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Category: National Championship
The event counts as the National Championship recognised by FMSCI, the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India, the governing body of motorsports in India, and the ASN recognised by FIA and FIM.
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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).
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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.
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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).
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Hemanth Muddappa begins campaign with a triple; Alimon bags Unrestricted class
Chennai, 24 July 2022: Multiple Indian National champion Bengaluru’s Hemanth Muddappa (Mantra Racing) continued his domination in the MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Drag Racing Championship with a triple crown in the season-opener which concluded at the Madras International Circuit, here on Sunday.
Muddappa, the nine-times National champion, participating in four different categories, emerged triumphant in three (one of them a support race), but his exploits notwithstanding, it was Alimon Saidalvi (Bengaluru) who was the quickest rider over the weekend as he topped the Unrestricted category, clocking a blistering 07.775 seconds for the 302-metre dash on a Kawasaki Ninja.
Muddappa, astride a Suzuki Hayabusa, topped in the Super Sport 1051-1650cc category in which he has remained unbeaten over the past few years. Earlier, riding a BMW S1000RR, Muddappa was the quickest in the Super Sport 551-850cc category after winning in the Super Sport 851-1050cc support race atop a Kawasaki ZX6R machine.
Mumbai’s Hussain Khan won in the Super Sport Indian 361-550cc category ahead of Aiyaz from Bengaluru and local rider Bharath Raj.
The results (all 4-Stroke):
National Championship – Unrestricted: 1. Alimon Saidalvi (Bengaluru) (07.775secs); 2. Attaullah Baig (Bengaluru) (08.090s); 3. Siddharth Ratan Parmar (Mumbai) (08.254s).
Super Sport 1051-1650cc: 1. Hemanth Muddappa (Bengaluru, Mantra Racing) (08.228s); 2. Vignesh Purushotham (Bengaluru) (08.309s); 3. Hafizullah Khan (Bengaluru) (08.398s).
Super Sport 551-850cc: 1. Hemanth Muddappa (Bengaluru, Mantra Racing) (08.614s); 2. Siddharth Ratan Parmar (Mumbai) (08.788s); 3. Saurabh Parab (Mumbai) (09.086s).
Super Sport Indian 361-550cc: 1. Hussain Khan (Mumbai) (12.247s); 2. Aiyaz (Bengaluru) (12.350s); 3. Bharath Raj (Chennai) (12.691s).
Support race – Super Sport 851-1050cc: 1. Hemanth Muddappa (Bengaluru, Mantra Racing) (08.013s); 2. Khaja Awais Ahmed (Hyderabad) (08.281s); 3. Saurabh Parab (Mumbai) (08.325).
Support race – Super Sport 166-225cc: 1. Badhusha M (Chennai) (13.639s); 2. Srikkanth P (Bengaluru) (14.054s); 3. Karthik M (Chennai) (15.324s).
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Sindy hoists AS Motorsports flag high; Aiyaz, Chandra, Madhan win
Chennai, 23 July 2022: Active motorsports couple Soundari ‘Sindy’ and her tuner Ananthraj ‘Andy’ combined successfully to hoist the AS Motorsports flag high taking the honours in the Girls ‘Stock up to 165cc’ category in the first round of the MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Drag Racing Championship 2022 which commenced at the rechristened Madras International Circuit (MIC) here on Saturday. Bengaluru’s Chandra Shekar N topped in the Super Sport Indian up to 165cc while local rider Madhan Kumar and Aiyaz of Bengaluru also won their respective classes.
Ananthraj and Soundari, the proud motorsports couple! “This win is awesome and it is an unforgettable moment for me as a rider. It is also special for me because, as a rider I won and got my husband his first tuner trophy. As a couple it is a historic day for us. Today the bike setup is perfect and competing with competitive young girls as a mom, makes that feeling great,” said Sindy, who also volunteers as an active official for many motorsports events.
The Drag Nationals promoted by Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (fmsci) has attracted a record 145 entries as the 2022 season got off to a bright start with Soundari, popular known as Sindy, edging out Puducherry’s Lani Zena Fernandez of RACR Castrol Power 1, in a close battle with a tenth of a second separating the two. Mumbai’s Sarah Khan of Axor Sparks Racing completed the podium.
Chandra Shekar was in his elements in winning from Bharath Raj of Rockers Racing from Chennai with another Bengalurean, Gowtham R finishing third fastest in the Super Sport Indian upto 165cc class.
Bengaluru’s Aiyaz wins 2-stroke Super Sport (131-165cc) class.
All photos by Srinivasa Krishnan/INDIAinF1Aiyaz from Bengaluru emerged a comfortable winner in the 2-stroke Super Sport (131-165cc) category ahead of Madhan Kumar R of Chennai and Abudul Shaikh, also from Bengaluru, finished third.
Madhan Kumar, however, came up trumps in the 2-stroke Super Sport (up to 130cc) category with local rider Aravind Ganesh of AP Motorsports taking second ahead of Abdul Shaikh of Bengaluru in third.
The two-day event concludes on Sunday, July 24, which will see races in six more categories, including the high-end Above 1000cc class and the Unrestricted Open where 9-time National Champion, Hemanth Muddappa, is set to begin his campaign in four different classes.
The (Provisional) results :
4-Stroke – Girls (Stock Up to 165cc): 1. Soundari Ananthraj (Chennai, AS Motorsports) (16.491secs); 2. Lani Zena Fernandez (Puducherry, RACR Castrol Power 1) (16.571s); 3. Sarah Khan (Mumbai, Axor Sparks Racing) (17.023s).
Super Sport Indian (up to 165cc): 1. Chandra Shekar N (Bengaluru) (13.989s); 2. Bharath Raj (Chennai, Rockers Racing) (14.292s); 3. Gowtham R (Bengaluru) (14.469s).
2-Stroke – Super Sport Up to 130cc: 1. Madhan Kumar R (Chennai) (13.449s); 2. Aravind Ganesh (Chennai, AP Motorsports) (13.582s); 3. Abdul Shaikh (Bengaluru) (13.777s).
Super Sport 131-165cc: 1. Aiyaz (Bengaluru) (12.845s); 2. Madhan Kumar R (Chennai) (13.310s); 3. Abdul Shaikh (Bengaluru) (13.313s).
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9-time drag champ Hemanth Muddappa gunning for a dozen: Drag Nationals
Bengaluru, 21 July 2022: The fastest Indian rider and a nine-time Indian National champion, Hemanth Muddappa of Mantra Racing, is hungry for more National titles, as he begins campaign in the 2022 season of the MMSC fmsci Indian National Drag Championship that begins at the rechristened Madras International Circuit (MIC), about 30 km, from Chennai, on Saturday.
In an unprecedented move, the champion based in Bengaluru will be riding in four classes this season, including the above 851 to 1050cc class, which is now a supporting race. This year Hemanth will also take part in the 550-850cc class, and with the re-introduction of the Unrestricted Open category as a Championship class, the Drag Nationals will now allow Hemanth Muddappa to gun for historic 12 National titles. He is preparing hard and has tested a Kawasaki ZX6R which is the new addition to his armoury besides his Suzuki Hayabusa and BMW S1000RR, between whom he bagged a rich haul of nine National titles from 2016 in two different classes.
The combination of Mantra Racing and Hemanth Muddappa has created record after record at every circuit in India and all the top National records in the top-two classes, stand in his name making him the fastest Indian motorsports athlete. A high-performance rider, he trains hard both on physical fitness and mental conditioning with a focus on his riding skills. “We started right after the last round and put in sustained efforts. One of the classes is not there anymore but with the introduction of a new class, I will be taking part in four classes. The aim is to go for three National titles this year,” said the confident rider from Coorg, who is also a champion at the fmsci-licensed Lonavala event, that is run on a proper quarter-mile format. That track record is also in Muddappa’s name.
Known as “LightningR1”, for his superfast runs, he holds both the National records in ‘851 to 1050cc class’ and the ‘1051cc and above class’ which he bettered last season at the now rechristened Madras International Circuit.
From the original four rounds, the Promoters Madras Motor Sports Club reduced the calendar to three rounds. The second round will be on November 5 & 6 and the final round is scheduled to be held at the same venue on Dec 17 and 18. The length of MMSC Track is 302 metres (1000 feet) for vehicles above 550cc and for all other classes it is 402 metres. The “Braking Distance” is 451.2m for vehicles above 550cc and 351.2m for all other vehicles. The new class of 4-stroke unrestricted has been given National Championship status. There will be eight different classes including a Ladies class for 4Stroke stock upto 165cc bikes. Based on the total points allotted in each round, the National champion will be declared after the third round.
Hemanth Muddappa’s winning Machines:
National Championshp classes: 1. 550-850cc – Kawasaki ZX6R; 2. 1050cc & Above – Suzuki Hayabusa; 3. Unrestricted- Suzuki Hayabusa.
Non-championship category: 4. 851-1050cc – BMW S1000RR.
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Peregrine Racing’s Madesh brothers sweep honours; Nikhilesh shines in Micro Max
Bengaluru, 17 July 2022: Madesh brothers, Rohaan and Ishaan, led the Peregrine Racing charge in the Meco fmsci Rotax Max National Karting Championship 2022 in an aggressive manner bagging full honours while Nikhilesh Raju bagged enough points with a win the finals to lead the Micro Max class in Round 1 which concluded at the Meco Kartopia circuit here on Saturday.
The eldest of the Madesh brothers, from Peregrine Racing, also became the fastest driver of Round 1 clocking a blistering 55.357 in the fourth lap of the Official Practice 2. He virtually dominated the week-end winning everything on offer in the Senior Max class as he qualified first and won both the Finals and Pre-finals.
On his part, his younger brother and former champion, Ishaan, likewise, brooked no challenge in the Junior Max category. He too made a sweep of all the races, save one heat which saw a Red Flag and a re-start. He also clocked the fastest time in his class logging a 56.088 seconds for the third lap in Official Practice 2. He won both the Finals and the Pre-Finals to take a substantial lead in the Junior class championship. He also set the best laps in both the races and was the only driver in his class to dip under 57-sec, reeling out blistering lap after lap in both the finals and the pre-finals. Fourteen of his laps were under 57-sec mark.
In the Pre-finals, Ishaan, had a brilliant start and made his dash to the front look so easy, in the words of commentator, Vivek Abraham, and never disappointed the expectations of the small crowd with his pole to flag exploits. He displayed enough skill and race craft and soon increased the lead substantially to leave the drivers behind to fight for the second place where the battle was between Sai Shiva Makesh and Anshul Sai. Ishaan won a comfortable race to begin his campaign on a positive note full points from Round 1 in the 12-lap race which had a grid 12 karts of 22HP 2stroke engine.
Nikhilesh Raju, the bespectacled defending champion began on the right note dominating the Micro Max class. Shrugging off initial hiccups in the Practice sessions, he qualified at the top and won the finals and came second in the Pre-finals races in the 8 to 12 years category.
Starting P2 in the finals, Nikhilesh Raju had a bad start and went down to P5 but quickly recovered making up two positions. Later, after a good fight between the top two, he found the opportunity on Lap 8 as he made a move at the fourth corner but it proved to be futile. However, in the next corner he found a better exit as he went wide and took the other line and dashed to the front taking both the leading karts at a go. In the Pre-finals, Nikhilesh started P4 and had the pace but good defence by poleman Anuj kept him behind for eight laps with Eshan leading the pack. In the eighth lap Nikhilesh moved to 2nd with a brilliant move and retained the second place till the end. He earned enough points with a win in finals and a second in pre-finals to take the championship lead in the Micro Max class after the first round.
The year began on a promising note as the Nationals for the first time in the recent past saw grids of over 20. With new teams entering the fray, the Senior grid saw 21 karts while the Junior grid boasted of 16 drivers including three girls, who kept the women in motorsport challenge alive with Shriya Lohia running close to the frontline boys. The Micro Max too saw better numbers this year with 13 karts on the start gird.
Provisional official classification – Round 1 2022:
Junior Max: Finals (14 laps):
1. #55 Ishaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing);
2. #27 Anshul Sai Shivakumar (Birel Art India);
3. #46 Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (MSport);
Junior Max: Pre-Finals (12 laps):
1. #55 Ishaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing);
2. #27 Anshul Sai Shivakumar (Birel Art India);
3. #46 Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (MSport);
Junior Max Qualifying:
1. #55 Ishaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing);
2. #45 Abhay M (Birel Art India);
3. #46 Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (MSport);
Micro Max Finals (12 laps):
1. #11 Nikhilesh Raju D (Peregrine Racing);
2. #17 Eshanthn Vengatesan (MSport);
3. #10 Aditya Suresh Kamat (Birel Art India);
Micro Max Pre-Finals (10 laps):
1. #17 Eshanthn Vengatesan (MSport);
2. #11 Nikhilesh Raju D (Peregrine Racing);
3. #25 Anuj Arun (MSport);
Micro Max Qualifying:
1. #10 Aditya Suresh Kamat (Birel Art India);
2. #11 Nikhilesh Raju D (Peregrine Racing);
3. #17 Eshanthn Vengatesan (MSport);
Senior Max Finals (16 laps):
1. #69 Rohaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing);
2. #96 Nigel Abraham (Peregrine Racing);
3. #62 Rishon Rajeev (Birel Art India);
Senior Max Pre-Finals (14 laps):
1. #69 Rohaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing);
2. #63 Ruhaan Alva (MSport);
3. #96 Nigel Abraham (Peregrine Racing);
Senior Qualifying:
1. #69 Rohaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing);
2. #96 Nigel Abraham (Peregrine Racing);
3. #63 Ruhaan Alva (MSport);
(Editor’s Note: The results were updated with Official version on 18 July 2022 6pm)
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KY Ahamed clinches a thriller; Rajini, Balappa score a double
Chennai, 10 July 2022: While Rajini Krishnan and Sarvesh Balappa pouched their fourth straight win, KY Ahamed won an absolute thriller that lit up the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2022 which concluded at the Madras International Circuit, here on Sunday. But INDIAinF1’s hero of the day is Md Samrul Zubair of Hyderabad who came only second but his ride from 33rd on the grid to a valiant podium is the story of the day.
The Race’ists Motorcycle Club in Hyderabad is formed by a group of enthusiastic riders a few years back led by champion riders like Karthik Mateti, Peddu Sriharsha and Rahil Pillarisetty. Of-late they have been a regular feature on the podium in different classes.
Starting P9 for the eight-lap race in the popular Pro-Stock 165cc Open race, Petronas TVS Racing star Ahamed, who endured two crashes on Saturday, showed poise and aggression to rise like a phoenix as he snatched a dramatic win from Pacer Yamaha’s Mathana Kumar and Rajiv Sethu of Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing, with just one-tenth of a second separating the trio at the finish line. The eventual outcome was in suspense as the three front-running riders exchanged lead after two other contenders, Deepak Ravikumar, also of Petronas TVS Racing, and Prabhu Arunagiri of Pacer Yamaha, retired in the second half of the race. Ahamed then pulled out a last-gasp win in a photo-finish that would be remembered for long.
Meanwhile, in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open category, Rajini Krishnan, the founder of RACR Castrol Power1, riding Yamaha R3 with a lighter frame than last year’s, was simply unstoppable while posting a fluent win that underlined his class and calibre, as he destroyed the field. His victory margin was over 10 seconds in the eight-lap race with the Petronas TVS Racing duo of KY Ahamed and Deepak Ravikumar coming in second and third, respectively. It was Rajini’s fourth win on the trot this season, following his double in the first round at Coimbatore last month.
Ryhana Bee, after a disappointing first round in Coimbatore last month, bounced back to win the National Championship Girls race (Stock 165cc) to put her campaign on track. She took the top honours ahead of Bengaluru’s Aditi Krishnan (Winverve Apex Racing Academy) who moved up a spot after second-placed Lani Zena Fernandez (Speed Up Racing) was docked a 15-second penalty which dropped her to fourth behind Axor Sparks Racing’s Jagruti Penkar from Mumbai. Lani was penalised for “causing avoidable collision” that involved early race leader Ann Jennifer (Alpha Racing) who finished fifth.
Hubballi’s Sarvesh Balappa (Axor Sparks Racing) continued his dream run as he finished the weekend with a double on the back of his two wins in the first round to remain unbeaten in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category. Finishing second was Md Samrul Zubair (Hyderabad) of Raceists Motorcycle Racing Club who started the race from P33 and worked his way up. His team-mate P Vignesh Goud, also from Hyderabad, was third.
Also scoring four consecutive wins were Sarthak Shrikant Chavan (Pune) and Raheesh Mudassar Khatri (Mumbai) in the NSF 250R and Novice (CBR 150) categories of the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup, besides Bengaluru schoolboy Chiranth Vishwanath in the Rookie class of the Petronas TVS One-Make Championship.
Provisional results (all 6 laps unless mentioned):
National Championship – Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. Rajini Krishnan (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1) (15mins, 15.889secs); 2. KY Ahamed (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (15:26.410); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (15:26.729).
Pro-Stock 165cc Open (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. KY Ahamed (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (15:55.678); 2. Mathana Kumar (Trichy, Pacer Yamaha) (15:55.722); 3. Rajiv Sethu (Chennai, Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) (15:55.726).
Novice (Stock 165cc) Race-2: 1. Sarvesh Balappa (Hubballi, Axor Sparks Racing) (13:06.383); 2. Md Samrul Zubair (Hyderabad, Raceists Motorcycle Club) (13:08.978); 3. P Vignesh Goud (Hyderabad, Raceists MC) (13:10.293).
Girls (Stock 165cc, 5 laps): 1. Ryhana Bee (Chennai, Pacer Yamaha) (11:01.483); 2. Aditi Krishnan (Bengaluru, Winverve Apex Racing Academy) (11:51.191); 3. Jagruti Penkar (Mumbai, Axor Sparks Racing) (11:18.793).
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250R (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Sarthak Shrikant Chavan (Pune) (18:45.396); 2. Mohsin Paramban (Malappuram) (18:55.514); 3. Shyam Sundar (Chennai) (18:55.663).
Novice (CBR 150, Race-2): 1. Raheesh Mudassar Khatri (Mumbai) (12:54.900); 2. Shyam Babu (Chennai) (13:27.093); 3. Harshith V Bogar (Bengaluru) (13:27.429).
Support race – Hornet 2.0 (Race-2): 1. G Balaji (Chennai) (13:32.712); 2. Kayan Zubin Patel (Mumbai) (13:32.851); 3. Romario John (Chennai) (13:38.944)
Petronas TVS One-Make Championship – Open (RR 310, Race-1): 1. Mohan Babu P (Chennai) (11:47.933); 2. S Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (11:48.064); 3. Manoj Yesuadiyan (Chennai) (11:48.694). Race-2: 1. S Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (11:54.105); 2. Mohan Babu P (Chennai) (11:54.125); 3. Kannan S (Chennai) (11:56.367).
Rookie (Apache RTR 200, Race-2): 1. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru) (12:25.916); 2. Shreyas Hareesh (Bengaluru) (12:35.302); 3. Abdul Basim RS (Chennai) (12:35.447).
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Supercross Nationals: Jinan reclaims title-lead with a grand double
Coimbatore, 19 June 2022: Evergreen rider from Kerala, CD Jinan of Petronas TVS Racing captured both the motos in the Feature event to reclaim the Championship lead in the third round of the MRF MoGrip fmsci National Supercross Championship 2022 at the CODISSIA ground which attracted over 15,000 crowd, here on Sunday. TVS hoisted their flag winning all the podium places in both the motos and Jinan bagged the Rider of the Day honours.
Jinan won Moto1 of the prestigious SX1 Foreign Open class in the morning and backed it up winning Moto2 too, making clever use of the Joker lane and put paid to the hopes of youngster Rugved Burguje, who got boxed and tipped over a berm midway through the 8-lap Moto2.
However, the Pune champion quickly recovered and joined back to take the final place on the podium redeeming some valuable points. But it was Jinan’s day as the 46-year old multiple National champion bagged a grand double on his factory-prepared TVS RTR 300on a track that saw the return of Jokerlane this year. The Kerala star began on the left side and was found wanting as Barguje took the hole shot in the second Moto but after the initial dilly-dally, he took the lead and later had an easy outing with Barguje suffering a fall. Making the most of the fight between the table-toppers, Prajwal Vishwanath, the talented youngster bagged a creditable second place to pool in good points with a double podium. Prajwal earlier came third behind Satara’s Ikshaan Shanbagh who exhibited fine riding skills in the first moto.
“With the nature of the track prompted me to be careful and was very cautious. I managed to take the lead and later on I just had to bring the bike home,” said the veteran rider. Earlier in the morning, the current championship leader Barguje could only finish fourth and that paved the way for Jinan to take back the lead which he enjoyed after the first round.
Another youngster from Pune, fresh from 2w Road Racing last week, Sarthak Chavan, also clinched a grand double in the SX2 class while another Pune talent Akshat Hupale, continued his dominance in the Junior SX2, winning both the races.
Petronas TVS Racing made a clean sweep of the Indian Experts class with Imran Pasha taking a fine victory beating teammate from Mizoram Banteilang J while Nataraj R, also from TVS, had to be content with a third place. In Class 4 for Locals, Karankumar M won with Asaruddin S in second followed by Shailesh Kumar in third.
Promoters GodSpeed Racing pulled off another successful round with a huge crowd witnessing the popular event and seven-time National champion Shyam Kothari who spread out a technical track for the Coimbatore round was immensely happy. “Supercross remains ever popular and the crowds today are a testimony. Safety is our first priority and we are happy to finish another successful round,” he concluded.
Provisional Results – Round 3:
Class 1: SX1 Moto1: 1. CD Jinan (Petronas TVS Racing-RTR300); 2. Ikshaan Shanbagh (Petronas TVS Racing-RTR300); 3. Prajwal V (Petronas TVS Racing-RTR300).
Class 1: SX1 Moto2: 1. CD Jinan (Petronas TVS Racing-RTR300); 2. Prajwal V (Petronas TVS Racing-RTR300); 3. Rugved Barguje (Petronas TVS Racing-RTR300).
Class 2: SX2 Moto1: 1. Sarthak Chavan (KX250F- Pune); 2. Shlok Ghorpade (KTM150- Satara); 3. Jinendra Sangave (KX250F- Ichalakaranji);.
Class 2: SX2 Moto2: 1. Sarthak Chavan (KX250F- Pune); 2. Jinendra Sangave (KX250F- Ichalakaranji); 3. Ajay Srinivas (KX250F- Bengaluru).
Class 3: Novice Upto 260cc: 1. Jinendra Sangave (TVS Racing – RTR200); 2. Sachin D (TVS Racing – RTR 200); 3. Arun T (Impulse – Privateer/ Hassan).
Class 4: Locals: 1. Karan Kumar M; 2. Asaruddin S; 3. Sailesh Kumar (All on Impulse from Coimbatore).
Class 5: Indian Experts: 1. Imran Pasha; 2. Banteilang J; 3. Nataraj R (All from TVS on RTR 200).
Class 6: Private Experts: 1. Karan Kumar M (Cbe); 2. Arun T (Hassan); 3. Asaruddin (Cbe). All on Impulse.
Class 7: Junior SX1 Moto1: 1. Sarthak Chavan (Pune); 2. Shlok Ghorpade (Satara); 3. Jinendra Sangave (Ichalakaranji).
Class 7: Junior SX1 Moto2: 1. Sarthak Chavan (Pune); 2. Shlok Ghorpade (Satara); 3. Jinendra Sangave (Ichalakaranji).
Class 8: Junior SX2 Moto1: 1. Akshat Hupale (KTM85 -Pune); 2. Yash Shinde (KTM85 -Pune); 3. Sujan J (KTM65- Coimbatore).
Class 8: Junior SX2 Moto2: 1. Akshat Hupale (KTM85 -Pune); 2. Aleena Shaikh (Husqvarna -Bengaluru); 3. Agastya (KTM65 – Bengaluru).
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2022 2w Road Racing National attracts over 200 bikers
Coimbatore, 9 June 2022: The MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship returns to the refurbished Kari Motor Speedway here after a three-year interval for the Rolon Round which commences on Friday, June 10.
The five-round 2022 championship, like the previous edition, promises to be another thriller as the country’s top riders, several of them with international credentials, and two-wheeler manufacturers like TVS, Honda, KTM and Yamaha, vie for honours. The number of entries, as in the previous seasons, has crossed the 200-mark.
The weekend card includes the National Championship comprising four categories – Pro-Stock 301-400cc and 165cc, Novice (Stock 165cc) and Girls (Stock 165cc) – while Petronas TVS One-Make Championship (301-400cc Open, Rookie, Girls and Media) and Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (NSF 250R, CBR 150 and Hornet 2.0) are also part of the programme. A new addition is the Stock 301-400cc category which will be run as a support race.
The overall response from the riders has been overwhelming. The promoters, Madras Motor Sports Club, celebrating their 70th anniversary, closed the entries for the Novice (Stock 165cc) category within five days after opening.
MMSC president Ajit Thomas said: “It is great to be back at the Kari Motor Speedway after a three-year break due to the pandemic. We are overwhelmed by the tremendous response for the Rolon Round this weekend that should dish out high quality and exciting races. While we welcome and thank the riders and manufacturers for their participation, MMSC remains grateful to MRF Tyres for their continued involvement in the championship.”
The two Pro-Stock categories will headline the weekend card as both grids are brimming with riders with proven credentials and international experience. Topping the line-ups are Rajini Krishnan (301-400cc, RACR Castrol Power) and Jagan Kumar (165cc, Petronas TVS Racing). Both notched their 10th National titles last season.
Similarly, Ryhana Bee, who has moved to the Pacer Yamaha team, would be the rider to beat in the Girls section. She clinched the title last year, winning all five rounds.
The Novice category (under-23), which boasts of a massive grid of 32 riders selected from 35 entrants, will throw up a new champion who, though, will have to earn the title considering the highly competitive field comprising riders who are keen to annex their maiden National crown.
The two One-Make Championships by Honda and TVS have never failed to produce close races in all their categories in the seasons gone by and it is unlikely to be any different this year.
While Friday is set aside for Free Practice and a few qualifying sessions, 20 races will be gone through over the next two days.
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.
