INDIA in F1

Author: David Bodapati

  • Shreyas, Jinendra to represent India at Valencia

    Shreyas, Jinendra to represent India at Valencia

    Bengaluru, 5 Sept. 2022: Talented Shreyas Hareesh from Bengaluru dominated the last two rounds to upset the applecart of title-favourite Jinendra Kiran Sangave and was crowned the Indian champion in the FIM MiniGP India series which concluded at Meco Kartopia here on Sunday.

    Shreyas and Kolhapur’s Jinendra qualified to represent India in the FIM MiniGP World Series Finals to be held in November in Valencia, Spain.  “I am happy and excited that I have won the championship. I had fun and am eagerly looking forward to take part in the next stage of the World Championship at valencia, ” said Shreyas.

    Shreyas (220 points) and Jinendra (213) finished first and second respectively in the FIM MiniGP World Series India 2022 which concluded at the Meco Kartopia here on Sunday. In the World Finals, the pair will compete with toppers of respective National series held in 15 countries.

    Shreyas Hareesh (with the Indian flag) celebrates with family and friends after winning the MiniGP India Series at Meco Kartopia on Sept. 4, 2022.

    The five-round, 10-race India series, organised by RMS Motorsport with support from Meco Motorsports, saw Jinendra, 13, dominate initially by winning five races in a row. However, 12-year old Shreyas staged a remarkable comeback by topping four of the next five races, including a double in Round-4 on Saturday to finish on top of the Series points table with 220 points. Jinendra, who barely survived a difficult final weekend, finished with 213 points, well ahead of third-placed Nandanan Mahendran of Chennai (153).

    Rookie Nithila Das, topped among the girls.

    Bengaluru-based Nithila Das kept the ‘Women in Motorsports’ flag flying by winning the top honours among the girls and also finished a creditable fifth overall in the standings with 106 points among 15 riders while Rakshitha Dave from Chennai was seventh (94). The other two girls, both from Bengaluru, Aleena Mansur Sheikh and Anastya Pol, participated only in Round-1.

    Nithila, a Karnataka State cycling champion in her class, took to racing only this year but displayed enough skills and talent to beat many experienced riders. She finished first among the girls in eight of the 10 races.

    The results (all 15 laps):

    Round-4: Race-1: 1. Shreyas Hareesh (Bengaluru) (16mins, 08.090secs); 2. Jinendra Kiran Sangave (Kolhapur) (16:40.592); 3. Rakshith S Dave (Chennai) (16:46.509). Race-2: Shreyas Hareesh (16:05.533); Jinendra Sangave (16:06.095); 3. Nandanan Mahendran (Chennai) (16:37.833).

    Qualifying (Top 3, best lap): 1. Jinendra Kiran Sangave (01:04.014); 2. Shreyas Hareesh (01:04.148); 3. Nandanan Mahendran (01:04.251).

    Round-5: Race-1: Jinendra Kiran Sangave (16:07.381); 2. Shreyas Hareesh (16:07.958); 3. Nandanan Mahendran (16:20.406). Race-2: 1. Shreyas Hareesh (16:14.237); 2. Nandanan Mahendran (16:25.629); 3. Rakshith Dave (Chennai) (16:41.085).

    Qualifying (Top 3, best lap): Shreyas Hareesh (01:03.061); 2. Jinendra Kiran Sangave (01:03.244); 3. Nandanan Mahendran (01:04.208).

    FINAL SERIES STANDINGS (TOP 3): 1. Shreyas Hareesh (220 points); 2. Jinendra Kiran Sangave (213); 3. Nandanan Mahendran (153).

    About FIM MiniGP World Series India Series

    The FIM MiniGP World Series India, comprising a total of 10 races spread over five rounds, is part of the global programme run across 15 countries, and initiated by the FIM, the World governing body for two-wheeler racing, in conjunction with Dorna Sports, promoters of the FIM MotoGP.

    The FIM launched the MiniGP Series in 2021, as part of the Road To MotoGP programme, aiming to create an equal platform for young riders around the World to begin their motorcycle racing careers. All riders compete on equal Ohvale GP-0 160 machinery (Mini bikes), manufactured in Italy, while Pirelli is the official single tyre supplier for all the FIM MiniGP World Series.

    The top two riders based on points at the conclusion of the India series will represent the country in the FIM MiniGP World Series finals to be held in Valencia, Spain, in November.

  • Bagnaia holds off charging Quartararo in a tense finish

    Bagnaia holds off charging Quartararo in a tense finish

    Three in a row makes perfect reading for Pecco, but Quartararo takes Yamaha’s best Spielberg finish after a stunning charge to second

    Spielberg (Austira), 21 August 2022: For the first time in his career, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) is a hat-trick hero after leading from start to finish in a tense CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich. But that was far from the full story as World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) put in a stunning charge to take second and Yamaha’s best result at the Red Bull Ring, putting in one of his performances of the season. On a day made for convincing rides, the two key title rivals both more than delivered. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) likewise impressed, completing the podium for another big and increasingly consistent haul of points.

    In front of over 90,000 jubilant fans the lights went out for the MotoGP™ race and Bagnaia grabbed the holeshot from Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), Miller slotted into P3 and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) held station in P4. Quartararo got a decent start but at the end of the first lap, Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) passed the Frenchman to demote the Championship leader to P6. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), meanwhile, didn’t get a good getaway after his holeshot device didn’t engage but the number 41 recovered to P7 by the beginning of the second lap.

    Elsewhere, Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) crashed out at Turn 4 on Lap 1 and it was later confirmed the 2020 World Champion suffered ligament damage in his foot, declared unfit.

    Back at the front, the leading Ducati quartet quickly pulled themselves over a second clear of Viñales, who, in turn, had stretched his advantage over Quartararo to half a second. It wasn’t line astern in the lead group though. Miller overtook Bastianini at Turn 3 and Martin then had a successful bite at the cherry, only for Bastianini to snap back at Turn 1 on Lap 5. Viñales then made a mistake down at Turn 4, the Spaniard dropped behind Aleix Espargaro and Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) before drama unfolded further up the road.

    Bastianini looked like he had a problem going into Turn 3, and Zarco did an excellent job of taking avoiding action as the Italian slowed right down through no fault of his own. The polesitter then ran straight into the gravel a few seconds later at Turn 4, and later headed back into pitlane as Bastianini was forced to retire.

    That saw Bagnaia and Miller open a one second advantage over Martin, and Quartararo was a further 1.3s away in P4 with Espargaro and Viñales P5 and P6. Martin was digging deep and on Lap 11 of 28, the Spaniard was right with his Ducati stablemates. Quartararo was still 1.4s behind the third of the GP22s and had main title rival Espargaro 1.1s adrift, as Bagnaia set a personal best lap to gain a 0.6s lead over Miller.

    On Lap 14, Quartararo set his personal best lap of the race and the reigning Champion was now 0.6s behind Martin. The latter then made a mistake at the chicane with 12 laps to go and was forced to give the position up to Quartararo, but did Martin then have a problem? He raised his hand coming out of Turn 4 to signal he might have but he was back at full speed soon enough.

    The situation with eight laps to go was this: Bagnaia boasted a 0.9s lead over teammate Miller, who was now hearing Quartararo’s YZR-M1 swarming all over the back of his GP22. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) had picked off Aleix Espargaro for P5, and Espargaro was coming under pressure from Zarco and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar). Martin was still in P4, 0.6s away from Quartararo. That 0.6s gap soon became 0.3s though, with Martin now the fastest rider on track.

    With four laps to go, a sensational move at Turn 2B saw Quartararo carve his way past Miller up into P2. Miller just held off Martin for P3 as Quartararo saw Bagnaia 1.5s up the road at the beginning of Lap 26 of 28. Starting Lap 27, Quartararo had clawed 0.2s back and by the last lap, it was under a second as the Yamaha rider homed in.

    Martin, up the inside of Miller, then suddenly crashed unhurt at Turn 1, giving Miller an easy ride home to P3. But could Quartararo do anything to stop Bagnaia from winning? Not quite, but he wasn’t far away. Pecco took victory but by just 0.4s to make it a hat-trick and reduce the gap to the Frenchman to 44 points, although Quartararo’s ride was a headline-maker in itself. 

    Fourth place for Marini is the Italian’s best result in the premier class to date, and he eventually held off Zarco in fifth by less than half a second. 2.4s further behind was Aleix Espargaro who sees his disadvantage to Quartararo grow to 32 points heading to Misano, but on a tough weekend for the Spaniard, it could have been worse from P9 on the grid.

    Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) gave KTM a P7 on their home patch and it was another solid Sunday ride for the South African, as he and Rins were separated by a tenth on the line. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) claimed P9 ahead of Martin in 10th, the latter able to remount after his last lap tumble at Turn 1.

    Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Viñales, Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) and Andrea Dovizioso (WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP™ Team) rounded out the points positions at the Red Bull Ring.

    The title race momentum was definitely swinging towards Bagnaia and arguably still is, and coming up next is the Italian’s home race at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli – a track he knows like the back of his hand and a track where Quartararo has serious form too. With what was expected to be one of the toughest tracks of the season for Yamaha seeing El Diablo cede only five points and Quartararo, Espargaro, and Bagnaia now split by just 44, it’s very much game on in San Marino…

    MotoGP podium:

    1 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) – Ducati – 40’10.260
    2 Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) – Yamaha – +0.492
    3 Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) – Ducati – +2.163

    Francesco Bagnaia: “It was long, very long, it was a long race. To be calmer and careful, we chose to use the soft front, but it wasn’t the correct choice for me at the finish of the race, but I’m very happy, very happy. I made too many mistakes in the first part of the year so it was the time to be smarter. When I looked at the gap, I tried to be very constant with the lap times, because I was sure my pace was good enough to open this gap. In the last two laps, I just tried to be as calm as possible because the front tyre was closing everywhere. So, I’m very happy. Again, this weekend we have done an incredible job, so I’m very, very happy with my team; they have done an incredible job yesterday, so I’m very happy. We move on to Misano and I’m really looking forward to being there again.”

  • TVS’ Rajendra wins K1000; Sarath Mohan, top privateer

    TVS’ Rajendra wins K1000; Sarath Mohan, top privateer

    Bengaluru, 14 Aug 2022: Former National champion  Rajendra RE of Petronas TVS Racing notched up a hard-fought second consecutive victory beating teammate and defending champion Abdul Wahid Tanveer in the K1000 2-wheeler rally, the fourth round of the GodSpeed Racing fmsci MRF Mogrip National 2w Rally Championship 2022 organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club here at the Tribal Adventure Cafe on Sunday.

    While Tanveer began the season with a victory at Chikmagaluru, Rajendra bounced back with a fine victory at Coimbatore in Round 3, and with this K1000 win, he took a narrow 1-point lead on the championship table with two rounds to go. All the TVS riders missed Round 2 due to new technical regulations.

    Rajendra, the Shivamogga talent, started cautiously as some parts of the Special Stages remained slushy but still clocked the fastest times in all the six Special Stages. However, despite having about 8-second lead, he threw caution to winds and clocked a blistering 7min, 12.207sec in the final Special Stage to make over 12 seconds that left Tanveer clueless. Nataraj, finished a distant third. Samuel Jacob and Imran Pasha (SS 260cc) completed the top-5 sweep for TVS.

    Sarath Mohan and Naresh VS are the only riders who have won all the four rounds, thus far, and are well on their way to National Championship honours.

    All-win streak continues: Sarath Mohan sweeps all rounds in Superbike Expert class

    Kerala’s Sarath Mohan, astride a Husqvarna FE450, became the top privateer, taking sixth place in the overall standings, behind Petronas TVS Racing team, who once again made a clean sweep of all the top five places. Sarath, the 25-year talent from Mallapuram, won the Superbike Expert Class 1A beating state mate Sinan Francis (KTM 450) of Kochi by a huge margin. In fact, his big lead helped him overcome the time he lost going off-route due to a missing ‘bunting’ in the stages and a road penalty later. Still he was fastest in all the stages. “I missed the route and lost about two minutes in the Banana farms. But I am quite happy to continue my winning streak,” said the talented rider, who aims to shift to longer cross-country rallies abroad by 2024. Mithun Gopal of Thiruvananthapuram, on a Suzuki RM450, won the bronze to make the class an all-Kerala affair.

    Bengaluru’s Naresh VS conquered the Royal Enfield Class 6 astride a Himalayan. Naresh was fastest in all the six stages taking a healthy five-minute lead before his nearest rival Mahesh Kumar suffered a 1min, 40-sec road penalty. Sajeer Ismail from Ernakulam came third.

    Bengaluru’s Aishwarya Pissay, the 2019 World Cup Baja winner, took back the championship lead in the Ladies class with a facile victory. With Aishwarya missing Round 2, Fazeela of Ernakulam, took the title lead after Round 3, but today she lost over six minutes in the very first Special STage and had to be content with a fourth place. Bengaluru’s Sameera Dahiya came second on an Impulse and Deeksha Shrivasta, the reigning Sprint champion, finished third.

    Imran Pasha of Mysore won the Supersport 260cc Group B class comfortably despite easing off in the last stages where teammate Banteilang Jyrwa clocked the fastest times. However, the TVS talent and former champion did a creditable job taking the overall fifth position on his RTR200 punching above his weight to beat more powerful bikes. Mangalore’s Adnaan Ahmed who won Round 2 at home, finished third.

    Bengaluru’s Anoop Manjappa on a Stunner defeated Chalass Bose (Kottayam) despite a 1min 10sec penalty in the Supersport 130cc class. Chikkamagaluru rider Sudarshan B on a Gladiator finished third. However, Bose, the Kottayam rider, leads the table by a narrow six-points by virtue of his two wins and two second places while Anoop, has two wins and a second and could only finish fourth in Coimbatore, losing precious points.

    But Gidyun Benjamin, who clocked fastest times in all the six stages, lost to Sasi Kumar K in the Supersport 165cc Group B class due to a road penalty of 2min 50seconds. Varun Kumar came third. Sasi Kumar, breathes easy as he now tops the table with 83 points as, Francis PV, the table topper going into Round 4, had a terrible crash and suffered a leg fracture.

    Mumbai’s Russel Jossy on a KTM 390 clocked fastest times on all the stages except SS4 but his nearest rival Amog Nag lost over 4min Liaison penalty and just managed to beat veteran Venu Ramesh Kumar by about 11 seconds. Coimbatore’s Venu, a regular in the rally scene for over a decade bagged another podium and still leads the Supersport 400cc Group B championship standings going into the final two rounds. Assam’s Hansraj Saikia, who came fifth, is second behind Venu in the standings.

    Sanjay Somasekhar won the Superstock Group D upto 450cc class beating Naveen Somasekhar, also of Bengaluru while C Pradeep took the third place.

    Pinkesh Thakkar of Aprilia JB Racing topped the standings winning the Scooter class while BK Pawan won the Star of K1000 title.

    Of the 87 entries, a total of 76 bikes finished the rally while 10 “Did Not Finish” (DNF) and one rider Harish Eranty could not take the start on time.

    Provisional Results (Ro 4 K1000):

    Class 1: Superbike Pro-Expert:

    1. Rajendra RE (Petronas TVS Racing; Shimoga) RTR 450; 51:21.156;

    2. Abdul Waheed Tanveer  (Petronas TVS Racing; Bengaluru) RTR 450;  51:41.457;

    3.  R Nataraj (Petronas TVS Racing; Mysore) RTR 450;  53:00.815;

    4. Samuel Jacob (Petronas TVS Racing; Udupi) RTR 200;  53:04.462;

    5. Imran Pasha (Petronas TVS Racing – Mysore) RTR 200; 55:55:636;

    6. Sarath Mohan (Pvt- Mallapuram) Husqvarna;  57: 03.707;

    Class 1A:

    1. Sarath Mohan (Pvt- Mallapuram) Husqvarna;  57: 03.707;

    2. Sinan Francis (Pvt- Vennala/Kerala) KTM 450; 01:00:36.723;

    3. Mithun Gopal (Pvt- Trivandrum ) Suzuki RM450; 01:13:42.547;

    Class 2:

    1.  Anoop Manjappa (Pvt – Bengaluru) Stunner; 01:06:44.802; (including 1min, 10sec penalty);

    2.  Chalass K Bose (Pvt – Kottayam) Stunner; 01:07:21.388;

    2.  Sudharshan B (Pvt. Chikkamagaluru) Gladiator 01:09: 01.048; (including 1min, 20sec Penalty);

    Class 3:

    1. Sasi Kumar (Pvt -Coimbatore) Impulse; 01:00:11:700;

    2. Gidyun Benjamin (Pvt – ) 01:01:02. 528; (including 2min, 50sec penalty);  

    3.  Varun Kumar (Pvt. – Bengaluru) Impulse; 01:02:47:117;

    Class 4:

    1. Imran Pasha (Petronas TVS Racing – Mysore) RTR 200; 55:55:636;

    2. Banteilang Jerwa (TVS -Shillong) Xpulse; 57:51.299;

    3. Adnan Ahmed (Pvt -Mangaluru) Xpulse; 58:34.018; (incl. 1.30sec penalty)

    Class 5:

    1. Russel Jossy (Pvt – Mumbai) KTM390; 01:02: 06.696; (20sec penalty);

    2. Amogh Nag (Pvt – Bengaluru) KTM390; 01:07:28.620; (4min, 10sec penalty);

    3.  Venu Ramesh Kumar (Pvt – Coimbatore) KTM390; 01:07:39.403;

    Class 6:

    1. Naresh VS (Pvt – Bengaluru) Royal Enfield; 01:02:32.481;

    2. Mahesh Kumar (Pvt – Kochi) Royal Enfield; 01:09:26.454;

    3. Shajeer Ishmail (Pvt – Ernakulam) Royal Enfield; 01:10:14.099;

    Class 7:

    1. Aishwarya Pissay (Petronas TVS Racing – Bengaluru) RTR 200; 01:07:24.068;

    2. Sameera Dahiya (Pvt – Bengaluru) Xpulse; 01:24:17.364;

    3. Deeksha Srivastava (Pvt – Pune) Impulse; 01:31:13.909;

    4. Fazeela (Pvt – Ernakulam) Impulse; 01:45:09.443;

    Class 8:

    1. Pinkesh Thakkar (Aprilia JB Racing)Aprilia; 01:06:27:709;

    2.  Karthik Naidu (Petronas TVS Racing –Bengaluru) NTorq; 01:06:29:973;

    3. Subramanya T (Pvt – Bhopal) NTorq; 01:06:46:747;

    Class 9

    1. Sanjay Somashekar (Pvt – Bengaluru) Xpulse; 01:00:25:746;

    2. Naveen Somashekar (Pvt – Bengaluru) Xpulse; 01:06:14:891;

    3. C Pradeep (PRN Motorsports – Bengaluru) Xpulse; 01:06:37:032;

    Class 10: Star of K1000

    1. BK Pawan (Pvt.- Bengaluru) Xpulse;  01:03:47.017;

    2.  Gowtham Rao R (Pvt. Bengaluru) Impulse; 01:04:02.918;

    3. L Bharath (Pvt. Bengaluru) Impulse; 01:10:27.572.

  • Abdul Tanveer, Rajendra renew battles; Aishwarya, Sarath raring to go

    Abdul Tanveer, Rajendra renew battles; Aishwarya, Sarath raring to go

    Bengaluru, 12 August 2022: Defending champion Abdul Wahid Tanveer, who is leading the table will renew his battle with Petronas TVS Racing teammate Rajendra RE, in the iconic K1000 rally, the fourth round of the fmsci MRF MoGrip National Rally Championship for two-wheelers which begins at Tribal Adventure Cafe, near Devanahalli, near here on Saturday.

    With the championship throwing three different winners from the first three rounds, Tanveer has taken the Overall lead with 43 points followed by 2019 champion Rajendra on 37 points while Samuel Jacob of Mangalore, also from TVS is in third position with 33 points. Sarath Mohan is leading the Superbikes Expert class while Aishwarya Pissay, also from TVS, is way ahead in the Ladies class and is gunning for her sixth straight National title.

    Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC), with the support of sponsors MRF, have made sure that all arrangements are in place, including a technically-challenging terrain. Promoted by GodSpeed Racing, the premier two-wheeler round of the Indian Rally Nationals, has attracted 87 entries from all over the country. “KMSC is the oldest motorsports club in India hosting the Indian National Rally Championship for over 45 years and we are glad to bring back its more popular cousin, the K1000 two-wheeler National rally. All the safety protocols are in place and KMSC wishes the very best to all the riders for a safe and successful rally. We have also re-introduced the Star of Karnataka for the benefit of local riders,” said Gautham, President of KMSC.

    “Due to rains, the terrain has become more challenging and with the season at the mid-way stage the competition is at its peak and we are expecting a thrilling rally,” said 7-time National champion, Shyam Kothari of GodSpeed Racing, the Promoters.

    Petronas TVS Factory Racing team have dominated all the classes they have taken part and two of its leading lights former champion Rajendra RE of Shivamogga and defending champion Abdul Wahid Tanveer of Mysore will be the strong contenders for overall lead along with Mangaluru privateer Adnaan Ahmed. With no time to fix the fuel pumps as per new regulations, TVS opted out of the back-to-back second round in Mangaluru, which was won by Adnaan Ahmed.

    Kerala privateer Sarath Mohan has dominated the Superbikes Expert class. The Mallapuram rider who missed the last year’s title due to an injury, is back with a bang winning all the rounds. Chalass K Bose, Imran Pasha, Naresh VS, Pinkesh Thakkar and veteran Venu Ramesh are the other riders to watch in their classes.

    Sarath Mohan, who is leading the Superbikes Expert class after three rounds.

    Meanwhile, the star attraction of the event will be the only World Cup winner from India in motorsports, Aishwarya Pissay, who is on a quest for sixth consecutive National title in Ladies class. The 2019 FIM WC Bajas winner, is fresh from her exploits in Baja Aragon Spain. Talented Fazeela of Kochi, who is leading the table, will be another lady rider to watch out for.

    On Sunday, the riders will cover a total distance of 154 kms which includes six Special Stages comprising 57 kms of competitive rally distance on dirt tracks at the Tribal Adventure Cafe, near Devanahalli. The ceremonial flag-off will be on Saturday. The Championship will conclude with two back-to-back rounds in Pune and Nashik in November.

    The results are being presented Live by Zeitmesser India. Watch the race through live results here:

    MRF Mogrip fmsci National Rally Championship 2w – 2022 Round 4 – K1000 – Zeitmesser India Presents Live Results. click here.

  • Ahamed leads TVS 1-2 finish in top class; Rajiv Sethu puts Honda on top in 165cc class

    Ahamed leads TVS 1-2 finish in top class; Rajiv Sethu puts Honda on top in 165cc class

    Chennai, 6 Aug 2022: KY Ahamed led a 1-2 finish for Petronas TVS Racing while Rajiv Sethu of Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing, finally chalked up his first win of the season and Sarvesh Balappa his fifth in a row in their respective categories as the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2022 sparked to life at the Madras International Circuit, here on Saturday.

    KY Ahamed (No.33), winner of the Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open category race on Saturday. Photos by Anand Philar

    Ahamed scored a merited win in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open category with team-mate Deepak Ravikumar in tow even as the unbeaten run of champion Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power1) who had won the previous four races over two rounds, ended as he went off the track when in the lead due to mechanical issues, but managed to finish third.

    Ahamed, starting from P2 behind pole-sitter Ravikumar, made a decisive move in the last lap to get ahead for a deserving maiden victory of the season in this category. The results notwithstanding, Rajini Krishnan continues to lead the championship table following his four-in-a-row winning sequence over the previous two rounds, with a healthy 44-point advantage over Ravikumar with Ahamed a further 10 points behind, going into Race-2 on Sunday.

    Rajiv Sethu (No.8), winner of the Pro-Stock 165cc race, at MIC on Saturday.

    Later, in a heart-stopper Pro-Stock 165cc race, Rajiv Sethu fought and won a tense battle that kept the final outcome in suspense until the very finish where the lead Honda star held off Petronas TVS Racing pair of Deepak Ravikumar and KY Ahamed even as leader and pole-sitter Prabhu Arunagiri (Pacer Yamaha) crashed in the dying moments of the six-lap race.

    Earlier, Sarvesh Balappa, a 23-year old mechanical student from Hubballi, and a late bloomer as a racer, chalked up his fifth win in a row in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category in a race that was reduced to four laps from scheduled six following multiple crashes in the very first lap. All riders in the crashes escaped with minor injuries.

    Sarvesh Balappa, who chalked up his fifth consecutive win in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category.

    Balappa, starting from P4 on the 33-rider grid, kept his wits amidst the chaotic first lap. On restart, the Hubballi rider made his way up the field and seized the lead which he defended with aplomb, even looking behind as he approached the finish line to take the chequered flag. Following him home in close formation were Bengaluru teenager Chiranth Vishwanath (Rookies Racing) and Aldrin Babu (RACR Castrol Power1) from Chalakudy while Mumbai’s Kayan Zubin Patel (Axor Sparks Racing), starting from pole, finished a distant sixth after suffering an off-track excursion and clutch issues.

    Meanwhile, former champion and Round-1 winner, Ann Jennifer (Alpha Racing) qualified for pole position for Sunday’s race in the Girls (Stock 165cc) category, clocking a best lap of 02:09.11. Puducherry’s Lani Zena Fernandez (RACR Castrol Power1) was second best in 02:09.297, followed by defending champion and Round-2 winner Ryhana Bee of Pacer Yamaha (02:10.031).

    The results (Provisional – all 6 laps unless mentioned):

    National Championship – Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open (Race-1): 1. KY Ahamed (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (11mins, 18.989secs); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (11:19.095); 3. Rajini Krishnan (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1) (11:28.348).

    Pro-Stock 165cc Open (Race-1): 1. Rajiv Sethu (Chennai, Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) (11:48.625); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (11:48.900); 3. KY Ahamed (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (11:49.128).

    Novice (Stock 165cc, Race-1, 4 laps): 1. Sarvesh Balappa (Hubballi, Axor Sparks Racing) (08:48.175); 2. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru, Rookies Racing) (08:48.414); 3. Aldrin Babu (Chalakudy, RACR Castrol Power1) (08:52.063).

    Support Race – Stock 301-400cc (Novice): 1. Jayanth Prathipati (Pvt, Hyderabad) (12:30.951); 2. Shazan Khan (Race Abilities, Bengaluru) (12:33.847); 3. Vivek M (Bengaluru) (Race Abilities, Bengaluru) (12:34.581).

    Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250 Open (Race-1): 1. Sarthak Shrikant Chavan (Pune) (11:06.145); 2. Kavin Qunital (Chennai) (11:15.856); 3. Shyam Sundar (Chennai) (11:18.495).

    Novice (CBR 150, Race-1): 1. Raheesh Mudassar Khatri (Mumbai) (12:58.915); 2. Shyam Babu (Chennai) (13:02.234); 3. Siddesh Sawant (Kolhapur) (13:02.345).

    Support Race – Hornet 2.0 (Race-1): 1. Allwin Xavier (Chennai) (13:27.649); 2. G Balaji (Chennai) (13:28.030); 3. Romario John (Chennai) (13:30.665).

    Girls (Stock 165cc): 1. Ann Jennifer (Chennai, Alpha Racing) (02:09.111); 2. Lani Zena Fernandez (Puducherry, RACR Castrol Power1) (02:09.297); 3. Ryhana Bee (Chennai, Pacer Yamaha) (02:10.031).

    Petronas TVS One-Make Championship – Rookie (Apache RTR 200, Race-1): 1. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru) (12:26.838); 2. Abdul Basim RS (Chennai) (12:48.315); 3. Tamizhinian KR (Chennai) (12:48.431).

    Girls (Apache RTR200) (5 laps): 1. Aditi Krishnan (Bengaluru) (11:10.496); 2. Ananya Awasthi (Chennai) (11:20.938); 3. Nishitha (Chennai) (11:29.921).

  • Prabhu Arunagiri, Kayan Zubin top qualies;

    Prabhu Arunagiri, Kayan Zubin top qualies;

    Chennai, 5 Aug 2022: Pacer Yamaha’s Prabhu Arunagiri and Mumbai youngster Kayan Zubin Patel (Axor Sparks Racing) qualified for pole positions in Pro-Stock 165cc and Novice (Stock 165cc) categories, respectively, in the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2022 which commenced at the Madras International Circuit, here on Friday.

    Clocking a hot lap of one minute, 55.942secs, Arunagiri, a battle-scarred veteran, scored over fellow-Chennai riders, Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) and KY Ahamed (Petronas TVS Racing) with less than a second separating the trio.

    Arunagiri, who failed to pick up any points in the previous round last month and placed fifth on the leaderboard, had just enough pace to hold off his rivals that included the experienced Petronas TVS Racing pair of Deepak Ravikumar and defending champion Jagan Kumar, who qualified P4 and P5. Mathana Kumar (Pacer Yamaha) who leads the championship in this category, could manage only P6.

    Kayan Zubin Patel, who qualified for pole position in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category, at BIC on Friday. Photo by Anand Philar

    Kayan (02.08.016) edged out team-mate Varun Nanjundegowda (02:08.175) from Mysuru while Hyderabad’s Md Samrul Zuair qualified third in 02:08.665. Hubbali’s Sarvesh Balappa (Axor Sparks Racing), winner of all four races in the previous two rounds, was fourth in 02:08.705.

    Hailing from a family of Motocross specialists, Kayan switched to track racing a couple of seasons ago. “I used to participate in Autocross events like my dad and uncles, but switched track racing last season. It was hard work as I had shed weight. Last season, I was 120Kgs, but now, I am 85Kgs and want to reduce further,” said 21-year old Kayan who works in his family business.

    Earlier, KY Ahamed enjoyed a fine Free Practice session in the premier Pro-stock 301-400cc category which he topped with a blazing lap of 01:51.085, followed by his Petronas TVS Racing team-mate Deepak Ravikumar (01:51.366) and National champion Rajini Krishnan (01:52.746) of RACR Castrol Power1.

    Meanwhile, former champion Ann Jennifer (Alpha Racing), winner in the first round, topped the Free Practice time sheet in the Girls (Stock 165cc) category, clocking a best lap of two minutes, 09.980secs, ahead of defending champion Ryhana Bee (Pacer Yamaha) who did 02:10.180, and Lani Zena Fernandez (02:11.357) of  RACR Castrol Power1. Championship leader, Aditi Krishnan (Winverve Apex Racing Academy) from Bengaluru was fifth fastest in 02:14.011.

    Ann Jennifer who set the fastest time in Free Practice in the Girls Stock 165cc National Championship on Friday. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan

    The results (Qualifying – top 3, best laps):

    National Championship – Pro-Stock 165cc Open: 1. Prabhu Arunagiri (Chennai, Pacer Yamaha) (01min, 55.942secs); 2. Rajiv Sethu (Chennai, Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) (01:55.947); 3. KY Ahamed (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (01:56.066).

    Novice (Stock 165cc): 1. Kayan Zubin Patel (Mumbai, Axor Sparks Racing) (02:08.016); 2. Varun Nanjunde Gowda (Mysuru, Axor Sparks Racing) (02:08.175); 3. Md Samrul Zubair (Hyderabad, Race’ists Motorcycle Club) (02:08.665).

    Support race (Stock 301-400cc): 1. Jayanth Prathipati (Hyderabad) (02:03.385); 2. Sandeep Gorai (Raganpur) (02:04.701); 3. Shazan Khan (Bengaluru) (02:04.869).

    Petronas TVS One-Make Championship – Open (Apache RR310): 1. Alwin Sundar (Chennai) (01:54.827); 2. Rahil Pillarisetty (Hyderabad) (01:54.870); 3. Manoj Yesuadiyan (Chennai) (01:55.216).

    Girls (Apache RTR200): 1. Aditi Krishnan (Bengaluru) (02:13.521); 2. Ananya Awasthi (Chennai) (02:14.760); 3. Nishitha (Chennai) (02:15.850).

    Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – Novice (CBR 150): 1. Raheesh Mudassar Khatri (Mumbai) (02:07.249); 2. Siddesh Sawant (Kolhapur) (02:07.987); 3. Rajender Beedani (Jangaon) (02:08.946).

  • Rajini Krishnan, Sarvesh Balappa keen to keep slate clean

    Rajini Krishnan, Sarvesh Balappa keen to keep slate clean

    Chennai, 4 August 2022: Experienced Indian racing ace Rajini Krishnan and Hubbali’s youngster Sarvesh Balappa who won all the four races in their respective classes will look to keep their slate clean as Round 3 begins here at the rechristened Madras International Circuit, which will open it newly-built Grand Stand for the Public for the first time. The facility could not be opened till now due Covid-19.

    The MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2022 enters its crucial phase this weekend with the front-runners on the leaderboard keen to consolidate their positions by achieving a fine balance between outright aggression and smart riding.

    While veteran Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power1), bidding for his 11th National title, has dominated the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc category with four wins from as many starts, the situation in the popular Pro-Stock 165cc class is intriguing, though Pacer Yamaha’s Mathana Kumar enjoys a 35-point advantage. His arch-rivals, Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing), and the Petronas TVS Racing pair of Deepak Ravikumar and KY Ahamed, showed signs of resurgence in Round-2 last month after a washout in the season-opener at Coimbatore in June. Thus, the expectations are high of close battles this weekend.

    Hubballi’s Sarvesh Balappa (Axor Sparks Racing), with four wins out of four, is comfortably placed in the Novice category (Stock 165cc) that attracts a grid of some 40 riders. In the Girls category (Stock 165cc), just 10 points separate the top four – Aditi Krishnan (Bengaluru, Winverve Apex Racing Academy), Ann Jennifer (Chennai, Axor Sparks Racing), Jagruti Penkar (Mumbai, Axor Sparks Racing) and last year’s champion Ryhana Bee (Chennai, Pacer Yamaha), in that order.

    The Petronas TVS One-Make Championship has seen some hectic action. In the Open category, there have been four different winners, while Bengaluru schoolboy Chiranth Vishwanath has won all four races in the Rookie class and Aditi Krishnan remains unbeaten after two outings in the Girls category.

    Pune teenager Sarthak Shrikant Chavan, with a clean sweep of all four races, heads the NSF 250R class in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup as also Mumbai’s Raheesh Mudassar Khatri in the Novice (CBR 150) category.

    The 20-race card will get rolling tomorrow (Friday) with Free Practice and qualifying sessions ahead of the races over the following two days which could see some exciting competition as was the case in the previous round last month.

    While almost 200 entrants fight it out on the track, promoters Madras Motor Sports Club have thrown open the 600-seater grandstand along the main straight to the public and fans. Spectators can avail of refreshments and snacks besides watching the live streaming of the races on several 55-inch television monitors in the stands.

    “The two rounds so far have witnessed some thrilling action and extremely close races, and this weekend, we are sure, it will be no different. We are hoping that the fans will turn out in good numbers to witness the action. We have opened the grandstand to the public for the first time since it was built in 2020, but could not be utilised due to the pandemic. A special award will be presented to a rider / team with the biggest cheering squad in the grandstand,” said MMSC vice-president Vicky Chandhok.

    On the track, the National Championship will see double-headers in the two premier Pro-stock categories – 301-400cc Open and 165cc Open – besides the Novice (Stock 165cc) class, while one race is slated for the Girls (Stock 165cc) and the Stock 301-400cc, introduced as a support event this season.

    The Petronas TVS One-Make Championship organised by MMSC – Open (Apache 310RR), and Rookie, Girls and Media (all Apache RTR200) – and the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250R, Novice (CBR 150) and Hornet 2.0 (Support race) – make up rest of the weekend programme.

    About Madras Motor Sports Club

    Since its humble beginnings in 1953, the Madras Motor Sports Club has grown in stature as the hub of motorsport activity in India. Having moved its racing activities from Sholavaram to its present location, the Madras International Circuit (earlier MMRT), in Sriperumbudur in 1979, MMSC has kept pace with changing times by upgrading facilities. At a cost of about Rs 20 Crore, the MMSC built a pit complex comprising 20 garages, VIP hospitality suites and a viewing gallery, on the eastern side, apart from a second Paddock on the western side with its own short circuit. Parallelly, MMSC imported timing equipment specifically for Drag racing. The Control Room too was upgraded with state-of-the-art hardware while the track itself was improved to meet the exacting FIA standards for Grade-2 certification. MMSC also constructed a 500-capacity grand stand with provision for garages / storage below. In another upgrade, the MMSC installed Digi flags from TAG Heuer Chronolec that will be positioned strategically around the track. The facilities are also extensively used by various vehicle manufacturers for testing their products, displays and corporate days.

  • Gaurav Gill – Musa Sherif win Rally of Coimbatore: Blueband INRC Round 2

    Gaurav Gill – Musa Sherif win Rally of Coimbatore: Blueband INRC Round 2

    Coimbatore, 31 July 2022: King of Indian motorsports Gaurav Gill made a triumphant return to rallying winning the Rally of Coimbatore, the second round of the Blueband Sports fmsci Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) 2022 for four-wheelers, at the Kethanoor Windmill Farms here on Sunday.

    With experienced Musa Sherif as navigator, Gill, the 40-year Delhi daredevil in JK colours, who had over 90 second overnight lead, snubbed his urge for speed and brought home the Mahindra XUV 300, ahead of a marauding Karna Kadur (co-driver Nikhil Pai) to clinch the Round 2 and bagged full points. However, the Bengaluru duo, Karna and co-driver Nikhil, the MRF Tyres lead pair, who were fastest in all the four stages, finished second but retained their lead in the championship table after two rounds. Aroor Arjun Rao and co-driver Sathish Rajagopal finished third.

    Gaurav Gill, left, and Musa Sherif, who won the Rally of Coimbatore, the Round 2 of Bluband Sports INRC 2022 on Sunday. Photo from Musa Sherif

    Gaurav Gill, who left Arka Motorsports team after a long association, said on his Instagram handle: “It is a hot weekend here in Coimbatore with scorching temparature but the car was able to set the pace with the special JK Tyres and we finished where we belong, on top of the podium, and that too with a completely new team.”

    After the stages, Gill, rushed to the airport, as he had to leave for Finland to take part in the World Rally Championship. The Arjuna Awardee made a comeback to WRC2 after two years in June at the Kenya rally, where he showed tremendous pace winning a couple of stages but his car stopped with huge amounts of sand in the engine. He will be driving a Skoda Fabia R5 again in WRC2 class in Finland with shakedown on Friday. “I am rushing to Finland and hoping for a good outing in the WRC,” said Gill from the airport.

    In INRC 2, brothers Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan, the 2019 overall champions from Bengaluru, nurtured their overnight lead for a comfortable victory ahead of Suhem Kabir and Jeevarathinam. Another Bengaluru pair Ritesh Guttedar and co-driver Lokaranjan came third. Defending champions Chettinad Sporting’s Aditya Thakur and Virender Kashyap of Himachal Pradesh logged a DNF on Sunday with mechanical problems.

    Karna Kadur and Nikhil Pai, collected enough points from second place in Round 2 to lead the Overall INRC championship table after two rounds.

    Promising talent Jahaan Singh Gill, the Delhi teenager, hoisted the JK flag high, to win the INRC 3 class. Mysore-Mangalore combo Syed Salman Ahmed and Rishab came second with two golden stars of yester years, Philippos Mathai and Kumar Ramaswamy taking a third place. Both are knowledgeable and popular motorsports aficionados.

    Defending champion Deepak Chandra and co-driver Mahesh Nandi won the INRC4 class beating the only opponent Ninu Mohan (Goutham) to second place.

    Jahaan and Suraj also won the Junior INRC class with Arnav Prathap Singh (co-driver Arjun SSB) taking second ahead of the top ladies pair Pragathi Gowda and Trisha Alonkar.

    Editor’s note dated 1 Aug 2022: The results have changed following the disqualification of Aroor Arjun Rao, Chetan Shivram and Jahaan Gill due to technicial infringements during post-event Scrutiny.

    Provisional final Classification after Sunday (Corrected after Scrutiny):

    Overall

    1. Gaurav Gill, Delhi /Musa Sherif, Kasargod, INRC (Privateer/Mahindra XUV 300) 1hour, 47 minutes, 37.300 seconds;

    2. Karna Kadur/ Nikhil Pai, both Bengaluru, INRC (Arka Motorsports/VW Polo 1.0) 1:48:06.200;

    3. Aroor Arjun Rao, Mangaluru / Sathish Rajagopal, Bengaluru, INRC
    (Mandovi Racing/ Maruti Baleno RS) 1: 49:52.800;

    4. Chetan Shivram/ Dilip Sharan, both Bengaluru, INRC2 (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6)
    1: 50:17.200;

    3. Younus Ilyas/ Milen George (Race Concepts/ Mitsubishi Cedia) 1:52:06.900;

    Jahaan Singh Gill, Chandigarh/ Suraj Keshava Prasad, Bengaluru (Pvt./ VW Polo 1.6) 1: 52:22.400;

    4. Syed Salman Ahmed, Mysore / BK Rishabh, Mangaluru (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6) 1:53:17.100;

    (34 of the 46 cars finished Day 2; 9 DNF, 1 MPL, 2 did not start)

    INRC

    1. Gaurav Gill, Delhi /Musa Sherif, Kasargod, INRC (Privateer/Mahindra XUV 300) 1hour, 47 minutes, 37.300 seconds;

    2. Karna Kadur/ Nikhil Pai, both Bengaluru, INRC (Arka Motorsports/VW Polo 1.0) 1:48:06.200;

    3. Aroor Arjun Rao, Mangaluru / Sathish Rajagopal, Bengaluru, INRC
    (Mandovi Racing/ Maruti Baleno RS) 1: 49:52.800;

    3. Younus Ilyas/ Milen George (Race Concepts/ Mitsubishi Cedia) 1:52:06.900;

    INRC2

    Chetan Shivram/ Dilip Sharan, both Bengaluru, INRC2 (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6)
    1: 50:17.200;

    1. Suhem Kabir, Virajpet / Jeevarathinam, Bengaluru (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6) 1:53:23.600;

    2. Ritesh Guttedar M / Lokaranjan HJ, Both Bengaluru (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6) 1:56:33.700;

    3. Aroor Vikram Rao/ Somayya, (Snap Racing/VW Polo), 1:56:37.400.

    (Only six of the 10 cars finished in INRC2)  

    INRC3

    1.Jahaan Singh Gill, Chandigarh/ Suraj Keshava Prasad, Bengaluru (Pvt./ VW Polo 1.6) 1: 52:22.400;

    1. Syed Salman Ahmed, Mysore / BK Rishabh, Mangaluru (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6) 1:53:17.100;

    2. Philippos Mathai, Delhi/ Kumar Ramaswamy, Coimbatore (Arka Motorsports)/VW Polo 1.6) 1:53:20.800;

    3. Chandan KM/Venu Ramesh Kumar (Arka Motorsports/VW Polo) 1:53:51.800.

    (20 out of 24 cars finished in INRC3)

    INRC4

    1. Deepak Chandra, /Mahesh Nandi, Both Bengaluru, (Pvt/Honda City) 02: 03:16.700;

    2. Ninu Mohan, Trivandrum / Goutham CP, (Pvt/Honda City) Chikmagalur, 02: 32:41.000;

    (Only two cars in this class, both finished)

    Non-Championship – fmsci Gypsy Challenge

    1. Samrat Yadav, Chandigarh/ Chandrashekar, Bengaluru, (Pvt) 1: 58:23.200;

    2. Sanjay Razdan, Gurugram/ Kiran Aukta, Shimla (Pvt) 2: 07:05.700;

    3. Dheeraj KV/ Pramod Raman, Both Bengaluru (Pvt). 02:08:10.100;

    (six cars out of 9 finished; one DNF, two MPL)

    Junior INRC

    1.Jahaan Singh Gill, Chandigarh/ Suraj Keshava Prasad, Bengaluru (Pvt./ VW Polo 1.6) 1: 52:22.400;

    1. Arnav Singh Pratap / Arjun SSB, Both Bengaluru, (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6) 1:54:34.500;

    2. Pragathi Gowda/ Trisha Alonkar Both Bengaluru (Arka Motorsports/ VW Polo 1.6) 1:55:14.600.

    3. Dr. Shivani Pruthvi/ Dr. Deepthi Pruthvi, both Davangere (Pvt/ Honda City VTec) 2:00:31.500

  • Gaurav Gill takes early lead on Saturday ahead of Karna Kadur

    Gaurav Gill takes early lead on Saturday ahead of Karna Kadur

    Coimbatore, 30 July 2022: Speed maestro Gaurav Gill, along with experienced co-driver Musa Sherif, led the overall standings after Day 1, in the Rally of Coimbatore, the second round of the Blueband Sports fmsci Indian National Rally Championship 2022 for four wheelers, organised by Coimbatore Auto Sports Club, here on Saturday.

    Championship leaders Karna Kadur and co-driver Nikhil Pai, who won the first round in April, also drove their MRF Tyres-shod Polo cautiously to place themselves in the second position to protect their advantage as table toppers. Mangaluru’s Aroor Arjun Rao, along with co-driver Sathish Rajagopal were overall third after the first two Special Stages on Saturday. Four more Special Stages will be run on Sunday. The 19.65-Km Black Thunder stage and 14.75-km Thunder World stage will be run twice each alternately at the familiar Kethanoor windmill farms.

    Gill, the seven-time overall INRC champion, supported by JK Tyre, was hell bent on stopping the streak of mechanical failures that he suffered in the last few rallies. The Arjuna Awardee confessed that this was probably his slowest ever rally in his career. Nevertheless, the three-time APRC champion was still the quickest on the dirt tracks, posting the fastest time in both the runs on the 26.6-km Special Stage ‘SM Agro’ on Saturday. The Agro special stage was the longest in recent years in INRC, and Gill’s team did not take any chances with the performance of the car. “This car has never done such a distance in the rally. Non-stop driving at high speed for over 20 minutes will be too much for the car… The engines,  drive shafts and gears are not designed for such heat. So the focus is to bring the car back home safely,” Gill told the reporters.

    Brothers Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan, the 2019 overall champions, combine once again after a gap, to take the lead in their class, the INRC2, after Day 1 in the Rally of Coimbatore, the INRC Round 2 on Saturday. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan

    Bengaluru’s Chetan Shivram, is back with his brother Dilip Sharan as co-driver. The duo who won the 2019 Overall title, are leading the INRC2 class in a Polo on Yokohoma tyres, ahead of defending champions Aditya Thakur and Virender Kashyap of Himachal Pradesh. The Chettinad Sporting duo supported by MRF, are just three seconds behind and kept themselves at a striking distance with four stages to be run on Sunday. Another strong contender Fabid Ahmer (Sanath G), the reigning INRC2 champ began well but suffered drive shaft issues. He had mechanical problems in Round 1 too.

    Chandigarh teenager Jahaan Singh Gill along with Bengaluru co-driver Suraj Keshava Prasad are leading INRC3 while Bengaluru INRC4 defending champions Deepak Chandra (co-driver Mahesh Nandy) are ahead in the 2-car INRC4 field.

    Women in Motorsports: Bengaluru pair Pragathi Gowda and Trisha Alonkar are leading among the ladies teams with a creditable overall 23rd among 53 cars that took the start on Saturday.

    Provisional Classification after Day 1 /Saturday:

    Overall: 1. Gaurav Gill, Delhi /Musa Sherif, Kasargod, INRC (Privateer/Mahindra XUV 300) 47 minutes, 22.000 seconds; 2. Karna Kadur/ Nikhil Pai, both Bengaluru, INRC (Arka Motorsports/VW Polo 1.0) 48:53.300; 3. Aroor Arjun Rao, Mangaluru / Sathish Rajagopal, Bengaluru, INRC (Mandovi Racing/ Maruti Baleno RS) 49:12.800; 4. Chetan Shivram/ Dilip Sharan, both Bengaluru, INRC2 (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6) 49:20.200; 5. Aditya Thakur, Solan, / Virender Kahsyap, Shimla, INRC2 (Chettinad Sporting/ VW Polo1.6) 49:23.200; 6. Dean Mascarenhas, Mangaluru / Gagan Karumbaiah, Kodagu, INRC (Pvt/ Baleno) 49:40.600; 7. Aroor Vikram Rao, Mangaluru / Somayya AG, Kodagu, INRC2 (Snap Racing/ VW Polo 1.6) 49:48.500.

    INRC: 1. Gaurav Gill/Musa Sherif, (Privateer/Mahindra XUV 300) 47 minutes, 22.000 seconds;2. Karna Kadur/ Nikhil Pai, (Arka Motorsports/VW Polo 1.0) 48:53.300; 3. Aroor Arjun Rao, / Sathish Rajagopal, (Mandovi Racing/ Maruti Baleno RS) 49:12.800;

    INRC2: 1. Chetan Shivram/ Dilip Sharan, both Bengaluru, (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6) 49:20.200; 2. Aditya Thakur, Solan/ Virender Kahsyap, Shimla (Chettinad Sporting/ VW Polo1.6) 49:23.200; 3. Aroor Vikram Rao / Somayya AG, Both Mangaluru (Snap Racing/ VW Polo 1.6) 49:48.500.

    INRC3: 1. Jahaan Singh Gill, Chandigarh/ Suraj Keshava Prasad, Bengaluru (Pvt./ VW Polo 1.6) 50:06.800; 2. Syed Salman Ahmed, Mysore / BK Rishabh, Mangaluru (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6) 50:31.100; 3. Kuber Sharma, Solan / Kunal Kashyap, Shimla (Pvt./ VW Polo 1.6) 50:33.700; 4.

    INRC4: 1. Deepak Chandra, /Mahesh Nandi, Both Bengaluru, (Pvt/Honda City) 55:41.000; 2. Ninu Mohan, Trivandrum / Goutham CP, (Pvt/Honda City) Chikmagalur, 1:03:42.400; 3.

    Non-Championship – fmsci Gypsy Challenge: 1. Himanshu Arora, New Delhi /Vikram Thakur, Chandigarh (Pvt) 52:55.100; 2. Samrat Yadav, Chandigarh/ Chandrashekar, Bengaluru, (Pvt) 53:13.000; 3. Dheeraj KV/ Pramod Raman, Both Bengaluru (Pvt).

  • Rally of Coimbatore flagged off: Blueband Sports INRC Round 2

    Rally of Coimbatore flagged off: Blueband Sports INRC Round 2

    Coimbatore, 29 July 2022: The Rally of Coimbatore, the second round of the Blueband Sports fmsci Indian National Rally Championship 2022 (INRC) for four wheelers was flagged off here on Friday.

    The second round organised by Coimbatore Auto Sports Club (CASC) has attracted 54 entries. INRC, one of the popular Nationals in the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (fmsci) calendar returns after a long break for Round 2. The first round was held in Chennai in April.

    The delayed 2021 season, was completed in March 2021 with the MMSC South India Rally (SIR) which was run along with the APRC Asia event. Karna Kadur and co-driver Nikhil Pai, won their maiden APRC event. The MRF duo are leading the 2022 season Overall table.

    Chennai, also hosted the first round of the Blueband INRC Round 1, a month later in April 2022, and after tough fight Arka Motorsports Karna Kadur, in MRF colours, overcame the challenge from Dean Mascarenhas and co-driver Gagan Karumbaiah to take the overall lead in the 2022 championship.

    Arka Motorsports’ Karna Kadur (Nikhil Pai) will spearhead the MRF Tyres campaign in the top INRC class along with defending champion Aditya Thakur and co-driver Virender Kashyap, who moved up to INRC 2 this year. Both are leading their respective classes after Round 1. Thakur and Kashyap, the Chettinad Sporting duo, competed in the INRC-3 class in 2021 and won the Overall honours.

    Gaurav Gill (Musa Sherif) being flagged off at Coimbatore on Friday.

    The JK Tyre team is led by Arjuna Awardee and seven-times INRC Champion, Gaurav Gill (co-driver Musa Sherif) in a Mahindra XUV 300. However, with Amittrajit Ghosh,  moving abroad, and missing the Round 1, talented rallyist from Mangalore Dean Mascarenhas (co-driver Gagan Karumbaiah) gets an upgrade to the premier INRC class. He will be driving a rally-spec Baleno R2. Ghosh’s navigator and top rallyist Ashwin Naik, who also missed Round 1, will be calling notes for Rohan Pawar of Team Slideways Industries in a INRC2 Polo.

    Others to watch out for in INRC are, former champion Chetan Shivram, who is back with his brother Dilip Sharan, with whom he won the title in 2019, and Mandovi Racing’s Arjun Rao and Sathish Rajagopal. Veteran navigator and former champion BS Sujith Kumar makes a comeback (INRC) and will be calling the pace notes for Monish in a VW Polo 1.2GT. Arka Motorsports’ Dhruva Chandrasekhar and PVS Murthy complete the six-car INRC class.

    In INRC2 class, JK Tyre’s Fabid Ahmer and co-driver Sanath G, who lost by a whisker last year, will be fighting with defending champions Adity Thakur (Kashyap) once again. Aroor Vikram and AG Somayaa of Snap Racing along with Suhem Kabir (Coorg) and co-driver Jeevarathinam will be the other experienced drivers in INRC2.

    Talented Jahaan Singh Gill, who lost in scrutiny after winning on the ground in Round 1, will be in JK colours in INRC3 class along with Kuber Sharma and co-driver Kunal Kashyap INRC-3 victory. The class will have also have strong representation from women in motorsports. Pragathi Gowda and co-driver Trisha Alonka, Davangere doctors Shivani Pruthvi and co-driver Deepti Pruthvi, along with Shivani Parmer and her mom Dr Vani Parmar will all vie for honours in INRC3 class. Another talented driver Anushriya Gulati of Formula Woman fame (DB motorsports) will have Arjun Dheerendra as co-driver. Athira Murali, another talented lady driver from Kerala, will be missing from the line-up for this round.

    There will be only three Gypsy entries this time around. The Gypsy class in a non-championship support class.

    Note. Feature image caption was corrected on 30July2022.