Your basket is currently empty!
Author: David Bodapati
-
TVS Racing Performed Well In 2006, Bagging Numerous National Championships
Bangalore, 19 Feb 2007: TVS Racing won the following titles in different National championships in 2006:
1) MRF National Supercross Championship 2006.
Our riders fought it out in the 5 legs held in: Pune, Chennai, Coimbatore, Goa and Kolhapur and won the following championships!
C Vijay Kumar – upto 250CC (foreign bike class) – Riding a TVS 250FX
C Vijay Kumar – Upto 150CC (2stroke expert class) – Riding a TVS Shaolin
HK Pradeep – Upto 150CC (4stroke ‘B’group) – Riding a TVS Apache
CD Jinan – 80 to 110 CC (4stroke’D’ group)- Riding a TVS Victor
HK Pradeep – 125 to 160CC (4 stroke’D’group) – Riding a TVS Fiero.
Pramod Joshua – upto 150CC (2/4 stroke’D’group)- Riding a TVS Shogun
2) UCAL Rolon National Road Racing Championship 2006
Total 6 legs, 3 in Coimbatore and 3 in Chennai (MMST track). following championships were won by our Road Racing Riders,
K Rajini – upto 150CC (2stroke’C’group) – Riding a TVS Shaolin.
K Rajini – upto 150CC (4stroke’B’group) – Riding a TVS Fiero
Ashwin Sundar – 80 to 110CC (4stroke’D’group) – Riding a TVS Victor.
Ashwin Sundar – 125 to 160CC (4stroke’D’group) – Riding a TVS Apache
Ashwin Sundar – won the ‘Champion of Champions’ trophy
3) Gulf Dirt track National Championship 2006
Total 5 legs: Mangalore, Chennai, Raipur(Chhattisgarah), Nashik and Jodhpur. Following championships were won by our team riders,
HK Pradeep -upto 250CC (foreign m/c class) – Riding a TVS250X.
HK Pradeep -upto 150CC (2&4 stroke’B’group) – Riding a TVS Fiero.
KP Aravind – upto110CC (2stroke’D’group) – Riding a TVS Shogun (novice class)
KP Aravind – upto125CC (4stroke’D’group) – Riding a TVS Victor Edge (novice class)
Hafeez-ur-Rehman -125 to160CC (4stroke’D’group) – Riding a TVS Fiero (novice class) -
Naren Kumar wins sixth National title: INRC
Panaji, Goa, 19 Nov 2006: Defending champion Naren Kumar of Coimbatore proved to be a tough nut to crack for his rivals winning Rallye de Goa to clinch his sixth National Championship here on Sunday. The MRF driver with trusted navigator Ramkumar comfortably won the WIAA Rallye De Goa 2006, the final round of the Motorsports Association of India’s (MAI) Indian National Rally Championship (INRC).
Enjoying an overnight lead of 1 minute and 20 seconds over third-placed Karandeep Singh and Jaidas Menon, also of Team MRF, Naren followed a cautious approach to keep himself in the fray without pushing his machine too much and finished the eight special stages clocking 1hour, 11min, 24sec, a lead of 11 seconds over teammate Gaurav Gill and co-driver Farooq Ahmed (1:11.35).
Another Team MRF’s driver Lohit Urs finished overall third in 1:13.04 while Karandeep Singh was fourth in 1:13.26.
It was Girijashankar Joshy who won the 1400 cc category, riding high his big overnight lead and in the process bagged the National Championship in this category with Goa proving to be a good hunting ground.
The Rally Star Cup was won by Rajesh Gadakh and co-driver Paritosh Kohok and they too bagged the National Championship in this class.
Naren Kumar took his points’ tally to 45, thus clinching the National title once again. A visibly- pleased Naren said: “I am very happy to win this title. It is an incredible feeling to win the sixth title and I enjoyed this year’s campaign throughout as there were too many ups and downs and I am very satisfied with my win.”
The champion was queried about his strategy going into the race. “I had to finish ahead of Karandeep in both the legs and hoped somebody would settle between me and him. That happened yesterday, after which it was a no contest,” Naren concluded.
Provisional results:
Overall: 1. Naren Kumar and D Ramkumar (Team JK Tyre, Cedia) 1:11.24; 2. Gaurav Gill and Farooq Ahmed (Team JK Tyre, Cedia) 1:11.35, 3. Lohit Urs and Musa Sherief (Team MRF, Baleno);
1600 cc: 1. Lohit Urs and Musa Sherief (Team MRF, Baleno) 1:13.04; 2. Karandeep Singh and Jaidas Menon (Team MRF, Baleno) 1:13.26, 3.Arjun Balu and Kumar Ramaswamy (Team MRF, Fiesta) 1: 14.23.
1400cc: 1. Girijashankar Joshy and Srikanth GM (Esteem) 1:15.26, 2. Shreshta Patil and Ramesh Kumar (Esteem) 1:19.55, 3.Domnic Prithvi and Chandrashekar M (Esteem) 1: 24.06.
Rally Star Cup: 1. Rajesh Gadakh and Parithosh Kohok (Esteem) 1:19.11, 2. Abhijeet Pai and Prajval Pai (Esteem) 1:20.25, 3. Thirtha Patil and Jeevarathinam (Esteem) 1: 21.09.
Gypsy Cup: 1. Suresh Rana and HS Bawa 1:22.54, 2. Khushwant Randhawa and Amandeep 1:24.34, 3. Suchi Thakur and Zuzer Rangwala 1:32.20.
-
Lohit Urs-Musa Sherif conquer Power Pine Forest Rally in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, 5 Nov 2006: The City Beautiful turned to be a hunting ground forMysore rally starLohit Urs as he paired with co-driver Musa Sherif to win the overall honours in the Power Pine Forest Rally, the fifth and penultimate round of the Motorsports Association of India (MAI) Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), which concluded at the Kala Gram grounds here on Sunday.
Lohit, who won the overall title here in 2004, returned to embrace victory once again to stop the barren run after his 2004 win, and it was Chandigarh once again which provided him with the win and the third overall victory of his career. The Special Stages in 2004 were in a different region.
Despite trailing overnight leader Sunny Sidhu of Team JK Tyre by 40 seconds, Urs never lifted his foot, off the peddle and pushed his Baleno all through the 15.75 km Fagla stage that was run thrice on Sunday. Urs finished the rally in a total time of 2:24: 44 seconds. Yes, he never lifted his foot, even when a dog ran on to his path, in the last stage of the day, but he swished to the side, brushing the dog’s tail and corrected the line in a jiffy with a expert’s touch and was back on the track.
Lohitt Urs and Musa Sherif (right) celebrate after winning the Pine Forest Rally.* Team JK Tyre’s Sunny Sidhu finished second in 2::24:39 and Vikram Mathias, also sporting the yellow colours, ended his barren streak, taking third in a time of 2:24:52. The rally also threw up the first National champion in the Gypsy Cup category, with the father-son duo of Ramesh Shanbhag and Sanket Shanbhag opening an unassailable lead ahead of the concluding round.
Even a second-placed finish would have been good enough to seal the title for the Shanbhags but leader Suresh Rana turned turtle in the day’s second stage and that was enough for the father-son duo to clinch the issue with a round to spare.
The final day saw home hero, Karandeep Singh, suffer casualty in the very first stage as the lower arm of his car broke down. Along with Jaidas Menon as co-driver, Karandeep still leads with 34 points, while Gaurav Singh Gill is second with 31 points in their bag. Urs has tied with Naren Kumar for third spot with 29 points and Sidhu is lying in fifth place with 26.
Provisional unaudited results
Overall category: 1. Lohit Urs/ Musa Sherif (Team MRF, Baleno) (2hours, 24min, 27sec); 2. Sunny Sidhu/ Vivek Anandan (Team JK Tyre, Baleno) (2:24.39); 3. Vikram Mathias/ Nikhil Pail (Team JK Tyre, Baleno) (2:24.52); 4. Prithvin Rajan/ PVS Murthy (Team MRF, Baleno) (2:31.14); 5. Sanket Shanbhag/ Ramesh Shanbhag (Gypsy) (2:31.49).
1400cc: 1. Anil Wadia/ Anmol Rampal (Esteem) (2:46.15); 2. Arindam Ghosh/ Sourabh (Esteem) (3:01.28).
Rally Star Cup: 1. Amanpreet Ahluwalia/ Manoj Shadija (Esteem) (2:33.14); 2. Rajesh Gadakh/ Paritosh Kohok (2:36.56); 3. Nibi Sayed/ Noufel Sayed (2:44.29).
Gypsy Cup: 1. Sanket Shanbhag/ Ramesh Shanbhag (2:31.49); 2. Capt AS Brar/ Capt D Saraswat (2:35.39); 3. Maj Rajesh Powar/ Capt Rohit Nayak (2:37.58).
Note:* Photo updated manually on 5 June 2020, courtesy Musa Sherif archives.
-
Karan Kadam beats CS Santosh to win Foreign Open
TVS RACING dominates National Supercross (round 4), Goa ,Karan Kadam of TVS Racing declared best rider
Panjim (Goa), 29 Oct 2006: TVS Racing team continued its dominance at the National Supercross (round 4) held at Panjim’s Campal Parade Ground today. The prestigious ‘Foreign Open’ class was a close battle between the reigning champion C. S. Santosh and the young and promising Karan Kadam. In the end, the latter won by a whisker; which also earned him the ‘The Best Rider of the Day’ title.
The day began with the ‘Novice class’ race, which was once again a TVS dominated show. This was followed by the Moto 1 of the ‘Foreign Open’ where Karan began with a lead followed closely by C. S. Santosh. Though on several occasions Santosh came close to take the lead, Karan kept his cool and maintained his leadership position throughout. Moto 2 of the same race saw virtually a repeat performance with Santosh closely chasing Karan. In both the motos; the difference between these two riders was less than a second. Last year’s Goa round winner and current championship leader, C. Vijaykumar was reduced to a distant third in both the motos.
With this win Karan Kadam has closed the gap with C.Vijaykumar who is presently leading this year’s championship at the end of Round 4 with 137 points. Karan is in hot pursuit with 134 points.
The group B Indian Experts Class upto 150 CC 2-Stroke saw a clear winner in C. Vijaykumar of TVS Racing who won the race by nearly overlapping his nearest rival Syed Zubair of TVS Racing.
In the stock class category, H. K Pradeep of TVS Racing proved his mettle by taking honours in the Indian Experts Group D 80 CC to 110 CC in his TVS Victor and ‘Experts Group D 125 CC to 160 CC in his TVS Fiero. TVS Racing dominated both these classes with all three podium positions going to the team. Veteran rider C.D Jinan of TVS Racing took the second honours in both these races.
Pramod Joshua, astride a Shogun, wins the Novice Class. TVS photo In the Novice class upto 150 cc; Joshua Pramod of TVS Racing in his Shogun fought it out to win the first spot. Grishin K C and K. P Arvind of TVS Racing closely followed him to take the second and third position respectively.
The local class, which was clubbed along with Experts Group D 125 CC to 160 CC race saw some interesting fight but it was Imtiaz Kadar who had the last laugh. He was closely followed by Sudhir Borkar and Ibrahim Kadar to take the second and third spot respectively.
Note: This article is migrated from Archives in 2021.
-
Karan Kadam of TVS Racing declared best rider
Panjim (Goa) 29 October 2006: TVS Racing team continued its dominance at the National Supercross (round 4) held at Panjim’s Campal Parade Ground today. The prestigious ‘Foreign Open’ class was a close battle between the reigning champion C. S. Santosh and the young and promising Karan Kadam. In the end, the latter won by a whisker; which also earned him the ‘The Best Rider of the Day’ title.
The day began with the ‘Novice class’ race, which was once again a TVS dominated show. This was followed by the Moto 1 of the ‘Foreign Open’ where Karan began with a lead followed closely by C. S. Santosh. Though on several occasions Santosh came close to take the lead, Karan kept his cool and maintained his leadership position throughout. Moto 2 of the same race saw virtually a repeat performance with Santosh closely chasing Karan. In both the motos; the difference between these two riders was less than a second. Last year’s Goa round winner and current championship leader, C. Vijaykumar was reduced to a distant third in both the motos.
With this win Karan Kadam has closed the gap with C.Vijaykumar who is presently leading this year’s championship at the end of Round 4 with 137 points. Karan is in hot pursuit with 134 points.
The group B Indian Experts Class upto 150 CC 2-Stroke saw a clear winner in C. Vijaykumar of TVS Racing who won the race by nearly overlapping his nearest rival Syed Zubair of TVS Racing.
In the stock class category, H. K Pradeep of TVS Racing proved his mettle by taking honours in the Indian Experts Group D 80 CC to 110 CC in his TVS Victor and ‘Experts Group D 125 CC to 160 CC in his TVS Fiero. TVS Racing dominated both these classes with all three podium positions going to the team. Veteran rider C.D Jinan of TVS Racing took the second honours in both these races.
In the Novice class upto 150 cc; Joshua Pramod of TVS Racing in his Shogun fought it out to win the first spot. Grishin K C and K. P Arvind of TVS Racing closely followed him to take the second and third position respectively.
The local class, which was clubbed along with Experts Group D 125 CC to 160 CC race saw some interesting fight but it was Imtiaz Kadar who had the last laugh. He was closely followed by Sudhir Borkar and Ibrahim Kadar to take the second and third spot respectively.
-
TVS’ Karan Kadam takes honours at Round 3
Coimbatore, 8 October 2006: The young prodigy from Team TVS Racing Karan Kadam scored a double by emerging victorious in the first and second moto of the prestigious foreign open class thereby earning maximum points and being adjudged as the ‘Best Rider of the Day’ at the third round of the 2006 season of the MRF National Supercross held in Coimbatore at the Racing Track near Jenny Club, Airport Road, Coimbatore.
Karan Kadam on his TVS 250X earned a total of 40 points after his victorious win. Both the motos were hard fought with the top three riders displaying amazing skill and endurance in a highly demanding track. In the first moto, Karan Kadam roared into the lead at the first turn and kept his lead winning with a handsome lead over the second placed C Vijaykumar of Team TVS Racing. It was an incident packed race with C S Santosh of Team TVS Racing and T. K. Viswanath colliding on the second jump of the first lap. He tried gamely to wrest second place position but was thwarted by an equally determined Vijaykumar. Vijaykumar finished second and Santosh finished third.
The second moto saw a close fight between Karan and Santosh. Karan took the lead at the first bend and held on to it till the end despite constant challenges from Santosh. Santosh almost overtook Karan on at the second turn of lap 8, but Karan managed to keep him at bay. Santosh however had the measure of Vijaykumar in this race and built a steady gap ensuring he came in a comfortable second. Vijay Kumar tried his best but he could not close the gap, and came in third behind Karan and Santosh there by making it all TVS Riders on podium.
The group B Indian Experts upto 150 CC 2-Stroke saw a clear winner in C. Vijaykumar of TVS Racing on his TVS Shaolin even though C.D Jinan took the initial lead. Vijaykumar overtook Jinan in the last jump of the first lap and built up a huge lead ensuring a comfortable victory. Sayed Zubbair of Team TVS Racing came second and C. D. Jinan of TVS Racing came third.
In the Group B Indian Experts upto 250cc 4-Stroke, Pradeep H. K. of Team TVS Racing proved his class by taking honours on his TVS Fiero. It must be said that Pradeep showed remarkable aggression and a burning desire to win as he hurled himself and his machine into corners increasing his lead over his rivals with every round. Deepak John and Pramod Joshua both from Team TVS Racing came second and third respectively.
In the Indian Experts Group D 80 CC to 110 CC class it was C. D. Jinan on his TVS Fiero who raced ahead of the others to cap the top spot, with Pradeep H. K and Pramod Joshua coming second and third respectively.
In the Indian Expert Group D, 110 CC up to 180 CC it was Pradeep H. K once again who took top honours. C D Jinan came a close second and Deepak John finished third. Team TVS Racing dominated all these races with all the three podium positions going to the team.
In the Novice class upto 150 cc; Pramod Joshua on his Shogun, dominated to win in commanding style, with Pinkesh Thakkar and K.C. Grishin coming second and third respectively.
The local class saw some interesting action between various talented and upcoming riders. But it was Grishin from Trichoor who took the initial lead and went on to the podium. C S Anandkumar and D Sivaji came 2 nd and 3rd respectively.
-
Vijaykumar, Karan Kadam win a moto each; Vijay, best rider
Chennai, 20 August 2006: Three-time National champion C Vijaykumar of TVS Racing emerged victorious in the first moto and came third in the second moto of the prestigious foreign open class thereby earning maximum points and being adjudged as the ‘Best Rider of the Day’ at the second round of the 2006 season of the MRF National Supercross held in Chennai at the C. Kandaswamy College for Men, Annanagar Chennai in the presence of over a 6,000 strong crowd.
Vijaykumar on his TVS 250X earned a total of 35 points after he emerged victorious in the first moto and third in the second moto of the prestigious foreign open class. Both the motos were hard fought with the top three riders displaying amazing skill and endurance in a highly demanding track. In the first moto, Vijaykumar gained the initial lead but T. K. Viswanath on his YZ 250F was hot on his heels. Vijay though, held on splendidly to his lead, before a fall forced T. K. Viswanath to lose considerable ground. In the midst of this one saw the heroic efforts of C. S. Santosh who had a fall but came back strongly to challenge T. K. Viswanath. Riding at breakneck speed, Santosh tried his level best to wrest the second position but was thwarted by an equally determined Viswanath. The fight for second place was a hotly contested one with Viwanath coming in second and Santosh coming in third.
The second moto saw T. K. Viswanath take the lead at the first bend and hold on to it for a couple of laps before a disastrous fall deprived him of his lead. The young prodigy from Team TVS, Karan Kadam seized this opportunity and roared into the lead sending the crowds into raptures at his sheer skill and daredevil riding. Soon, Karan stamped his authority on the race and established a huge lead. There was a tussle for the second place between Vijay and Santosh. Santosh however had the measure of Vijay in this race and built a steady gap ensuring he came in a comfortable second. Vijay Kumar tried his best but he could not close the gap, and came in third behind Karan and Santosh.
The group B Indian Experts upto 150 CC 2-Stroke saw a clear winner in C. Vijaykumar of TVS Racing on his TVS Shaolin. He built up a huge lead and ensured a comfortable win. Behind him were C. D. Jinan on the TVS Shaolin and Syed Zubbair also on a TVS Shaolin who came in second and third respectively.
In the stock class of vehicles or in other words motorcycles without any modification; C. D Jinan of TVS Racing proved his class once again by taking honours in the Indian Experts Group D 80 CC to 110 CC on his TVS Victor. It must be said that Jinan showed remarkable aggression and a burning desire to win as he hurled himself and his machine into corners increasing his lead over his rivals with every round.
In the Indian Experts Group D 125 CC to 160 CC class it was C. D. Jinan once again this on his TVS Fiero who raced ahead of the others to cap the top spot. TVS Racing dominated both these races with all the three podium positions going to the team.
In the Novice class upto 150 cc; Pramod Joshua of TVS Racing in his Shogun, dominated to win in commanding style. The local class saw some interesting fight between various talented and upcoming riders. But it was E. Clarke on his TVS Fiero who led the pack with an easy lead. C. Anandkumar and P. Ramesh Kumar came 2nd and 3rd respectively.
In the Intermediate class of foreign open for privateers T. K. Viswanath dominated and won with ease. The only serious threat to him was Eeshan Lokhande who did well too coming in second.
-
Gaurav Gill-Farooq Ahmed clinch Bosch K1000 Rally
By David Bodapati
Bangalore, 13 August 2006: Talented Gauravsingh Gill and experienced co-driver Farooq Ahmed maintained the overnight lead they had built and coasted to a facile win in the Bosch K1000 Rally, the 4th round of the MAI Indian National Rally Championship(INRC) which concluded at The Club, here, on Sunday.
Gaurav Gill and Farooq Ahmed, who won the K1000 overall title. Photo Yogesh Kalro @FB Gill and Ahmed completed the 13 special stages in the Mitsubishi Cedia with a timing of 1:28.14, 35 seconds ahead of Team MRF’s Karandip Singh (co-driver Jaidas Menon), with Team MRF’s Arjun Balu (Kumar Ramaswamy) coming in third in 1:29.04, driving the Ford Fiesta.
However, Team MRF had the satisfaction of storming to the top of the points table, Karandip’s second-placed finish fetching him 12 points to take his tally to 33.
A Chettinad Sporting car in action in the Bosch K1000 Rally. An INDIAinF1 image. Gill victory seeds him in second place with 31, while Naren Kumar is in third spot with 29.
The 1400 cc category saw overnight leaders Girijashankar Joshy (co-driver Srikanth GM) pop the champagne, while Sanjay Agarwal (Pradeep Kumar) finished second Dr Bikku Babu (Bonnie Thomas), making a return to rallying after four years, finished third.
Rajesh Gadakh and Paritosh Kohok also secured their second consecutive title of the season when they drove to victory in the Rally Star Cup. In the Gypsy Cup, overnight leader Sanket Shanbhag (Ramesh Shanbhag) went off the road and into a tree in the day’s second last stage, losing more than a minute in the process, wiping out their lead. Second-placed Suresh Rana then maintained the slender two-second lead to win the title.
Gill, who has emerged as a strong contender to break into the echelons of Indian rallying, occupied by the likes of Naren Kumar and Karandip Singh, was ecstatic after his win. “I was never in trouble throughout the two days and thoroughly enjoyed my drive,” said the young champion. After the day’s first three stages, Karandip Singh had managed to whittle the overnight lead of 52 seconds to 28, thanks to rear suspension problems for Gill, but after the final service, with his car fixed up, Gill then stepped on the pedal in the last three stages to drive home a comfortable winner.
“The choice for me was to either go all out and risk not finishing or ease off a bit and settle for second place. Since the second place was giving me the championship lead, I decided to play safe,” said Karandip Singh, for whom action now shifts into hometown Chandigarh, the venue for the next round of the championship.
Defending champion Naren Kumar (Ram Kumar) of Team JK Tyre pushed hard in an attempt to make good the difference in timing, but though he finished with the day’s fastest timings, which fetched him 3 points, he could not better on his overall fifth finish. Fourth place was taken by Team MRF’s Lohith Urs (Musa Shereif).
Final provisional placings:
1600cc: 1. Gauravsingh Gill/Farooq Ahmed (Team JK Tyre, Mitsubishi Cedia) (1hour, 28min, 14sec); 2. Karandip Singh/ Jaidas Menon (Team MRF, Maruti Baleno) (1:28.45); 3. Arjun Balu/ Kumar Ramaswamy (Team MRF, Ford Fiesta) (1:29.04); 4. Lohit Urs/ Musa Sherif (Team MRF, Maruti Baleno) (1:29.26); 5. Naren Kumar/D Ram Kumar (Team MRF, Maruti Baleno) (1: 29.28).
1400cc: 1. Girijashankar Joshy/Srikant GM (1:31.45); 2. Sanjay Agarwal/Pradeep Kumar (1:32.50); 3. Bikku Babu/Bonnie Thomas (1:36.56).
Rally Star Cup: 1. Rajesh Gadakh/Paritosh Kohok (1:38.12); 2/ Amanpreet Ahluwalia/Manoj Shadija (1:38.58); 3. Deepak Chinappa/Sri Karnuya (1:40.25).
Gypsy Cup: 1. Suresh Rana/Surendar Kumar (1:39.38); 2. Sanket Shanbhag/ Ramesh Shanbhag (1:39.40).
-
Naren-Ram win thrilling Coffee Day Rally; Gill crashes out
Chikmagalur, 28 May 2006: In a nail-biting finish, winner Naren Kumar and co-driver D Ramkumar, who were leading by a narrow margin of a second had to wait anxiously for the pair of Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif to finish the last stage. But with Gill crashing out, the champion duo, claimed the Overall honours in the Coffee Day rally, the second round of the MAI Indian National Rally Championship here on Sunday.
The reigning champions lost the first round of Motorsports Association of India (MAI) organised National championship, held at Pune to strong contenders Gaurav Gill, who had the advantage of an experienced navigator Farooq Ahmed. Unfortunately, trying to gain that wee bit advantage in the last stage, Gill had crashed out and Naren equalised the National Championship standings with this win.
Starting the last stage, the Birur Canal Stage, Gaurav Gill was just a second behind as Naren just finished the rally. But alas, the speed king crashed out in the stage and Naren Kumar heaved a sigh of releif.
But like a true champion, Naren expressed sympathy for his JK Tyre teammate saying: “Gaurav is an excellent driver and his entry into the INRC has infused a greater degree of competition. It’s much tougher to win now,” he conceded, praising the young talent.
Naren too had some hiccups in the last stage but recovered from a spin as he managed to reverse and get back on the road.
The stages on Sunday proved to be competitive. Though, Naren had taken a lead of 20 seconds in the morning, Gaurav upped the pace and drove flat out to reduce the margin and was within seconds before starting the last stage.
Gill had a golden chance when Naren made an off-road spin but as fate would have it, Gill hit a ridge and crashed into the fence after a roll. Thanks to the roll-cage, both the driver and the co-driver were safe.
Thus Karandip Singh and Jaidas Menon of Team MRF, gained a place, finishing second though more than a minute behind Naren. Lohith V Urs and Musa Sherif came third.
Sanjay Aggarwal, who missed the Pune round, paired with co-driver Pradeep Kumar, to win the 1400cc class.
Provisional results: Upto 1600cc: 1. Naren Kumar/Ramkumar (JK Tyres) (1hour, 48min, 45sec); 2. Karandip Singh/Jaidas Menon (Team MRF) (1.49.57); 3. Lohith V. Urs/Musa Sherif (Team MRF) (1.50:57); 4. Arjun Rao Aroor/Chandramouli (Team MRF) (1.51:28).
Upto 1400cc: 1. Sanjay Aggarwal/ Pradeep Kumar (2.03.52); 2. Ravi Aggarwal/ Prakash D’Souza (2.09:18).
Rally Star Cup: 1. Rajesh Gadakh/ Paritosh Kohok (2.06:20); 2. Amanpreet Ahluwalia/ Manoj Shadija (2.06:49); 3. Hitesh Sharma/ E Shivaprakash (2.15:19).
Gypsy Class: 1. Sandeep Sharma/ CK Chinappa (2.02:01); 2. Sanket Shanbagh/ Rajesh Shanbagh (2.03.32).
-
Vijaykumar claims honours in Round 1
Pune, 14 May 2006 : Three-time National champion C Vijaykumar of TVS Racing called the shots at the first round of 2006 season of the MRF National Supercross Championship at the floodlit Deccan College Ground, here in the presence of over 10,000 crowd on Sunday.
Vijaykumar on his TVS 125X earned the maximum 40 points after he emerged victorious in the both motos of the prestigious foreign open class and earned the well-deserved ‘rider of the day’. It was not that he did not have any challenge! The 16-year-old wonder boy Karan Kadam, again from TVS Racing on TVS 125X, posed a serious threat to Vijaykumar right till the chequered flag. In the first moto, Vijaykumar gained the initial lead but before the completion of the 2nd lap Karan Kadam raced ahead stylishly at a triple jump. Karan held on the lead position for another 2 laps till he was caught in a tangle with Vijaykumar who was behind his back chasing. Then it was no looking back for Vijaykumar till the end of the race. Karan followed closely to become second and the local lad Yogesh Barguje on his Honda CR 450 became a third.
The second moto saw repeat results of the first moto with the top three winners being the same. This time too Karan Kadam posed a serious threat to Vijaykumar. It will be interesting to watch the next round when the reigning champion C S. Santosh is expected to join the race. Santosh could not make it to this round of the supercross due to a collarbone injury.
The group B Indian Experts upto 150 CC 2-Stroke saw a clear winner in C. Vijaykumar of TVS Racing on his TVS Shaolin. Behind him were Austin F Aluares in the Yamaha RX135 and R Raja on Yamaha RX 100 who were second and third respectively.
In the stock class of vehicles or in other words motorcycles without any modification; C. D Jinan of TVS Racing proved his class once again by taking honours in the Indian Experts Group D 80 CC to 110 CC on his TVS Victor. In the Indian Experts Group D 125 CC to 160 CC class Pradeep HK of TVS Racing on his TVS Fiero raced ahead of others to cap the top spot. TVS Racing dominated both these races with all the three podium positions going to the team.
In the Novice class upto 150 cc; Joshua Pramod of TVS Racing in his Shogun, inspite of having two falls, fought it out to win the top spot.
The local class saw some interesting fight between various talented and upcoming riders. But it was Vishal Barguje on his TVS Shaolin who led the pack with an easy lead. Sunil Mohite and Snehal Chavan came close 2nd and 3rd respectively.
In the Intermediate class of foreign open for privateers local lad Yogesh Barguje won with ease. The only serious threat to him was Eeshan Lokhande who did well too.
