INDIA in F1

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.

  • Sawan Satyanarayanan, Ashi Hanspal, and Jashmehar Jubbal hog limelight: Sodi Kart Sprint

    Sawan Satyanarayanan, Ashi Hanspal, and Jashmehar Jubbal hog limelight: Sodi Kart Sprint

    Girls Class- 1st Aashi Hanspal (centre), 2nd Muskaan Jubbal (left) and 3rd Kadambari at Hyderabad on Sunday.

    Hyderabad, 18 Nov 2019: Bengaluru’s Sawan Satyanarayanan, Mumbai’s Ashi Hanspal and Delhi’s Jashmehar Jubbal stole the honours in Round 2 of the Sodi Kart Sprint of the JK Tyre FMSCI Naional Karting Championship 2019, winning their respective categories in Hyderabad late on Sunday.

    Sawan Satyanarayanan came up with a power-packed performance to claim the Senior Category title, taking just 9:13.764 minutes to complete the 12 laps. Adheet Prashar of Hyderabad finished second (9:16.366) while Ashwin M Nair of Cochin clocked 9:17.070 to take the last place on the podium.

    All three have qualifies for the final round of the championship to be held in Chennai in the third week of December.

    Senior Class winners: 1st Sawan Satyanarayanan (centre), 2nd Adheet Prashar and 3rd Ashwin M Nair (right).

    Akshay Hoover, Hari Gopal Nayak and Pramil Singh, who finished with fourth, fifth and sixth, were also handed drives in the finals.

    In the Girls’ Class, Ashi Hanspal reigned supreme, posting a time of 10:57.406 minutes to finish the race. Muskan Jubbal finished second (10:57.839) while the third place went to Kadambari of Nagpur (11:04.767).

    Delhi’s Jashmehar Jubbal took the top honours in the Junior Category, with a time of 9:29.538 minutes while Agnishwar Verma of Chennai took the second place (9:32.888) and Vulli Gopal of Hyderabad the third (9:35.136). Apart from these three (Jubbal had qualified in the opening round itself, Rahul Reddy, Aadithya Raja, Jasmeh Singh Dingra and Muskan Jubbal booked a ticket for the finals.

    Junior Class winners: 1st Jasmehar Jubbal (centre) flanked by 2nd placed Agnishwar Verma (left) and 3rd placed Vulli Gopal.

  • Gala time at sparkling MMSC Awards Night


    Winners of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship titles (Cars and Motorcycles)

    Chennai, 12 Oct 2019: The Madras Motor Sports Club reiterated its decision to introduce night racing for saloon cars next year after successfully conducting India’s maiden night test session in August at the MMRT.

    Speaking on the occasion of MMSC 2019 Circuit Racing Annual Awards function here last night, MMSC president Ajit Thomas said: “In addition to continuing the highly successful mainstream events, we plan to introduce interesting alternate events like Night Racing after successfully conducting the first-ever night test session for saloon cars at the MMRT in August.

    “We also have plans to further upgrade our infrastructure at the track with a permanent Grand Stand and a karting track, after having invested in building two new paddocks, a permanent Drag Racing strip, the only one of its kind in India, state-of-the-art timing equipment, Pit display system, etc.”

    The glitzy evening saw chief guest Mr Arun Mammen, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, MRF Ltd., presenting trophies to the podium finishers of just-concluded Indian National Racing Championships for four-wheelers and two-wheelers – Individual, Team and Manufacturers. Trophies were also presented to the top three finishers in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup and TVS One-Make Championship.

    Raghul Rangasamy, winner of the MRF F1600 Championship and Dhruv Shivaji Mohite of Rayo Racing, champion in the Indian Touring Cars, will be participating in one-off races in the UK and South Africa, respectively.

    Reiterating MRF’s commitment to motorsports, Mr Mammen said: “As you are all aware, MRF is India’s No.1 Tyre Company for more than 32 years and has been one of the pioneers in the field of motorsports. MRF has not just grown as a company but has nurtured motorsports in India, whether it is Racing, Rallying, Supercross or Karting.

    “Our efforts to give the best tyres has fructified and today the national motorcycle championship has seen the country’s first slick motorcycle tyres. This has received positive response from the participants of the National Championship including the manufacturers who are keenly putting their efforts into making better machines to race on track. We do not intend to stop with that, we push ourselves to raise our products performance and see that we take Indian racing to the next level.”

    Reflecting on the 2019 season, MMSC Vice-President and former FMSCI chief Vicky Chandhok said: “At the outset, we would like to thank MRF for their continued support and commitment. MRF’s active involvement in our racing activities has helped us to take the sport to the next level as was evident this season when we witnessed exciting season marked by close racing. We saw a quantum increase in number of participants from across India, giving our championships a truly National flavour. We had 260 participants from 18 States and Union territories in two-wheeler championships, 90 representing 15 teams in four-wheeler championship. The season also heralded several emerging young talents in the age-group of 12-18. We also acknowledge and appreciate the participation of manufacturers TVS, Honda, Volkswagen and Yamaha.”

    Mr Indu Chandhok, one of the founders of the sport’s governing body in India, FMSCI, emphasised efforts to focus on road safety through motorsport thus supporting FIA’s move in this direction.

  • Hemanth Muddappa clocks stunning 7.9sec, touches 200kmph for gold: MMSC Drag Nationals

    Hemanth Muddappa clocks stunning 7.9sec, touches 200kmph for gold: MMSC Drag Nationals

    Chennai, 6 Oct 2019: Hemanth Muddappa of Mantra Racing stunned the spectators and fans as he clocked the best timing of 7.976 seconds over 302 metres astride his superbike BMW S1000RR at the MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Drag Championship Round 2 which concluded at MMRT, at Irungattukottai, near here on Sunday. He was the first to break the 8-sec barrier on the track, at the MMRT’s start-finish straight.

    Earlier on Saturday, in Round-1, Muddappa clocked 8.270 secs in the Unrestricted category.

    For the first time, a separate class for the Girls was introduced in the National Championship this year and Nivetha Jessica of Speed-up Racing and Alisha Abdullah shared the spoils bagging a gold each in the first two rounds held on Saturday and Sunday. In Round 1, Jessica clocked 16.516sec for the gold beating Alisha by a fraction of a second, as she timed 16.871. Very popular long-distance biker A Soundari Ananthraj, also from Speed-up Racing, came third in a time of 16.890, another fraction 0f a second deciding the podium places. In Round 2, it was experienced Alisha Abdullah taking control with good reaction time as she clocked 16.851 as Nivetha Jessica was a wee bit slow at the start and had to settle for the second place timing 16.911. Ann Jennifer was third in 17.005.

    Girls 165cc Round 1 podium

    The week-end saw the first two rounds of the championship and Hemant Mudappa, who took part in the four-stroke Unrestricted Open class clocked a leisurely 8.025 sec in the Free Run before upping the pace to set a Track Record, breaking his own record. But the sheer speed sent the few die-hard fans at the Drag Nationals into elation and Hemanth himself was visibly happy revving up, and later hugging all his friends. “I am very happy to get this timing. After two rounds, I am leading the championship and will be here well-prepared for the next round,” said the Bengalurean who touched a top speed of 217.78 kmph.

    Hafizullah Khan, astride a Suzuki Hayabusa, came second in the Unrestricted four-stroke class, timing 8.150 sec while Zubair Ali Jung came third in 8.381 in his Suzuki GSX-R. Both of them also touched speeds of over 200 kmph. All the top three are from Bengaluru. Harish Naik, Ratish Nair and Manohar BN who finished behind the podium winners in fourth, fifth and sixth respectively, also touched speeds of 200kmph. Hemanth’s bike was tuned by Sharan J Pratap of Mantra Racing.

    The next two rounds of the championship will be held at the same venue on December 28 and 29.

    The results (All 4-Stroke unless mentioned):

    Unrestricted (Round-1): 1. Hemanth Muddappa (Mantra Racing) (08.270secs); 2. Zubair Ali Jung (08.311); 3. Hafizullah Khan (08.448). Round-2: 1. Hemanth Muddappa (07.976); 2. Hafizullah Khan (08.150); 3. Zubair Ali Jung (08.381).

    361-550cc (Round-1): 1. Anandhu KK (12.488); 2. Attaulla Baig (12.805); 3. Aiyaz (13.056). Round-2: 1. Aiyaz (12.455); 2. Attaulla Baig (12.714); 3. Anandhu KK (12.774).

    226-360cc (Round-1): 1. Yogeshwaran (13.440); 2. S Ravi (13.913); 3. A Shankar Guru (13.933). Round-2: 1. Alexander AS (13.373); 2. Yogeshwaran (13.499); 3. Bharathraj (13.617).

    166-225cc (Round-1): 1. Badusha M (14.996); 2. Manoj Kumar S (15.037); 3. Ahamed Vasin (15.441). Round-2: 1. Deepak N (14.784); 2. Badusha M (14.796); 3. Ahamed Vasin (15.315).

    GIRLS (Up to 165cc, Round-1): Nivetha Jessica (Speed Up Racing) (16.516); 2. Alisha Abdullah (16.871); 3. A Soundari Anantharaj (Speed Up Racing) (16.890). Round-2: 1. Alisha Abdullah (16.851); 2. Nivetha Jessica (Speed Up Racing) (16.911); 3. Ann Jennifer (17.005).

    2-Stroke 131-165cc (Round-1): 1. Mohammed Rafiq (13.029); 2. Syed Nayeem (13.143); 3. Manoj Kumar (13.304). Round-2: 1. Mohammed Rafiq (12.945); 2. Manoj Kumar (13.303); 3. Rajesh S (13.338).

    Up to 130cc (Round-1): Mohammed Rafiq (13.888); 2. R Madhan Kumar (13.965); 3. Syed Nayeem (14.039). Round-2: 1. Mohammed Rafiq (13.571); 2. Syed Nayeem (13.784); 3. R Madhan Kumar (13.869).

    Hemanth Muddappa in action on Sunday. Photo Rahul Reghu
    Alisha Abdullah wins the gold in the Round 2 of the Indian National Drag Championship 165cc Girls class on Sunday.
    Alisha Abdullah with Sparks Racing team head Rajesh (right) and the tuner Ravi.
    Ann Jennifer poses with team members of Sparks Racing after winning the Round 1 165cc Girls class on Saturday.
    Nivetha Jessica who won the first race in the Girls 165cc class of the National Drag Championship on Saturday.
    Jessica Nivetha clocks the best time on Saturday in Round 1.
    Soundari Ananthraj, aka Sindy, who took the third in Round 1 in action on Saturday
    Alexander, centre, who won the 4stroke 226 to 360cc class in Round 2 flanked by Yogeshwaran, Bharathraj and the tuner.

    (This Report is updated at 11.30 am on 8 October 2019)

  • Deepak, Venkatesan crowned Champs; Sarath, Ryhana play safe to clinch Championship titles

    Deepak, Venkatesan crowned Champs; Sarath, Ryhana play safe to clinch Championship titles


    National champions (L to R) – Ryhana Bee (Girls), Sarath Kumar (Pro-Stock 165cc) and Venkatesan (Novice) on Sunday. Photos Anand Philar

    Chennai, 29 Sept 2019: Deepak Ravikumar of TVS Racing annexed the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc title on a day dominated by Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing as the fifth and final round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2019 concluded at the MMRT, here today.

    Ravikumar’s win today, his fourth this season, denied Honda a clean sweep of titles in the Pro-Stock category. While TVS had something to celebrate, Honda riders, Anish Shetty (Pro Stock 201-300cc) and Sarath Kumar (Pro-Stock 165cc) won the championship in their respective categories. Shetty, who had sealed the championship yesterday itself, finished the season with a double and seven wins on the trot, while Sarath won his first National championship title in nine years despite finishing third in his race.


    Deepak Ravikumar (centre), winner of Race-2 in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc category flanked by second-placed Karthik Mateti (left) and third-placed Rahil Shetty

    The other National champions to emerge on the concluding day were Chennai riders Venkatesan I of Team Moto Maniacz in the Novice (Stock 165cc) and Ryhana Bee of Sparks Racing in the Girls category.

    While Ravikumar had to fight hard for his crucial win, Sarath played it smart to finish third behind Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) and a charging Kevin Kannan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing).

    Likewise, Ryhana Bee rode carefully and was content to finish third that earned her sufficient points to win the championship. Finishing ahead of Ryhana in the race were 2018 champion Ann Jennifer (Sparks Racing) and Alisha Abdullah (Alisha Racing).

    “I am absolutely delighted to win a National championship after a lapse of nine years. We had a strategy for today’s race and I am happy that it worked well,” said Sarath Kumar who had a brief stint in the FIM Moto3 World Championship a few years ago before a knee injury severely affected his racing career as the healing process took much longer than expected.

    The Pro-Stock 165cc race turned out to be a two-man show with Kannan and Jagan exchanging lead through the eight laps while Sarath seemed content to be in a lonely third spot while behind him, championship contender Rajiv Sethu, who had won six races on the trot earlier this season, gradually faded from the contest. By finishing third, Sarath picked up sufficient points to clinch the title ahead of Sethu and Jagan Kumar.

    The Girls race saw defending champion Ann Jennifer hitting the front and go on to win with a measure of comfort with Lani Zena Fernandez (Demonz Racing) and Alisha Abdullah (Alisha Racing) following home. Ryhana Bee finished fourth. However, after the post-race scrutiny, Lena was disqualified for “technical violation” and Ryhana was elevated to third place. Ryhana, thus, finished with a tally of 123 and secured the championship while Jennifer (108) was placed second.

    “Since I had a bad qualifying session, I started only fourth on the grid and with the championship in stake, I was intent on collecting points without taking any risks. This is my first National championship title and I am extremely happy. My thanks to my team, Sparks Racing, Yamaha and all the mechanics who worked behind the scene,” said Ryhana.

    In the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup came from Chennai’s Md Mikail notched eight consecutive wins for the title in the NSF 250R class (FIM Moto3 spec bikes). Aizwal’s Lal Nunsanga who finished with seven wins, including a double in the final round, emerged champion in CBR 150 class.

    The results (Provisional):

    National Championship:

    Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race-2, 7 laps): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) (13mins, 31.612secs); 2. Karthik Mateti (Gusto Racing) (13:32.042); 3. Rahil Shetty (Sparks Racing) (13:35.414). Championship winners: Deepak Ravikumar (Rider), TVS Racing (Team), TVS (Manufacturer).

    Pro-Stock 201-300cc (Race-2, 7 laps): 1. Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (13:55.497); 2. Naresh Babu (Eneos Honda Chandra Racing) (13:55.727); 3. Aravind Balakrishnan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (14:04.454). Championship winners: Anish Shetty (Rider), Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing (Team), Honda (Manufacturer).

    Pro-Stock 165cc (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) (15mins, 59.392secs); 2. Kevin Kannan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (15:59.592); 3. Sarath Kumar (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (16:10.802). Championship winners: Sarath Kumar (Rider), Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing (Team), Honda (Manufacturer).

    Novice (Stock 165cc) Race-2: 1. Venkatesan I (Motomaniacz Racing) (13:09.759); 2. Manoj Y (Motomaniacz Racing) (13:09.871); 3. S Aravind (Rockers Racing) (13:10.028). Championship winners: Venkatesan I (Rider), Sparks Racing (Team), Yamaha (Manufacturer).

    Girls (Stock 165cc, 5 laps): 1. Ann Jennifer (Sparks Racing) (11:07.846); 2. Alisha Abdullah (Alisha Racing) (11:16.374); 3. Ryhana Bee (Sparks Racing) (11:17.256). Championship winners: Ryhana Bee (Rider), Sparks Racing (Team), Yamaha (Manufacturer).

    One-Make Championship organised by MMSC:

    Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250R (Race-2): 1. Md Mikail (Chennai) (11:04.901); 2. Kavin Samaar Quintal (Chennai) (11:09.254); 3. Charan Thangavel (Chennai) (11:24.314). Race-3: 1. Md Mikail (14:26.574); 2. Kritik Vasant Habib (Gadag) (14:51.658); 3. Kavin Samaar Quintal (15:04.385). Rider champion: Md Mikail.

    CBR 150 (Race-2): 1. Lal Nunsanga (Aizwal) (13:11.665); 2. S Rajdaswanth (Trichy) (13:12.646); 3. Samuel Martin (Bengaluru) (13:19.680). Rider champion: Lal Nunsanga (Aizwal).

    TVS Open (RR 310) (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. Anand R (Chennai) (15:56.785); 2. Aravind Ganesh (Chennai) (15:58.363); 3. Soorya PM (Chennai) (15:58.607). Rider champion: Aravind Ganesh.

    Novice (RTR 200) Race-2: 1. Venkatesan I (Chennai) (13:17.268); 2. Manoj Y (Chennai) 13:17.325); 3. Anish Samson (Bengaluru) (13:21.648). Rider champions: Venkatesan I (Chennai, Boys) and Nivetha Jessica (Chennai, Girls).

    Media Championship: Jehan Darukhanawala (champion rider).

  • Mumbai’s Aaroh wins Novice Cup; Chennai’s Vishnu, Pune’s Tanay back in lead of JKNRC

    Mumbai’s Aaroh wins Novice Cup; Chennai’s Vishnu, Pune’s Tanay back in lead of JKNRC

    The JK Tyre Novice Cup Championship winner Aaroh Ravindra is flanked by Chirag Ghorpade, 2nd, Left, and Mohamed Ryan, 3rd at Coimbatore on Sunday. A IndiainF1 image

    Coimbatore, 29 Sept 2019: Chennai’s Vishnu Prasad and Pune’s Tanay Gaikwad regained the pre-eminent positions in the JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship 2019, shooting to the top of the table in their respective categories as Round 3 concluded here on Sunday.

     
    Mumbai’s Aaroh Ravindra too stamped his authority in the championship, claiming the JK Tyre Novice Cup title that drew to a close.
     
    MSport’s Vishnu Prasad, who didn’t enjoy the best of luck in the second round and had slipped from the top position, reasserted his supremacy, winning one race and taking the second position in the other one. In all, he collected 23 points over the weekend to become the championship leader with 68 points.
     
    Vishnu toppled teammate Raghul Rangasamy, who picked up only 16 points to muster a total of 63 after this round. Raghul stole the second place in the final race to redeem himself but two fifth positions in the other two races held him back.
     
    Dark Don’s Diljith TS, who began the round with a resounding win, finished sixth and fifth in Sunday’s races to hold on to his third position on the table with 48 points.
     
    Meanwhile, Pune’s Tanay Gaikwad stormed into the lead in the JK Tyre Suzuki Gixxer Cup, wrapping up the round with a victory and a second-placed finish.
     
    Tied on 36 points with Syed Muzammil Ali, he enjoyed a stroke of luck as Muzammil logged a DNF on Saturday. He added 8 more points on Sunday to amass 54 points for a handsome 8-point lead.
     
    Muzammil came back strongly to win Race 2 but that was good enough to give him only 46 points. It still gives him an outside chance to win the title in the fourth and final round at the BIC in November. Siddhart Sajan held on the third position after finishing on the third podium in both the races, taking his total tally to 31 points.
     
    Momentum Motorsports Aaroh Ravindra, who began with a 13-point advantage, showed nerves of steel to win the Novice Cup title.  He didn’t enjoy the best of Saturdays, failing to pick up a single point, thanks to a DNS and then a DNF. He, however, collected 4 points in the concluding race to corner the champion’s trophy.
     
    Aaroh had a total of 56 points, which was good enough to pip Chirag Ghorpade (52) and Mohamed Ryan (48) in the title race. 
     
     
    The Momentum Motorsports driver came into the championship round with a lead of 13 points and it was expected to be a cakewalk for him. But things did not go as per the plan and he could log in a single in either of the races on day 1, which spiced up the title hunt and made it a three-way fight between him, his team-mate Chirag Ghorpade and MSport’s Mohammed Ryan on the final day.
     
    Ryan won one race but a DNF and a 11th-place finish deprived him of the title.
    Round 3 Final Day Provisional Results: 

    JK Tyre LGB Formula 4 (Race 2): 1. Balaprasath AS (MSport) 18:09.374; 2. Vishnu Prasad (MSport) 18:12.358; 3. Ashwin Datta (Dark Don Racing) 18:15. 824
    LGB Formula 4 (Race 3):  1. Vishnu Prasad (MSport) 19:25.872; 2. Raghul Rangasamy (MSport) 19:26.830; 3. Ashwin Datta (Dark Don Racing) 19:27.810
    JK Tyre Novice Cup: 1 (Race 2): 1. Chirag Ghorpade (Momentum Motorsports) 18:24.314; 2. Aditya Swaminathan (MSport) 18:29.654; 3. Himanshu Thukral (MSport) 18:35.245
    JK Tyre Suzuki Gixxer Cup (Race 2): 1. Syed Muzammil Ali (Bangalore) 14:12.167; 2. Tanay Gaikwad (Pune) 14:12.445; 3. Sidharth Sajan (Coimbatore) 14:13.942
  • Anish Shetty, Mohamed Mikail crowned champions for 2019

    Anish Shetty, Mohamed Mikail crowned champions for 2019

    Chennai, 28 Sept 2019: Bengaluru-based fitness trainer Anish Damodara Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) posted his sixth win in a row to annex the Pro-Stock 201-300cc title in the fifth and final round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the MMRT, here today.

    Meanwhile, 15-year old Mohamed Mikail from Chennai chalked up his sixth consecutive win and seventh from eight starts in the NSF 250R (FIM Moto3-spec bikes) category of the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup with two races to spare and which would be run tomorrow. Finishing second behind Mikail was 12-year old Sarthak Shrikant Chavan from Pune ahead of Gadag’s 19-year old Kritik Vasanth Habib.

    Abhimanyu Gautam celebrating his win in the Novice (Stock 165cc) Race on Saturday.

    Also scoring a decisive win was Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) from Jind, Haryaya, in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category to move to the top of the leaderboard in this class.

    Experienced Sarath Kumar (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) eked out a close win over TVS Racing’s Jagan Kumar to jump into championship lead in the Pro-Stock 165cc category. He leads team-mate Rajiv Sethu by six points. Sethu finished fifth. Kevin Kannan ensured a double podium for Honda by coming in third ahead of TVS Racing’s KY Ahamed after the six-lap race was red-flagged and reduced to four following a big crash involving two riders, Akash C and Anand R (both riders ok) at the back of the field.

    The 24-year old Shetty, who hails from Hubballi, Karnataka, took an unassailable lead in the championship standing with a tally of 190 points, 67 clear of second-placed team-mate Abhishek Vasudev, with one more race to be run tomorrow and a maximum of 50 points at stake. Incidentally, it is Shetty’s second championship, having won the Pro-Stock 165cc title last year.

    The race was reduced to four laps from scheduled six following a crash involving Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) and Satyanarayana Raju (Gusto Racing) who were competing in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc category that was run on the same grid as the 201-300cc class.


    Md Mikail (Chennai), who sealed the NSF 250R title in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup

    After the race, Gusto Racing’s Karthik Mateti from Hyderabad was declared winner (301-400cc) ahead of fellow-Hyderabadi Rahil Pillari Shetty (Sparks Racing) and Chennai’s KY Ahamed (TVS Racing). Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing), who finished fourth, continues to head the championship with a 12-point lead over Ahamed with Mateti a further 11 points behind in third spot.

    “At the start of the season, my goal was to win the championship in my category and I am happy that could achieve that. My thanks to my entire team, especially owner Ramji Govindarajan sir who all worked hard towards my success. My aim is to compete and win all formats of two-wheeler racing. Earlier this year, I won the Desert Storm (Cross-country Rally) and now this.

    “Today, I knew if I win, I would seal the championship. Initially, I rode hard, seeing I had a good lead, I eased up. To win six races in a row is just amazing!” said a beaming Shetty.

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

    National Championship:

    Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race-1, 4 laps): 1. Karthik Mateti (Gusto Racing India) (07:43.694); 2.Rahil PIllari Shetty (Sparks Racing) (07:45.529); 3. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (07:45.650).

    Pro-Stock 201-300cc (Race-1, 4 laps): 1. Ansih D Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (08:02.611); 2. Mathana Kumar S (Honda Erula Atomic Racing) (08:04.556); 3. Mithun Kumar PK (Honda Erula Atomic Racing) (08:06.279).

    Pro-Stock 165cc (Race-1, 4 laps): 1. Sarath Kumar s(Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (08:05.465); 2.K Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) (08:05.639); 3. K Kannan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (08:06.066).

    Novice (Stock 165cc) Race-1: 1. Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) (13:05.011); 2. Manoj Y (Team Motomaniacz Racing) (13:08.802); 3. Annish Samson (Team Speed-Up Racing) (13:08.970).

    One-Make Championship organised by MMSC:

    Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250R (Race-1): 1. Md Mikail (Chennai) (11:07.289); 2. Sarthak Shrikant Chavan (Pune) (11:10.531); 3. Kritik Vasant Habib (Gadag) (11:10.624). CBR 150 (Race-1): 1. Lal Nunsanga (Aizwal) (13:11.576); 2. AS James (Chennai) (13:14.024); 3. Samuel Martin (Bengaluru) (13:15.938).

    TVS Open (RR 310) Race-1): 1. Soorya PM (Chennai) (11:56.038); 2. Anand R (Chennai) (11:57.899); 3. Sivanesan Sethu (Chennai) (12:00.715). Novice (RTR 200) Race-1: 1. Anish Samson (Bengaluru) (13:13.028); 2.Manoj V (Chennai) (13:13.061); 3. Ullas Santrupt (Bengaluru) (13:13.188). Girls (RTR 200) 5 laps: 1. Lakiya Lee (Chennai) (11:29.416); 2. Nivetha Jessica (Chennai) (11:39.457); 3. Haritha Muralikrishnan (Chennai)(11:40.534).

  • Diljith,Tanay and Ryan take honours on Day 1

    Diljith,Tanay and Ryan take honours on Day 1

    Dark Don Racing and Kerala’s Diljith TS in action during Day 1 of Round 3 of the 22nd JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship here in Coimbatore on Saturday. A JK Racing photo

    Coimbatore, 28 Sept 2019: The Chennai duo of Diljith TS & Mohammed Ryan and Pune’s Tanay Gaikwad stole the honours on Day 1 of the JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship 2019 here at the Kari Motor Speedway on Saturday.

    Diljith (Dark Don Racing) made the most of the day to take the maximum possible 10 points in the Formula LGB-4 after clocking a time of 20:52.145 minutes.

    Diljith’s teammates, Sandeep Kumar A (20:52.462 minutes) and Ashwin Datta (20:55.619 minutes), took the other two places on the podium. Vishnu Prasad had to settle for a fourth-place finish, while championship leader Raghul Rangasamy had to settle for the fifth place.

    In the JK Tyre Suzuki Gixxer Cup, Pune’s Tanay Gaikwad made the most of Bengaluru’s Muzammil Ali misfortune. The two riders, tied at the top of the leader-board at the start of the round, were engaged in a keen tussle in Race 1 before Muzammil fell off the bike to clear the path for his closest rival.

    Tanay clocked a total of 14:10.820 minutes to complete his stipulated 10 laps to finish ahead of the pack and go atop the charts. Bengaluru’s Jagadeesh N finished just two seconds off Tanay to take the second place while Sidharth Sajan of Coimbatore took 14:17:570 to finish third on the podium.

    Meanwhile, Mohammed Ryan of MSport stormed into the lead in the JK Tyre Novice Cup,

    winning both his races in style. His team-mate Chirag Ghorpade finished second behind him in Race 1 while Mihir Avalakki of Birel Art took the third position.

    Himanshu Thukral of MSport finished second in Race 2 while Kishore of DTS Racing claimed the third position. Championship leader after the first two rounds fell behind, suffering a DNS and then a DNF on a disastrous Saturday.

    JKNRC Round 3, Day 1 Provisional Results:

    JK Tyre Novice Cup (Race 1) – 1. Mohamed Ryan (MSport) 12:15.739; 2. Chirag Ghorpade (Momentum Motorsports) 12:19.626; 3. Mihir Avalakki (Birel Art) 12:25.387

    JK Tyre Novice Cup (Race 2) – 1. Mohamed Ryan (MSport) 14:15.956; 2. Himanshu Thukral (MSport) 14:18.548; 3. Kishore (DTS Racing) 14:19.647

    JK Tyre Suzuki Gixxer Cup (Race 1) – 1. Tanay Gaikwad 14:11.820; 2. Jagadeesh N 14:16.047; 3. Sidharth Sajan 14:17.570

    JK Tyre Formula LGB 4 (Race 1) – 1. Diljith TS (Dark Don Racing) 20:52.145; 2. Sandeep Kumar A (Dark Don Racing) 20:52.462; 3. Ashwin Datta (Dark Don Racing) 20:55.619

  • Pole for KY Ahamed, Anish Shetty; Ann Jennifer back in form

    Pole for KY Ahamed, Anish Shetty; Ann Jennifer back in form

    KY Ahamed, who qualified for pole position in the Pro-Stock 301-400 cc category on Friday. Photos by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 27 Sept 2019: TVS and Honda set up another mouth-watering wheel-to-wheel battle as they shared the qualifying honours in the fifth and final round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the MMRT, here today.

    KY Ahamed (01:53.674) led a 1-2 for TVS Racing in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc class along with Deepak Ravikumar (01:53.823) while Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing dominated the Pro-Stock 201-300cc category with Anish Shetty (01:57.646) and Abhishek Vasudev (01:58.281) occupying the top two spots on the grid for tomorrow’s race.

    In the popular Pro-Stock 165cc class, Honda and TVS set the tone for tomorrow’s qualifying and race. Sarath Kumar (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing, 01:59.790) was the quickest in the Free Practice session ahead of two TVS Racing riders, KY Ahamed (01:59.793) and seven-times National champion Jagan Kumar (02:00.121) while championship leader Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) was fourth in 02:00.702.

    In the Girls category, defending champion Ann Jennifer (Sparks Racing) clocked 02:11.902 in her flying lap to qualify for pole position ahead of Lani Zena Fernandez of Speed Demonz Racing (02:13.599) while championship leader Ryhana Bee (Sparks Racing) was fourth (02:14.212) behind Alisha Abdullah (Alisha Racing, 02:14.087).

    The qualifying session for the Novice (Stock 165cc) saw Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing), Manoy Y (Team Motomaniacz) and championship leader I Venkatesan (Team Motomaniacz) occupying the front row in that order for tomorrow’s race that will see a massive 40-bike grid. The qualifying session was run in two batches in view of the large number of entries.

    AISHWARYA PISSAY FELICITATED

    The FMSCI, governing body for motorsport in India, and the Madras Motor Sports Club, felicitated Aishwarya Pissay, winner of the FIM Baja World Cup (women’s category). Sita Raina, Chairperson, Women in Motorsport, Fmsci, and Manoj Dalal, Secretary, MMSC, presented mementos to Aishwarya.

    The FMSCI also organised a workshop on fitness for women riders competing in the ongoing National Motorcycle Racing Championship, with Manav Mukund, Director, Strength and Conditioning, Sports Dynamix, making a presentation on fitness.

  • Double points for last round keep Championship stakes wide open: Bike Nationals

    Double points for last round keep Championship stakes wide open: Bike Nationals

    File photo of Sarath Kumar by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 26 Sept 2019: The MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2019 is set for a grand climax at the MMRT this weekend that will witness as many as 18 races and edge-of-the-seat, high-stakes battles for titles across all categories. With double points being awarded for this fifth and final round, there is everything to ride for, especially for the front-runners.

    The National Championship, comprising Pro-Stock category (200-300cc, 301-400cc and 165cc) which will no doubt headline the weekend, Novice (Stock 165cc) and Girls (Stock 165cc), are all set for close finishes with not much separating the top riders on the leaderboard, in terms of points. For the manufacturers – TVS, Honda, Yamaha and KTM – there is plenty to gain from this weekend.

    The situation is much the same in the TVS One-Make Championship that has three categories in Open (RR 310), Novice and Girls (RTR 200), and also the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250R (FIM Moto3-spec) and CBR 150 (Novice). Both TVS and Honda have invested time and effort in plenty to identify and develop young talent that has turned out in good numbers from across country.

    MMSC president Ajit Thomas said: “This being the final round of the season, we again would like to extend our sincere thanks to our title sponsors MRF Tyres who, for the first time supplied slick tyres for Pro-Stock categories, besides India’s top two-wheeler manufacturers TVS, Honda, Yamaha and KTM who have been associated with us in our constant endeavour to nurture and develop talent. The ever-increasing number of entries, especially in the Novice category, is a testimony to growing popularity of the sport. The Madras Motor Sports Club too has evolved in providing and upgrading infrastructure and technology at considerable expense with focus on safety and comfort at the MMRT circuit.”

    Predicting close races, Race Director Manoj Dalal, said: “This weekend, we look forward close competition, that has been a feature through the year, with the championship titles up for grabs. The season has also seen intense rivalry between riders, teams and manufacturers like never before. In a bid to inject more interest and competition, we decided to double the points across all National Championship categories for the this (final) round. Hence, we are in this exciting situation where every title, be it individual or team, is wide open, and we expect extremely competitive races.”

    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 from Sholavaram to its present location 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. 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. The facilities are also extensively used by various vehicle manufacturers for testing their products, displays and corporate days.

  • Fabid leads #INRC table with Dean in tow but all eyes will be on speed maestro Gaurav Gill

    Fabid leads #INRC table with Dean in tow but all eyes will be on speed maestro Gaurav Gill

    Fabid Ahmer kicks up the dust but manouvres the corner in a smooth manner in the Avisa stage of the South India rally in this June photo by Srinivasa Krishnan

    Jodhpur, 19 Sept. 2019: Fresh from his WRC2 campaign in Rally Turkey, JK Racing’s Gaurav Gill will be looking to go all-out for the elusive win this season as he spearheads a strong 51-car Jodhpur Rally, termed as Maxperience 2019, the third round of the Champion Yacht Club promoted Indian National Rally Championship from September 20 to 22.

    Organised by Madcap Adventure Xperiences in association with Coimbatore Auto Sports Club under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (fmsci), the event will witness two days of intense Stage Rallying which returns to the city after a gap of nine years. The action will be spread over 126.5 kms of Special Stage distance and along with 258.6 kms of liaison will make it a total distance of 385.22 kms.

    Gaurav Gill file photo by JK Racing

    Piloting the Mahindra XUV 300, along with experienced Musa Sherif as navigator, the champion rally driver, who became the first athlete from motorsports to receive Arjuna Award recently, is raring to go in the orange colours of Team Mahindra Adventure here. Deeply focussed to post a victory and log some valuable points with three more rounds remaining in Bengaluru, Kuttikanum, and Chikkamagaluru, the speed maestro is capable of turning the tables for his 7th INRC title. But the battle is not going to be easy despite 117 points on offer from the three remaining rallies as Team Mahindra is struggling to set-up the optimum car for him, run now on JK Tyres. However, Gill’s teammate, Ghosh, will continue on MRF tyres.

    Fabid Ahmer poses with his car during one of his rallies in the 2019 campaign.

    But for now, `Mr Clean & Consistent’, Fabid Ahmer and co-driver Sanat Gopalan, who have shown tremendous application and grit with some smooth driving are rewarded with the overall first in the leaderboard after three rounds with 49 points. The Team Champions youngsters from Palakkad in their No#11 Volkswagen Polo are competing in both the INRC3 and Junior INRC classes. But they are keen to continue their good run and keep the lead in the overall category with another good showing in Jodhpur.

    Dean’s file photo by Anand Philar

    Close on their heels will be Dean Mascarenhas who is second in the standings with 42 points and Chetan Shivaram (40). Younus Ilyas has 31 points with Gill, way behind at fifth place, wtih just 22.

    Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik will be the other Mahindra team entry in the top class and will have #3 Karna Kadur and Nikhil Pai of Arka Motorsports in a Polo along with the other 2 INRC competitors of Snap Racing, Phalguna Urs and Srikanth Gowda, and Girija Shankar Joshy and co-driver Chandramouli M, both also in rally-prepared Volkswagen Polos.

    The other teams to watch in the INRC2 class will be Younus Iyas and Harish Gowda of Race Concepts in a Mitsubishi Cedia and Rahul Kantharaj and Vivek Bhatt of Arka Motorsports. These two teams are expected to face a tough fight from Team Champions’ team Dean Mascarenhas and co-driver Shrupta Padival, and Vikram Rao Aroor and Somayya AG, also from Team Champions both behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Polo.

    The daughter-mother duo of Shivani Pruthvi and Deepti, in the #26 Mitsubishi Cedia is the only all-woman team and will vie for honours in INRC3 and Junior INRC class.

    Two physical stages of Camel Hump consisting of 13.45km and Roller Coaster covering 13.70km will be run thrice on Saturday for a total of 121.45km of Special Stage distance on Day 1. On Sunday, four more stages will be run. The two stages of 9.35km Drift Run and 13.2km Precision Drive will be run twice each for a Stage distance of 45.1km on Sunday, the Day 2.

    There are 15 teams which are supported by Team Champions vying for honours in every class. “Champions Yacht Club believes in producing champions so we are supporting many teams. That is our mission as we step in to run the INRC,” said Shubakara Rao of Champions Group. “We are now providing an ideal platform to many talented drivers who always suffered because of lack of sponsorship and we also intend to promote them at international competitions on world-class routes,” said Vamsi Merla of Champions Yacht Club.

    He also informed that the competitors with valid FMSCI Competition License have been insured for Rs.5 lakh personal accident & Rs. 5 lakh towards medical expenses. Even 100 Officials come under a cover Rs.25 lakh for personal accidents and Rs. 1 lakh for medical expenses.

    The Ceremonial Flag-off from Hotel Lariya Resort near the Jaisalmer bye-pass will be at 5 pm on Friday after the Drivers’ Briefing and Press Conference. The prize distribution and podium ceremony on Sunday will be at 5 pm also at the same venue, which is also the Rally Head Quarters 2 (hq2).