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Category: Non-F1
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Shriya Lohia takes a sensational win in JK Tyre National Karting Championship
By David Bodapati
Bengaluru, 13 July 2019: Lanky Shriya Lohia is a joy to watch. When she is running on to the track, or just tickling the boys on the track, the 11-year-old from Pune, shocked the boys in the X-30 Cadet Class winning Race 3 in the JK Tyre National Karting Championship at the Meco Kartopia, near Bagaluru here on Saturday.
The Class VI student of Indira National School took to karting like a duck to water. Within a short period, she has made amazing strides and her win today, in only the third round of the season, is a vibrant boost to the `Women in Motorsport’ campaign being taken up by all motorsports bodies. The youngster who suffered an unfortunate incident in the morning, showed her grit and perseverance to bounce back with vigour and stopped the juggernaut of Ishaan Madesh to win the third race in a time of 11min 13.233secs and defended well to keep at bay a marauding Pune mate Sai Siva, who had to settle for a third place.
“I am very happy to win the race. It is really nice to beat the boys. I want to win more,” said the upcoming talent, who enjoys her racing to the core.
Shriya wins Race 4 leading a bunch of boys in Bengaluru on Saturday. Her father, who spotted her love for karting after she fell in love with the track at Vadodara run by another Women in Motorsport ambassador Mira Erda. And there was no turning back. Due to lack of proper tracks in her home town, her parents make visits to Bengaluru and Hyderabad to provide her some practice time. She trains at Meco Motorsports. Her father Ritesh Lohia, an adventure sport lover himself, has provided all the support and if groomed properly, the youngster has the potential to shine in the man’s world.
Young Shreya Lohia, originally hailing from Himachal, announced her arrival winning the FMSCI award in the Outstanding Women in Motorsports category last year.
“At such a young age Shriya believes in her infinite potential. Going forward her only limitations may be, if any, which she may set upon herself. We are already in overdrive with our `Women in Motorsport’ programme, its such talent which keeps us motivated with their outstanding performances. We wish her good luck in all her forthcoming endeavors,” said Sanjay Sharma, Head of Motorsports, JK Tyre.
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Big day for Shriya Lohia, Double for Ruhaan; Nirmal bounces back: Karting Nationals
Ruhaan Alva on way to his Race 4 win on Saturday. Bengaluru, 13 July 2019: Chennai’s Nirmal Umashanker made a comeback with a win in Race 4 while young Ruhaan Alva notched up a double in the Junior Class and Ishaan Madesh took a victory in the Cadet Class on the Day 2 of the Round 3 JK Tyre National Karting Championship at the Meco Kartopia circuit, near here on Saturday.
Nirmal recovered from a forgettable Race 2 and returned to his winning ways taking a narrow win against Bala Prasath in Race 3 of the X-30 Senior Class and went on to beat him again in Race 4.
Shriya Lohia in a pensive mood. However, the highlight of the day is the sensational win by young Shriya Lohia, who stunned the boys to notch her maiden win in the Cadet Class of the National Championship. She won the race 4 beating Sai Siva Makesh Sankaran while championship leader Ishaan Madesh, who suffered a rare loss, finished third. Shriya is second on the championship table behind Ishaan.
Nirmal was shunted out of the race in the fifth corner of the very first lap by Bengaluru karter Paul Francis and he suffered his first loss of the season with no points to show. However, he bounced back in his typical style and recorded a win in the next race.
Ruhaan Alva of Birel Art team takes the flag to win Race 3 on Saturday. INDIAinF1 images by special arrangement Bala Prasath of Coimbatore who made the best use of the situation and defeated Bengaluru’s Aditya Swaminathan by a huge margin to take the victory in Race 2. Debarun Banerjee of Delhi came third in Race 2 and could only manage only fourth despite the fastest lap in Race 3 but that helped him garner some important points. Abhirath Shetty, also from the Garden City, finished second in the third race.
In the X-30 Junior Category, Bengaluru karter Ruhaan Alva won a grand double winning both the races on the day to make up for his loss on Friday. He beat compatriot MR Rishon with a comfortable margin in both the Races. Yesterday’s winner Arjun Nair had to be content with a third place in both Race 3 and Race 4. Ruhaan also clocked the fastest laps in both the races.
In the X-30 Cadet Class, younger of the Madesh brothers, Ishaan clocked 10min 32.461sec for the 10 laps of the 1.2km Meco Kartopia track to win Race 3. Raiden Samervel of Mumbai kept Pune’s racing girl Shriya Lohia in third place. Ishaan also clocked the fastest lap.
Races in Round 4 started on Saturday afternoon beginning with a major upset as Nirmal Umashanker suffered a loss once again. It is Bengaluru boy Abhirath Shetty who won the race followed by Debarun Banerjee in second and Bala Prasath in third.
In Race 1 of the Cadet Class, Ishaan Madesh, restored a bit of pride for himself as he outclassed Shriya Lohia to win the first race of Round 4 which is being simultaneously held along with Round 3 during the same weekend. Raiden Samervel of Mumbai, who came third, also clocked the best lap.
Provisiona Unaudited Results: X30 Round 3; Day 2
Senior Class: Race 2 (15 laps): 1. A Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (14:13.603); 2. Aditya Swaminathan (Bengaluru) (14:20.355); 3. Debarun Banerjee (Delhi) (14:20.548); Best Lap: Debarun 56.223.
Race 3 (4 laps): 1. Nirmal Umashanker (Chennai) (3:48.310); 2. Abhirath Shetty (Bengaluru) (3:48.568); 3. A Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (3: 48.923). Best Lap: Debarun Banerjee (Delhi – 4th) 56.086.
Race 4 (15 laps): 1. Nirmal Umashanker (Chennai) (14:04.772); 2. A Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (14:05.208); 3. Abhirath Shetty (Bengaluru) (14:08.291). Best Lap: Bala 55.962.
Junior Class: Race 3 (15 laps): 1. Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru) (14:24.139); 2. MR Rishon (Bengaluru) (14:30.313); 3. Arjun S Nair (Bengaluru) (14:32.497); Best lap: Ruhaan 55.683.
Race 4 (15 laps): 1. Ruhaan Alva (14:01.202); 2. MR Rishon (14:03.976); 3. Arjun S Nair (14:12.511). Best lap: Ruhaan 55:755.
Cadet Class: Race 2 (10 laps): 1. Ishaan Madesh (Bengaluru) (11:49.952); 2. Raiden Samervel (Mumbai) (11:59.316); 3. Shriya Lohia (Pune) (12:10.123). Best Lap: Ishaan 1:03.707.
Race 3 (10 laps): 1. Ishaan Madesh (Bengaluru) (10:32.461); 2. Raiden Samervel (Mumbai) (10:38.363); 3. Shriya Lohia (Pune) (10:44.135). Best lap: Ishaan 1:02.719.
Race 4: (10 laps): 1. Shriya Lohia (Pune) (11:13.233); 2. Sai Siva Makesh Sankaran (Pune) (11:13.448); 3. Ishaan Madesh (Bengaluru) (11:13.597). Best Lap: Ishaan 1:02.876.
Provisional Unaudited Results: X30 Round 4:
Senior Class: Race 1 (15 laps): 1. Abhirath Shetty (Bengaluru) (13:57.000); 2. Debarun Banerjee (Delhi) (14:00.208); 3. A Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (14:05.199); Best Lap: 55.601.
Cadet Class: Race 1 (10 laps): 1. Ishaan Madesh (Bengaluru) (10:30.192); 2. Shriya Lohia (Pune) (10:31.121); 3. Raiden Samervel (Mumbai) (10:33.515). Best Lap: Raiden 1:02.390.
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Nirmal Umashanker, Ishaan Madesh continue domination: X30 JK Tyre Karting Nationals Round 3
Nirmal Umashanker takes the chequered flag in the X30 Race 1 on Friday at Meco Kartopia. An INDIAinF1 image Bengaluru, 12 July 2019: Nirmal Umashanker of Chennai, who is leading the Championship table, notched up another comfortable win in the first race as the Round 3 of the X30 JK Tyre-FMSCI National Karting Championship 2019 began at the Meco Kartopia on the outskirts of Bengaluru here on Friday.
In a facile win, Nirmal Umashanker clocked 15 minutes, 44.209 seconds over 15 laps to beat Bala Prasath of Coimbatore who was way behind by over 10 seconds while MR Rishon finished third. Nirmal also recorded the fastest lap in his 6th lap clocking 55.680. Debarun Banerjee, who was second on the championship table, before Round 3 began, could not even complete even one lap.
In the Junior Class, Arjun S Nair of Bengaluru timed 11:24.498 to win Race 1 defeating MR Rishon in a tough battle which saw all the top-3 racers fight till the end. Ruhaan Alva who clocked the best lap in 55.344 had to be content with the third place but garnered important championship points. Before the race, Ruhaan was leading the overall championship table. With 2 races to be run during the weekend, Arjun looks to keep his momentum and jump to the top slot but Ruhaan is ready to give a tough fight to keep his top standing.
Shravanthika Lakshmi #15, who started Juniors Race 2 on pole giving a tough fight to the boys. She finished 5th. In the Second race of the Junior Class, Shravanthika Lakshmi S of Coimbatore started on pole in the reverse grid and the only girl in this class, a 10th standard student, defended well against some of the national champion boys, but ultimately finished fifth. MR Rishon won the race while Ruhaan Alva finished second and Rohan Madesh came third. All the three are from Bengaluru and Ruhaan put in the fastest lap.
In the Cadet Class, Ishaan Madesh of Bengaluru, the championship leader began Round 3 with a bang, notching up one more win. He timed 10:30.420 for the 10 laps around the Meco Kartopia circuit keeping at bay the girl from Pune, Shriya Lohia, who was within a second but had to settle for a second in 10:31.283. Raiden Samervel from Mumbai took the third place. Ishaan also got the fastest lap at 1min 2.172sec.
Provisional Unaudited Results: X30 Round 3;
Senior Class: Race 1 (15 laps): 1. Nirmal Umashanker (Chennai) (15:44.209); 2. A Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (15:54.237); 3. MR Rishon (Bengaluru) (15:58.004); Best lap: Nirmal 00:55.680.
Junior Class: Race 1 (12 laps): 1. Arjun S Nair (Bengaluru) (11:24.498); 2. MR Rishon (Bengaluru) (11:25.310); 3. Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru) (11:26.941). Best Lap: Ruhaan 00:55.344.
Race 2 (2 laps): 1. MR Rishon (2:26.691); 2. Ruhaan Alva (2:27.054); 3. Rohaan Mahadesh (Bengaluru) (2:31.581). Best lap: Ruhaan Alva – 1:02.922.
Cadet Class: Race 1 (10 laps): 1. Ishaan Madesh (Bengaluru) (10:30.420); 2. Shriya Lohia (Pune) (10:31.283); 3. Raiden Samervel (Mumbai) (10:41.962). Best lap: Ishaan 01:02.172.
Note: RESULTS ARE NOT OFFICIAL.
The 3 classes:
a) X30 Cadet – Age group – 7-12 yrs
b) X30 Junior- Age group – 13-15yrs
c) X30 Senior- Age group – 16 and aboveGrid order for the four races:
RACE 1 – QUALIFYING FASTEST LAP
RACE 2 – RACE 1 – REVERSED TOP 6
RACE 3 – QUALIFYING 2nd FASTEST LAP
RACE 4 – FINISHING ORDER OF RACE 3Note: The JK Karting Nationals are eligible for anyone who possesses a valid National or International Karting License issued by the ASN (National Sporting Association – FMSCI) for the year 2019, and who has done at least one Training Program with an Academy registered with fmsci.
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Fresh winds blowing in Indian motor racing
By Anand Philar
It’s monsoon time with some fresh, cool air along with rains envigorating the Indian landscape. Something similar is happening in Indian motor racing with Volkswagen and Honda picking up the gauntlet to take the sport to the next level.
In the past month, VW made a stunning entry into the top-end Indian Touring Cars (ITC) class with the turbo-charged Vento in the National four-wheeler championship while Honda made history by introducing the FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R in the two-wheeler racing segment.
VW Vento setting the standard in the Indian National Championship. Photos Anand Philar Last season, Volkswagen quietly introduced the Vento in the Turbo sub-class of the highly competitive and very popular ITC category. The intention then was to develop the Vento to be on pace with the pack before even competing.
“It’s still a work in progress. We are still at the development stage. Our first target is to get our cars on pace and maybe, if all goes well, compete in the 2019 season. At this time, there is still a lot of work to be done. We are collecting data and using it to improve the cars,” SirishVissa, head of Volkswagen Motorsport India had said then.
VW certainly burnt the midnight oil and the product of their endeavours was unveiled in the Round 2 of the MRFMMSCfmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore last month. The results were astonishing, to say the least.
Sirish Vissa, Head of Motorsport, Volkswagen India in a jubilant mood during a race weekend. Photo: Anand Philar The three Vento cars, driven by Karthik Tharani, Ishaan Dodhiwala, and Dhruv Shivaji Mohite, dominated the entire weekend, from practice to qualifying to the double-header race card. The Vento left the field in its wake and barring Coimbatore veteran Arjun Balu, a former racing and rally champion in his Race Concepts-prepared Honda Vtec, the VW factory team faced the challenge from none other.
The June weekend was an eye-opener to the racing aficionados. Some of the competitors, mostly in their old faithful modified Maruti Esteem, that they had flogged for many years, conceded that the Vento, powered by a 1.8 litre TSi engine mated to a six-speed sequential gearbox, was the way forward. “It is time to pack up the Esteem and go with the Vento,” was the honest admission by veteran Vidyaprakash, one of the few survivors of the hoary Sholaravam past.
A joyous Vissa could hardly contain his emotions. “Honestly, the performances of our cars far exceeded our expectations. Last year, it was about getting on pace with the competition and during the off-season, we had worked long and hard on these cars, sorting out various issues, especially compensating for the weight factor. Winning both the races here in Coimbatore? Wow! But I can’t say how much of a game-changer this will be since I am not sure whether other competitors would switch to Vento in the foreseeable future,” he said.
In a way, it was a double-delight for VW as their Ameo Class, a one-make series had received National Championship status from the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), the sport’s National governing body. Coupled with the showing of the Vento in the ITC, the excitement in the VW camp was palpable and understandable.
A HISTORIC MOMENT – HONDA UPS THE ANTE
Cut to the MMRT, a fortnight later, for the second round of the MRFMMSCfmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2019. The motorsport wing of the Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI)showcased the FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R imported from Japan that replaced the CBR 250 in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup One-Make Championship.
Md Mikail on a Honda NSF 250R during a race week-end at MMRT, Chennai. It was a landmark moment in the history of two-wheeler racing in India. The eight-bike grid comprised riders in the age-group of 12 to 19 years, all trained and primed over the past several months to become race ready.
In a conversation with me at the MMRT, Prabhu Nagaraj, Vice-President – Brand and Communications, HMSI Pvt Ltd, said: “As you are aware, two-wheeler racing at the global level is getting younger in terms of the riders. We thought we will invest in youngsters, in the preferred age-group of 12-18 years on a long-term programme. Eventually, we hope that at least one of the riders would make it to Moto3.
“We have gone to a great extent to train these youngsters in not just racing, but also help them develop as individuals. For this season, we shortlisted eight riders who were put through a rigorous training programme, and hopefully, the grid would get bigger in the seasons to come. We have other plans too for the coming season.”
Sarthak Chavan from Pune, youngest rider (Honda NSF 250R) on the track at just 12 years Back in 2015, Honda won the Moto3 constructor’s Championship with the NSF250R. The race bike, shoed with Dunlop tyres, is powered by a 249.3cc single cylinder liquid-cooled engine, putting out a maximum power of 47.6 HP at 13,000 rpm and 28 Nm of torque at 10,500 rpm. The engine is mated to a 6-speed gearbox.
These kids on the NSF 250R bikes rode fearlessly and their timings through the weekend were astounding. The top five boys were quicker than the fastest 400cc bike in the championship. Those in the know believe that the NSF 250R bikes can lower the timings even more, to maybe 1:45 or thereabouts, as against the weekend’s best of 1:48 for a hot lap.
The 84-Kgs NSF 250R is built for young teenagers who easily fit into the saddle. Among the youngest of the riders was Pune’s Sartak Srikant Chavan, just 12 years old, but who performed like he was born to ride. The grid also contained two “veterans” in 15-year old Md Mikail from Chennai and Kritik Habib, 19, from Gadag, Karnataka, both of whom had participated in the Thailand Talent Cup race recently. That experience reflected in their performance with Mikail winning the first of the two races, ahead of Habib.
Also, Honda made a welcome entry in the Pro-Stock 165cc with their race-spec CBR 150R, and much to their delight, Rajiv Sethu, their standard-bearer, won both the races. Sethu has come a long way and his recent performances in the Asia Road Racing Championship besides the Endurance race in Japan as part of the Honda team, have certainly boosted his confidence. In both National championship races over the weekend, Sethu defeated his nemesis and seven-times champion Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing).
Volkswagen and Honda deserve all the kudos for taking the initiative to give a leg-up to Indian motor racing. These are baby steps yet, but the signs are very positive. Hopefully, we can look forward to acche din!
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Shahan, Avalakki continue to dominate: JK Tyre Karting Nationals
Bengaluru, 8 July 2019: Agra’s Shahan Ali Mohsin and Bengaluru’s Mihir Suman Avalakki continued their good form to hold on to the lead after Round 2 of the Rotax Class of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Karting Championship 2019 at the Meco Kartopia on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
Shahan (MSport) looked at ease over the weekend as he won race 1 and finished second in another to notch up 86 points and take his total tally to 175 points in the Senior Max Category.
Manav Sharma of Faridabad, who was outperformed by Shahan in the opening round, however, accumulated two more points than him by finishing second in the pre-final and winning the final this time around. The Peregrine Racing driver has a total of 173 points now and is sitting on the second place.
MSports’ Bala Prasanth finished fifth in both the races to collect 78 points and take the third position with 160 points.
In the Junior Max Category, it was a clean sweep for Birel Art as they took all the podium places, led by another local lad Mihir. He did not have the best of starts to the round, finishing only fourth in the opening race.
But he came back to clinch the second place in the final race to pocket 83 points and take his total tally to 172 points. He is tied on points with his team-mate Rishon after two rounds, who won both races of the day to amass 89 points. Ruhaan Alva is on the third spot as he posted two third place-finishes to collect 82 points to take his total tally to 165 points.
In the Micro Max Category, it was Peregrine Racing’s Ishaan Madhesh who came up with another powerful performance and won both the races to extend his tally to 178 points. His team-mate Jagrat Detroja is on the second spot with 166 points while Anshul Sai Shivkumar is in the third place with 157 points.
Note: Results were not received from the organisersProvisional Standings after Round 2:Micro Max:
1. Ishaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing) 178 points; 2. Jagrat Detroja (Peregrine Racing) 166 points; 3. Anshul Sai Shivakumar (Birel Art) 157 pointsJunior Max:
1. Mihir Avalakkai (Birel Art) 172 points; 2. Rishon (Birel Art) 172 points; 3. Ruhaan Alva (Birel Art) 165 pointsSenior Max:
1. Shahan Ali Mohsin (MSports) 175 points; 2. Manav Sharma (Peregrine Racing) 173 points; 3. Bala Prasath (MSports) 160 points -
Double for Sethu, Ravikumar, Abhimanyu; Easy win for Ryhana Bee: MMSC Bike Nationals
Deepak Ravikumar (centre), who scored a double in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc category, flanked by KY Ahamed 2nd (left) and Amarnath Menon 3rd, at MMRT on Sunday. Photos by Anand Philar Chennai, 7 July 2019: Bitter rivals on the track, TVS Racing and Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing shared the honours on the concluding day of the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the MMRT, here today.
Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) and Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) completed a double apiece in contrasting styles. Ravikumar was in a league of his own with an authoritative win by the proverbial country mile in the premium Pro-Stock 301-400cc race, his second of the weekend, while behind him, Amarnath Menon (Team Alisha Abdullah) denied TVS Racing another 1-2 by pipping KY Ahamed.
Sethu repeated his yesterday’s Race 1 win over TVS Racing’s Jagan Kumar for a double in the Pro-Stock 165cc class. After exchanging leads with Jagan through the race, Sethu made a heart-stopping pass on the last corner of the last lap to pull off a superb win while Ahamed scrambled to third spot.
Bengaluru-based Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) survived a close fight with Mathan Kumar (Erula Racing) to win the Pro-Stock 200-300cc race with Abhishek Vasudev, also from Bengaluru, a distant third.
Also achieving a double was Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) in the Novice (Stock 165cc) class, sparing nearly three seconds to Venkatesan I (Motomania) while Mohan Babu (Rockers Racing) completed the podium.
Ryhana Bee, winner of the Girls raceMeanwhile, defending champion in the Girls (Stock 165cc) category, Ann Jennifer suffered a rare defeat as she finished third behind her Sparks Racing team-mate Ryhana Bee and Alisha Abdullah (Team Alisha Abdullah) in the five-lap race. It was Bee’s maiden win in the championship as she made capital of a favourable situation that had pole-sitter Jennifer fumbling at the start and then getting caught up in traffic. While Bee disappeared in the distance, Jennifer could not pass Alisha and decided to hold position with an eye on the championship points.
In the hot mid-afternoon sun, Chennai youngsters Varoon Sadasivam, Kavin Samaar Quintal and Geoffrey Emmanuel finished in that order on the FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R bikes in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup One-Make Championship after favourites, Md Mikail (Chennai), winner of Race-1 yesterday, and Kritik Vasant Habib (Gadag, Karnataka) retired early in the eight-lap race. Mikail crashed at the start, while Habib too went off in the third lap.
The results (Provisional):
National Championship:
Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) (15mins, 31.358secs); 2. Amarnath Menon (Team Alisha Abdullah) (15:45.432); 3. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (15:45.558).
Pro-Stock 200-300cc (Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (16:22.798); 2. Mathan Kumar (Erula Racing) (16:22.876); 3. Abhishek V (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (16:55.918).
Pro-Stock 165cc (Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (16:07.033); 2. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) (16:07.152); 3. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (16:09.355).
Novice – Stock 165cc (Race 2, 6 laps): 1.Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) (13:10.877); 2. Venkatesan I (Team Motomania) (13:13.508); 3. Mohan Babu P (Team Rockers Racing) (13:15.079).
Girls (Stock 165cc, 5 laps): 1. A Ryhana Bee (Sparks Racing) (11:11.579); 2. Alisha Abdullah (Team Alisha Abdullah Racing) (11:20.990); 3. Ann Jennifer AS (Sparks Racing) (11:21.078).
One-Make Championship:
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – Honda NSF 250R (Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Varoon Sadasivam (Chennai) (14:53.899); 2. Kavin Samaar Quintal (Chennai) (15:03.271); 3. Geoffrey Emmanuel (Chennai) (15:32.943).
Honda CBR 150 (Race 2, 6 laps): 1. Lal Nunsanga (Aizwal) (13:28.925); 2. Lalrinzuala Tlau (Aizwal) (13:29.167); 3. Samuel Martin (Bengaluru) (13:30.521).
TVS Open (Apache RTR 310, Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (16:01.298); 2. Karthik Mateti (Hyderabad) (16:16.321); 3. Soorya PM (Chennai) (16:18.106).
Novice (Apache RTR 200, Race 2, 6 laps): 1. Venkatesan (Chennai) (13:13.644); 2. Manoj Y (Chennai) (13:14.210); 3. Lakshmipathy Balaji (Vellore) (13:15.231).
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MMRT witnesses historic debut of Moto3 spec bike in Indian Motorsport
Honda NSF250R, a magic presence on Indian race tracks, a moto3 spec bike, a milestone in Indian Motorsports. Photo by David Bodapati The 2019 season augurs well for Indian Motorsports! After a pleasant week-end at the Kari Motor Speedweay in Coimbatore last fortnight where a new generation of cars breathed a whiff of fresh air into the rusty Indian racing scene, with Volkswagen showing the way for future, the week-end at the Madras Motor Race Track of Madras Motor Sports Club in Irungattukottai witnessed another historic milestore with a Moto3 Spec bike making its debut on the Indian soil. Eight young riders took part on these sleek machines in the IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Cup. They are Sarthak Shrikant Chava, the 12-year old baby of the team from Pune, Kavin Samaar Quintal, Geoffrey, Mohammed Mikhail, S Varoon, Mohsin, Charan T, and Kritik Habib. All these riders have been selected from the 2018 Honda India Talent Hunt.
A new sleek and sophiscated Racing Machine of the new era, a very light machine at 84-kg, compact, high output and high performance, the NSF 250R made its thundering presence and the presence of eight disciplined teenage boys riding with passion provided the kick for the motorsport connoisseur.
Introduced in Moto3 in 2o12, the bike is powered by a single cylinder 4-stroke engine with 249cc displacement and it is specifically designed for racing purpose. It is not meant to be ridden on the public roads. The NSF250R is a picture model of perfect integration of high-power and rider-friendly beast with a beauty. This light-weight, well-balanced machine offers solid-power and superb performance.
Honda won the Moto3 constructor’s Championship in 2015 with the NSF250R. The race bike is powered by a 249.3cc single cylinder liquid-cooled engine capable of churning out a maximum power of 47.6 HP at 13,000 rpm and 28 Nm of torque at 10,500 rpm. The engine comes mated to a 6-speed gearbox.
It is Honda ingenuity, supporting your racing pleasure, for the joy of evolution. Finally, India enters a new era with the all-new NSF250R making its presence in the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship 2019.
The credit should undoubtedly go to two men, who with passion and committment for motorsport are making a difference in the Indian Motorsports scene. Three cheers to the dedicated duo of Prabhu Nagaraj of Honda Racing Corporation, India and Sirish Vissa of Volkswagen Motorsport India.
May their tribe increase!
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Deepak Ravikumar leads 1-2 for TVS Racing in Pro-Stock 301-400cc class; Rajiv Sethu tops 165cc
The 14-year old Md Mikail, winner of the inaugural Honda NSF 250 race at MMRT on Saturday. Photo by Anand Philar Chennai, 6 July 2019: Deepak Ravikumar led a 1-2 finish for TVS Racing in the premium Pro-Stock 301-400cc class, while Rajiv Sethu, fresh from an international outing in Japan, scored a thrilling win in the Pro-Stock 165cc category to bring some cheer for Honda in the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the MMRT, here today.
Starting from pole position, Ravikumar held off team-mate KY Ahamed for a commanding win, while Sethu, who missed the first round in Coimbatore last month, fought tooth and nail to beat favourite and pole-sitter Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing), sealing the win in the last lap.
Mathan Kumar (Erula Racing) also chalked up a last-gasp win over Aravind Balakrishnan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) in the Pro-Stock 200-300cc class that was run on a combined grid with the 301-400cc category while Bengaluru’s Abhimanyu Gautam, starting from third on the 39-rider grid, topped the Stock 165cc (Novice) race which went down to the wire.
Earlier, 14-year old from Chennai, Md Mikail underlined his potential by comfortably winning the inaugural race in the newly-introduced Honda NSF 250R category of the Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup One-Make championship. Varun Sadasivam, also from Chennai, came in second ahead of another 14-year old local schoolboy Kavin Samaar Quintal.
Ravikumar, starting from pole, gradually increased his lead over Ahamed and had plenty to spare at the finish. Amarnath Menon, who too sat out the first round last month, finished third in his debut race for Team Alisha Abdullah.
The win was some consolation for Ravikumar who lost a third place battle in the Pro-Stock 165cc race to Bengaluru’s Yashas RL (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) behind Sethu and Jagan after some of the front-runners lost track position due to issues with their bikes.
Reflecting on his win, Sethu said: “I had problems with the grip levels, and I thought I might go off. But I used my experience to stay behind Jagan and eventually passed him on the penultimate lap at the Bridge Complex left-hander. It was a tough race and I had to fight all the way to win.”
Jagan, a seven-times National champion in the erstwhile Super Sport 165cc class, said: “I did my very best today and was on the limit, but just couldn’t hold back Rajiv. The bike was fine and there were no issues. Today, this was the best I could do.”
The results (Provisional – all Six laps unless mentioned):
National Championship:
Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race 1): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) (11mins, 41.479secs); 2. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (11:47.446); 3. Amarnath Menon (Team Alisha Abdullah) (11:48.814).
Pro-Stock 200-300cc (Race 1): 1. Mathan Kumar (Erula Racing) (12:11.742); 2. Aravind Balakrishnan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:11.774); 3. Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:34.687).
Pro-Stock 165cc (Race 1): 1. Rajiv Sethi (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (11:59.724); 2. K Jagan (TVS Racing) (11:59.820); 3. Yashas RL (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:11.089).
Novice – Stock 165cc (Race 1): 1. Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) (13:08.136); 2. Venkatesan I (Team Motomania) (13:08.647); 3. Lokesh V (Team Speedup Racing) (13:09.568).
One-Make Championship:
Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup – Honda NSF 250R (Race 1): 1. Md Mikail (Chennai) (11:14.583); 2. Varoon Sadasivam (Chennai) (11:16.963); 3. Kavin Samaar Quintal (Chennai) (11:18.128). Honda CBR 150 (Race 1): 1. Samuel Martin (Bengaluru) (13:18.183); 2. Lalrinzuala Tlau (Aizwal) (13:18.604); 3. Lal Nunsanga (Aizwal) (13:18.754).
TVS Open (Apache RTR 310, Race 1): 1. Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (11:58.964); 2. Sivanesan Sethu (Chennai) (12:10.737); 3. Arun Muthukrishnan (Chennai) (12:13.757). Novice (Apache RTR 200, Race 1): 1. Venkatesan (Chennai) (13:16.007); 2. Manoj Y (Chennai) (13:16.163); 3. Annish Samson (Bengaluru) (13:24.783). Girls (Apache RTR 200) (5 laps): 1. Nivetha Jessica (Chennai) (11:27.421); 2. Lakiya Lee (Chennai) (12:02.771); 3. Sayali Pawar (Mumbai) (12:10.872).
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Historic day at MMRT as Moto3-spec Honda NSF 250R bikes up the ante
Md Mikail, the fastest rider on the track, who qualified for pole position in the Moto3-spec Honda NSF 250R class in Chennai on Friday. Photo by Anand Philar Chennai, 5 July 2019: Madras Motor Race Track saw another historic day in the Indian Motorsport as FIM Moto3-spec bikes made their debut in India. The second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2019 was off to a roaring start at the MMRT here on Friday with the FIM Moto3-spec Honda NSF 250R bikes, participating in the Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup, raising the standard bar in a stunning fashion during the qualifying sessions.
The top-five qualifiers in the NSF 250R were quicker than TVS Racing’s Deepak Ravikumar who took the pole position in the premium Pro-Stock 301-400cc class, with a best lap of one minute, 54.298secs. As against this, Chennai lad Md Mikail, only 14 years old, topped the NSF 250R qualifying clocking 01:48.889, with fifth placed Kavin Samaar Quintal posting a best of 01:53.111.
Also grabbing pole positions in their respective categories were Mathan Kumar of Erula Racing in the Pro-Stock 201-300cc (01:59.786), Bengaluru’s Samuel Martin (02:11.964) in the Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup CBR 150 and Venkatesan from Chennai (02:10.859) in the TVS RTR 200 (Novice). Venkatesan (02:09.660) also took pole position in the Novice (Stock 165cc) class while Ann Jennifer of Sparks Racing topped in the Girls (02:12.289) category.
Undoubtedly, the Honda NSF 250R bikes came under considerable scrutiny in their debut outing in India, and they exceeded expectations with all their eight riders, in the age-group of 12 to 18 years, putting in impressive performances.
Not the least was Sarthak Shrikant Chavan, the 12-year old schoolboy from Pune who qualified eighth in the NSF 250R class, with a flying lap of 02:01.753. It was his maiden outing in track racing after having won a junior motocross event recently.
While the timings from Free Practice dropped noticeably in the qualifying sessions, Mikail, who raced in Thailand recently along with Karthik Vasant Habib from Gadag, Karnataka, improved by nearly three seconds to take the pole position. Habib qualified second in 01:51.091, ahead of Chennai boys Varoon Sadasivam (01:52.435) and Geoffrey Emmanuel (01:52.801).
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Honda to debut Moto3-spec NSF 250R in the MRF MMSC fmsci Bike Nationals
Action in the Bike Nationals at MMRT. File photo by Anand Philar Chennai, 4 July 2019: Expectations and excitement are on a high as the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2019 commence here at the MMRT on Friday with focus on one of country’s leading two-wheeler manufacturer Honda, who are set to introduce the FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R.
While the NSF 250R besides the CBR 150, which is part of the Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup, a one-make championship organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club is bound to create a buzz, the attention will be as much on the National Championship races, including the two premium Pro-Stock categories, the 301-400cc and the 165cc. Also in the mix are the two Novice classes, Girls and Stock 165cc, that have been as competitive as the other categories.
Completing the card this weekend will be TVS Racing’s One-Make Championship in two categories, the Open (TVS Apache RTR 310), and Novice and Girls (TVS Apache RTR 200). Races in all these categories witnessed extremely close competition in the first round at Coimbatore last month and likely to be no different this weekend.
As in the first round at Coimbatore last month, the number of entries has exceeded 150 with some 15 teams, a record for the National Championship in itself, supporting the riders. Both the Pro-Stock categories will be run on slick tyres provided by the title sponsors MRF Tyres.
In a bid to fast-track their programme to identify and nurture talent that could break into the international arena, Honda have put an age-cap of 19 for the CBR 150 category while the NSF 250R bikes would be ridden by hand-picked riders who have undergone extensive training.
TVS have also been on pace in their talent quest, especially in the Girls category where the riders, following a pan-India selection process, have been shortlisted from 33 entrants to 16 who make up the race grid.
The weekend card has a total of 16 races spread over Saturday and Sunday with qualifying sessions scheduled for Friday.
