Previously, Karthikeyan won the British Formula Ford in 1994 and the Formula Asia Series in 1996, while Chandhok has won several races across Asia.

Racing for PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport, Raghunathan was dominant through the series right from the start, securing podium finishes in each of the seven rounds. He only sealed the title on Sunday with two-back-to-back wins. The second race saw the Indian racer inherit the win, after his main rival Salvatore de Plano from Italy pulled out of the race in the fourth lap. De Plano finished with 243 points to take the third place behind Austria's Johann Ledermair with 247 points.

(2017 Boss GP European Championship Winners)

Speaking on his win, Raghunathan said, "It was a lot of fun. I am absolutely thrilled that I could make it to P1 and then take the Championship as well. This is amazing. It does wonders for my confidence. I want to give a huge thank you to my team at PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport."

Having begun his career in karting, Mahaveer Raghunathan graduated to Formula cars in 2012 having participated in the JK Racing Asia Series, while he also drove the MRF Challenge Formula 1600 in 2013. He's also been a participant in three races of the Chinese Formula Masters.

Raghunathan moved to Europe in 2015 and joined F&M in the Italian Formula 4 Championship. In 2015, he participated in the European Formula 3 championship for Motopark Academy. The 2016 season was his most productive with second overall finish in the Auto GP racing for Coloni's Italian team PS Racing.