Your basket is currently empty!
Blog
-
Harith Noah, the only rider to fly Indian flag at Dakar 2022
Key points:
- Harith Noah of Kerala, the only rider representing India to finish in the top-20 in the Dakar in 2021, is likely to be the only face of India in the DAKAR 2022, with the support of TVS Racing in collaboration with Sherco, the long-standing partners of the Indian two-wheeler manufacturer. The Queen of all cross-country rallies and the toughest rally in the world will start on January 1 and end on 14th in Saudi Arabia.
* The details of the 44th edition of the Dakar, especially the route were unveiled today, at 3.30pm IST (viewable on all the Dakar’s official platforms), held in the presence of many favourites including Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel (cars), Argentinian Kevin Benavides (motorbikes), American Austin Jones (T4/SSV Series) and Russian Dmitry Sotnikov (trucks). The roll call will be in Jeddah, but things will only get serious in Ha’il. Riyadh, the capital, will host the rest day, following which the field will head back towards Jeddah for the finale.
* Following years of discussion to finalise unified regulations, the Dakar will be part of the FIA and FIM World Rally Championships for cross-country rallying. In line with these reforms, A.S.O. has been designated as the promoter of this competition, consisting of five legs in the 2022 season.
* The Dakar’s commitment to the energy transition has also passed a key milestone with the launch of the “Dakar Future” plan: the creation of the T1-Ultimate category for cars running on alternative fuels by the FIA.
* The 430 vehicles in the race and the 148 crews in the second edition of the Dakar Classic will undergo technical and administrative scrutineering in Jeddah on 30 and 31 December.
Jeddah, 28 Nov 2021: The show will get on the road in Jeddah, the port city that welcomed Dakar entrants to Saudi Arabia in 2020 and is set to host the Formula One World Championship on its Corniche Circuit in a week’s time. The prologue will kick off 2022 with a trek to Ha’il, located at the crossroads of the historical trade routes of Saudi Arabia. A 19 km mini-special will spice up the long transfer. The prologue will provide a fleeting glimpse of things to come in the 44th edition: “sand in all shapes and colours“, as David Castera puts it, promising desert aficionados as many dunes as they can take, as well as a hodgepodge of tracks that will tease the minds and knot the stomachs of even the very best navigators. Man and machine alike will have their endurance put to the test over a total distance of more than 8,000 km, in a journey that will take them to the capital in Riyadh before returning to the shores of the Red Sea. The stopwatch will be running for about 4,300 km of specials.
True Dakar veterans and numerous rookies have heeded the call of the sands to make up the largest field in almost a decade, totalling 430 vehicles in the race and another 148 in the Dakar Classic. This fresh momentum coincides with the launch of a new format, as the Dakar is incorporated to the FIA and FIM cross-country world championships, a five-round circuit that will stoke the drama of top-flight competition throughout the season. While the headline event of the year is also the first, those who miss out on the top honours in Jeddah will remain in contention for a prestigious world champion title to be decided in Abu Dhabi in March, Kazakhstan in April, Andalusia in June and Morocco in October. The road to glory for the riders, drivers, co-drivers and constructors who come out on top will also make the scenario easier to grasp for fans, particularly through increased media coverage of rally-raids.
January 2022 also marks the launch of another major challenge with the deployment of the initial phase of the “Dakar Future” plan, which aims to have a field composed entirely of low-emission vehicles by 2030. To kick-start this energy transition, the joint work with FIA to encourage constructors to develop alternative-fuel vehicles has already led to a tangible result in the shape of the creation of the T1-Ultimate (T1.U) category. Four cars will be entering this category in its inaugural edition: Audi with a contingent of three hybrid RS Q e-tron spearheaded by Stéphane Peterhansel; and GCK, which is banking on biofuels, led by Guerlain Chicherit in a preliminary effort before fielding a hydrogen-powered 4×4. Gaussin‘s truck, which will be in Saudi Arabia for demonstration purposes, uses the same technology. The major players of the Dakar have the role of test pilots on the cutting edge of science, excited to do their bit for the development of the vehicles of tomorrow.
-
Sir Frank Williams passes away
The FIA has paid tribute to Formula 1 legend Sir Frank Williams who passed away this morning at the age of 79.
Across a six-decade career in motor sport the founder of the William F1 team won nine FIA Formula One World Championship Constructors’ titles and seven Drivers’ titles, scoring 114 grand prix victories and 128 pole positions along the way.
The news of his death was announced this morning in a statement issued by the Williams team.
“It is with great sadness that on behalf of the Williams family, the team can confirm the death of Sir Frank Williams CBE, Founder and Former Team Principal of Williams Racing, at the age of 79,” Williams said in a statement. “After being admitted into hospital on Friday, Sir Frank, passed away peacefully this morning surrounded by his family.
“Today we pay tribute to our much loved and inspirational figurehead. Frank will be sorely missed. We request that all friends and colleagues respect the Williams family’s wishes for privacy at this time.”
Paying tribute to Sir Frank, FIA President Jean Todt said: “Very sad news. Sir Frank Williams leaves a lasting impression on the history of F1. He was a pioneer, an exceptional personality and an exemplary man. On behalf of the entire FIA Community, our thoughts are with his family, friends and Williams Racing. Rest in peace, my friend.”
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said the sport had lost a “much loved and respected member” of the F1 family.
“He was a true giant of our sport that overcame the most difficult of challenges in life and battled every day to win on and off the track,” Domenicali said. “His incredible achievements and personality will be with etched on our sport forever. My thoughts are with all the Williams family and their friends at this sad time.”
Born in the north east of England in 1942, Frank Williams founded Frank Williams Racing Cars in 1966 and competed in Formula 2 and Formula 3 with a number of promising driver, including Piers Courage. In 1969 the ambitious team boss purchased a Brabham BT26A with which Courage finished second in Monaco and at the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen.
The following year he launched a brief partnership with Alejandro de Tomaso, running Courage in a Giampaolo Dallara-designed chassis but when Courage was killed in a crash at the Dutch Grand Prix Williams’ relationship with de Tomaso foundered. Williams continued to race in F1 with intermittent success in the following years, running drivers such as Tim Schenken, Brian Redman, Henri Pescarolo, Carlos Pace, Jacky Ickx and Jaques Laffite but by 1976 the team was in financial difficulties and when a partnership with Canadian businessman Walter Wolff resulted in a loss of control, Williams left the organisation.
In early 1977 Frank and a young engineer he had hired named Patrick Head established Williams Grand Prix Engineering. The new team made its F1 debut at the 1977 Spanish Grand Prix, with Patrick Neve driving its single car.
Williams’ first F1 victory came just two years later, at the 1979 British Grand Prix , courtesy of Clay Regazzoni and scored five overall that year. Carrying momentum into the following campaign, Alan Jones brought the team its first Drivers’ title in 1980 while Carlos Reutemann helped the team to its first Constrictors’ Crown.
A second team title arrived in 1981, while Keke Rosberg won the 1982 World Championship. In 1983 the team began a new relationship with Honda which would lead to Constructors’ World Championship success in 1986 and 1987, with Nelson Piquet taking the 1987 Drivers’ title.
Tragedy struck in March 1986 when Williams was severely injured in a road crash near the Paul Ricard circuit and was left tetraplegic. Undaunted, he returned to mastermind Williams’ most successful era.
The Williams-Honda team was dominant in 1986 and 1987 with Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell and after Honda departed for McLaren, a new partnership with Renault was even more successful with the team winning World Championships in the early 1990s with Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost.
There was further tragedy in 1994 when Ayrton Senna was killed at Imola but Williams recovered and continued its winning streak with Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve, both of whom became World Champions in 1996 and 1997 respectively.
While the 1997 title remains Williams’ most recent, it continued to win grands prix throughout the first decade of his century and scored its most recent at the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix,
Williams was awarded a CBE for his services to motor racing in 1987 and was knighted in January 1999.
-
Alonso, takes podium after 7 years; Hami takes win
Lewis Hamilton took a dominant victory in the first ever Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix, as title rival Max Verstappen recovered from a grid penalty to finish P2 ahead of Alpine’s Fernando Alonso completing the podium, the Spaniard appearing on the podium after 105 races and seven years.
London, 22 Nov. 2021: There was drama before the start of the race as Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas were handed out grid penalties for ignoring double and single waved yellow flags respectively. Hence, Verstappen started P7 and Bottas started P6. This left Lewis Hamilton on pole alongside Pierre Gasly in P2 and Fernando Alonso in P3. Hamilton was starting on medium tyres compared to the other two, who had soft tyres.
Hamilton got off to a clean start covering Gasly and Alonso, hence, he maintained the lead. Alonso swooped around the outside of Gasly in turn 2 to take P2 in the race. Behind the early leaders, Verstappen had a fast start as he got past Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris and was already on the tail of Gasly. Meanwhile, Bottas who had started P6 was down to P11 due to a poor getaway at the start. Similarly, Sebastian Vettel who started P10, dropped down to P17.
Hamilton extended his lead at the front as Verstappen made his way through the field. First the Dutchman cleared Gasly and then got past Alonso to settle in P2 by lap 5. Hamilton meanwhile led by around 4s. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez who started P11 was up to P6 by lap 11. Bottas was given the hurry up by Toto Wolff to be on Perez’s tail as the Finn was stuck in P11. He managed to clear Yuki Tsunoda and Lance Stroll by lap 10.
Losail Pit stop graphic by Pirelli 21Nov.2021 Hamilton was increasing his lead, now around 7s to Verstappen who in turn was 22s ahead of Alonso, a pit stops worth of gap. Red Bull made duly use of that as they pitted Verstappen at the end of lap 17 for hard tyres. Mercedes covered him as they pitted Hamilton for the same on the next lap, though Hamilton wished to go longer. Gasly was the first person to pit among the top 10, getting rid of the soft tyres on lap 13 for mediums, ensuring that he was on a two-stop strategy.
By the time race reached its halfway distance, Hamilton maintained his lead ahead of Verstappen with now Bottas in third as he was yet to make his first pitstop. Behind him were Perez, Alonso, Gasly, Norris, Esteban Ocon, Stroll and Sainz.
It was bad luck for Bottas as his left front medium tyre got punctured and delaminated on lap 33 as he slid into the gravel before recovering and limping to the pits. This incident reminiscent of the 2020 British Grand Prix. All the teams were on the lookout for their tyre situation after Bottas’ issue.
Verstappen pitted for a second time on lap 41 for medium tyres as Red Bull did not want to risk a puncture like Bottas. Hamilton followed suit the next lap and emerged in the lead. Perez too was pitted for precaution as he dropped down from P3 to P7 with 15s to make up if wanted to get on the podium, currently Alonso running in P3.
Bottas retired on lap 50 due to car damage after his tyre failure. The tyre issues resurfaced as the Williams duo of George Russell and Nicholas Latifi suffered left front tyre failures on lap 50 and lap 52 respectively. Latifi was unable to get to the pits and hence, a virtual safety car was deployed with five laps to go. Verstappen pitted for a set of soft tyres to take the extra fastest lap point during this time.
Hamilton dominated for the second consecutive weekend as he dominated the race with a lights to flag victory and in the process cutting down Verstappen’s championship lead from 14 to 8 points with two races remaining. All Verstappen could do was damage limitation in P2. Alonso had finally achieved his podium after his last one coming seven years prior, helping Alpine go ahead of AlphaTauri in the constructor’s championship. This was helped by the fact that Ocon finished P5. Perez was unable to snatch the podium off Alonso owing to the late Virtual Safety car and had to settle for P4. Aston Martin’s Stroll got one of his best results of the season in P6 ahead of Ferrari duo of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in P7 and P8 respectively. Lando Norris finished in P9 after running in P6 for most of the race. The Briton suffering a left front tyre failure as well, but McLaren pulled him into pits right on time. Vettel completed a double points finish for Aston Martin in P10.
Longest stint PirelliGraphic 21nov21 Gasly missed out on points after starting on the front row as McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo finished behind in P12, his third consecutive scoreless race. Yuki Tsunoda finished in P13 ahead of outgoing Alfa Romeo duo of Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi. Williams’ George Russell finished in P17, sandwiched between Haas cars of Mick Schumacher in P16 and Nikita Mazepin in P18. Two retirees from the race were Nicholas Latifi and Bottas, both victim to the left front tyre failures.
Mercedes for a second race weekend in a row had superior pace to Red Bull and were dominant in the race. Albeit this time in Qatar they did not exhibit the monstrous straight line speed advantage that they had in the previous races. With Bottas having a DNF Mercedes lost some ground in the constructor’s championship while Hamilton cut down Verstappen’s lead. With the wind in Mercedes’ sails, it remains to be seen if they can show the same performance in the last two races of the season. Red Bull lacked overall pace against Mercedes, in qualifying and race. It was not helped by the fact that Perez was knocked out of Q2 and had to start P11. Red Bull have also threatened to protest against Mercedes’ straight-line speed, specifically the rear wing as the Austrian squad thinks there is something illegal with their rival’s car.
Once again AlphaTauri showed the best qualifying pace of any midfield team in the hands of Gasly and both cars making it into Q3. A slower strategy by the team meant they lost out on points and a constructor’s position to Alpine. Alpine looked racy and on pace since arriving in Qatar as they got a podium and a double points finish. They were unchallenged in the race by other midfield teams, especially McLaren and Ferrari as the French squad exhibited superior race pace. Aston Martin achieved a double points finish as well with Stroll having an understated yet solid drive to P6. Vettel lost positions at the start but was able to recover to P10 showing the decent pace of AMR01.
McLaren had arguably the second fastest car in the midfield behind Alpine in Qatar, evident by Norris running in P6 for most of the race before suffering a puncture. He recovered to P9, meanwhile teammate, Ricciardo had a dismal qualifying and was unable to reach points. McLaren yet again lost out to Ferrari in the constructor’s championship. Ferrari too had a disappointing weekend as they suffered pitstop issues with Sainz and Leclerc’s damaged Chassis meant he lacked the pace throughout. They were relieved as McLaren were unable to outscore them in the constructor’s championship.
Both Williams cars fell foul to the tyre issues as their hopes for any points finishes diminished. Alfa Romeo had a dismal qualifying with both cars getting knocked out of Q1. They recovered some positions but were ultimately unable to challenge for points. Both Haas drivers seemed to have grown their confidence in the car but Mazepin suffered a number of reliability issues this weekend and hence, was off the pace.
Saturday Qualifying Results were:
P1: Lewis Hamilton- 44 (Mercedes) P2: Max Verstappen- 33 (Red Bull) P3: Valtteri Bottas- 77 (Mercedes) P4: Pierre Gasly- 10 (AlphaTauri) P5: Fernando Alonso- 14 (Alpine) P6: Lando Norris- 4 (McLaren) P7: Carlos Sainz- 55 (Ferrari) P8: Yuki Tsunoda- 22 (AlphaTauri) P9: Esteban Ocon- 31 (Alpine) P10: Sebastian Vettel- 5 (Aston Martin) P11: Sergio Perez- 11 (Red Bull) P12: Lance Stroll- 18 (Aston Martin) P13: Charles Leclerc- 16 (Ferrari) P14: Daniel Ricciardo- 3 (McLaren) P15: George Russell- 63 (Williams) P16: Kimi Raikkonen- 7 (Alfa Romeo) P17: Nicholas Latifi- 6 (Williams) P18: Antonio Giovinazzi- 99 (Alfa Romeo) P19: Mick Schumacher- 47 (Haas) P20: Nikita Mazepin- 9 (Haas) Note: Verstappen’s fastest Q3 time of 1:21.282 was deleted for a yellow-flag infringement. Bottas and Verstappen penalised 3 and 5 grid places respectively for yellow-flag infringements during qualifying.
-
Aishwarya wins again ahead of Tanika; Podium for Apoorva
By David Bodapati
Chikkamagaluru (Karnataka), 22 Nov. 2021: FIM World Cup Baja champion Aishwarya Pissay won the Ladies Class again in the two-day fourth round of the MRF MOGRIP FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) 2021 for two-wheelers that concluded at the picturesque Coffee Estates on Sunday.
Her main rival, young Tanika Shanbag from Satara, did well to reduce the gap between the champion progressing admirably in every round. Tanika finished second ahead of Apoorva B of Mangaluru. Anam Hashim, who got a podium in the previous round at Puttur, could only finish fourth here.
Aishwarya throttled through with a solid performance in the super special spectator stage on Saturday. The Motor Sports Club of Chikmagalur (MSCC) organises this stage in a private school ground, regularly at the INRC, to attract crowds . Well-versed with the terrain, Aishwarya controlled the pace and consistently made time. She won the rally and clocked a total stage time of 1hr 05min 12.915sec to stand 15th among 45 bikers, including 40 men. The defending champion from Bengaluru continued her strong form finishing well-ahead of competitors and improved from 20th overall in Round 3 to top-15 finish in Round 4.
An excited Aishwarya Pissay says: “It may not be a high-speed rally, like the other rounds, but the beautiful coffee estates’ terrain is technically challenging with plenty of tricky corners. It was fun taming my motorcycle through these demanding stages. My team at TVS Racing has done a commendable job in preparing Apache RTR 200 rally-built bike for this terrain.” Along with the
When queried about her progress, Tanika said: “Yes, I personally feel that I’m getting better every round and I’m happy that I’m improving myself by learning from my past mistakes. I had two wheel spins in two different corners in the Super Special Stage due to the slush. But today, I won two stages and made 20 seconds on the same stage where I lost huge time earlier. It gives me great satisfaction.”
Ladies Class winner Aishwarya Pissay with second placed Tanika Shanbag on her left and Apoorva on her right. TVS tuner of Aishwarya’s bike is on the right. Photo @FB TVS Racing Aishwarya began with a solid win at Hampi and went on to take another facile victory in Round 2 at Bengaluru, where she conquered the slushy terrain and after another win in Puttur, now leads the table in the woman’s category with her fourth consecutive win. Tanika is second on the table standings.
The final two rounds will be held on December 11 and 19 in Coimbatore and Nashik respectively, and the topper will be declared the National champion. With one hand on the trophy, the seven-time National champion supported by IIFL, Scott, Puma India, Sidvin, and GoPro is eyeing bigger cross-country desert rallies after the National championship.
Note: With inputs from a WordsWork Comm. press release. Added Tanika quote and other details.
-
Lewis Hamilton wins ahead of Max Verstappen: Qatar GP
Qatar, 21 Nov 2021: Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton took a dominant Qatar Grand Prix victory to narrow the Drivers’ title gap to Max Versatppen to eight points, as the championship-leading Red Bull driver recovered from a five-place grid penalty to finish second and take the point for fastest lap. Alpine’s Fernando Alonso finished third to score his first podium finish since the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Pole sitter Hamilton got away well at the race start and quickly began to establish a strong lead at the front of the pack. Behind him Verstappen’s recovery from a five-place penalty for failing to heed double yellow flags in Q3 after an incident involved AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was founded on as superb getaway when the lights went out.
Starting seventh behind Mercedes Valtteri Bottas, who had also received a grid drop of three places for a similar offence, Verstappen was quickest out of the blocks at the start, slipping between Bottas and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz as they headed to Turn 1. And after hugging the inside line through the opening corner he found himself in P4 after Turn 2, despite kick up the dust when Alpine’s Fernando Alonso drifted wide as they approached the apex.
He quickly began to close on Gasly, who made his first front-row start after being boosted up the grid by the penalties elsewhere The AlphaTauri man went wide in the final corner as DRS was activated and Max breezed past on the pit straight. And on lap five he made the dame move past Alonso to claim second place, 3.7s behind Hamilton.
Further back, Versatppen’s team-mate Sérgio Pérez was also on the march and after powering past Esteban Ocon on lap nine the Red Bull driver was up to sixth place. Gasly was then passed by the hard-charging Mexican.
Pérez now began to chase down McLaren’s Lando Norris. The McLaren driver’s soft tyres were beginning to faded and the Red Bull man claimed fourth place by easing past the Briton at the start of Lap 18.
Verstappen then made his first visit to the pit lane at the end of lap 17, taking on hard tyres in a 2.2s stop. Mercedes responded on the next lap and after a similar swift switch to Hard tyres he rejoined in the lead, the full length of the pit straight ahead of his Dutch rival.
Pérez made his stop at the end of lap 19 and after taking on hard tyres, he began to once again scythe through the order, making his way back to P5 by lap 28, behind Alonso.
He attacked at the start of the following tour and after feinting right, which caused Alonso to cover aggressively, Pérez dived left and went to the outside of the Alpine through Turn 1. Alonso hung on to his line and the pair went through Turns Two and Three wheel-to-wheel. However, armed with a better exit from Three, Pérez was able to muscle past to take fourth place.
At the front, though, Hamilton was comfortable and holding a seven-second gap to Verstappen at the end of lap 33. Bottas was in trouble though, suffering a puncture on lap 34 He went off track mid-way through the lap and rejoined and that allowed Sergio to close in and sweep past the Mercedes man to claim third place. Bottas made it back to the pit lane but after an 11-second stop for hard tyres and a new nose, the Finn rejoined in P14.
On lap 40, Hamilton was 8.5s ahead of Verstappen, with Pérez some 52.8s behind his team-mate. Alonso now held fourth place ahead of Norris, with the second Alpine of Esteban Ocon in sixth place ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and the Ferrari’s of Sainz and Charles Leclerc. Vettel held 10th place ahead of Gasly who had made a second pit stop.
Verstappen made his second pit stop at the end of lap 41, taking on medium tyres in a superb 2.1s stop. Pérez followed moments later and he too went for mediums, rejoining in P7 with Stroll, Ocon and Norris.
Stroll was despatched swiftly and then the Mexican attacked Ocon at the start of lap 48. He powered past the Frenchman around the outside into Turn 1 and though the Frenchman tried to fight back, resistance was futile and Pérez took P5. He was, however, 15 seconds behind Fernando Alonso with Norris still in the way in P4.
The race then took another turn in the final laps as Norris and both Williams drivers, who were both attempting one-stop races, suffered front-left punctures similar to the one that eventually caused Bottas to retire.
The damage to Norris was not severe and the McLaren driver was able to return to the pits. He dropped to ninth, however, and Pérez was boosted to fourth place, 11 seconds behind Alonso. Williams’ George Russell was next to suffer and when team-mate Nicholas Latifi went off track and his car proved hard to recover, the VSC was deployed.
Perez was just six seconds behind Alonso under the caution but with a single lap of racing left when the track eventually went green again, the Mexican driver was forced to settle for fourth place behind Alonso, who took his first podium finish in seven years.
Ahead Hamilton took the chequered flag to claim his seventh victory of the season. Behind him Verstappen made sure of the extra point on offer by taking on soft tyres for a final tour of 1:23.196. His P2 finish and that extra point mean he is now eight points ahead of Hamilton with two races remaining. In the Constructors’ battle Mercedes now head Red Bull by five points.
Behind the top four, Ocon finished fourth for Alpine – putting them 25 points clear of AlphaTauri in the battle for fifth in the Constructors’ Championship – ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and the Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc. Norris finished ninth and the final point went to Sebastian Vettel in the second Aston.
2021 FIA Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix – Race
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 57 1:24’28.471
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 57 1:24’54.214 25.743
3 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 57 1:25’27.928 59.457
4 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 57 1:25’30.777 1’02.306
5 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 57 1:25’49.041 1’20.570
6 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 57 1:25’49.745 1’21.274
7 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 57 1:25’50.382 1’21.911
8 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 57 1:25’51.597 1’23.126
9 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 56 1:24’29.186 1 lap /0.715
10 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 56 1:24’34.067 1 lap /5.596
11 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 56 1:24’39.660 1 lap /11.189
12 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 56 1:25’02.071 1 lap /33.600
13 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 56 1:25’02.397 1 lap /33.926
14 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 56 1:25’05.206 1 lap /36.735
15 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 56 1:25’29.614 1 lap /1’01.143
16 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 56 1:25’31.192 1 lap /1’02.721
17 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 55 1:24’46.509 2 laps /18.038
18 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 55 1:25’08.856 2 laps /40.385
Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 50 1:15’59.831 Tyre
Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 48 1:12’40.238 Retiremen -
Samuel Jacob claims overall honours in Round 4: INRC2w
Chikkamagaluru, 21 Nov 21: Abdul Wahid Tanveer of TVS Racing Factory Team won the Super Special Stage and thrilled the spectators but it was defending champion Samuel Jacob who re-claimed the Overall victory in the fourth round of the MRF Mogrip FMSCI Indiann National Rally Championship for two-wheelers 2021 here on Sunday.
Watch the TVS video here courtesy Samuel Jacob.
Both Tanveer and Samuel Jacob won their respective classes.
Aishwayra Pissay defeated Tanika Shanbag to take the fourth win of the season from four rounds. Akash Aithal, who ably organised the second and third rounds, returned as a participant and won the Super Sport 400cc astride a KTM Adventure 390 with stock suspension. “The winning saga goes on! Age is just a number,” was the online slogan from the veteran who beat another senior, Venu Ramesh Kumar, the affable rider representative, who had to be content with a second place again on a KTM Duke.
Aman Prabhakar from Nagpur, the current Rally of Himalayan winner, won the Class 1A for foreign bikes beating Asad Khan, the local hero, astride a Suzuki RMX 450z who excelled in the Super Special at his old school in Chikmagalur. Jatin Jain, also from Nagpur, finished third.
Note: Factual errors were corrected on 23 Nov. 2021
CATEGORY WISE PROVISIONAL STAGE TIMINGS
CLASS 1 RANK COMP NO COMPETITOR NAME TEAM VEHICLE CITY SSS SS1 SS2 SS3 SS4 SS5 SS6 SS7 SS8 SS9 TOTAL STAGE TIME LIAISON PENALTY TOTAL RUN TIME 1 1 ABDUL WAHID TANVEER TVS RACING TVS APACHE RTR BENGALURU 02:16.210 06:13.566 07:09.925 06:01.003 06:55.281 05:58.150 06:49.242 05:53.800 06:44.957 – 00:54:02.134 – 00:54:02.134 2 4 NATARAJ R TVS RACING TVS APACHE RTR BENGALURU 02:20.130 06:25.406 07:32.332 06:27.808 07:25.273 06:14.820 07:17.789 06:17.527 07:09.429 – 00:57:10.514 – 00:57:10.514 3 3 GOUTHAM RAO R PRIVATEER TVS APACHE RTR BENGALURU 03:14.957 10:31.636 09:07.101 07:26.990 08:35.675 07:22.390 08:26.058 07:08.828 08:25.867 – 01:10:19.502 – 01:10:19.502 4 2 RAJENDRA R E TVS RACING TVS APACHE RTR HOSUR 02:08.620 21:20.621 06:51.214 06:21.148 DNF – – – – – – – – CLASS 1A RANK COMP NO COMPETITOR NAME TEAM VEHICLE CITY SSS SS1 SS2 SS3 SS4 SS5 SS6 SS7 SS8 SS9 TOTAL STAGE TIME LIAISON PENALTY TOTAL RUN TIME 1 8 AMAN PRABHAKAR PAWDE PRIVATEER KTM EXCF 450 NAGPUR 02:32.430 06:24.664 07:34.417 06:16.285 07:26.527 06:08.234 07:17.292 06:08.453 07:11.980 – 00:57:00.282 – 00:57:00.282 2 6 ASAD KHAN PRIVATEER SUZUKI RMX 450Z CHIKMAGALUR 02:36.080 06:38.589 07:56.636 06:28.832 07:57.019 06:28.062 07:32.242 06:27.292 07:40.562 – 00:59:45.314 – 00:59:45.314 3 7 JATIN JAIN PRIVATEER KTM EXCF 250 NAGPUR 02:44.360 07:06.292 08:11.156 06:51.707 07:52.363 06:44.949 07:59.765 06:45.214 07:49.328 – 01:02:05.134 – 01:02:05.134 4 5 SARATH MOHAN PRIVATEER HUSQVARANA FE 450 MALLAPURAM 02:14.670 06:09.363 06:58.015 06:05.910 07:10.371 06:10.742 07:02.199 DNF – – – – – CLASS 2 RANK COMP NO COMPETITOR NAME TEAM VEHICLE CITY SSS SS1 SS2 SS3 SS4 SS5 SS6 SS7 SS8 SS9 TOTAL STAGE TIME LIAISON PENALTY TOTAL RUN TIME 1 22 AJIN ABRAHAM PRIVATEER HONDA CBR STUNNER 130 CC KERALA 02:53.500 07:03.781 08:15.191 06:56.410 08:15.027 06:41.597 08:09.855 07:17.414 08:05.390 – 01:03:38.165 – 01:03:38.165 2 46 CHALASS K BOSE PRIVATEER HONDA CBR STUNNER 130 CC KOTTAYAM 02:45.835 07:22.316 08:48.578 07:05.449 08:39.167 06:52.250 08:27.406 07:17.414 08:24.847 – 01:05:43.262 – 01:05:43.262 3 23 NITESH G POOJARI PRIVATEER HONDA STUNNER 130 CC MANGALORE 02:57.671 08:15.144 09:08.250 06:55.830 08:51.976 07:02.570 08:21.375 07:17.414 08:19.218 – 01:07:09.448 – 01:07:09.448 4 25 DURGESH J PRIVATEER HONDA CBR STUNNER 130 CC BENGALURU 02:51.210 07:16.750 10:20.117 07:01.156 08:50.402 07:13.648 08:43.320 07:17.414 08:44.652 – 01:08:18.669 – 01:08:18.669 5 24 DILIP RAJ PRIVATEER HONDA CBR STUNNER 130 CC CHIKMAGALUR 02:59.453 07:23.578 08:58.386 07:17.450 08:52.476 07:29.449 09:09.417 07:17.414 08:51.406 – 01:08:19.029 – 01:08:19.029 6 26 RAHUL SHRIYAN PRIVATEER HONDA STUNNER 130 CC MANGALORE 03:00.160 DNF – – – – – – – – – – – 7 27 SRIKANTH MODALA PRIVATEER YAMAHA YBX 125 CHIKMAGALUR 03:15.488 08:04.531 10:15.718 DNF – – – – – – – 00:00:30 – 8 44 PRASHANTH R PRIVATEER HONDA CBR STUNNER 130 CC BENGALURU 03:02.300 08:09.066 09:28.957 08:05.878 09:29.914 08:08.273 22:09.367 DNF – – – – – CLASS 3 RANK COMP NO COMPETITOR NAME TEAM VEHICLE CITY SSS SS1 SS2 SS3 SS4 SS5 SS6 SS7 SS8 SS9 TOTAL STAGE TIME LIAISON PENALTY TOTAL RUN TIME 1 19 PAVAN B K PRIVATEER HERO IMPULSE 150 BENGALURU 03:01.191 06:42.089 07:46.906 06:25.214 07:40.476 06:25.425 07:37.933 07:17.414 07:44.195 – 01:00:40.843 – 01:00:40.843 2 18 SASIKUMAR K PRIVATEER HERO IMPULSE 150 COIMBATORE 02:50.191 06:45.351 08:04.128 06:44.117 07:52.984 06:45.734 07:45.253 06:28.550 08:04.023 – 01:01:20.331 – 01:01:20.331 3 20 ABRAR PASHA PRIVATEER HERO IMPULSE 150 SHIMOGA 02:39.281 06:42.007 08:07.183 06:27.667 07:53.800 06:26.136 08:10.742 07:17.414 08:11.656 – 01:01:55.886 – 01:01:55.886 4 21 ANOOP MANJAPPA PRIVATEER HERO IMPULSE 150 BENGALURU 03:43.585 07:56.402 10:29.332 07:21.300 08:50.980 07:14.828 09:03.339 07:17.414 08:51.812 – 01:10:48.992 – 01:10:48.992 CLASS 4 RANK COMP NO COMPETITOR NAME TEAM VEHICLE CITY SSS SS1 SS2 SS3 SS4 SS5 SS6 SS7 SS8 SS9 TOTAL STAGE TIME LIAISON PENALTY TOTAL RUN TIME 1 9 SAMUEL JACOB TVS RACING TVS APACHE RTR HOSUR 02:14.760 06:03.417 07:03.722 05:54.707 06:52.652 05:59.582 06:52.675 06:00.554 06:54.000 – 00:53:56.069 – 00:53:56.069 2 10 IMRAN PASHA J TVS RACING TVS APACHE RTR MYSURU 02:13.070 06:14.148 06:59.828 06:02.937 06:59.335 06:01.203 07:00.722 06:07.652 07:02.238 – 00:54:41.133 – 00:54:41.133 3 11 SACHIN D TVS RACING TVS APACHE RTR HOSUR 02:14.520 06:16.964 07:19.660 06:11.796 08:00.125 06:26.218 07:29.847 06:21.187 07:24.734 – 00:57:45.051 – 00:57:45.051 4 12 PRABAKARAN S PRIVATEER HERO XPULSE 200 CHIKMAGALUR 03:20.910 08:37.527 24:44.843 09:04.500 11:53.746 09:15.988 14:01.914 07:17.414 12:08.457 – 01:40:25.299 00:01:50 01:42:15.299 CLASS 5 RANK COMP NO COMPETITOR NAME TEAM VEHICLE CITY SSS SS1 SS2 SS3 SS4 SS5 SS6 SS7 SS8 SS9 TOTAL STAGE TIME LIAISON PENALTY TOTAL RUN TIME 1 16 AAKASH AITHAL PRIVATEER KTM ADV 390 PUTTUR 02:38.790 07:58.035 08:50.363 07:18.210 08:26.027 07:19.835 08:26.027 07:17.414 08:31.503 – 01:06:46.204 – 01:06:46.204 2 14 VENU RAMESHKUMAR V PRIVATEER KTM DUKE 390 COIMBATORE 02:47.860 07:36.878 09:07.175 07:17.970 08:51.527 07:12.589 08:24.324 07:03.699 08:35.160 – 01:06:57.182 – 01:06:57.182 3 13 SAJEESH REGHUNATHAN PRIVATEER KTM DUKE 390 BENGALURU 02:58.030 07:29.746 09:09.933 07:10.740 09:01.312 06:53.355 08:11.320 11:14.234 15:02.824 – 01:17:11.494 00:00:20 01:17:31.494 4 15 SRAVAN KUMAR KUTTOOR PRIVATEER KTM ADV 390 HYDERABAD 03:00.080 09:11.796 10:42.039 08:27.340 10:14.453 08:14.308 10:22.593 07:17.414 10:47.722 – 01:18:17.745 00:01:20 01:19:37.745 CLASS 6 RANK COMP NO COMPETITOR NAME TEAM VEHICLE CITY SSS SS1 SS2 SS3 SS4 SS5 SS6 SS7 SS8 SS9 TOTAL STAGE TIME LIAISON PENALTY TOTAL RUN TIME 1 17 MOHAMMED ZAHEER PRIVATEER ROYAL ENFIELD HIMALAYAN 411 CC BENGALURU 02:48.050 07:20.242 09:11.195 07:13.360 08:23.445 07:12.253 08:18.406 06:58.972 08:06.324 – 01:05:32.247 – 01:05:32.247 2 43 NARESH V S PRIVATEER ROYAL ENFIELD HIMALAYAN 411 CC BENGALURU 02:53.650 07:35.339 09:24.953 07:15.500 08:52.382 07:16.320 08:34.437 07:15.968 08:56.011 – 01:08:04.560 – 01:08:04.560 3 48 VIJAY KUMAR M PRIVATEER ROYAL ENFIELD ELECTRA 350 CC CHIKMAGALUR 03:41.113 10:42.347 15:06.062 09:59.042 14:04.011 09:55.144 13:13.562 07:17.414 14:47.562 – 01:38:46.257 00:01:40 01:40:26.257 CLASS 7 RANK COMP NO COMPETITOR NAME TEAM VEHICLE CITY SSS SS1 SS2 SS3 SS4 SS5 SS6 SS7 SS8 SS9 TOTAL STAGE TIME LIAISON PENALTY TOTAL RUN TIME 1 29 KARTHIK N TVS RACING TVS N TORQ BENGALURU 02:30.824 07:08.804 08:20.406 06:58.777 08:33.312 07:04.195 08:29.078 07:17.414 08:50.105 – 01:05:12.915 – 01:05:12.915 2 30 SYED ASIF ALI TVS RACING TVS N TORQ BENGALURU 02:50.773 07:28.761 08:42.394 07:18.871 08:50.367 07:09.507 08:27.917 07:17.414 08:23.960 – 01:06:29.964 – 01:06:29.964 3 28 SHAMIM KHAN TVS RACING TVS N TORQ HOSUR 02:38.894 07:33.710 09:01.542 07:18.746 08:36.660 07:11.164 08:37.320 07:17.414 08:28.867 – 01:06:44.317 – 01:06:44.317 4 45 SUBRAMANYA T PRIVATEER TVS N TORQ BENGALURU 02:47.058 07:30.695 09:17.285 07:19.761 09:39.828 07:25.367 09:09.535 07:17.414 08:58.644 – 01:09:25.587 – 01:09:25.587 CLASS 8 RANK COMP NO COMPETITOR NAME TEAM VEHICLE CITY SSS SS1 SS2 SS3 SS4 SS5 SS6 SS7 SS8 SS9 TOTAL STAGE TIME LIAISON PENALTY TOTAL RUN TIME 1 31 AISHWARYA PISSAY M TVS RACING TVS APACHE RTR BENGALURU 02:34.040 07:13.863 08:20.085 07:08.953 08:09.062 07:11.230 08:07.980 07:08.753 08:06.691 – 01:04:00.657 – 01:04:00.657 2 32 TANIKA SHANBHAG PRIVATEER HERO XPULSE 200 SATARA 02:44.560 07:22.593 10:03.710 07:06.250 09:02.832 07:09.656 09:00.171 07:17.414 08:41.574 – 01:08:28.760 – 01:08:28.760 3 34 APOORVA B PRIVATEER HERO IMPULSE 150 MANGALORE 05:41.968 09:45.289 13:01.628 08:31.179 11:19.632 08:24.804 11:53.527 07:17.414 11:11.535 – 01:27:06.976 00:00:20 01:27:26.976 4 33 ANAM HASHIM PRIVATEER HERO KARMIZ PUNE 03:13.269 09:03.628 12:02.082 08:47.042 18:08.960 09:16.402 14:20.000 07:17.414 13:11.308 – 01:35:20.105 00:00:50 01:36:10.105 SOK RANK COMP NO COMPETITOR NAME TEAM VEHICLE CITY SSS SS1 SS2 SS3 SS4 SS5 SS6 SS7 SS8 SS9 TOTAL STAGE TIME LIAISON PENALTY TOTAL RUN TIME 1 39 ADNAAN AHMED PRIVATEER HERO XPULSE 200 MANGALORE 02:27.535 06:33.046 07:34.074 06:52.820 07:27.230 06:21.820 07:30.257 07:17.414 07:30.218 – 00:59:34.414 – 00:59:34.414 2 42 FRANSIS P V PRIVATEER HERO IMPULSE 150 CHIKMAGALUR 02:28.207 06:35.082 07:54.582 08:14.652 08:46.761 06:39.976 07:58.125 07:17.414 07:46.105 – 01:03:40.904 – 01:03:40.904 3 41 SURAJ N PRIVATEER HERO XPULSE 200 CHIKMAGALUR 02:33.109 06:58.312 08:30.046 07:06.152 08:45.164 07:03.730 08:30.781 07:17.414 08:32.105 – 01:05:16.813 – 01:05:16.813 4 35 PURAB J P PRIVATEER HERO IMPULSE 150 CHIKMAGALUR 02:42.300 07:11.296 08:40.699 07:01.015 08:36.535 07:03.425 08:50.718 07:17.414 08:40.707 – 01:06:04.109 – 01:06:04.109 5 38 NADEEM AHAMED PRIVATEER HERO IMPULSE 150 MYSURU 02:45.058 07:37.101 09:30.421 07:04.421 09:03.082 07:04.863 09:09.574 07:17.414 09:00.394 – 01:08:32.328 – 01:08:32.328 6 36 SARATH P S PRIVATEER HERO XPULSE 200 BENGALURU 03:20.882 10:34.058 15:36.730 10:38.480 15:44.136 10:49.957 14:25.078 07:17.414 14:23.433 – 01:42:50.168 00:01:50 01:44:40.168 7 47 MOHAMMED ISRAR PRIVATEER HERO IMPULSE 150 MYSURU 02:37.840 07:55.390 08:55.898 07:15.738 08:40.976 DNF – – – – – – – OVERALL PROVISIONAL/FINAL RESULTS
RANK COMP NO COMPETITOR NAME TEAM VEHICLE CLASS CITY SSS SS1 SS2 SS3 SS4 SS5 SS6 SS7 SS8 TOTAL STAGE TIME LIAISON PENALTY TOTAL RUN TIME 1 9 SAMUEL JACOB TVS RACING TVS APACHE RTR CLASS 4 HOSUR 02:14.760 06:03.417 07:03.722 05:54.707 06:52.652 05:59.582 06:52.675 06:00.554 06:54.000 00:53:56.069 – 00:53:56.069 2 1 ABDUL WAHID TANVEER TVS RACING TVS APACHE RTR CLASS 1 BENGALURU 02:16.210 06:13.566 07:09.925 06:01.003 06:55.281 05:58.150 06:49.242 05:53.800 06:44.957 00:54:02.134 – 00:54:02.134 3 10 IMRAN PASHA J TVS RACING TVS APACHE RTR CLASS 4 MYSURU 02:13.070 06:14.148 06:59.828 06:02.937 06:59.335 06:01.203 07:00.722 06:07.652 07:02.238 00:54:41.133 – 00:54:41.133 4 8 AMAN PRABHAKAR PAWDE PRIVATEER KTM EXCF 450 CLASS 1A NAGPUR 02:32.430 06:24.664 07:34.417 06:16.285 07:26.527 06:08.234 07:17.292 06:08.453 07:11.980 00:57:00.282 – 00:57:00.282 5 4 NATARAJ R TVS RACING TVS APACHE RTR CLASS 1 BENGALURU 02:20.130 06:25.406 07:32.332 06:27.808 07:25.273 06:14.820 07:17.789 06:17.527 07:09.429 00:57:10.514 – 00:57:10.514 6 11 SACHIN D TVS RACING TVS APACHE RTR CLASS 4 HOSUR 02:14.520 06:16.964 07:19.660 06:11.796 08:00.125 06:26.218 07:29.847 06:21.187 07:24.734 00:57:45.051 – 00:57:45.051 7 39 ADNAAN AHMED PRIVATEER HERO XPULSE 200 SOK MANGALORE 02:27.535 06:33.046 07:34.074 06:52.820 07:27.230 06:21.820 07:30.257 07:17.414 07:30.218 00:59:34.414 – 00:59:34.414 8 6 ASAD KHAN PRIVATEER SUZUKI RMX 450Z CLASS 1A CHIKMAGALUR 02:36.080 06:38.589 07:56.636 06:28.832 07:57.019 06:28.062 07:32.242 06:27.292 07:40.562 00:59:45.314 – 00:59:45.314 9 19 PAVAN B K PRIVATEER HERO IMPULSE 150 CLASS 3 BENGALURU 03:01.191 06:42.089 07:46.906 06:25.214 07:40.476 06:25.425 07:37.933 07:17.414 07:44.195 01:00:40.843 – 01:00:40.843 10 18 SASIKUMAR K PRIVATEER HERO IMPULSE 150 CLASS 3 COIMBATORE 02:50.191 06:45.351 08:04.128 06:44.117 07:52.984 06:45.734 07:45.253 06:28.550 08:04.023 01:01:20.331 – 01:01:20.331 11 20 ABRAR PASHA PRIVATEER HERO IMPULSE 150 CLASS 3 SHIMOGA 02:39.281 06:42.007 08:07.183 06:27.667 07:53.800 06:26.136 08:10.742 07:17.414 08:11.656 01:01:55.886 – 01:01:55.886 12 7 JATIN JAIN PRIVATEER KTM EXCF 250 CLASS 1A NAGPUR 02:44.360 07:06.292 08:11.156 06:51.707 07:52.363 06:44.949 07:59.765 06:45.214 07:49.328 01:02:05.134 – 01:02:05.134 13 22 AJIN ABRAHAM PRIVATEER HONDA CBR STUNNER 130 CC CLASS 2 KERALA 02:53.500 07:03.781 08:15.191 06:56.410 08:15.027 06:41.597 08:09.855 07:17.414 08:05.390 01:03:38.165 – 01:03:38.165 14 42 FRANSIS P V PRIVATEER HERO IMPULSE 150 SOK CHIKMAGALUR 02:28.207 06:35.082 07:54.582 08:14.652 08:46.761 06:39.976 07:58.125 07:17.414 07:46.105 01:03:40.904 – 01:03:40.904 15 31 AISHWARYA PISSAY M TVS RACING TVS APACHE RTR CLASS 8 BENGALURU 02:34.040 07:13.863 08:20.085 07:08.953 08:09.062 07:11.230 08:07.980 07:08.753 08:06.691 01:04:00.657 – 01:04:00.657 16 29 KARTHIK N TVS RACING TVS N TORQ CLASS 7 BENGALURU 02:30.824 07:08.804 08:20.406 06:58.777 08:33.312 07:04.195 08:29.078 07:17.414 08:50.105 01:05:12.915 – 01:05:12.915 17 41 SURAJ N PRIVATEER HERO XPULSE 200 SOK CHIKMAGALUR 02:33.109 06:58.312 08:30.046 07:06.152 08:45.164 07:03.730 08:30.781 07:17.414 08:32.105 01:05:16.813 – 01:05:16.813 18 17 MOHAMMED ZAHEER PRIVATEER ROYAL ENFIELD HIMALAYAN 411 CC CLASS 6 BENGALURU 02:48.050 07:20.242 09:11.195 07:13.360 08:23.445 07:12.253 08:18.406 06:58.972 08:06.324 01:05:32.247 – 01:05:32.247 19 46 CHALASS K BOSE PRIVATEER HONDA CBR STUNNER 130 CC CLASS 2 KOTTAYAM 02:45.835 07:22.316 08:48.578 07:05.449 08:39.167 06:52.250 08:27.406 07:17.414 08:24.847 01:05:43.262 – 01:05:43.262 20 35 PURAB J P PRIVATEER HERO IMPULSE 150 SOK CHIKMAGALUR 02:42.300 07:11.296 08:40.699 07:01.015 08:36.535 07:03.425 08:50.718 07:17.414 08:40.707 01:06:04.109 – 01:06:04.109 21 30 SYED ASIF ALI TVS RACING TVS N TORQ CLASS 7 BENGALURU 02:50.773 07:28.761 08:42.394 07:18.871 08:50.367 07:09.507 08:27.917 07:17.414 08:23.960 01:06:29.964 – 01:06:29.964 22 28 SHAMIM KHAN TVS RACING TVS N TORQ CLASS 7 HOSUR 02:38.894 07:33.710 09:01.542 07:18.746 08:36.660 07:11.164 08:37.320 07:17.414 08:28.867 01:06:44.317 – 01:06:44.317 23 16 AAKASH AITHAL PRIVATEER KTM ADV 390 CLASS 5 PUTTUR 02:38.790 07:58.035 08:50.363 07:18.210 08:26.027 07:19.835 08:26.027 07:17.414 08:31.503 01:06:46.204 – 01:06:46.204 24 14 VENU RAMESHKUMAR V PRIVATEER KTM DUKE 390 CLASS 5 COIMBATORE 02:47.860 07:36.878 09:07.175 07:17.970 08:51.527 07:12.589 08:24.324 07:03.699 08:35.160 01:06:57.182 – 01:06:57.182 25 23 NITESH G POOJARI PRIVATEER HONDA STUNNER 130 CC CLASS 2 MANGALORE 02:57.671 08:15.144 09:08.250 06:55.830 08:51.976 07:02.570 08:21.375 07:17.414 08:19.218 01:07:09.448 – 01:07:09.448 26 43 NARESH V S PRIVATEER ROYAL ENFIELD HIMALAYAN 411 CC CLASS 6 BENGALURU 02:53.650 07:35.339 09:24.953 07:15.500 08:52.382 07:16.320 08:34.437 07:15.968 08:56.011 01:08:04.560 – 01:08:04.560 27 25 DURGESH J PRIVATEER HONDA CBR STUNNER 130 CC CLASS 2 BENGALURU 02:51.210 07:16.750 10:20.117 07:01.156 08:50.402 07:13.648 08:43.320 07:17.414 08:44.652 01:08:18.669 – 01:08:18.669 28 24 DILIP RAJ PRIVATEER HONDA CBR STUNNER 130 CC CLASS 2 CHIKMAGALUR 02:59.453 07:23.578 08:58.386 07:17.450 08:52.476 07:29.449 09:09.417 07:17.414 08:51.406 01:08:19.029 – 01:08:19.029 29 32 TANIKA SHANBHAG PRIVATEER HERO XPULSE 200 CLASS 8 SATARA 02:44.560 07:22.593 10:03.710 07:06.250 09:02.832 07:09.656 09:00.171 07:17.414 08:41.574 01:08:28.760 – 01:08:28.760 30 38 NADEEM AHAMED PRIVATEER HERO IMPULSE 150 SOK MYSURU 02:45.058 07:37.101 09:30.421 07:04.421 09:03.082 07:04.863 09:09.574 07:17.414 09:00.394 01:08:32.328 – 01:08:32.328 31 45 SUBRAMANYA T PRIVATEER TVS N TORQ CLASS 7 BENGALURU 02:47.058 07:30.695 09:17.285 07:19.761 09:39.828 07:25.367 09:09.535 07:17.414 08:58.644 01:09:25.587 – 01:09:25.587 32 3 GOUTHAM RAO R PRIVATEER TVS APACHE RTR CLASS 1 BENGALURU 03:14.957 10:31.636 09:07.101 07:26.990 08:35.675 07:22.390 08:26.058 07:08.828 08:25.867 01:10:19.502 – 01:10:19.502 33 21 ANOOP MANJAPPA PRIVATEER HERO IMPULSE 150 CLASS 3 BENGALURU 03:43.585 07:56.402 10:29.332 07:21.300 08:50.980 07:14.828 09:03.339 07:17.414 08:51.812 01:10:48.992 – 01:10:48.992 34 13 SAJEESH REGHUNATHAN PRIVATEER KTM DUKE 390 CLASS 5 BENGALURU 02:58.030 07:29.746 09:09.933 07:10.740 09:01.312 06:53.355 08:11.320 11:14.234 15:02.824 01:17:11.494 00:00:20 01:17:31.494 35 15 SRAVAN KUMAR KUTTOOR PRIVATEER KTM ADV 390 CLASS 5 HYDERABAD 03:00.080 09:11.796 10:42.039 08:27.340 10:14.453 08:14.308 10:22.593 07:17.414 10:47.722 01:18:17.745 00:01:20 01:19:37.745 36 34 APOORVA B PRIVATEER HERO IMPULSE 150 CLASS 8 MANGALORE 05:41.968 09:45.289 13:01.628 08:31.179 11:19.632 08:24.804 11:53.527 07:17.414 11:11.535 01:27:06.976 00:00:20 01:27:26.976 37 33 ANAM HASHIM PRIVATEER HERO KARMIZ CLASS 8 PUNE 03:13.269 09:03.628 12:02.082 08:47.042 18:08.960 09:16.402 14:20.000 07:17.414 13:11.308 01:35:20.105 00:00:50 01:36:10.105 38 48 VIJAY KUMAR M PRIVATEER ROYAL ENFIELD ELECTRA 350 CC CLASS 6 CHIKMAGALUR 03:41.113 10:42.347 15:06.062 09:59.042 14:04.011 09:55.144 13:13.562 07:17.414 14:47.562 01:38:46.257 00:01:40 01:40:26.257 39 12 PRABAKARAN S PRIVATEER HERO XPULSE 200 CLASS 4 CHIKMAGALUR 03:20.910 08:37.527 24:44.843 09:04.500 11:53.746 09:15.988 14:01.914 07:17.414 12:08.457 01:40:25.299 00:01:50 01:42:15.299 40 36 SARATH P S PRIVATEER HERO XPULSE 200 SOK BENGALURU 03:20.882 10:34.058 15:36.730 10:38.480 15:44.136 10:49.957 14:25.078 07:17.414 14:23.433 01:42:50.168 00:01:50 01:44:40.168 41 26 RAHUL SHRIYAN PRIVATEER HONDA STUNNER 130 CC CLASS 2 MANGALORE 03:00.160 DNF – – – – – – – – – – 42 27 SRIKANTH MODALA PRIVATEER YAMAHA YBX 125 CLASS 2 CHIKMAGALUR 03:15.488 08:04.531 10:15.718 DNF – – – – – – 00:00:30 – 43 47 MOHAMMED ISRAR PRIVATEER HERO IMPULSE 150 SOK MYSURU 02:37.840 07:55.390 08:55.898 07:15.738 08:40.976 DNF – – – – – – 44 2 RAJENDRA R E TVS RACING TVS APACHE RTR CLASS 1 HOSUR 02:08.620 21:20.621 06:51.214 06:21.148 DNF – – – – – – – 45 5 SARATH MOHAN PRIVATEER HUSQVARANA FE 450 CLASS 1A MALLAPURAM 02:14.670 06:09.363 06:58.015 06:05.910 07:10.371 06:10.742 07:02.199 DNF – – – – 46 44 PRASHANTH R PRIVATEER HONDA CBR STUNNER 130 CC CLASS 2 BENGALURU 03:02.300 08:09.066 09:28.957 08:05.878 09:29.914 08:08.273 22:09.367 DNF -
Ruhaan continues to dominate with a Rookie-double
Coimbatore, 21 Nov 2021: Ruhaan Alva of Bengaluru continued to dominate his class as the MSport athlete became the most-successful driver of the day with a brilliant double while Dark Don racers TS Diljith and Tijil Rao shared a race win each in the LGB Formula 4 class in Round 2 of the 24th JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship that concluded at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Sunday.
The Rookie, who impressed with his driving style, started on pole and went on to win the race to add to the crown he won on Saturday.
Meanwhile, in the feature event, the Dark Don Racing boys who did not enjoy a great Saturday bounced back strongly to wrest the top three slots on the podium in both the LGB Formula 4 races. The premier event of the championship not only brought the best out of the drivers but also found new winners.
It was Amir Sayed of Ahura Racing who notched up his maiden win on Saturday but today,TS Diljith clinched the prime spot in Race 2 of Round 2, the first LGB race on Sunday. It wasn’t an easy affair for the ever-energetic star from Thrissur as the championship leader Vishnu Prasad was right behind for most part of the race.
Even as Vishnu was trying hard to pass, the Dark Don stars Tijil Rao, Sandeep Kumar and Arya Singh were pressing the pedal hard. That put the pressure on Vishnu, who swiftly switched to the safety mode. He left Diljith alone and concentrated on defending his position. It failed miserably towards the end as Tijil and Sandeep made the most of it to finish second and third respectively.
Tijil Rao did one better in the second race finishing ahead of his teammates Sandeep and Ashwin Datta.
Ruhaan Alva (MSport) completed yet another grand double in the JK Tyre Novice Cup. There’s none to beat the 15-year-old this season. Jaden Pariat (MSport) from Guwahati seems to get better with every race and quite deservedly finished second in both races.
Anish Damodara Shetty (Hubli) did likewise finishing right on top in the JK Tyre presents Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup. But a 30-second penalty for overtaking under the yellow put paid his hopes of completing a grand double. Thrissur boys Anfal Akdhar and Allwin Xavier, who finished second and third were elevated to the first and second position respectively, while Coimbatore’s Raj Kumar moved one up as well to finish third.
Provisional Results: JK Tyre Formula LGB4:
Race 2:
1. T.S. Diljith (Dark Don Racing) 23:10.852
2. Tijil Rao (Dark Don) 23:18.310
3. A. Sandeep Kumar (Dark Don) 23:18.521
Race 3:
1. Tijil Rao 21:34.441
2. Sandeep Kumar 21:36.264
3. Ashwin Datta (Dark Don) 21:36.452
Novice Cup:
Race 2:
1. Ruhaan Alva (MSport) 13:22.885
2. Jaden R. Pariat (MSport) 13:23.794
3. Joel Joseph (DTS Racing) 13:42.994
Race 3:
1. Ruhaan Alva 21:08.051
2. Jaden R Pariat 21:12.389
3. Gaurav Kochar 21:12.949
Race 2:
1. Anfal Akdhar (Thrissur) 5:53.042; 2. Allwin Xavier (Thrissur) 5:53.387; 3.
Raj Kumar (Coimbatore) 5:55.744.
Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup:
Race 2:
1. Anfal Akdhar (Thrissur) 5:53.042
2. Allwin Xavier (Thrissur) 5:53.387
3. Raj Kumar (Coimbatore) 5:55.744
-
Amir sayed shines for Ahura Racing; Ruhaan wins Rookie race
Coimbatore, 20 Nov 2021: Amir Sayed outclassed a classy field of stars to finish on top of the podium for his new team, Ahura Racing, on the opening day of Round 2 of the 24th JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship at the Kari Motor Speedway in Chettipalayam, near here, on Saturday.
But it was Ruhaan Alva, who kept the flag flying for MSport, in the Rookie section winning over another graduate from karting and teammate Jaden R Pariat from Guwahati. The Bengaluru racer is the reigning Senior National karting champion. Aditya Parusuram of Hasten Performance completed the podium
In the Formula LGB, Amir Sayed won by less than half a second but he had the pleasure of beating Tijil Rao and experienced Sandeep Kumar, both from Dark Don Racing. All three finished within 0.600th of a second.
Ruhaan Alva continues his winning spree in Round 2 of the JK Tyre Rookie races in his first year of Formula cars at Kari Motorspeedway at Coimbatore on Saturday. JK Tyre photo It wasn’t easy for the youngster from Kottayam. He had to battle hard right through before stamping his class. Starting fourth on the grid, he pulled off to a great start. Pole sitter Arya Singh was right up there and so was Sandeep Kumar and Tijil Rao (all from Dark Don). The safety car, which came out thrice, further added to his pressure but he withstood it all to take the checkered flag ahead of Tijil and Sandeep.
Anish Damodar Shetty of Hubbali, was in his elements once again, winning the first race of the JK Tyre Continental GT Cup Round 2, too, beating talented Thrissur youngsters Allwin Xavier and Anfal Akdar. Anish dominated the Round 1 and is leading he table.
Provisional Results:
JK Tyre Formula LGB4:
Race 1:
Amir Sayed (Ahura Racing) 26:03.085
Tijil Rao (Dark Don Racing) 26:03.524
Sandeep Kumar (Dark Don Racing) 26:04.623
JK Tyre Novice Cup:
Race 1:
Ruhaan Alva (MSport) 14:33.431
Jaden R. Pariat (MSport) 14:36.442
Aadithya Parasuram (Hasten Performance) 14:42.833
JK Tyre presents Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup:
Anish Damodara Shetty (Hubli) 13:54.772
Allwin Xavier (Thrissur) 13:55.503
Anfal Akdhar (Thrissur) 14:00.130
-
MotoGP test: Ducati carries the pace into 2022 season?
Ducati return to the top of the timesheets as Pecco pulls clear, but there’s plenty more to see in pitlane on Day 2
Jerez, 19 Nov 2021: Less than half a second away from the all-time Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto lap record, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) has ended the two-day Official 2022 MotoGP™ Jerez Test top of the timesheets, as could somewhat be expected based on the Italian’s recent form. Pecco’s 1:36.872 saw him beat Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) to the overall top by four tenths, with 2021 World Champion Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) third. But the timesheets were far from the whole story…
Straight out of the blocks on Friday, riding a 2022 prototype – the newer engine, front fairing, air intake and more – Bagnaia went just 0.3s shy of Maverick Viñales’ all-time lap record, seemingly a sign that Ducati have gone into 2022 testing carrying the momentum they ended the season with.
With regards to the engine, a big talking point across all factories for the Jerez Test and beyond, Ducati won’t be deciding their spec until the Mandalika Test in February. As well as the front fairing and air intake, the next biggest difference seen on the factory Ducatis has been the new, much long exhaust. Both Pecco and teammate Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) were using it on Day 1 and Day 2, it will be interesting to see whether it makes an appearance at the Sepang and Mandalika Tests next year.
And the end of both days, Pecco finished 0.4s clear after a further 42 laps on Day 2, adding to his 68 on Thursday, and was very pleased with the work done in Jerez. Johann Zarco’s (Pramac Racing) opening day time sees the Frenchman sit P4 on the combined timesheets, the second quickest Ducati, and he completed another 65 laps on Day 2. After 78 already put in on Thursday, Zarco was one of the busiest riders at the Jerez Test in terms of laps.
Miller and Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) were busy testing 2022 parts across the two days, the Australian was P9 on Friday and P10 overall, with Martin down in P18 on both. Luca Marini (VR46 Racing Team) is the other rider in the Desmosedici ranks who will be on the latest spec machinery in 2022, and the Italian was 14th on the timesheets after clocking 56 laps on Day 2. Former teammate Enea Bastianini (Team Gresini Racing MotoGP) ended the couple of days in P5 overall as the two-time premier class podium finisher got to grips with his GP21.
Ducati have two rookies in their ranks for 2022, both riding GP21s, and the fastest rookie across the two days was Fabio Di Giannantonio (Team Gresini Racing MotoGP). The Italian was an impressive 1.6s down on Bagnaia having completed 45 laps on Day 2, seeing the 2021 Jerez Moto2™ race winner lap 93 times in total. Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Racing Team) finished 2.4s away from good friend Bagnaia after two days on the bike, a cracking effort from the Italian, who got 115 laps in the bank ahead of testing continuing next year.
As has been well documented, Honda have a brand-new bike for 2022. It’s the only machine at the test that looks completely new, with every other manufacturer having variations and adaptations from what we saw in 2021. Engine, chassis, aero, air intake, exhaust position… you name it. HRC have been working tirelessly to bring a new-look RC213V to the grid, and on first look, things are seemingly going well.
Marc Marquez’ (Repsol Honda Team) absence from the Jerez Test was bad news but the presence of Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) was very good news, the number 44 back despite his Turn 13 highside in Valencia. On Day 1, Pol Espargaro admitted that he was – unsurprisingly – riding with some pain in his ribs and wrist, with Nakagami and Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) doing all the work on the new bike on Thursday. LCR boss Lucio Cecchinello also said that at one stage, there were six bikes in the LCR garage for Nakagami and Marquez.
However, on Day 2, Pol Espargaro got his hands on the 2022 prototype. Pitlane reporter Simon Crafar confirmed that the Spaniard now has better rear grip, and the number 44 also tried different aero packages with the new bike. Nakagami was second quickest overall and seventh on Friday, with Pol Espargaro setting his best time of the test on the new bike to take fourth on Friday and seventh overall. Alex Marquez also went quicker on Day 2 as all three Honda riders head into the winter with a very good idea of what the 2022 bike needs to be faster. Overall, it seems it was a positive test for HRC.
The new Yamaha chassis seen on Day 1 sported some modifications on Friday, and despite testing that and a new fairing, as well as continuing on engine testing, Quartararo said he struggled to find any clear positive step: the laptime with the bike was too similar to the older spec. He’s searching for better power, less wheelie and more rear grip for next year. He was second on Friday and third overall, as Nakagami slots into second on the combined Thursday-Friday timesheets.
Quartararo’s teammate Franco Morbidelli also had a new front fairing, with the same ‘wings’ but a different, more smoothly rounded fairing. The side fairing was also different, likely to aid cooling – seemingly a similar goal to Suzuki.
Andrea Dovizioso (WithU RNF Yamaha MotoGP) is now on the 2022 Yamaha, but not quite the same as the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP line-up. The Italian was positive about his riding in the afternoon although said it wasn’t yet instinctive, and reported the new bike has better braking, enabling the riders to brake harder, and a bit more power but the same DNA.
Teammate Darryn Binder, barring an out lap crash that slowed progress somewhat, was positive about his test too. The South African rookie started working on different tyres, electronics and traction control as he settles in.
The word on the street from Suzuki was almost singular up and down pitlane: their 2022 engine is reportedly decided, although Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was more coy in his debrief. The 2020 Champion said a huge focus was on electronics with that new engine, and work continued on the chassis side.
There were also some aero updates on show on Day 2, as promised, with different side fairings breaking cover for Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), although Mir said he’d also tried them on Day 1. A new swingarm was put through some more paces too.
Rins ended the day in third after 59 laps, and sixth overall. Mir was sixth on Friday after 73 laps, and ninth overall. Test rider Sylvain Guintoli added another 56 to the Hamamatsu lap count on Friday too.
Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing Team) was once again the fastest Aprilia, slotting into fifth on Day 2 and P8 overall. He was trying a new fuel tank cover, and working on body position to be more comfortable. 82 laps later, and having tried a chassis different to that of the Valencia GP, the number 12 said they had a clear direction. Viñales also said the new exhaust spotted at Aprilia was a similar feeling, which he also said was a positive after it was test back-to-back with the previous version.
Viñales’ teammate Aleix Espargaro put in another 55 laps on Friday too, and aero remained on show at Aprilia overall. Test rider Lorenzo Savadori had another new-look set of ‘wings’ that were different again, making it three aero packages on show from Noale. Their overall 2022 package will reportedly only be finalised at the Mandalika test.
Both Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira were back out on a new aero package, but slightly different to the one seen on Day 1. The two both spent a lot of time on it, and MotoGP™ Legend and KTM test rider Dani Pedrosa was also back out – and also using the aero.
The Austrian factory were the most publicly coy of all. “Positives and negatives” were reported from both Brad Binder and Oliveira, and they’re expecting more to test at Sepang. Binder was 11th on Friday and 13th overall, with Oliveira 14th on Friday and 16th overall.
On rookie watch at Tech3 KTM Factory Racing, Raul Fernandez retained the upper hand on newly-crowned Moto2™ World Champion Remy Gardner… by just 0.037. Diggia pipped both to fastest rookie honours by the end of the test, with Fernandez 0.163 off the Italian. The number 25 ended the test in 20th on both Friday and overall, and the number 87 in P22 on both too.
That’s a wrap on the first glimpse of next season… but we’re not going anywhere! Keep up to date on everything happening over winter break and 2022 pre-season
-
JK Tyre Racing Nationals Round 2 from Friday
Coimbatore, 18 Nov. 2021: Chennai’s Vishnu Prasad and Bengaluru boys Sohil Shah and Ruhaan Alva who showed fighting spirit and refused to accept defeat in the first round are raring to go in the Round 2 of the 24th JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship (JKNRC) 2021 at the Kari Motor Speedway (KMS) which begins at the Karimotorspeedway from Friday.
There is much more in store in the second round to be held at the KMS circuit yet again this weekend. The riders and drivers, who have come from across the country, are now even better prepared and battle ready to push themselves up the order in the provisional points table.
After the first round, Vishnu heads the premier LGB Formula 4 standings with 21 points from three races followed by Sohil Shah (14 points).
Amir Sayed of Kottayam is not far behind. He is currently lying third and it is only a few points that is now separating him from his former MSport teammates.
But the top three are aware of the other drivers, who are capable of pulling off a surprise on their day. The list includes Mohamed Ryan and A. Sandeep Kumar (both Chennai), Arya Singh (West Bengal), Chirag Ghorpade (Bengaluru), T.S. Diljith (Kerala), to name a few.
The ever-popular Mira Erda from Vadodara, Gujarat, showed fine form as well battling alongside the adventurous boys. There are a host of other drivers from Delhi, Haryana and Faridabad who are also keen to show their bit of magic on the track.
The JK Tyre presents Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup, which made its debut in the opener, was equally enthralling. The bikes looked bigger and heavier but the riders were stronger and faster.
Anish Damodara Shetty from Hubli was the man in command. He was hotly challenged by Allwin Xavier from Thrissur. The duo, having tested the machines for one full round on the smooth and flowing Kari track, is expected to build an even better show during the weekend.
Raivat Dhar (Jammu) and Lani Zena Fernandez (Puducherry), the only girl racer on the grid for the RE GT Cup, will all look to better their performance in the second round.
Ruhaan Alva ruled the races in the JK Tyre Novice Cup. There was not even a slight whiff of underperformance from this youngster from Bengaluru. It’s going to be tough for the rest in fray to play catch up with him.
The exciting part of the turnover in a JK Tyre racing championship, of course, is the effort in finding new and promising talents. There are many coming in from every nook and corner of the country to test their skills in the Novice Cup.
There will three races each of JK Tyre LGB Formula 4 & JK Tyre novice Cup and 2 races of JK Tyre presents RE Continental GT cup over the weekend.
About JK Tyre Motorsport:
JK Tyre has been closely associated with the world of motorsports for almost three decades back. The company laid down a long term plan to popularise and promote the sport in the country. Its first target was to change the notion that this was a sport for the elite. So it packaged and redesigned it in a spectator-friendly way, drawing the masses to the sport.
The company then endeavored to spot, nurture and sharpen the drivers to turn them into world champions. With this goal in mind, we conceptualized the JK Tyre National Racing Champion in 1997. Our efforts started paying dividends in just a few years’ time, with the likes of Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandok going all the way to the F1 rung, the highest level of single-seat racing in the world. Since then, a number of stars emerged, including Armaan Ebrahim, the Maini brothers (Kush and Arjun), Anindith Reddy Konda, amongst many others.
Before all this, JK Tyre had a successful stint in rallying too, conquering the scene in the early 90s. At the same time, gradually, we moved on to various disciplines, including cross-country rallying and off-roading, leaving a mark in each of them with their unique and innovative ways.
JK Tyre Motorsports is also very proud of the role it has played in bringing women into motorsports in a big way. Apart from encouraging them to get into the sport through karting as kids, we also gave them opportunities in various national championships. Last year was particularly rewarding for us as an All-Women Racing team was introduced for the first time in the LGB 4 category. In addition, the company also undertook various other initiatives to encourage them to try motorsports, even if for fun to begin with.
To supplement JK Tyre’s entry into the two-wheeler market, the JKNRC hosted the Suzuki Gixxer Cup and the Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup categories and saw enthusiastic participation from across the country.
Today, the company is synonymous with motorsports, and even more so with racing, creating a lot of goodwill for the brand. Right from budding racers to accomplished drivers in the country, everybody owes their rise and success to JK Tyre.
