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  • 10 things you need to know before the Nolan Portuguese Round: WorldSBK  

    10 things you need to know before the Nolan Portuguese Round: WorldSBK  

    #PortimaoWorldSBK
    Check out the top ten stats as WorldSBK is back

    Image courtesy WorldSBK

    1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) comes from four wins in a row, secured at Laguna Seca and Misano. His only string of five was set last year, with two doubles at Phillip Island and Buriram, followed up with Aragon Race 1.

    2. Round numbers for Kawasaki: they recorded their 120th win at Misano Race 2 with Jonathan Rea, which was also their 370th podium finish. They have others at hand as well: they currently hold 79 pole positions and 259 front row starts in qualifying.

    3. Rea won his 49th race for Kawasaki at Misano. In WorldSBK history only two riders so far have won 50 or more races with a single manufacturer: Carl Fogarty for Ducati (55) and Troy Bayliss, also for Ducati (52).

    4. There are nine different winners out of 18 races held in the Algarve. The only rider who has won more than twice is Jonathan Rea with five. His closest rivals with two wins are: Troy Bayliss, Max Biaggi, Marco Melandri, Eugene Laverty and Tom Sykes.

    5. Rea’s podium tally is stunning in Portugal: on 12 occasions out of 18 he finished in the top three. This is more than the double of his best competitor, Sylvain Guintoli with five.

    6. Only the current pair of KRT riders have recorded more than one pole in qualifying here: Tom Sykes with three and Jonathan Rea with two. So far there have been six different polesitters out of the nine qualifying sessions held in Portugal.

    7. The double win has been recorded by only three riders here: Troy Bayliss in 2008; Max Biaggi in 2010 and Jonathan Rea in 2015 and 2017. They were all crowned champions the same season which saw them record the double in Portugal.

    8. Seven different manufacturers have been able to record at least one podium placement in Portugal: Ducati, Honda, Aprilia, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, BMW.

    9. Great Britain is the most successful country in Portugal, as it has obtained seven wins here with the current Kawasaki duo of Tom Sykes and Jonathan Rea. The couple won the last six races run here.

    10. Only one third of the races run at Portimao were won from pole position: six out of 18. In the last four weekends here, only two of them came from pole: Tom Sykes in Race 1, 2014 and Jonathan Rea last year in Race 1.

  • In rain, CD Jinan beats leader Harith Noah in Supercross Round 4

    Jaipur, 10 Sept. 2018: Veteran CD Jinan of Angata Racing astride a Kawasaki KX 250F won both the Motos with a display of skill and talent to beat favourite and championship leader Harith Noah in the fourth round of the 19th MRF MoGrip-FMSCI National Supercross Championship here on Sunday.

    Team TVS Racing rider Noah, who began the fourth round of the season with 110 points to 86 of privateer Jinan, needed to win both Motos to solidify his position at the top, but the track conditions probably made it difficult for him to adjust to.

    Jinan on the other hand used his experience of riding in the Dubai desert where he practices, thanks to his team Ang’ata Racing, which based in the Middle-east Kingdom.

    “The races were very closely fought and there was all the effort for competitors to get past each other despite the course having been battered overnight by heavy torrential rain,” explained Shyam Kothari, the Director of Godspeed Racing, the promoters of National Supercross.

    “When it started raining last night we were skeptical whether we would be able to conduct the championship, but the course was all intact though some table tops had got slushy, but it was all manageable,” Kothari said.

    The competition was worth a watch not just in the foreign bikes section but also in the other categories too. As Noah finished second in both Motos behind Jinan, his lead was reduced from 24 to 18 points going into the Round 5. Noah now has 144 to Jinan’s 126, which makes the final two rounds very crucial for both the riders and their respective teams.

    TVS Racing nonetheless kept its flag flying high by winning in other categories-Imran Pasha winning the Class 2 Novice Group and M Kalimohan taking the honours in Class 5 Indian Experts. Both these groups saw TVS riders dominating with the RTR machines all through the course.

    Pune’s Sarthak wins
    There was interesting battle in the Junior classes in the absence of the championship leader Yuvraj Kondedeshmukh, who recently represented India at the World Motocross Championship in Australia.
    In Class 9 Junior SX2, Sarthak had a tough fight with Shlok Ghorpade of Satara with both riding Kawasaki bikes while others in the fray were on KTMs. 

    Provisional Results:
    Class 1 SX1 Foreign Open Class Group A: 1. CD Jinan (Ang’ata Racing, Kawasaki KX250F) (20, 20) 40; 2. Harith Noah (TVS Racing, TVS RTR300) (17, 17) 34; 3. Yash Pawar (Nashik, Kawasaki KX250F) (13, 15) 28; 4. Saijith ES (13 Racing, Kawasaki KX250F) (15, 9) 24; 5. Mahesh VM (Ang’ata Racing, KawasakiKX250F) (10, 13) 23.

    Class 2 Novice Group C: 1. Imran Pasha (TVS Racing, TVS RTR) 20; 2. Sachin D (Bengaluru, Hero Impulse) 17; 3. M Kalimohan (TVS Racing, TVR RTR) 15; 4. Asif Gour (Jaipur, Hero Impulse) 13; 5. Nitin Singh (Jaipur, Hero Impulse) 11.

    Class 4 Locals Group B: 1. Santosh Visnoi (Hero Impulse) 20; 2. Raju Mathur (Hero Impulse) 17; 3. Asif Gaur (Hero Impulse) 15; 4. Ravikant Sharma (Hero Impulse) 13; 5. Nitin Singh (Hero Impulse) 11.

    Class 5 Indian Experts Group C: 1. M Kalimohan (TVS Racing, TVR RTR) 20; 2. Imran Pasha (TVS Racing, TVS RTR) 17; 3. Samual Jacob (TVS Racing, TVS RTR) 15; 4. Jagdeesh Kumar (Coimbatore, Hero Impulse) 13; 5. R Natraj (TVS Racing, TVS RTR) 11.

    Class 6 Private Experts Group C: 1. Gajendra Jangid (Jodhpur, Hero Impulse) 20; 2. Jagdeesh Kumar (Coimbatore, Hero Impulse) 17; 3. S Karthikeyan (Pollachi, Hero Impulse) 15; 4. Mani Kandan (Coimbatore, Hero Impulse) 13; 5. Asif Gour (Jaipur, Hero Impulse) 11.

    Class 7 SX2 Group A: 1. Saijith ES (13 Racing, Kawasaki KX250F) (20, 20) 40; 2. Prithvi Singh (Chandigarh, Kawasaki KX250) (17, 17) 34; 3. Yash Pawar (Nashik, Kawasaki) (15, 15) 30; 4. Mahesh VM (Ang’ata Racing, Kawasaki KX250) (13,13) 26; 5. Kayan Patel (Mumbai,Suzuki RM) (11, 11) 22.

    Class 8 Junior SX1 Group A/B/C/D: 1. Prajwal V (Bengaluru, KTM SX85) 20; 2. Ikshan Shanbhag (Satara, KTM SX85) 17; 3. Gaurang Naik (Pune, Honda CRF) 14; 4. Sarthak Chavan (Pune, Kawasaki KX) 13; 5. Shlok Ghorpade (Satara, Kawasaki) 12.

    Class 9 Junior SX2 Group A/B/C/D: 1. Sarthak Chavan (Pune, Kawasaki KX 100) 19; 2. Shlok Ghorpade (Satara, Kawasaki) 18; 3. Jinendra Sangaye (Kolhapur, KTM SX65) 15; 4. Raheesh Khatri (Mumbai, KTM SX65) 12; 5. Akash Hupale (Kolhapur, Kawasaki) 10.

  • Master craftsman: Dovizioso plays it to perfection at Misano

    Master craftsman: Dovizioso plays it to perfection at Misano

    The Italian makes it three in a row for Ducati and three Italian winners on race day with his first Misano win

    All 3 classes: Three Italian winners in one day! from left: Bagnaia, Dovizioso and Dalla Porta. A MotoGP image

    Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) took an expertly-crafted victory in the Gran Premio Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, picking his way into the lead and unleashing incredible pace to secure only the second ever win for Ducati at the venue. His win also makes it three in a row for the Borgo Panigale factory, having won at Brno and teammate Jorge Lorenzo following that up with victory in Austria. Lorenzo was the man on the chase at Misano, too, but there was late drama as the five-time World Champion slid out on the penultimate lap after dueling Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team). Marquez took second at the flag, with Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) putting in an impressive ride to take third and come home as top Independent Team rider.

    It was polesitter Lorenzo who shot out ahead and got the holeshot – as the number 99 is oft to do – but Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) kept second from second on the grid as the Aussie got a good start. Marquez was the biggest winner off the line, moving up from fifth after a crash in qualifying to slot into third, but he wasn’t there long…

    Dovizioso struck quickly against the reigning Champion before picking off Miller, pushing hard to tag on to the back of his teammate as Marquez then sliced past the Aussie too – intent on keeping tabs on the Ducati duo at the front. Unfortunately, disaster struck a lap later for Miller as he slid out at Turn 14.

    Back at the front, ‘DesmoDovi’ was honing in on Lorenzo and looking to make a move. With 22 laps to go the Italian did just that, slicing past at Turn 7. He then began to pull away as Marquez tagged on to Lorenzo in the battle for second, before the number 93 then shot past with 14 to go as the number 99 headed a little wide. The gap? 1.4 seconds to the Ducati ahead.

    Marquez, however, wasn’t able to cut down the gap – and a number of laps later, he was under attack. Lorenzo made it through at Turn 8 and lit the touch paper on a few spectacular exchanges between the two, but to no avail and he settled back into third to prepare another attack. Trying again a lap later but not making it through, the ‘Spartan’ then switched tactics and went for it at Turn 12.

    He’d prepared the move with a couple of feints beforehand, but this time he made it stick. From there it was time to put the hammer down and Lorenzo set about cutting the gap to his teammate. Tenth by tenth, the Spaniard was reeling him in – and the gap went back down to 1.3 seconds. Dovizioso began to respond, but drama suddenly hit the front on the penultimate lap. Pushing and pushing, Lorenzo suddenly slid out of second.

    That left ‘DesmoDovi’ in free air at the front to take his first ever win at the venue, having managed the race to perfection. Marquez took second and extended his Championship lead, with Crutchlow’s impressive pace and race rewarded by a podium after the late drama.

    Crutchlow had pulled free of a squabble and sliced past Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) to get into the position to try and close in on the then-leading trio, and more than made amends for a late crash in qualifying. Rins, meanwhile, impressed on the softer compound rear tyre to get well in the initial fight and then hold great pace to the flag, not able to stay ahead of Crutchlow but nevertheless holding station in the top five until Lorenzo’s late crash saw him take fourth.

    Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) took fifth after dropping back slightly from a front row start and suffering a more difficult race, holding off some steady pressure from Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team), who took sixth.

    For Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), it was a difficult Sunday at home. Missing the race through injury last season – as his special edition ‘Back to Misano’ helmet attests – the ‘Doctor’ had higher hopes for the race that takes place so close to his home town of Tavullia. He took P7, retaining his qualifying position by the flag. Compatriot Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) also had a tough weekend, and came home eighth.

    Alvaro Bautista (Angel Nieto Team) continued his good run of recent form and took P9, with Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) completing the top ten ahead of Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Racing). Petrucci had a difficult race day and was also given a 1.1 second penalty for cutting a corner early on.

    Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) beat Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) to the honour of top rookie and P12, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) taking points for Noale factory Aprilia on home turf in P14, just ahead of Ducati Test Team wildcard Michele Pirro.

    Behind them? Lorenzo had remounted and dueled Bradley Smith (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) to the line, but the Brit was just able to stay ahead by a tenth.

    That’s it from a dramatic weekend at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Next we return to MotorLand Aragon and home turf for Marquez, Lorenzo and Viñales, leaving Dovizioso and Rossi behind enemy lines. After three Italian wins over the three classes at Misano, can the Spaniards fight back? Find out in a fortnight.

    MotoGP™ Race Results
    1 – Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) DUCATI 42’05.426
    2 – Marc Marquez (SPA) HONDA +2.822
    –
    First Independent Team Rider
    3 – Cal Crutchlow (GBR) HONDA +7.269

  • Raghul Rangasamy clinches MRF F1600 National championship; Ashish Ramaswamy wins ITC title

    Raghul Rangasamy clinches MRF F1600 National championship; Ashish Ramaswamy wins ITC title

    Bengaluru’s Ashish Ramaswamy who was crowned National Champion in the Indian Touring Cars category on Sunday. Photos by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 9 Sept 2018: Raghul Rangasamy, hailing from the nearby temple town of Mamallapuram, emerged champion in the coveted MRF Formula 1600 category as the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship 2018 concluded at the MMRT, here on Sunday. The title earned Rangasamy a ticket to this year’s Mazda Road To Indy shootout in the United States, a dream that the 25-year old pursued through the season.

    With three podium finishes this weekend, Rangasamy, who led Goutham Parekh (Chennai) by 11 points at the start of the final round, did just enough to clinch the championship. Rangasamy’s final tally was 182 points (two wins, seven podiums) to Parekh’s 174 (two wins, six podiums). Mumbai’s Nayan Chatterjee completed a double, winning Race 1 and 3, while 16-year old schoolboy from Bengaluru Yash Aradhya topped in Race 2, his second success in his debut season in this category.

    Bengaluru’s 27-year old Ashish Ramaswamy (Arka Motorsports), with his seventh consecutive podium finish of the season, annexed the championship in the premium Indian Touring Cars class with a tally of 167 points, edging out Coimbatore veteran Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) by just six points. For Balu, who missed the first round of the season, it was so near yet so far as he finished second in the championship despite scoring a double in the final round this weekend and winning five races from seven starts.

    Last year’s winner, Arjun Narendran (Arka Motorsports), who was black-flagged for taking “external assistance” (taking assistance of the marshals to push his car) after a spin following a collision with Balu at Turn-2 in the very first lap today, ended up fourth in the championship behind his team-mate Nikanth Ram.


    Raghul Rangasamy, winner of the MRF F1600 Championship on Sunday.

    Rangasamy, who thrives on speed which induced him to take to racing rather late at 19, was delighted with his championship title, but said he would have loved to end the season with a win. “I feel great to win the championship and look forward to the Mazda Road To Indy shootout. I wanted to finish the season with a win, but happy that I took the title at this level considering that I started racing only when I was 19. I love speed and I gave up my medical studies after three years to pursue racing which I do just for my pleasure since at 25, I can’t think of a career in racing,” he said.

    Ashish Ramaswamy, who had started the season with a double in the first round, said: “It has been a long wait for me to win my first-ever National Championship title. I had started the season well with a double in the first round, but two DNFs (Did Not Finish) thereafter, put me under pressure as I had to finish on podium in all the remaining races. I am absolutely thrilled and I thank my team Arka Motorsports and the mechs for the brilliant work they did these past months.”

    The results (Provisional, all 8 laps):

    MRF Formula 1600 (Race-2): 1. Yash Aradhya (Bengaluru) (16mins, 54.672secs); 2.Goutham Parekh (Chennai) 16:55.296); 3. Raghul Rangaswamy (Mamallapuram) (16:55.543). Race -3: 1. Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) (13:35.208); 2. Parekh (13:35.776); 3. Rangasamy (13:36.359). Champion: Raghul Rangasamy (182 points).

    Indian Touring Cars (Race-2): 1. Arjun Balu (Race Concept) (15:22.974); 2. Ashish Ramaswamy (Arka Motorsport)(15:37.888); 3.D Vidya Prakash (Prime Racing) (15:38.145). Champion: Ashish Ramaswamy (167 points). Turbo cars: 1. Karthick Tharani (VW Motorsport) (15:26.077); 2. Rayomand Banajee (VW Motorsport) (15:40.141); 3. Ishaan Dodhiwala (VW Motorsport) (15:49.744).

  • MotoGP Sunday guide

    MotoGP
    Jorge Lorenzo has qualified on pole position for the third time this season and the 68th in his Grand Prix career. This is Lorenzo’s first back-to-back pole position since joining Ducati in 2017 and his first overall since the final race of 2015 and the opening race of 2016.

    This is the first back-to-back pole position for Ducati since the final race of 2009 and the opening race of 2010, both with Casey Stoner.
    This is the third pole position from a Ducati rider in the MotoGP™ class at Misano, along with Casey Stoner in both 2007 and 2008. On Jorge Lorenzo’s last three pole positions at Misano in the premier class, he finished on the podium twice with a second place in 2014 and a third in 2016.
    Dani Pedrosa, in 2010, is the last rider to win the MotoGP™ race at the San Marino GP after qualifying in pole position.
    Jack Miller starts from second on the grid as the top Independent Team rider, which is his best qualifying result since he was on pole in Argentina earlier this year and his second front-row start on what is his 60th Grand Prix race in the premier class.
    With Jorge Lorenzo and Jack Miller, this is the fifth Ducati 1–2 in the MotoGP™ class and the first in back-to-back Grand Prix events.

    The highest-placed Yamaha rider on the grid is Maverick Viñales in third place. This is his best qualifying result since he was also third at Mugello earlier this year.

    Heading the second row on the grid is Andrea Dovizioso, who crossed the line in third place last year at the San Marino GP.
    Marc Márquez has qualified in fifth place on the grid, which is his worst qualifying result at Misano since he stepped up to the MotoGP™ class in 2013.
    This is the sixth time this year he failed to qualify on the front row, equalling his highest tally from 2016. He won the race last year at the San Marino GP in wet-weather conditions, taking the lead on the final lap.

    Cal Crutchlow completes the second row on the grid, which is his worst qualifying result since he was the seventh-fastest qualifier in Germany earlier this year.

    Heading the third row is Valentino Rossi, who is back at Misano after missing the race last year due to a leg injury. This is Rossi’s worst qualifying at his home track since 2011 when he was 11th on the grid riding a Ducati.

    Danilo Petrucci, who fought for the win until the final lap last year at Misano from eighth on the grid, has also qualified eighth this year.

    Third Yamaha rider on the grid, Johann Zarco starts from ninth. He scored one point last year at Misano after pushing his bike across the line to finish in 15th place.
    The highest-placed Suzuki rider is Álex Rins, 10th on the grid for the third successive time. Rins won twice in the Moto3™ at the San Marino GP, in 2013 and 2014.
    After passing through Q1 for the fifth time this year, Dani Pedrosa, who won in both 2010 and 2016 at Misano, has qualified in 11th place on the grid.
    Franco Morbidelli, who starts from 12th on the grid, is the second of the five rookies this year – along with Takaaki Nakagami – to have joined Q2 more than once.
    Moto2

    Francesco Bagnaia has qualified on pole position for the fifth time this year. On his four previous pole positions, he went on to win the race three times; his fourth pole position was at Silverstone two weeks ago but the race was cancelled.

    Marcel Schrötter starts from second on the grid, which is his sixth front-row start on what is his 105th Grand Prix race in the Moto2™ class. This is Schrötter’s best qualifying result since he was second in Assen earlier this season.
    Mattia Pasini, who won the 125cc race at Misano in 2007 and was on pole at the venue last year, has qualified in third place, which is his best qualifying result since he was third at Brno earlier this year.
    Heading the second row on the grid is Fabio Quartararo, which is his best qualifying since he was third in Austria this year and the best from a Speed Up rider in the Moto2™ class at Misano.
    Brad Binder, who won the Moto3™ race at Misano two years ago, is the highest-placed KTM rider on the gird in fifth place. This is his best qualifying result since he was also fifth in Barcelona earlier this season.
    Jorge Navarro completes the second row on the grid, which is his best qualifying result since he was fourth in Austria.
    Second in the Championship, Miguel Oliveira has qualified in 9th on the grid, which is the fifth time this year he has qualified within the first three rows on the grid.
    Moto3

    Jorge Martín has qualified on pole position for the eighth time this year and the 17thtime overall in his Grand Prix career. This is also his 11th front-row start of the season – one less than the whole 2017 season; his worst qualifying result being ninth in Argentina earlier this year. He crashed out of the race at Misano last year while fighting for third place.

    This is the 11th pole position for Honda so far this season. Only three riders have won from pole position at the San Marino GP in the Moto3™ class: Sandro Cortese (2012), Enea Bastianini (2015) and Brad Binder (2016).
    Gabriel Rodrigo, who has failed to score any points over his four visits at Misano, starts from second on the grid, which is his best qualifying result since he was also second at Phillip Island last year. This is his third front row start this season so far.
    Arón Canet completes the front row on the grid, which is his best qualifying result since he was second in Austin earlier this year. He crashed out of the race last year at Misano on Lap 21 while sitting in fourth place.
    Heading the second row is Fabio Di Giannantonio, who crossed the line in third place last year at the San Marino GP. This is Di Giannantonio’s best qualifying result since he was the third-fastest qualifier in Jerez earlier this year.
    Enea Bastianini, who took the first of his three Grand Prix victories at Misano back in 2015, is the only rider in the current field to have won at this track in the Moto3™ class. He starts from fifth, which is his best qualifying result since he was third at the Sachsenring this season.
    Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi has qualified in sixth on the grid, which is his best qualifying result since he was on pole position in Austria. He crashed out of the race last year at the San Marino GP.
    Niccolò Antonelli, who crossed the line in third in 2015 at Misano, has qualified in 15th place on the grid, which is his worst qualifying result since he was 19th in Germany earlier this year.

  • Lorenzo takes Misano pole again; sets record

    Five-time World Champion sets a new record to make it four Misano poles in five years as Marquez amps up the drama with a crash
    Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) broke his own 2016 pole lap record at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in an adrenaline-fuelled qualifying on the Adriatic, searing around the venue in a 1:31.629 to lower his own fastest laptime and secure Ducati’s first pole at the venue since 2008. Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) put in a stunner at his team’s home race to take second and qualify as top Independent Team rider, with Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) locking out the front row after a last lunge for the front.

    One key name missing from that trio? Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), top qualifier this season so far, did not make it onto the front row – he crashed. Lorenzo’s ominous form was certainly a key headline but the drama for the Championship leader lit up the session. Crashing on his second run in a relatively fast lowside, the number 93 was straight to his feet without pause for thought and sprinting to get a lift back to the pits. Once back in the paddock on the back of a scooter, he hit the ground running again to run through his Repsol Honda garage from front to back, straight back on his other machine and heading back out. Could he do another ‘Texas 2015’ style pole dash?

    The first sector looked like it might it be possible as it lit up red, but the reigning Champion then lost some time and it wasn’t to be. So he’ll line up fifth – his worst qualifying in the premier class at the venue – and he’ll have some serious company in the form of Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), who’s just alongside him in fourth.

    Behind Dovizioso and Marquez, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) was sixth and completes the second row, suffering a low-drama crash near the end of the session. And the Brit broke some local hearts, with Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) pushed down to head up the third row.

    Rossi has had a weekend of ups and downs so far at his home venue, just making it into that all-important top ten on Friday and continuing to work hard on Saturday to get race ready. In qualifying the rider from Tavullia was hovering around the second row, before just losing out in that last minute shuffle. Row 3 is completed by last year’s podium finisher Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Racing) and fellow Independent Team rider Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3).

    Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was tenth fastest and top Hamamatsu machine after teammate Andrea Iannone just failed to make it through to Q2 – he starts P13 – with two-time Misano winner Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) in P11. Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) completes the top 12.

    Behind Iannone, wildcard compatriot Michele Pirro (Ducati Test Team) took P14 after a crash hampered his chances in Q1, and Alvaro Bautista (Angel Nieto Team) completed the top 15.

    So that’s it for the premier class on Saturday. A three-time winner on pole, a dark horse with nothing to lose alongside him and a man who hasn’t won for a year make for an incredible front row – with everything to play for. Marquez and Dovizioso lurk close behind too, and the ‘Doctor’ can never be counted out on race day – especially considering his incredible support around Misano. Who will emerge from the melee ahead? The lights go out at 14:00 (GMT +2).
    MotoGP™ Qualifying Results
    1 – Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) DUCATI 1’31.629
    –
    First Independent Team Rider:
    2 – Jack Miller (AUS) DUCATI +0.287
    –
    3 – Maverick Viñales (SPA) YAMAHA +0.321
    NEWS: in-season test dates confirmed

    The MotoGP™ class will test on the 6th May at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto after the Spanish GP, and the second test will be held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya after the Grand Prix there, on the 17th June. The final official test for the premier class in 2019 will be held at the Automotodrom Brno, on the 5th August.

    The Moto3™ and Moto2™ classes, meanwhile, will test in Jerez and Barcelona on the Tuesdays after the premier class have tested, and they will test at the Red Bull Ring on the 12th August after the Austrian GP.

    A two-day Official Test for the premier class is also forecast for the 28th and 29th August. If the Kymiring is confirmed on the 2020 MotoGP™ calendar, that will be held in Finland. If not, this test will be at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

  • Gill returns to conquer Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare again

    Gaurav Gill (2nd rom right) and Musa Sherif (right) pose along with bike rally winners at Goa on Saturday. A Motorsports Inc photo

    Goa, 8 Sept 2018: Six years after his first and triumphant foray into the desert, ace Indian rallyist and speed demon Gaurav Gill returned to conquer the Dakshin Dare once again, scorching the field in his inimitable style over five gruelling days as the Maruti Suzuki  sponsored rally concluded here on Saturday.

    With his trusted navigator Musa Sherif by his side, the six-time APRC champion won each of the five legs and most of the 15 Special Stages.

    In the bike category, Vishwas SD claimed the overall title, making the most of overnight leader and firm favourite Yuva Kumar’s misfortune in literally the last Special Stage, SS12, of the rally.

    Yuva, who was leading all the way from the start, saw his bike broke down with just 15 kilometres to go and by the time he could repair the damage, he lost 15 minutes and the crown.

    Gill’s teammate Philippos Matthai (with PVS Moorthy) claimed the overall second place in the car category while Maruti Suzuki’s Samrat Yadav (with Karan Aukta) held on to the third position.

    Gill and Musa crossed a significant milestone while racing away to their second victory in the Dakshin Dare, organised by Motorsport Inc; it was their 50th rally together and their 31st win to set a unique Indian record. Incredibly, they made the podium each of the 35 times they had completed a rally, missing out the remaining 15 times only due to DNFs.

    “Even after all these years, I retain the same enthusiasm for rallying. I am motivated enough to give 200 per cent each time I drive,” Gill said, while accepting the team championship trophy.

    “We had a very good team and a great strategy that helped us last five tough days,” he added.

    Gill took 06:57:44 to complete the five legs, winning with a handsome margin of over 15 minutes. On the last day, he went all out in the rally’s longest stage and clocked 01:15:50 minutes for the 70 kilometres.

    Team Maruti Suzuki were in the thick of all the action, with Sandeep Sharma and Suresh Rana grabbing the fourth and fifth places.

    The 2,000-kilometre rally began in Bangalore on September 2 and traversed through Karnataka and Maharashtra before finishing in Goa on Saturday night.

    Results: Cars

    1. Gaurav Gill/ Musa Sharif – 6hrs, 57min, 44sec;
    2. Phillippos Matthai / PVS Moorthy  7:12:00;
    3. Samrat Yadav / Karan Aukta  7:21:10.

    BIKES

    1. Vishwas S.D
    2. Vinay Prasad
    3. Yuva Kumar

    Car Open

    1. Pramod Vig / Prakash M
    2. Raghunandan / Sakthevel
    3. Santhosh / Naga

    SUV Open

    1. Vinay Kumar / Ravi Kumar

    Day Car – OE

    1. Srikanth / Raghuraman
    2. Nanditha Reddy / Sanjana Reddy

    Day SUV – OE

    1. Philip Baklin / David Sharon
    2. Deepak Sachdeva / Japjyot Singh

    Day Couple

    1. Captain Abhilasha Singh / Shailendra Singh
    2. Anil Abbas / Sini Anil
    3. Snighda Kemkar / Balachandra

    Day All Ladies

    1. Geetha Wadhwa / Pratibha
    2. Ashima Duggal / Amrita Shergil
    3. Usha Jain / Harshitha J Sonia

  • Bengaluru schoolboy Sohil Shah clinches Formula LGB 1300 National title

    • Prabhu champion in IJTC category
    • Easy wins for Nayan Chatterjee, Arjun Balu

    Chennai, September 8: Sohil Shah, a 17-year old schoolboy from Bengaluru, scripted a fairytale finish to his debut season by emerging champion in the highly competitive Formula LGB 1300 category in the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship at the MMRT here on Saturday.

    Joining Sohil as a National champion was Prabhu AS (Arka Motorsports) from Namakkal who took the title in the Indian Junior Touring Cars class. In the decisive final race today, Prabhu finished second behind his title rival Chrys D’Souza (Unimek Racing) from Goa, but the latter was docked a 30-second penalty “for causing collision” which pushed him to third while Surat’s Nikunj Vagh (Team N1) was elevated to second spot. Prabhu finished the championship with 103.5 points to D’Souza’s 95.5.

    Meanwhile, Raghul Rangasamy moved a step closer to his dream of winning the MRF F1600 championship as he finished second behind Mumbai’s Nayan Chatterjee and took his tally of points to 152 which put him 14 clear of Goutham Parekh who finished third in today’s race. The Championship, whose winner becomes eligible to participate in the Mazda Road To Indy Shootout in the United States later this year, will be decided tomorrow when two more races are run with a maximum of 50 points available.

    Later, Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) moved within 13 points of leader Ashish Ramaswamy (Arka Motorsports) from Bengaluru by winning the premier Indian Touring Cars class race with surprising ease. Balu, hailing from Coimbatore and returning to racing after a five-year break, made capital of his pole position start to win by nearly 13 seconds with Ramaswamy finishing second after getting past team-mate Arjun Narendran who slowed down considerably in the last lap due to “handling issues”, as he put it. It meant, going into tomorrow’s last race, Ramaswamy leads Balu 149-136 with 25 points on offer.

    Sohil (M Sport) finished second in the race behind Balaprasath (DTS Racing) but the 18 points he thus earned saw him finish on top in the category with 154 points, just four clear of Chennai’s 19-year old Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motorsport) in the final championship standings. Sohil, who led Ashwin 136-135 after yesterday’s Race 1, made sure he finished ahead of his rival in today’s outing to secure the championship.

    “This is my first season in a National Championship and to win a title, it feels fantastic. In today’s race, I knew I had to finish in front of Ashwin (Datta) to seal the championship, but it was tough. I had some issues with the engine and Ashwin was catching up with me, but I managed to stay in front,” said Sohil, a 12th standard student of Delhi Public School, Bengaluru.

    The MRF F1600 race saw Chatterjee off to a good start and gradually pulling away from the chasing pack. Through the eight laps of the race, Chatterjee maintained steady pace to won by a handsome margin, while Rangasamy, with an eye on the championship, was content to come in second ahead of his arch-rival Parekh.

    INDIANS DOMINATE CATERHAM QUALIFYING

    Three Indian entries, B Vijayakumar (Coimbatore), Vicky Chandhok and MR Dastur, both from Chennai, qualified in that order for tomorrow’s Race 1 in the in the Caterham 7 Asia Zonal Championship double-header while a fourth home driver, Kasha Sai (Salem) took the sixth spot on the grid. Sandwiched between the home entrants were Sri Lankans Sheran Fernando and Andrew Jude Choksy. Incidentally, it was the maiden drive in the Caterham cars for Vijayakumar, Dastur and Sai while Chandhok had two podium finishes in the previous round last weekend.

    POLE FOR FRENCHMAN GHIRETTI

    France’s Alessandro Ghiretti, winner of two of the three races last weekend, warmed up for tomorrow’s triple-header in the Formula 4 South-East Championship by grabbing pole position ahead of Muizz Musyaffa (Malaysia) and Kane Shepherd (UK).

    The results (Provisional):

    MRF F1600 (Race-1): 1. Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) (13mins, 33.003secs); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram) (13:36.349); 3. Goutham Parekh (Chennai) (13:39.932).

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race-2): 1. A Balaprasath (DTS Racing) (15:41.318); 2. Sohil Shah (M Sport) (15:42.943); 3. S Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motorsports) (15:43.479). Champion: Sohil Shah (154 points).

    Indian Touring Cars (Race-1): 1. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) (15:12.890); 2. Ashish Ramaswamy (Arka Motorsports) (15:35.313); 3. Arjun Narendran (Arka Motorsports) (15:35.990). Turbo: 1. Karthick Tharani (VW Motorsport) (15:37.110); 2. Rayomand Banajee (VW Motorsport) (15:48.091); 3. Ishaan Dodhiwala (VW Motorsport) (15:50.365).

    Super Stock (Race-2): 1. Srinivas Teja (Performance Racing) (16:53.173); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Infinite Piston) (17:10.342); 3. Kasha Sai (Arka Motorsports) (17:12.346). Champion: Srinivas Teja (118.5 points).

    Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-2): 1. Prabhu AS (Arka Motorsports) (17:27.309); 2. Nikunj Vagh (Team N1) (17:38.045); 3. Chrys D’Souza (Unimek Racing) (17:43.479). Champion: Prabhu AS (103.5 points).

    Esteem Cup (Race-2): 1. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) (16:50.288); 2. Jagadeesh Raj (Arka Motorsports) (17:03.421); 3. Lea Daran (Performance Racing) (18:59.539). Champion: Raghul Rangasamy (118 points).

    Qualifying – Formula 4 South-East Asia Championship: 1. Alessandro Ghiretti (France) (01:37.757); 2. Muizz Musyaffa (Malaysia) (01:38.039); 3. Kane Shepherd (UK) (01:38.041).

    Caterham 7 Asia Zonal Championship: 1. B Vijayakumar (Coimbatore) (01:54.589); 2. Vicky Chandhok (Chennai) (01:54.975); 3. MR Dastur (Chennai) (01:56.275).

  • Srinivas Teja, Raghul Rangasamy seal respective championship title

    Srinivas Teja, Raghul Rangasamy seal respective championship title

    • Two wins for Deepak Ravikumar
    • Pole for Nayan Chatterjee in MRF F1600

    Chennai, September 7: Srinivas Teja from Chennai and Mamallapuram’s Raghul Rangasamy, both from Performance Racing team, sealed the titles in their respective categories with a race to spare in the fifth and final round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship at the MMRT, here on Friday.

    Deepak Ravikumar (25) on way to winning the Formula LGB 1300 race on 7 Sept 2018. Photos by Anand Philar

    A second-place finish behind Deepak Ravikumar (Infinite Piston) ensured the title for 25-year old Teja in the Super Stock class of saloon cars category as he took his tally to an unbeatable 106. Ravkumar moved to second position in the championship with 76.5 points, ahead of Bengaluru’s Varun Anekar (Race Concepts, 75) and the duo will be fighting it out in the second race tomorrow. Anekar, who enjoyed a huge lead, in today’s race, retired when the throttle cable snapped in the sixth lap.

    Srinivas Teja (left) and Raghul Rangasamy who won the National championship in the Super Stock and Esteem Cup categories

    “Today, my focus was on complete the race without any mishap as I needed to finish second or third to pick up enough points to seal the championship. This is my first season in the Super Stock category and I am very happy that I was able to win the title,” said Teja.

    Rangasamy, a versatile racer though just 25, capped another fine season by sealing the title in the Esteem Cup, taking an insurmountable lead after scoring his seventh win in 10 starts this season. Rangasamy had won the Super Stock and Formula LGB 1300 titles in 2016 besides finishing second runner-up in the MRF F1600.

    With Teja and Rangasamy annexing the championship, Ravikumar’s “double” of winning the Super Stock and the Formula LGB 1300 races was somewhat overshadowed. However, the title fight in the LGB 1300 class is between Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motorsports, 136 points) and Sohil Shah (M Sport, 135) who finished fourth and fifth, respectively, going into tomorrow’s Race 2.

    POLE FOR NAYAN CHATTERJEE

    Mumbai’s Nayan Chatterjee qualified for pole position in the MRF F1600 category with a hot lap of 01minute, 39.432seconds, ahead of Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram) and Chennai’s Goutham Parekh. The winner of the championship which concludes on Sunday earns a ticket to the Mazda Road to Indy Shootout in the United States later this year.

    Meanwhile, Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) snatched the pole position in the premier Indian Touring Cars class, driving a car that went through a few subtle aero changes since the previous round . His arch-rival Arjun Narendran, also from Coimbatore, and Arka Motorsports team-mate Ashish Ramaswamy, the championship leader from Bengaluru, qualified second and third respectively for tomorrow’s race that promises another close contest.

    “We made a few aero changes to the car and it reflected in our lap timings. I could have gone a bit more quicker, but got caught up in traffic during a flying lap,” said Balu, who has returned to racing after a gap of five years.

    THREE INDIAN ENTRIES FOR CATERHAM RACES

    Meanwhile, veteran racers Vicky Chandhok (Chennai), who scored two podiums during last week in the Caterham 7 Asia Zonal Championship, and B Vijayakumar (Coimbatore), besides Salem’s Kasha Sai are the three Indian entries in this weekend’s double-header. In today’s Free Practice session, Sri Lankan Sheran Fernando was the quickest, followed by Vijayakumar, Chandhok, Andew Jude Choksy (Sri Lanka) and Kasha Sai.

    The fourth round of the Formula 4 South-East Asia championship also got underway with a free practice session that leader Alessandro Ghritetti (France) topped.

    The results (Provisional, all 8 laps unless mentioned):

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race-1): Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai) (15mins, 42.479secs); 2. A Balaprasath (Coimbatore) (15:43.087); 3. Sai Sanjay (Salem) (15:48.496).

    Super Stock (Race-1): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (Infinite Piston) (16:41.287); 2. Srinivas Teja (Performance Racing) (17:02.783); 3. Kasha Sai (Arka Motorsports) (17:05.700).

    Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race-1): 1. Chrys D’Souza (Unimek Racing) (17:11.446); 2. Prabhu AS (Arka Motorsports) (17:27.207); 3. Nikunj Vagh (Team N1) (17:54.575).

    Esteem Cup (Race-1): 1. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) (16:42.575); 2. Lea Daran (Performance Racing) (18:00.485).

    Qualifying – MRF F1600: 1. Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) (01:39.432); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram) (01:39.523); 3. Goutham Parekh (Chennai) (01:39.623).

    Indian Touring Cars : 1. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) (01:52.311); 2. Arjun Narendran (Arka Motorsports) (01:52.668); 3. Ashish Ramaswamy (Arka Motorsports) (01:53.922). Turbo: 1. Karthik Tharani (Chennai) (01:54.179); 2. Rayomand Banajee (Mumbai) (01:55.560); 3. Ishaan Dodhiwala (Hyderabad) (01:56.312).

  • Final round of National Racing Championship (4W) set for a grand finale; F4 cars add colour

    Final round of National Racing Championship (4W) set for a grand finale; F4 cars add colour

    File photo of MRF 1600 cars in action by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 5 Sept 2018: The MRF Indian National Racing Championship 2018 organised by Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC), is set for a grand and thrilling finale as the fifth and final round of the National Racing Championship for four-wheelers commences at the Madras Motorsports Race Track (MMRT) under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (fmsci) here on Friday.

    With titles up for grabs in all categories, the busy weekend will also see races in Formula 4 South-East Asia Championship and the Caterham 7 Asian Zonal Championship with drivers from Europe and Asia on the show.

    Chairman of the Meet Vicky Chandhok said: “It has been a long season, starting in February this year. We are pleased that the number of entries has shown a significant upward trend, especially in MRF Formula 1600, Super Stock and the Formula LGB 1300. We are indebted to MRF Tyres who have added muscle in more ways than one to our efforts to attract more youngsters to racing.

    “This is the biggest positive for us at the MMSC apart from the appreciation we have received from competitors and spectators alike for the upgrades we carried out at the MMRT over the past one year. We plan to build on this to provide better and safer racing environment as we go along.”

    Of special interest, this weekend would be the triple-header in the MRF Formula 1600 class where four drivers – Raghul Rangasamy (134 points), Goutham Parekh (123), Sandeep Kumar (115) and Ashwin Datta (110) – are in contention for the championship with a maximum of 75 points on offer.

    The Championship winner will earn the right to contest in the Mazda Road To Indy shootout as part of MMSC’s initiative to provide Indians an international platform to further their racing careers. The shootout, whose winner is eligible for a scholarship of USD 200,000, will be held in the United States later this year.

    The race for titles is as tight in the premier Indian Touring Cars class where a maximum of 50 points is up for grabs over two races. Bengaluru’s Ashish Ramaswamy of Arka Motorsports (131 points) and veteran Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) from Coimbatore (111) are the front-runners.

    Not far behind them are two others from Coimbatore and Arka Motorsports team-mates Nikanth Ram (98) and defending champion Arjun Narendran (93) who missed the first two rounds, but covered a lot of ground by winning three races from four starts, besides a second-place finish.

    The three other saloon car categories which have two races apiece with 50 points at stake, are also poised for a close finish. Chennai’s Srinivas Teja (Performance Racing) heads the Super Stock class with 97 points, ahead of Varun Anekar (75) of Race Concepts, Bengaluru, with Chennai’s Deepak Ravikumar (64) of Infinite Pistons and RP Rajarajan (63.5) of Performance Racing in tow.

    Raghul Rangasamy (93, Performance Racing) of Mammallapuram and Erode’s Vinod Subramaniam (82.5, Team N1) top the Esteem Cup while it is a straight fight between Namakkal’s Prabhu AS (82, Arka Motorsports) and Goa’s Chrys D’Souza (75.5, Unimek Racing) in the Indian Junior Touring Cars class.

    Only nine points separate the top three of Sohil Shah (126, MSport) from Bengaluru, and Chennai lads Ashwin Datta (123, Momentum Motorsports) and Nabil Hussain (117, MSport) in the popular Formula LGB 1300 category that has attracted the most number of entries this season.