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Category: Non-F1
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Rajiv Sethu, Jagan Kumar locked in title fight: Final round of MMSC Motorcycle Nationals
Jagan Kumar file photo by Anand Philar Chennai, 27 Sept 2017: The MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2017 is set for a grandstand finish in view of the intense battles for titles as the fifth and concluding round kick-starts at the MMRT track here this weekend with nearly 200 entrants in fray.
In one of the most closely-fought championships in recent times, the Super Sport Indian (165cc) class will headline the programme which commences on Thursday with the practice sessions, followed by qualifying and 15 races that include One-Make championships involving country’s top manufacturers Honda, TVS and Yamaha, spread over the next three days.
The weekend bash will conclude with the fourth and final round of the MMSC fmsci Indian National Drag Racing Championship for two-wheelers at the same venue with practice session on Saturday afternoon and final runs on Sunday.
The participants will enjoy the comforts of swanky, international standard pits which the Madras Motor Sports Club worked overtime to finish in time for last weekend’s Asia Road Racing Championship.
But much of the focus will be on the track battles. The Super Sport Indian (165cc) promises to be another shootout between Honda Ten10 Racing’s Rajiv Sethu and defending champion Jagan Kumar of TVS Racing who is seeking a hat-trick of titles.
Sethu, in his debut season in this class after clinching the Pro-Stock championship last year, leads the table with 123 points, including three wins, while Jagan, who won four of the eight races thus far, is placed second on 122.
Lurking behind the duo is Sethu’s team-mate Mathana Kumar on 109 points and who came into the reckoning after scoring his only win of the season in the third round besides three other podium finishes. A disappointing Round 4 saw him slip one spot to third on the leaderboard.
In the Pro-Stock class, Aravind Balakrishnan (Honda Ten10 Racing) is well-placed on 126 points ahead of Moto-Rev’s Aravind Ganesh (105) who though without a win, has been scoring consistently to be in the hunt.
Similarly, Amarnath Menon (Gusto Racing) enjoys a healthy 39-point cushion in the Super Sport Indian (300-400cc) class, but needs to keep an eye on Deepak Ravi Kumar (Moto-Rev) who scored a double in the previous round to put himself in title contention.
The Novice (Stock 165cc) category is set for a close finish. Sri Rahil Pillarishetty of Sparks Racing leads with 61 points with team-mate Peddu Sriharsha and RACR’s Anup Kumar tied in second spot with 50 apiece. A further six points adrift of the trio is another Sparks Racing rider Satyanarayana Raju.
The final race in the Girls (Stock 165cc) category will be of academic interest as Bengaluru’s Aishwarya Pissay (Apex Racing) has already sealed the championship with a round to spare as she leads Indore’s Kalyani Potekar (Speed Up Racing) by 34 points with a maximum of 25 available.
About Madras Motor Sports Club
The Madras Motor Sports Club has been the pioneer in developing and promoting motorsport in India since 1953, and we look to further improve in the years to come. It is the club’s endeavor to provide more opportunities for competitors and to this end, it has chalked out a progressive program for 2017. From the days of Sholavaram , MMSC built its own racetrack which was inaugurated in 1979 and secured its FIA Grade-2 international certification in 2015, making it the only club which owns such a facility. The club has organised the Porsche Super Cup, Formula Campos, Formula Asia, Asian touring car championships, Formula 3, Tata Prima Truck racing championship, the Asian 2-wheeler racing championships besides a host of other motorsport events over the years. The club also has active participation for its events from vehicle manufacturers who also use the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) extensively for testing their products.
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Gill-Sherif duo wins; Kadur, Ghosh crash out: INRC
Jaipur, 24 Sep. 2017: Speed demon Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif asserted their supremacy in the MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2017, comfortably winning the third round here on Sunday.The ace duo were fastest in four out of the six special stages and clocked 57 minutes, 23.5 seconds to claim Round 3 of the six-round national championship and won the event with rivals Karna Kadur and Amittrajit Ghosh crashing out.
Gill and Sherif began the march for Team Mahindra Adventure late on Saturday, conquering the championship’s first night stage with élan. They took barely 13:21.1 minutes to complete the 13.9 kilometre Night Hawk stage, zipping through the sharp turns and undulating curves in the dark with ease.
The pair, however, suffered issues in SS 2, the tricky Shiv Shakti 1, taking 6:49.1 long minutes to finish fifth in the stage, yielding the lead to defending champion Karna Kadur of Arka Motorports (6:01.5) and his own teammate Amittrajit Ghosh (6:12.1) for the first time this year.
“I suffered in the second stage as I couldn’t avoid a rock and picked up a puncture,” Gill said, about his that stage.
“But I am glad I came through. This is one of the toughest rallies and the night stage has really got us all excited,” he added.
Karna and Amittrajit’s joy was, however, short-lived. Gill was back in his elements in SS 3, the Flying Machine stage, taking an astounding 12:09.5 minutes to crack the 13.8 kilometres to reclaim the rally lead.
Gill in his XUV was beyond anybody’s reach in the next two stages too, driving in his typically aggressive manner. He needed just 5:55.4 minutes to complete SS 4 and widen his lead. Karna and Amittrajit kept pace till that stage but then disaster struck both of them.
Karna’s car broke down in SS 5 and he tumbled out of contention. Amittrajit too faced a mechanical problem and managed to clock only 18:16.9 minutes, nearly five and half minutes behind Gill to slip to the sixth position. He made up time quite dramatically in the final stage but couldn’t do enough to get on to the podium.
The twin setbacks opened the path for Dean Mascarenhas’ INRC 3 team and Rahul Kanthraj’s INRC 2 outfit to jump into contention.
Mascarenhas and his co-driver Shruptha Padival, in their VW Polo, had an impressive stage to climb all the way to the second position. They hung on to the godsend doggedly, despite being pushed to the fourth place in SS 7.
Kanthraj and navigator Vivek Bhatt stunned the field by winning the final stage, the SS 7, although Gill went easy after being assured of winning the round. That ensured them the third place on the podium.
One stage, the SS 6, had to be cancelled due to an emergency in the village that required the rally to be stopped to let an ambulance with a lady in labour rush to the hospital.
Results: INRC: 1. Gaurav Gill & Musa Sharif (57:23.5); 2. Dean Mascarenhas & Shruptha Padival (1:00:03.1); 3. Rahul Kanthraj & Vivek Y Bhatt (1:02:31.3).
INRC 2: 1. Rahul Kanthraj & Vivek Y Bhatt (1:02:31.3); 2. Younus Ilyas & Harish Kumar (1:20:22.4); 3. Jacob KJ & Manoj Mohanan (1:27:58.5).
INRC 3: Dean Mascarenhas & Shruptha Padival (1:00:03.1); 2. Saddam Ali Saikh & Abhijeet Singh (1:03:07.0); 3. Daraius Shroff & Nitin Jacob (1:03:33.0).
FMSCI 2WD Cup: 1. Chetan Shivram & Rupesh Koley (1:04:11.7); 2. Suraj Thomas & Thomas Paul (1:06:40.0); 3. Sachin Sharma & Sagar Malappa (1:09:53.7).
4WD Open: 1. S. Yadav & V. Kashyap (1:00:57.4); 2. Himangshu Arora & Kunal Kashyap (1:05:25.1); 3. Sanjay Razdan & Karan Aukta (1:07:07.0).
2WD Open: Lakshya Veer Dabbas & Aakshay Suhhag (time not available).
eom/An RRPM press release
About RRPM: Ramakrishna Race Performance Management Pvt. Ltd.(RRPM) is a company formed with the sole intention of promoting “Professional Motorsports” in India and provides all kinds of technical assistance and information required to be at par with the National Level.
RRPM was started in 2003 by Mr Arindam Ghosh, an icon in his own rights with over 40 years rallying and organizational experience. RRPM is proud to be a part of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), which is the apex body of India.
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Aaroh Ravindra extends championship lead by a point: Meco Karting Nationals
Bengaluru, 24 Sept. 2017: Rayo Racing’s Aaroh Ravindra extended his championship lead by a mere 1 point at the end of Round 4 of the Meco FMSCI National Rotax Karting Championship. The Mumbai lad kept a cool head and finished both the pre – finals and finals in 2nd position.
Earlier in the weekend, it was Bangalore racer Nirmal Umashankar from M Sport Racing who bagged pole position with a time of 54.864 ahead of Manav Sharma of BPC Racing. Aaroh could only manage third.
Heat 1 and 2 saw Nirmal win ahead of Aaroh and Manav. This ensured that Nirmal started on Pole for the Pre-finals. As the green flag was waved, Nirmal got a good start and managed to block Aaroh, who in turn managed to block of Manav. The three racers fought throughout the 18 lap pre-final, but neither racer was able to make a move and the trio finished in the same order. The immensely close finish saw the top three cross the finish line within 0.7 seconds!
The 20 lap final looked as though it would finish in a similar fashion, when the top three started in the same order. The trio quickly pulled away from the rest of the pack and once again none of the racers seemed to be able to mount a challenge in spite of being within the same second. On lap 15, Aaroh made a move on Nirmal into the U bend. However, he was unsuccessful and immediately paid the price as Manav seized second from Aaroh. Soon, Manav made a move for the lead and succeeded in holding position. Aaroh once again made a move on Nirmal and this time was able to make it stick. He soon went after Manav, but was unable to make a move by the chequered flag. Manav hence won his first race of the season, while Aaroh’s second place meant it was the first time this season he has not won the final. Nirmal sealed the third spot, in another extremely close finish that saw the top three within a second. Aaroh’s charge in the last few laps also saw him bag the fastest lap of the race and increase his overall lead in the National Championship by an additional point.
The Junior Category too, witnessed close racing for the top 2 spots. Yash Aradhya of M Sport Racing started on pole in the final ahead of his team mates Sai Sanjay T and Shahan Ali Mohsin. A small mistake by Yash allowed his team mate to overtake and eventually it was Shahan who won ahead of Yash and Chirag Ghorpade from BPC Racing.
The Micro Max Category saw Yashas More start on pole and win the final ahead of his Birel Art team mates, Rishon MR and Arjun Rajiv.
“Although I was fast through the weekend, Nirmal seemed to be just a bit faster than me. Each and every race had all three of us finish extremely close. I wish I could have made my first move stick, in the finals, but second is not bad, although it would have been better to win. I must thank the team for the excellent setup that I had in the final and I am grateful to all my sponsors” said Aaroh after the race.
eom/press release
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Unexpected twist to SS600cc: Asia Road Racing
The 2017 title chase in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship underwent another drastic change late in the season as the Madras Motor Race Track, host to Round 5, brought an unexpected twist in the championship story. In the SuperSports 600cc class, Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi reignited his title hopes with a convincing victory at the 3.7km circuit.
The MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda Racing rider started the race second on the grid, behind surprise pole sitter Keminth Kubo of team Yamaha Racing. However, Zaqhwan’s depth of experience clearly showed at the start of the race. The Malaysian easily brushed aside his younger competitor and nipped into the holeshot with Taiga Hada and Kubo hot on his heels.
But the Malaysian rider was unfazed by the competition behind him. Despite track temperatures soaring up to 63 degrees, Zaqhwan looked cool and comfortable as he controlled the race pace at the front of the group.
Behind him, Taiga Hada opted for a safe strategy, preferring to follow Zaqhwan around the track as opposed to an all-out 16-lap battle. Hada’s decision to play it safe almost cost him the second place when Yuki Ito came storming in from third position. The last-lap tussle between the two Japanese riders allowed Zaqhwan to run away at the front.
Zaqhwan picked up his second win of the season with 27’20.721s. Hada successfully defended his second place with 27’21.347, and kept Ito in third place with 27’21.710s.
Behind the winning trio, championship leader Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman showed amazing drive and determination to finish the race. He was injured after a bad high side at the tail end of Friday’s third free practice session. Off-form, Azlan qualified 15th on the grid. He gritted his way through the entire race and limped home with a very creditable tenth place.
The Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing rider picked up enough points to stay in the lead. He holds 124 points while Zaqhwan and Hada are level in second overall with 118 points. However, Azlan’s injury is not expected to recover overnight. Therefore, a new championship leader is expected to emerge from Race 2 on Sunday.
In the Asia Production 250cc category, Gerry Salim was expected to seal the title in the first race. Uncharacteristically, the Indonesian ace crashed twice during the warm-up lap. The incidents left Gerry out of Race 1. In the absence of the dominating Indonesian rider, Tomoyoshi Koyama picked up his first AP250 win with a time of 22’07.059s. It was not an easy win for Koyama. He was pressured all the way by Thai rider Anupab Sarmoon who eventually finished second. Yamaha Racing Indonesia’s Galang Hendra Pratama crossed the finish line in third place.
Finally, in the Underbone 150cc category, Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam picked up his third win of the season at the Indian leg of the championship. The SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing Team rider executed a well thought-out strategy throughout the 10-lap race. He clocked 19’14.180s as the race winner, followed by Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues in second place with 19’14.358s. Azroy Hakeem Anuar made it an all-Malaysian podium, finishing third with 19’14.432s.
RACE 1 RD5 ARRC RESULTS:SUPERSPORTS 600cc
1 Md Zaqhwan Zaidi (MAS) MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda Racing 27:20.721s
2 Taiga Hada (JPN) RAMA Honda by NTS T.Pro Ten 10 27:21.347s
3 Yuki Ito (JPN) Yamaha Racing 27:21.710s
4 Teppei Nagoe (JPN) MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda Racing 27:25.948s
5 Ratthapong Wilairot (THA) AP Honda Racing Thailand 27:28.595sOverall Standings
1 Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (MAS) Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing 124pts2 Md Zaqhwan Zaidi (MAS) MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda Racing 118pts
3 Taiga Hada (JPN) RAMA Honda by NTS T.Pro Ten 10 118pts
4 Yuki Ito (JPN) Yamaha Racing 109pts
5 Ahmad Yudhistira (INA) Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing 103ptsASIA PRODUCTION 250cc
1 Tomoyoshi Koyama (JPN) RAMA Honda 22:07.059s
2 Anupab Sarmoon (THA) YAMAHA Thailand Racing TEAM 22:07.176s
3 Galang Hendra Pratama (INA) Yamaha Racing Indonesia 22:11.328s
4 Muklada Sarapuech (THA) AP Honda Racing Thailand 22:14.526s
5 Reynaldo Chrisantho Ratukore (INA) Yamaha Racing Indonesia Yamaha 22:14.801sOverall Standings
1 Gerry Salim (INA) Astra Honda Racing Team 175pts
2 Anupab Sarmoon (THA) YAMAHA Thailand Racing TEAM 135pts
3 Tomoyoshi Koyama (JPN) RAMA Honda 127pts
4 Takehiro Yamamoto (JPN) SIDRAP HONDA IKAZUCHI Racing Team 120pts
5 Rheza Danica Ahrens (INA) Astra Honda Racing Team 115ptsUNDERBONE 150cc
1 Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam (MAS) SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing Team 19:14.180s
2 Md Haziq Md Fairues (MAS) UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor 19:14.358s
3 Azroy Hakeem Anuar (MAS) Yuzy Honda Vietnam Racing Team 19:14.432s
4 Md. Akid Aziz (MAS) UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor 19:14.543s
5 Anggi Setiawan (INA) Yamaha Yamalube KYT TJM RACETECH Racing Team 19:14.848sOverall Standings
1 Md Akid Aziz (MAS) UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor 144pts
2 Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (INA) Yamaha Racing Indonesia 120pts
3 Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam (MAS) SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing Team 102pts
4 Md Haziq Md Fairues (MAS) UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor 100pts
5 Md Izzat Zaidi (MAS) RCB KAGE Motobatt Yamaha YY Pang Racing Team 100ptseom/TW
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Thai star Decha Kraisart scorches track for new record: Asia Road Racing
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Decha Kraisart (No.24), quickest in the SuperSports 600cc class on Sept 22. Image by Anand Philar Indian riders improve timings
Chennai, 22 September, 2017: The high-pitched whine of the SuperSports 600cc bikes reverberated through the MMRT track with as many as nine riders ducking under the lap record here on Friday as the fifth round of the Asia Road Racing Championship, being hosted by the Madras Motor Sports Club, got off the blocks in style.
Veteran Thailand star Decha Kraisart (Yamaha) clocked a sizzling one minute, 41.305 seconds around the 3.717 Kms track in the third Free Practice session late in the afternoon, bettering the previous best of 01:42.787 set by Kawasaki rider from Malaysia Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman who is also the current championship leader.
The 600cc riders improved their timings through the three practice sessions before Kraisart led a bunch of nine who broke Kamaruzaman’s record (01:42.785) set in 2013 when the event was last run at this venue. Karmaruzaman (01:41.801) himself was third quickest in FP-3 behind compatriot Md Zaqhwan Zaidi (Honda, 01:41.501).
Trailing the front-runners was the lone Indian entrant in this class, Shank Sarath Kumar who was about three seconds off the pace, but like other riders, improved his timings through the day.
The other Indian, 18-year old Rajiv Sethu, taking part in the Asia Production 250cc class, was also off the pace, but improved his timing by nearly seven seconds over three practice sessions.
Indian wild card entry in the Underbone 150cc class, Prabhu Arungagiri qualified 14th on the grid dominated by Malaysian riders.
The final round of the two MMSC One-Make Championships (Open class), Honda CBR 250 and TVS Apache 200, also got underway with one practice session apiece.
Ranchi’s Amit Richard Topno (Pro-Lap Racing), currently lying fifth in the championship, was quickest in the Honda CBR 250 category while leader Rajiv Sethu sat out the practice session while Prabhu V topped the TVS Apache class ahead of Sivanesan S who has already clinched the title, and was the third quickest behind Anand Kumar S.
eom/press release
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Arya Singh, Anindith Reddy emerge champions: MMSC National racing
Chennai, 16 Sept 2017: On a day of twists and turns, Kolkata schoolboy Arya Singh (Formula LGB 1300) and Hyderabad’s Anindith Reddy (MRF F1600) emerged champions even as the battles for titles intensified in the other classes in the fifth and concluding round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship at the MMRT track here on Saturday.
In the MRF F1600, championship leader Anindith Reddy from Hyderabad sealed the title which will earn him ticket to the Mazda Road to Indy shootout in the United States later this year. Despite a non-finish following a collision that took the rear wing of his car, Anindith was well placed with a lead of 32 points over today’s winner Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) with two more races to be run on Sunday and a maximum of 25 points at stake.
For Arya Singh, it was a great weekend as he clinched both the National and Rookie crowns in the Formula LGB 1300 class. “I am extremely happy to win both National and Rookie titles. Today, I didn’t have the pace to win the races outright, but otherwise, it has been a great weekend for me,” said an elated Arya Singh who today won one race and was second in the other.
The biggest shocker of the day came in the premier Indian Touring Cars class where defending champion Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) from Coimbatore won the race after running third for the major part of the eight-lapper.
Championship leader and pole-sitter Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) from Bengaluru who led for six laps and looked set to win, suffered a brake failure to eventually finish seventh.
Narendran’s team-mate Ashish Ramaswamy, also from Bengaluru, who had taken over the lead, made a mistake in the last lap. It allowed Narendran to pass him to win the race.
“I had handling issues with my car and there was no way I could have caught Deepak. But after he spun twice, I moved to second and then passed Ashish in the last lap. I am leading Deepak by 12 points with the last race to be run tomorrow. Fingers crossed!” said Narendran who moved to 169 points to Deepak Paul’s 157 following his fourth win of the season.
Having dominated the Free Practice sessions as well as Qualifying yesterday with the fastest lap times, Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Mumbai) scored his second win of the season in the Volkswagen Ameo Cup ahead of guest racer from China Anning Sun and Sandeep Kumar, but still trails championship leader Karminder Singh (Delhi) by 92 points.
The results (Provisional):
Indian Touring Cars (8 laps): 1. Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) (15 mins, 24.752 sec); 2. Ashish Ramaswamy (Red Rooster Performance) (15:25.263); 3. D Vidya Prakash (Prime Racing) (15:38.322).
Formula LGB 1300 (National) – Race 1 (7 laps): 1. Arya Singh (DTS Racing) (13:19.668); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Wallace Sports) (13:24.332); 3. Yash Aradhya (Momentum Motorsport) (13:25.309). Rookie Cup: 1.Arya Singh; 2. Yash Aradhya (Momentum Motorsports); 3. Nabil Hussain (DTS Racing) (13:29.076).
Race 2 (National, 8 laps): 1. Yash Aradhya (Momentum Motorsport) (14:57.852); 2. Arya Singh (DTS Racing) (15:06.503); 3. Rupesh Sivakumar (DTS Racing) (15:08.230). Rookie Cup: 1. Yash Aradhya; 2. Arya Singh; 3. Aanjan Patodia (Momentum Motorsport) (15:19.441).
Indian Junior Touring Cars – Race 1 (8 laps): 1. Kamlesh Parmar (Team N1) (17:11.214); 2. Mikhail Merchant (Team Game Over) (17:14.275); 3. Hisham EKP (DTS Racing) (17:23.706).
Super Stock – Race 1 (8 laps): 1. RP Rajarajan (Performance Racing) (16:24.531); 2. Varun V Anekar (Race Concepts) (16:25.977); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Quickshift Racing) (16:51.969).
Esteem Cup (Race 2) (8 laps): 1. Narendran Sankaran (Rad Racing) (16:06.645); 2. Anant Pithawalla (Team N1) (16:07.509); 3. Vinod S (Team N1) (16:28.953).
Volkswagen Ameo Cup – Race 1 (8 laps): 1. Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Mumbai) (18:07.383); 2.Anning Sun (Shanghai) (18:08.130); 3. A Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (18:11.152).
About Madras Motor Sports Club
The Madras Motor Sports Club has been the pioneer in developing and promoting motorsport in India since 1953, and we look to further improve in the years to come. It is the club’s endeavor to provide more opportunities for competitors and to this end, it has chalked out a progressive program for 2016. From the days of Sholavaram , MMSC built its own racetrack which was inaugurated in 1979 and secured its FIA Grade-2 international certification in 2015, making it the only club which owns such a facility. The club has organised the Porsche Super Cup, Formula Campos, Formula Asia, Asian touring car championships, Formula 3, Tata Prima Truck racing championship, the Asian 2-wheeler racing championships besides a host of other motorsport events over the years. The club also has active participation for its events from vehicle manufacturers who also use the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) extensively for testing their products.
ends/MMSC/AP Media Communications press release
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Deepak, Narendran to battle it out in ITC class; Anindith leads MRF F1600
Chennai, 14 Sept 2017: Hyderabad’s Anindith Reddy, with six wins in 10 outings, heads the points table in the MRF F1600 Championship with a comfortable 44.5 points lead over Sandeep Kumar from Bengaluru going into the triple-header in the fifth and final round of the MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship 2017 sponsored by MRF, beginning here on Friday.The MRF F1600 which offers the champion a ticket to the Mazda Road To Indy shootout later this year. Besides the Volkswagen Ameo Cup, the third and final round of the MMSC fmsci Indian National Drag Racing Championship will also be run on Saturday (practice) and Sunday (final).
In the premier Indian Touring Cars class, everything points to a straight shootout between championship leader Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) from Bengaluru who is ahead of a late-charging defending champion Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) by just seven points.
While Chinnappa enjoyed a brilliant start to the season with four wins on the trot, Narendran, shuttling between England where he is pursuing higher studies and India for the races, shrugged off a poor start to post three victories in a row to put his campaign back on track. With a maximum of 50 points at stake in this weekend’s double-header, neither can afford to drop points.
The situation is similar in the other three saloon cars categories, the Indian Junior Touring Cars, Super Stock and Esteem Cup, all of which run on a combined grid, and have three races this weekend.
Eight points separate Hisham EKP (DTS Racing) and Kamlesh Parmar (Team N1) in the IJTC, Varun Anekar (Race Concepts) enjoys a 57-point lead over RP Rajaran (Performance Racing) while Anant Pithawalla (Team N1) has a 16-point advantage over Narendran Sankaran (Red Rooster Performance) whose team-mate Sudanand Rajan is a further 16-point adrift in third place.
Kolkata’s Arya Singh (DTS Racing) appears well-poised in both Open and Rookie categories of the Formula LGB 1300 class leading Bengaluru’s Yash Aradhya (Momentum Motorsport) by 31 and 28 points, respectively.
On changes to the championship next season, Chairman of the Meet Vicky Chandhok said: “We decided on combined grids from the next season to make the races more competitive. The spectators would get to see more overtaking on the track.
“The ITC and Volkswagen Ameo Cup cars are almost on par on pace, and that should make for some exciting racing and overtaking when run concurrently. The MRF 1600 and the Formula LGB 1300 will also run on combined grid. We may also combine more classes to give spectators more of what they want plus give drivers new challenges.
“The MMRT has a FIA International license which permits the track to have up to 42 starters and we intend to use that from next year. It’s time for big changes to make it a more exciting spectacle.”
Race Director Manoj Dalal said: “We have 18 new high-definition cameras which will enable us in Race Control to monitor the races even more closely from our screens and take immediate calls on any photo finish, many of which we’ve seen in the recent past or on-track incidents.”
eom/AP Media Comm./MMSC press release
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Karan Kadam wins Round 4: MRF National Supercross
Kolhapur, 23 August 2017: Young TVS rider Karan Kadam of Bengaluru won the best rider title in the fourth round of the MRF National Supercross Championship at the Mohite Racing Academy track near Tamgaon village in Karvir tehsil on Sunday August 20?.
The 17-year-old rider secured 40 points in the fourth round in the ‘A’ group and lifted the best rider title. The fourth round of the M R F national championship was conducted here jointly by the Mohite Racing Academy and Sports Track, Pune, in eight different groups.
The fifth round of the tournament will be held in goa on October 14, and the sixth and final round will be held at Bangalore on December 9.
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Double delight for Anindith, Arjun: FMSCI Racing Nationals
Chennai, 20 Aug 2017: Winning both the races today, Hyderabad’s Anindith Reddy extended his domination in the MRF FF1600 class while Arjun Narendran, the Coimbatore-based defending champion in the Indian Touring Cars category also completed a double as the fourth round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship concluded at the MMRT track on Sunday.With the fifth and concluding round to be run on September 16-17, Reddy, who leads Chennai’s Sandeep Kumar by 29 points, is well placed in the championship whose winner earns a ticket to the Mazda Road To Indy shootout in the United States later this year.
It was smooth sailing for Reddy in both the races today as he put in a flawless performance to destroy the opposition as he more than made up for a disappointing outing on Saturday when he finished fifth after being forced to pit early in the race for repairs on the nose cone.
Similarly, Narendran of Red Rooster Performance, with the two wins this weekend, narrowed the leeway to just seven points after championship leader Bengaluru’s Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) dropped crucial points with a non-finish in Saturday’s first race and third place finish in the next outing today. Narendran won both races virtually unchallenged, after the initial jostling for track positions.
“I had a good weekend. The car felt great, no problems at all. I am happy that my campaign is back on track with the two wins this weekend after the sort of start I had to the season when I failed to score a win in two rounds,” said Narendran.
Mikhail Merchant from Mumbai (Team Game Over) also scored a double in the Indian Junior Touring Cars category as did Bengaluru’s Varun Anekar (Race Concepts) in the Super Stock class.
In the Esteem Cup, Mumbai’s Anant Pithawalla (Team N1) consolidated his position at the top of the leaderboard with three podium finishes on the weekend while Mamallapuram’s Raghul Rangasamy, who won two races in the triple-header, completed a fine double.
Delhi’s Karminder Singh stamped his authority in the Volkswagen Ameo Cup by winning both the races today to enjoy a lead of 104 points going into the concluding round next month when the remaining three races are to be run.
The results (Provisional):
MRF FF1600 – Race 2 (15 laps): 1. Anindith Reddy (Hyderabad) (14: 57.509); 2. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (15: 01.399); 3. Chetan Korada (Chennai) (15:15.305). Race 3 (15 laps): 1. Anindith Reddy (14: 58.193); 2. Sandeep Kumar (14: 58.410); 3. Chetan Korada (15:10.826).
Indian Touring Cars – Race 2 (15 laps): 1.Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) (16:52.608); 2. Ashish Ramaswamy (Red Rooster Performance) (16:58.568); 3. Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) (17: 08.741).
Saloon Cars – Super Stock (Race 2, 12 laps): 1. RP Rajarajan (Performance Racing) (14:30.913); 2. Varun V Anekar (Race Concepts) (14: 31.640); 3. Bala Vijay B (Performance Racing) (14: 49.918). Race 3 (12 laps): 1. Varun V Anekar (14:25.775); 2. RP Rajarajan (14:37.434); 3. Bala Vijay B (14:40.081).
Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race 2, 12 laps): 1. Mikhail Merchant (Team Game Over) (15:27.157); 2. Hisham EKP (DTS Racing) (14:27.335+1 lap); 3. Kamlesh Parmer (Team N1) (14:28.859+1 lap). Race 3 (12 laps): 1. Mikhail Merchant (15:20.098); 2. Hisham EKP (14:17.583+1 lap); 3. Prabu AS (Red Rooster Performance) (14:28.191+1 lap).
Esteem Cup (Race 2, 12 laps): 1. Narendran Sankaran (RAD Racing) (14: 19.391); 2. Sidharth Balakrishnan (Red Rooster Performance) (14: 24.264); 3. Anant Pithawala (Team N1) (14:25.896). Race 3 (12 laps): 1. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) (14:15.558); 2. Anant Pithawalla (Team N1) (14:22.634); 3. Narendran Sankaran (RAD Racing) (14:29.254).
Volkswagen Ameo Cup – Race 2 (15 laps): 1. Karminder Singh (Delhi) (17:05.639); 2. Jeet Jhabakh (Hyderabad) (17:19.305); 3. Dhruv Mohite (Kolhapur) (17:20.487). Race 3 (15 laps): 1. Karminder Singh (17:06.047); 2. Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Mumbai) (17:08.962); 3. Dhruv Mohite (Kolhapur) (17:15.446).
Top honours for Tharani, Jayant in Drag races
Chennai, August 20: Local racer Karthik Tharani, driving the Volkswagen Ameo, and V Jayant in a Maruti Esteem, topped in the Unrestricted and Indian Open categories, respectively, in the third round of the MMSC fmsci Indian Drag Racing Championship at the MMRT track, here on Sunday.
Tharani clocked 14.130 seconds while V Jayant, piloting the Maruti Esteem, was the fastest with a timing of 14.049.
The results (Provisional):
Unrestricted: 1. Karthik Tharani (Volkswagen Ameo) (14.130secs); 2. D Vidyaprakash (Maruti Zen) (14.210); 3. Siddharth Singh Jhala (Maruti Zen) (14.210). Esteem Cup: 1. Fahad Kutty (Team Game Over) (16.394); 2. Imran Majid (Game Over) (16.478).
Indian Open: 1. V Jayant (Maruti Esteem, 14.049); 2. D Vidyaprakash (Maruti Zen, 14.345); 3. Siddharth Singh Jhala (Maruti Zen, 14.760).
Indian Touring Cars: 1. Sivaramakrishnan (Maruti Esteem, 15.845); 2. Tharun Kumar (Maruti Zen, 15.957).
Super Stock: 1. Imran Majid (Game Over, Honda City) (16.410); 2. Swajit (Team N1, Honda City) (16.498); 3. Kashif Kapadia (Game Over) (Honda City) (16.550).
Indian Junior Touring Cars: 1. Kamlesh Parmar (Honda Jazz) (17.718); 2. Imran Majid (Team Game Over, Honda Brio) (18.014); 3. Kashif Kapadia (Game Over, Honda Brio) (18.177).
MMSC Support Races – Pro-Stock (Petrol, Up to 1150cc): Fahad Kutty (Team Game Over) (16.737); 2. Arjun Zaveri (Game Over, Maruti Zen) (16.771); 3. Mohammed Ali (Game Over, Maruti Zen) (17.122). 1151-1650cc: 1. Mikhail Merchant (Team Game Over, Honda City) (16.463); 2. Fahad Kutty (Game Over, Honda City) (16.499); 3. Swajit (Team N1, Honda City) (16.752). Petrol (2051-3060cc combined): 1. V Jayant (Maruti Esteem, 14.613); 2. Kasha Sai (Honda Accord, 17.014); 3. Sanjay Madhavan (Mazda Miata, 18.960).
Pro-Stock (Diesel, 1151-1450cc): 1. Mikhail Merchant (Team Game Over, Ford Figo) (17.995); 2. Uday Nerulkar (Game Over, Hyundai Getz) (18.384); 3. Arjun Zaveri (Team Game Over, Ford Figo) (18.475). 1651-2051cc: 1. Vivek Ramachander (Skoda Laura) (15.010); 2. Rayomand Banajee (Volkswagen Vento) (17.575).
eom/AP Media Comm. release
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Narendran capitalises on Chinnappa mechanical failure: fmsci Nationals
Chennai, 19 August 2017: The expected intense battles in the two premium classes did not materialize as Sandeep Kumar and Arjun Narendran cruised to comfortable victories in the MRF F1600 and the Indian Touring Cars categories, respectively, in the fourth round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship at the MMRT track on Saturday.
In contrast, competition was at its fiercest in other categories. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) topped the saloon car race after an initial blip, while Bengaluru schoolboy Yash Aradhya, only 14, and Pune’s 18-year old engineering student Aanjan Patodia, both of Team Momentum Motorsports, fought tooth and nail to win a race apiece in both the categories (Open and Rookie) of the double-header Formula LGB 1300.
In the other categories of the saloon cars, Bengaluru’s Varun Anekar (Race Concepts) and Hashim EKP (DTS Racing) emerged comfortable winners in the Super Stock and Indian Junior Touring Cars, respectively.
Sourav Bandyopadhyay from Mumbai pulled off a fine win in the Volkswagen Ameo Cup, pushing championship leader Karminder Singh (Delhi) to second place while Sandeep Kumar completed the podium.
The MRF FF1600 race turned out to be disappointing especially after pole-sitter and championship leader Anindith Reddy (Hyderabad) pitted at the end of Lap 1 to repair a damaged nose cone following a contact with Chennai’s Sandeep Kumar at the start of the race.
Reddy, on rejoining the race, finished a lap down in fifth while Sandeep won untroubled leaving Chennai’s Chetan Korada and Kolkata schoolboy Arya Singh to scrap for the other two podium spots.
The spotlight was also on the Indian Touring Cars where Coimbatore-based defending champion Arjun Narendran and Bengaluru’s Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts), the championship leader, were expected to repeat their Round 3 battle which, however, fizzled out. Chinnappa packed up when the timing belt snapped at the end of the first of the 15 laps.
It left the field wide open for Narendran to exploit with his nearest challenger and team-mate Ashish Ramaswamy from Bengaluru struggling with a car bleeding power. With five others too retiring, Narendran cruised home to victory ahead of Ramaswamy. The win, his second in a row, took Narendran (119 points) within striking distance of Chinnappa (136).
The results (Provisional – all 15 laps unless mentioned):
MRF FF1600 (Race 1): 1. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (15mins, 01.880secs); 2. Chetan Korada (Chennai) (15:10.711); 3. Arya Singh (Kolkata) (15:11.709).
Indian Touring Cars – Race 1: 1.Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) (16:50.960); 2. Ashish Ramaswamy (Red Rooster Performance) (17: 02.745); 3. C Raja Ram (Prime Racing) (17:26.277).
Saloon Cars (Race 1) – Esteem: 1. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) (17:49.329); 2. Narendran (RAD Racing) (17: 51.486); 3. Ananth Pithawala (Team N1) (17: 59.385).
Super Stock: 1. Varun V Anekar (Race Concepts) (18:12.176); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Quickshift Racing) (18:33.902); 3. Bala Vijay B (Performance Racing) (18:42.584).
Indian Junior Touring Cars: 1. Hisham EKP (DTS Racing) (18: 15.268); 2. Mikhail Merchant (Team Game Over) (18:27.330); 3. Prabhu AS (Red Rooster Performance) (18:35.509).
Formula LGB 1300 (Race 1, 13 laps) – Open: 1. Yash Aradhya (Momentum Motorsports) (16:14.230); 2. Aanjan Patodia (Momentum Motorsports) (16:14.778); 3. Arya Singh (DTS Racing) (16:16.906). Rookie: 1. Yash Aradhya; 2. Aanjan Patodia; 3. Arya Singh.
Race 2 (Open): Aanjan Patodia (Momentum Motorsports) (16:35.848); 2. Arya Singh (DTS Racing) (16:40.056); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Wallace Sports) (16:48.463). Rookie: 1. Aanjan Patodia; 2. Arya Singh; 3. Yash Aradhya (Momentum Motorsports) (16:48.495).
Volkswagen Ameo Cup (Race 1): 1. Sourav Bandyopadya (Mumbai) (16:05.858); 2.Karminder Singh (Delhi) (16:13.204); 3. A Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (16: 14.485).
eom/AP Media Comm. press release
