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MotoGP: Bagnaia resists Vinales’ late charge to win British GP
Francesco Bagnaia resisted late pressure from Maverick Vinales to win MotoGP British GP as Jack Miller ended up third.
It was a clean start from MotoGP pole-sitter Johann Zarco in British GP at Silverstone on his Pramac Ducati as Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo slotted in second from Ducati pair of Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia with Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales in fifth.
He dropped places at start with teammate Aleix Espargaro in seventh behind Suzuki’s Alex Rins, as Pramac’s Jorge Martin was eighth from Suzuki’s Joan Mir and KTM’s Miguel Oliveira in the Top 10 with Gresini Ducati’s Enea Bastianini in 11th.
As Zarco led the way, Quartararo had to serve his Long Gap Penalty from Assen where he dropped from second to fifth behind Bagnaia. Amid this, Rins was the MotoGP rider on the charge as he moved up to fourth to slot behind the leading trio.
But things changed when Zarco crashed out from lead in the left-hander. He got going but was forced to retire eventually. Miller took the lead from Rins and Bagnaia, with Quartararo just behind him as Vinales started to get into pressure from Martin.
Miller and Rins went fighting where the Spaniard eventually got him to take the MotoGP British GP lead as the Australian dropped behind Bagnaia in third. For once, Quartararo looked to retake the podium but Martin had other ideas behind him.
He not only passed Vinales but also cleared Quartararo to be fourth. The Frenchman dropped behind the Spaniard in sixth as Mir brought himself into seventh. Espargaro was eighth from Oliveira and KTM’s Brad Binder, who gained five places since the start.
However, Bastianini got him for 10th, with VR46 Ducati pair of Marco Bezzecchi and Luca Marini in 12th and 13th. The Top 15 points position midway in the race saw Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli in 14th and Tech 3 KTM’s Remy Gardner in 15th.
At the front, Bagnaia started to close in on Rins and eventually went past him to take the MotoGP British GP lead, as Miller stood third from Vinales who cleared Martin for fourth. Quartararo was sixth from Mir, Bastianini, Espargaro and Oliveira in the Top 10.
Amid this, Miller made it Ducati 1-2 after passing Rins for second, as behind them Martin and Vinales started their duel for fourth. The former retook fourth but the latter came back on him to retake the place, while Mir crashed out of the the race.
Bastianini started to gain after passing Quartararo for sixth, as Oliveira passed Espargaro for eighth. At the front, Rins started to lose places as both Vinales and Martin passed him for third and fourth, with Bastianini looking to get through him as well.
The podium places started to shuffle when Vinales passed Miller for second with two laps to go. The Spaniard pressed on to pass Bagnaia for the lead and did so, but the Italian came back to retake it and kept it to win the MotoGP British GP race
Vinales had to settle for second after some wide moments on the final lap, as Miller rounded out the podium from Bastianini who passed Martin on the final lap. Oliveira came through to sixth after passing both Rins and Quartararo late in the race.
The Frenchman almost lost eighth to Espargaro, but managed to held onto it, with Bezzecchi rounding the Top 10 after passing Binder. Marini ended up 12th from LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami, Honda’s Pol Espargaro and Morbidelli in Top 15.
Missing out on points was RNF Yamaha’s Andrea Dovizioso in 16th with LCR’s Alex Marquez behind him from Gardner, Honda’s Stefan Bradl, RNF’s Darryn Binder, Tech 3’s Raul Fernandez and Gresini’s Fabio di Giannantonio to round out 22 finishers.
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Rajini, Jagan bounce back; Jennifer, Samrul win
Chennai, 7 August 2022: Veterans Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power1) and Jagan Kumar (Petronas TVS Racing) bounced back in style with superb victories to provide a fitting climax to the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2022 at the Madras International Circuit, here on Sunday.
Also notching impressive wins on the day were Hyderabad’s Md Samrul Zubair (Race’ists Motorcycle Club) in the Novice (Stock 165) category after starting 21st on the grid and local rider, Ann Jennifer (Alpha Racing), the former champion, in the Girls (Stock 165cc) class.
Rajini, chasing his 11th National title, shrugged off a third place finish yesterday to win handily in the next outing today in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open category to stretch his championship lead to 51 points.
Rajini’s two decades of racing experience was very much in evidence as he paced himself brilliantly and bided his time starting from P3 before making his move while keeping in mind the track condition which initially was damp following spots of light drizzle before the start. He also dealt with close attention from the Petronas TVS Racing pair of Deepak Ravikumar and Race-1 winner KY Ahamed with panache to notch his fifth win in sixth starts. “I did not really push because of the track conditions, and later eased off just a bit,” said Rajini who now leads Ravikumar by 51 points in the championship standings.
In contrast, last year’s champion Jagan Kumar, who missed the previous round owing to a wrist injury he suffered in the Rolon Round at Coimbatore in June, and still nursing a painful right wrist, recorded his first win of the season in the other premier category, the Pro-Stock 165cc Open, to end a drought that stretched to 10 months and 12 races.
Jagan made the best of the situation that saw front-running and yesterday’s winner Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) crashing early in the eight-lap race and later, new leader Deepak Ravikumar, also of Petronas TVS Racing, retiring in the second-half of the race. Needing no second invitation, Jagan blasted past team-mate KY Ahamed and Pacer Yamaha’s Prabhu Arunagiri to victory. Arunagiri, who led briefly after Sethu’s exit, finished second ahead of Ahamed. Championship leader Mathana Kumar (Pacer Yamaha) came in fifth and enjoys a 28-point cushion over Sethu.
Earlier, Md Samrul Zubair came up with a brilliant performance to win the Novice (Stock 165cc) category race which he started from P21. The race also ended a five-win streak of Hubballi’s Sarvesh Balappa (Axor Sparks Racing) who finished ninth. However, Balappa remains at the top of the championship standings in this category with a 36-point lead over Bengaluru teenager Chiranth Vishwanath (Rookies Racing) who finished third behind Mumbai’s Kayan Zubin Patel (Axor Sparks Racing) in today’s race.
Meanwhile, Ann Jennifer scored her second win of the season after the two front-runners, Ryhana Bee (Pacer Yamaha) and Lani Zena Fernandez (RACR Castrol Power1) crashed in consecutive laps at the same spot exiting the last corner. For much of the five-lap race, the battle raged in front between Ryhana and Lani, with Ann lying in third. However, with the two in front crashing but subsequently recovering to finish the race, it was a comfortable win for Ann who thus moved to the top of the championship standings in this category with 60 points.
Others who maintained their unbeaten run were:
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – Sarthak Shrikant Chavan from Pune (NSF 250, 6 wins); Raheesh Mudassar Khatri from Mumbai (CBR 150, 6 wins).
Petronas TVS One-Make Championship – Chiranth Vishwanath from Bengaluru (Rookie, 6 wins); Aditi Krishnan from Bengaluru (Girls, RTR200, 3 wins).
The results (Provisional – all 6 laps unless mentioned):
National Championship – Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. Rajini Krishnan (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1) (15mins, 09.788secs); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (15:10.049); 3. KY Ahamed (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (15:11.842).
Pro-Stock 165cc Open (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. Jagan Kumar (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (15:50.649); 2. Prabhu Arunagiri (Chennai, Pacer Yamaha) (15:50.794); 3. KY Ahamed (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (15:51.092).
Novice (Stock 165cc, Race-2, 6 laps): 1. Md Samrul Zubair (Hyderabad, Race’ists Motorcycle Club) (13:06.841); 2. Kayan Zubin Patel (Mumbai, Axor Sparks Racing) (13:07.254); 3. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru, Rookies Racing) (13:08.310).
Girls (Stock 165cc, 5 laps): 1. Ann Jennifer (Chennai, Alpha Racing) (11:00.636); 2. Jagathishree (Chennai, Pacer Yamaha) (11:02.138); 3. Jagruti Penkar (Mumbai, Axor Sparks Racing) (11:09.459).
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250 Open (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Sarthak Shrikant Chavan (Pune) (18:19.395); 2. Kavin Quintal (Chennai) (18:41.408); 3. Shyam Sundar (Chennai) (18:45.910).
Novice (CBR 150, Race-2): 1. Raheesh Mudassar Khatri (Mumbai) (12:49.567); 2. Rajender Beedani (Jangaon) (12:49.849); 3. Harshith V Bogar (Bengaluru) (13:01.044).
Support Race – Hornet 2.0 (Race-2): 1. Allwin Xavier (Chennai) (13:23.706); 2. Sudheer Sudhakar (New Delhi) (13:25.265); 3. G Balaji (Chennai) (13:25.293).
Petronas TVS One-Make Championship – Open (Apache RR310, Race-1): 1. Alwin Sundar (Chennai) (11:45.653); 2. Rahil Pillarisetty (Hyderabad) (11:45.659); 3. P Anantharaj (Chennai) (11:47.459). Race-2: 1. Rahil Pillarisetty (Hyderabad) (11:40.643); 2. Jagadeesh N (Bengaluru) (11:40.661); 3. P Ananthraj (Chennai) (11:42.608).
Rookie (Apache RTR 200, Race-2): 1. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru) (12:30.498); 2. Shreyas Hareesh (Bengaluru) (12:40.139); 3. Abdul Basim RS (Chennai) (12:40.250).
Media (Apache RTR 200, 5 laps): 1. Karan Singh (Delhi) (11:53.563); 2. Ishan Lee (Pune) (11:54.038); 3. Mandar Sheela Sawant (Pune) (11:57.498).
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MotoGP: Zarco beats Vinales by 0.098s to British GP pole
Johann Zarco broke Silverstone’s lap record to take MotoGP pole in British GP from Maverick Vinales and Jack Miller.
Q1:
The first in MotoGP qualifying in British GP at Silverstone post the summer break saw and early crash for LCR Honda’s Alex Marquez at Turn 8-9 sequence. He was agitated with someone but replays showed he had a fall on his own and not while in a fight.
He was shown to be angry at VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi with whom he had a run-in earlier. On track, Gresini Ducati’s Enea Bastianini led the way initially with a 1m58.804s lap from KTM’s Miguel Oliveira with Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli slotting just behind them.
Bezzecchi had more run-in against Honda riders as Bastianini upped his pace to a 1m58.609s to make it in Q2 from Bezzecchi who put in a late lap of 1m58.756s to go through as well, where Binder was knocked out of contention.
A late lap from his teammate Oliveira put him in third and 13th for the British MotoGP race, with Binder in 14th from Gresini’s Fabio di Ginannantonio in the Top 15. Tech 3 KTM’s Remy Gardner put in a good lap to be 16th from Marquez, who hoped onto the second bike.
He led the two factory Honda riders Stefan Bradl and Pol Espargaro, as LCR teammate Takaaki Nakagami was 21st behind Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli. Tech 3’s Raul Fernandez was 22nd from RNF Yamaha pair of Darryn Binder and Andrea Dovizioso.
Q2:
The second part in MotoGP qualifying in British GP saw Aleix Espargaro hit the track on his Aprilia after a heavy crash in FP4. He was 12th after his initial lap despite the pain he was in as Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo led the way with a 1m58.259s.
Remarkably he was only 0.001s quicker than Ducati’s Jack Miller, as Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales rounded the front row after their first run. The Pramac Ducati pair of Jorge Martin and Johann Zarco rounded out the Top 5 positions.
The second run started with Espargaro going fastest with a 1m57.966s lap, but Quartararo and Miller toppled him with Zarco ending up quickest with a 1m57.767s lap to not only break the lap record but also secure MotoGP pole in British GP.
A late lap from Vinales put him in second as he was only 0.098s down on Zarco, with Miller in third from Quartararo and the other Ducati of Francesco Bagnaia in the Top 5. Espargaro managed sixth in the end from Q1 runners Bezzecchi and Bastianini.
Martin could only manage ninth in the end with VR46’s Luca Marini in 10th from the Suzuki pair of Alex Rins and Joan Mir in the Top 12.
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Ahamed leads TVS 1-2 finish in top class; Rajiv Sethu puts Honda on top in 165cc class
Chennai, 6 Aug 2022: KY Ahamed led a 1-2 finish for Petronas TVS Racing while Rajiv Sethu of Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing, finally chalked up his first win of the season and Sarvesh Balappa his fifth in a row in their respective categories as the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2022 sparked to life at the Madras International Circuit, here on Saturday.
KY Ahamed (No.33), winner of the Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open category race on Saturday. Photos by Anand Philar Ahamed scored a merited win in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open category with team-mate Deepak Ravikumar in tow even as the unbeaten run of champion Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power1) who had won the previous four races over two rounds, ended as he went off the track when in the lead due to mechanical issues, but managed to finish third.
Ahamed, starting from P2 behind pole-sitter Ravikumar, made a decisive move in the last lap to get ahead for a deserving maiden victory of the season in this category. The results notwithstanding, Rajini Krishnan continues to lead the championship table following his four-in-a-row winning sequence over the previous two rounds, with a healthy 44-point advantage over Ravikumar with Ahamed a further 10 points behind, going into Race-2 on Sunday.
Rajiv Sethu (No.8), winner of the Pro-Stock 165cc race, at MIC on Saturday. Later, in a heart-stopper Pro-Stock 165cc race, Rajiv Sethu fought and won a tense battle that kept the final outcome in suspense until the very finish where the lead Honda star held off Petronas TVS Racing pair of Deepak Ravikumar and KY Ahamed even as leader and pole-sitter Prabhu Arunagiri (Pacer Yamaha) crashed in the dying moments of the six-lap race.
Earlier, Sarvesh Balappa, a 23-year old mechanical student from Hubballi, and a late bloomer as a racer, chalked up his fifth win in a row in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category in a race that was reduced to four laps from scheduled six following multiple crashes in the very first lap. All riders in the crashes escaped with minor injuries.
Sarvesh Balappa, who chalked up his fifth consecutive win in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category. Balappa, starting from P4 on the 33-rider grid, kept his wits amidst the chaotic first lap. On restart, the Hubballi rider made his way up the field and seized the lead which he defended with aplomb, even looking behind as he approached the finish line to take the chequered flag. Following him home in close formation were Bengaluru teenager Chiranth Vishwanath (Rookies Racing) and Aldrin Babu (RACR Castrol Power1) from Chalakudy while Mumbai’s Kayan Zubin Patel (Axor Sparks Racing), starting from pole, finished a distant sixth after suffering an off-track excursion and clutch issues.
Meanwhile, former champion and Round-1 winner, Ann Jennifer (Alpha Racing) qualified for pole position for Sunday’s race in the Girls (Stock 165cc) category, clocking a best lap of 02:09.11. Puducherry’s Lani Zena Fernandez (RACR Castrol Power1) was second best in 02:09.297, followed by defending champion and Round-2 winner Ryhana Bee of Pacer Yamaha (02:10.031).
The results (Provisional – all 6 laps unless mentioned):
National Championship – Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open (Race-1): 1. KY Ahamed (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (11mins, 18.989secs); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (11:19.095); 3. Rajini Krishnan (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1) (11:28.348).
Pro-Stock 165cc Open (Race-1): 1. Rajiv Sethu (Chennai, Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) (11:48.625); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (11:48.900); 3. KY Ahamed (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (11:49.128).
Novice (Stock 165cc, Race-1, 4 laps): 1. Sarvesh Balappa (Hubballi, Axor Sparks Racing) (08:48.175); 2. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru, Rookies Racing) (08:48.414); 3. Aldrin Babu (Chalakudy, RACR Castrol Power1) (08:52.063).
Support Race – Stock 301-400cc (Novice): 1. Jayanth Prathipati (Pvt, Hyderabad) (12:30.951); 2. Shazan Khan (Race Abilities, Bengaluru) (12:33.847); 3. Vivek M (Bengaluru) (Race Abilities, Bengaluru) (12:34.581).
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250 Open (Race-1): 1. Sarthak Shrikant Chavan (Pune) (11:06.145); 2. Kavin Qunital (Chennai) (11:15.856); 3. Shyam Sundar (Chennai) (11:18.495).
Novice (CBR 150, Race-1): 1. Raheesh Mudassar Khatri (Mumbai) (12:58.915); 2. Shyam Babu (Chennai) (13:02.234); 3. Siddesh Sawant (Kolhapur) (13:02.345).
Support Race – Hornet 2.0 (Race-1): 1. Allwin Xavier (Chennai) (13:27.649); 2. G Balaji (Chennai) (13:28.030); 3. Romario John (Chennai) (13:30.665).
Girls (Stock 165cc): 1. Ann Jennifer (Chennai, Alpha Racing) (02:09.111); 2. Lani Zena Fernandez (Puducherry, RACR Castrol Power1) (02:09.297); 3. Ryhana Bee (Chennai, Pacer Yamaha) (02:10.031).
Petronas TVS One-Make Championship – Rookie (Apache RTR 200, Race-1): 1. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru) (12:26.838); 2. Abdul Basim RS (Chennai) (12:48.315); 3. Tamizhinian KR (Chennai) (12:48.431).
Girls (Apache RTR200) (5 laps): 1. Aditi Krishnan (Bengaluru) (11:10.496); 2. Ananya Awasthi (Chennai) (11:20.938); 3. Nishitha (Chennai) (11:29.921).
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Maini finishes NLS race in Top 10; suffers DNF in 24 Hours of Spa
NLS:
With a solid performance, the two DTM drivers Lucas Auer (AUT) and Arjun Maini (IND), as well as Jordan Love (AUS) achieved a strong 6th place overall in the blue and yellow BILSTEIN Mercedes-AMG GT3 for the Haupt Racing Team at the “ROWE 6-Stunden ADAC Ruhr-Pokal Rennen”.
For Maini and Love it was their first race in a GT3 car on the Nordschleife and for Auer it was his first outing for the Haupt Racing Team, drawing attention with a lap time of 7:52.848 in qualifying – and this despite the fact that his last NLS start was 2 years ago.
The likeable Austrian then started the race from 6th place and completed consistent stints – just like his teammates. For the new HRT driver trio, however, the priority was to collect race kilometers on the Nordschleife but also finish the race. All three drivers fulfilled this task with brilliance and showed strong performance, battling within the top 10 for the entire race, which lasted 43 laps.
Lucas Auer, Haupt Racing Team #6: “The Nordschleife is brutal. You really have a lot to manage – but it was great fun and we can be really happy with the result.”
Arjun Maini, Haupt Racing Team #6: “After my first lap with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 on the Nordschleife I had a big smile on my face. It was really fun and we did quite well.”
Jordan Love, Haupt Racing Team #6: “My first race in a GT3 car on the Nordschleife was just great. I learned so much and kept learning with each lap that went by. Thanks to the Haupt Racing Team for this opportunity. I couldn’t be happier.”
Ulrich Fritz, Managing Director Haupt Racing Team: “We decided to use the 6-hour race to give the drivers the opportunity to develop and gain race kilometers on the Nordschleife. All three drivers absolutely met our expectations and showed a solid performance to build on.”
24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps:
It was Maini’s first time in 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps with Haupt Racing Team in the #5 Mercedes GT3 alongside Hubert Haupt, Gabriele Piana and Florian Scholze in the Gold class category.
The final qualifying saw them end up 39th in the overall standings, while they were fifth in the Gold Cup. It was a steady start for the team initially and by the end of the fourth hour, they were in the lead of their category.
They kept the lead until the sixth hour but a crash by the end of the seventh hour ended their race early from the lead of the race.
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Prabhu Arunagiri, Kayan Zubin top qualies;
Chennai, 5 Aug 2022: Pacer Yamaha’s Prabhu Arunagiri and Mumbai youngster Kayan Zubin Patel (Axor Sparks Racing) qualified for pole positions in Pro-Stock 165cc and Novice (Stock 165cc) categories, respectively, in the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2022 which commenced at the Madras International Circuit, here on Friday.
Clocking a hot lap of one minute, 55.942secs, Arunagiri, a battle-scarred veteran, scored over fellow-Chennai riders, Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) and KY Ahamed (Petronas TVS Racing) with less than a second separating the trio.
Arunagiri, who failed to pick up any points in the previous round last month and placed fifth on the leaderboard, had just enough pace to hold off his rivals that included the experienced Petronas TVS Racing pair of Deepak Ravikumar and defending champion Jagan Kumar, who qualified P4 and P5. Mathana Kumar (Pacer Yamaha) who leads the championship in this category, could manage only P6.
Kayan Zubin Patel, who qualified for pole position in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category, at BIC on Friday. Photo by Anand Philar Kayan (02.08.016) edged out team-mate Varun Nanjundegowda (02:08.175) from Mysuru while Hyderabad’s Md Samrul Zuair qualified third in 02:08.665. Hubbali’s Sarvesh Balappa (Axor Sparks Racing), winner of all four races in the previous two rounds, was fourth in 02:08.705.
Hailing from a family of Motocross specialists, Kayan switched to track racing a couple of seasons ago. “I used to participate in Autocross events like my dad and uncles, but switched track racing last season. It was hard work as I had shed weight. Last season, I was 120Kgs, but now, I am 85Kgs and want to reduce further,” said 21-year old Kayan who works in his family business.
Earlier, KY Ahamed enjoyed a fine Free Practice session in the premier Pro-stock 301-400cc category which he topped with a blazing lap of 01:51.085, followed by his Petronas TVS Racing team-mate Deepak Ravikumar (01:51.366) and National champion Rajini Krishnan (01:52.746) of RACR Castrol Power1.
Meanwhile, former champion Ann Jennifer (Alpha Racing), winner in the first round, topped the Free Practice time sheet in the Girls (Stock 165cc) category, clocking a best lap of two minutes, 09.980secs, ahead of defending champion Ryhana Bee (Pacer Yamaha) who did 02:10.180, and Lani Zena Fernandez (02:11.357) of RACR Castrol Power1. Championship leader, Aditi Krishnan (Winverve Apex Racing Academy) from Bengaluru was fifth fastest in 02:14.011.
Ann Jennifer who set the fastest time in Free Practice in the Girls Stock 165cc National Championship on Friday. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan The results (Qualifying – top 3, best laps):
National Championship – Pro-Stock 165cc Open: 1. Prabhu Arunagiri (Chennai, Pacer Yamaha) (01min, 55.942secs); 2. Rajiv Sethu (Chennai, Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) (01:55.947); 3. KY Ahamed (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (01:56.066).
Novice (Stock 165cc): 1. Kayan Zubin Patel (Mumbai, Axor Sparks Racing) (02:08.016); 2. Varun Nanjunde Gowda (Mysuru, Axor Sparks Racing) (02:08.175); 3. Md Samrul Zubair (Hyderabad, Race’ists Motorcycle Club) (02:08.665).
Support race (Stock 301-400cc): 1. Jayanth Prathipati (Hyderabad) (02:03.385); 2. Sandeep Gorai (Raganpur) (02:04.701); 3. Shazan Khan (Bengaluru) (02:04.869).
Petronas TVS One-Make Championship – Open (Apache RR310): 1. Alwin Sundar (Chennai) (01:54.827); 2. Rahil Pillarisetty (Hyderabad) (01:54.870); 3. Manoj Yesuadiyan (Chennai) (01:55.216).
Girls (Apache RTR200): 1. Aditi Krishnan (Bengaluru) (02:13.521); 2. Ananya Awasthi (Chennai) (02:14.760); 3. Nishitha (Chennai) (02:15.850).
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – Novice (CBR 150): 1. Raheesh Mudassar Khatri (Mumbai) (02:07.249); 2. Siddesh Sawant (Kolhapur) (02:07.987); 3. Rajender Beedani (Jangaon) (02:08.946).
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Rajini Krishnan, Sarvesh Balappa keen to keep slate clean
Chennai, 4 August 2022: Experienced Indian racing ace Rajini Krishnan and Hubbali’s youngster Sarvesh Balappa who won all the four races in their respective classes will look to keep their slate clean as Round 3 begins here at the rechristened Madras International Circuit, which will open it newly-built Grand Stand for the Public for the first time. The facility could not be opened till now due Covid-19.
The MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2022 enters its crucial phase this weekend with the front-runners on the leaderboard keen to consolidate their positions by achieving a fine balance between outright aggression and smart riding.
While veteran Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power1), bidding for his 11th National title, has dominated the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc category with four wins from as many starts, the situation in the popular Pro-Stock 165cc class is intriguing, though Pacer Yamaha’s Mathana Kumar enjoys a 35-point advantage. His arch-rivals, Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing), and the Petronas TVS Racing pair of Deepak Ravikumar and KY Ahamed, showed signs of resurgence in Round-2 last month after a washout in the season-opener at Coimbatore in June. Thus, the expectations are high of close battles this weekend.
Hubballi’s Sarvesh Balappa (Axor Sparks Racing), with four wins out of four, is comfortably placed in the Novice category (Stock 165cc) that attracts a grid of some 40 riders. In the Girls category (Stock 165cc), just 10 points separate the top four – Aditi Krishnan (Bengaluru, Winverve Apex Racing Academy), Ann Jennifer (Chennai, Axor Sparks Racing), Jagruti Penkar (Mumbai, Axor Sparks Racing) and last year’s champion Ryhana Bee (Chennai, Pacer Yamaha), in that order.
The Petronas TVS One-Make Championship has seen some hectic action. In the Open category, there have been four different winners, while Bengaluru schoolboy Chiranth Vishwanath has won all four races in the Rookie class and Aditi Krishnan remains unbeaten after two outings in the Girls category.
Pune teenager Sarthak Shrikant Chavan, with a clean sweep of all four races, heads the NSF 250R class in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup as also Mumbai’s Raheesh Mudassar Khatri in the Novice (CBR 150) category.
The 20-race card will get rolling tomorrow (Friday) with Free Practice and qualifying sessions ahead of the races over the following two days which could see some exciting competition as was the case in the previous round last month.
While almost 200 entrants fight it out on the track, promoters Madras Motor Sports Club have thrown open the 600-seater grandstand along the main straight to the public and fans. Spectators can avail of refreshments and snacks besides watching the live streaming of the races on several 55-inch television monitors in the stands.
“The two rounds so far have witnessed some thrilling action and extremely close races, and this weekend, we are sure, it will be no different. We are hoping that the fans will turn out in good numbers to witness the action. We have opened the grandstand to the public for the first time since it was built in 2020, but could not be utilised due to the pandemic. A special award will be presented to a rider / team with the biggest cheering squad in the grandstand,” said MMSC vice-president Vicky Chandhok.
On the track, the National Championship will see double-headers in the two premier Pro-stock categories – 301-400cc Open and 165cc Open – besides the Novice (Stock 165cc) class, while one race is slated for the Girls (Stock 165cc) and the Stock 301-400cc, introduced as a support event this season.
The Petronas TVS One-Make Championship organised by MMSC – Open (Apache 310RR), and Rookie, Girls and Media (all Apache RTR200) – and the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250R, Novice (CBR 150) and Hornet 2.0 (Support race) – make up rest of the weekend programme.
About Madras Motor Sports Club
Since its humble beginnings in 1953, the Madras Motor Sports Club has grown in stature as the hub of motorsport activity in India. Having moved its racing activities from Sholavaram to its present location, the Madras International Circuit (earlier MMRT), in Sriperumbudur in 1979, MMSC has kept pace with changing times by upgrading facilities. At a cost of about Rs 20 Crore, the MMSC built a pit complex comprising 20 garages, VIP hospitality suites and a viewing gallery, on the eastern side, apart from a second Paddock on the western side with its own short circuit. Parallelly, MMSC imported timing equipment specifically for Drag racing. The Control Room too was upgraded with state-of-the-art hardware while the track itself was improved to meet the exacting FIA standards for Grade-2 certification. MMSC also constructed a 500-capacity grand stand with provision for garages / storage below. In another upgrade, the MMSC installed Digi flags from TAG Heuer Chronolec that will be positioned strategically around the track. The facilities are also extensively used by various vehicle manufacturers for testing their products, displays and corporate days.
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Gaurav Gill – Musa Sherif win Rally of Coimbatore: Blueband INRC Round 2
Coimbatore, 31 July 2022: King of Indian motorsports Gaurav Gill made a triumphant return to rallying winning the Rally of Coimbatore, the second round of the Blueband Sports fmsci Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) 2022 for four-wheelers, at the Kethanoor Windmill Farms here on Sunday.
With experienced Musa Sherif as navigator, Gill, the 40-year Delhi daredevil in JK colours, who had over 90 second overnight lead, snubbed his urge for speed and brought home the Mahindra XUV 300, ahead of a marauding Karna Kadur (co-driver Nikhil Pai) to clinch the Round 2 and bagged full points. However, the Bengaluru duo, Karna and co-driver Nikhil, the MRF Tyres lead pair, who were fastest in all the four stages, finished second but retained their lead in the championship table after two rounds. Aroor Arjun Rao and co-driver Sathish Rajagopal finished third.
Gaurav Gill, left, and Musa Sherif, who won the Rally of Coimbatore, the Round 2 of Bluband Sports INRC 2022 on Sunday. Photo from Musa Sherif Gaurav Gill, who left Arka Motorsports team after a long association, said on his Instagram handle: “It is a hot weekend here in Coimbatore with scorching temparature but the car was able to set the pace with the special JK Tyres and we finished where we belong, on top of the podium, and that too with a completely new team.”
After the stages, Gill, rushed to the airport, as he had to leave for Finland to take part in the World Rally Championship. The Arjuna Awardee made a comeback to WRC2 after two years in June at the Kenya rally, where he showed tremendous pace winning a couple of stages but his car stopped with huge amounts of sand in the engine. He will be driving a Skoda Fabia R5 again in WRC2 class in Finland with shakedown on Friday. “I am rushing to Finland and hoping for a good outing in the WRC,” said Gill from the airport.
In INRC 2, brothers Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan, the 2019 overall champions from Bengaluru, nurtured their overnight lead for a comfortable victory ahead of Suhem Kabir and Jeevarathinam. Another Bengaluru pair Ritesh Guttedar and co-driver Lokaranjan came third. Defending champions Chettinad Sporting’s Aditya Thakur and Virender Kashyap of Himachal Pradesh logged a DNF on Sunday with mechanical problems.
Karna Kadur and Nikhil Pai, collected enough points from second place in Round 2 to lead the Overall INRC championship table after two rounds. Promising talent Jahaan Singh Gill, the Delhi teenager, hoisted the JK flag high, to win the INRC 3 class. Mysore-Mangalore combo Syed Salman Ahmed and Rishab came second with two golden stars of yester years, Philippos Mathai and Kumar Ramaswamy taking a third place. Both are knowledgeable and popular motorsports aficionados.
Defending champion Deepak Chandra and co-driver Mahesh Nandi won the INRC4 class beating the only opponent Ninu Mohan (Goutham) to second place.
Jahaan and Suraj also won the Junior INRC class with Arnav Prathap Singh (co-driver Arjun SSB) taking second ahead of the top ladies pair Pragathi Gowda and Trisha Alonkar.
Editor’s note dated 1 Aug 2022: The results have changed following the disqualification of Aroor Arjun Rao, Chetan Shivram and Jahaan Gill due to technicial infringements during post-event Scrutiny.
Provisional final Classification after Sunday (Corrected after Scrutiny):
Overall
1. Gaurav Gill, Delhi /Musa Sherif, Kasargod, INRC (Privateer/Mahindra XUV 300) 1hour, 47 minutes, 37.300 seconds;
2. Karna Kadur/ Nikhil Pai, both Bengaluru, INRC (Arka Motorsports/VW Polo 1.0) 1:48:06.200;
3. Aroor Arjun Rao, Mangaluru / Sathish Rajagopal, Bengaluru, INRC
(Mandovi Racing/ Maruti Baleno RS) 1: 49:52.800;4. Chetan Shivram/ Dilip Sharan, both Bengaluru, INRC2 (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6)
1: 50:17.200;3. Younus Ilyas/ Milen George (Race Concepts/ Mitsubishi Cedia) 1:52:06.900;
Jahaan Singh Gill, Chandigarh/ Suraj Keshava Prasad, Bengaluru (Pvt./ VW Polo 1.6) 1: 52:22.400;4. Syed Salman Ahmed, Mysore / BK Rishabh, Mangaluru (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6) 1:53:17.100;
(34 of the 46 cars finished Day 2; 9 DNF, 1 MPL, 2 did not start)
INRC
1. Gaurav Gill, Delhi /Musa Sherif, Kasargod, INRC (Privateer/Mahindra XUV 300) 1hour, 47 minutes, 37.300 seconds;
2. Karna Kadur/ Nikhil Pai, both Bengaluru, INRC (Arka Motorsports/VW Polo 1.0) 1:48:06.200;
3. Aroor Arjun Rao, Mangaluru / Sathish Rajagopal, Bengaluru, INRC
(Mandovi Racing/ Maruti Baleno RS) 1: 49:52.800;3. Younus Ilyas/ Milen George (Race Concepts/ Mitsubishi Cedia) 1:52:06.900;
INRC2
Chetan Shivram/ Dilip Sharan, both Bengaluru, INRC2 (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6)
1: 50:17.200;1. Suhem Kabir, Virajpet / Jeevarathinam, Bengaluru (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6) 1:53:23.600;
2. Ritesh Guttedar M / Lokaranjan HJ, Both Bengaluru (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6) 1:56:33.700;
3. Aroor Vikram Rao/ Somayya, (Snap Racing/VW Polo), 1:56:37.400.
(Only six of the 10 cars finished in INRC2)
INRC3
1.
Jahaan Singh Gill, Chandigarh/ Suraj Keshava Prasad, Bengaluru (Pvt./ VW Polo 1.6) 1: 52:22.400;1. Syed Salman Ahmed, Mysore / BK Rishabh, Mangaluru (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6) 1:53:17.100;
2. Philippos Mathai, Delhi/ Kumar Ramaswamy, Coimbatore (Arka Motorsports)/VW Polo 1.6) 1:53:20.800;
3. Chandan KM/Venu Ramesh Kumar (Arka Motorsports/VW Polo) 1:53:51.800.
(20 out of 24 cars finished in INRC3)
INRC4
1. Deepak Chandra, /Mahesh Nandi, Both Bengaluru, (Pvt/Honda City) 02: 03:16.700;
2. Ninu Mohan, Trivandrum / Goutham CP, (Pvt/Honda City) Chikmagalur, 02: 32:41.000;
(Only two cars in this class, both finished)
Non-Championship – fmsci Gypsy Challenge
1. Samrat Yadav, Chandigarh/ Chandrashekar, Bengaluru, (Pvt) 1: 58:23.200;
2. Sanjay Razdan, Gurugram/ Kiran Aukta, Shimla (Pvt) 2: 07:05.700;
3. Dheeraj KV/ Pramod Raman, Both Bengaluru (Pvt). 02:08:10.100;
(six cars out of 9 finished; one DNF, two MPL)
Junior INRC
1.
Jahaan Singh Gill, Chandigarh/ Suraj Keshava Prasad, Bengaluru (Pvt./ VW Polo 1.6) 1: 52:22.400;1. Arnav Singh Pratap / Arjun SSB, Both Bengaluru, (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6) 1:54:34.500;
2. Pragathi Gowda/ Trisha Alonkar Both Bengaluru (Arka Motorsports/ VW Polo 1.6) 1:55:14.600.
3. Dr. Shivani Pruthvi/ Dr. Deepthi Pruthvi, both Davangere (Pvt/ Honda City VTec) 2:00:31.500
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Hungarian GP: Verstappen wins from P10 ahead of Mercedes pair
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen came through to win F1 Hungarian GP from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
The threat of rain continued to rumble at the start of F1 Hungarian GP at Hungaroring, but it was dry as Mercedes’ George Russell fended off Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz’s charge into Turn 1 where the Brit remained in front of the Spaniard on the soft tyre.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was third with the two of them on the medium from McLaren’s Lando Norris, who was on the soft tyre. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was up to fifth from Alpine pair of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso on the medium tyres.
The Red Bull pair were on the soft tyre with Sergio Perez initially passing Max Verstappen, but the Dutchman was back ahead in seventh, as Haas’ Kevin Magnussen passed McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo to make it in the Top 10 but had some damage due to minor contact.
There was a Virtual Safety Car period to clear the debris after contact between Williams’ Alexander Albon and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel. The Thai racer was forced to pit, while later on Magnussen was shown black and orange flag for his front wing damage.
The VSC re-start worked well for Russell as he generated a 2s gap over Sainz and Leclerc. Behind them, Hamilton was up to fourth after passing Norris, who also lost out to Verstappen on the same lap. The Dutchman came through after passing the Alpine pair.
He brought Perez along with him as the pit stop game started soon enough. A slow stop for both Russell and Sainz allowed the Brit to retain the lead after all the pit stops were completed. Leclerc having extended his lead jumped his teammate to second.
Verstappen was up to fourth from Hamilton, Perez and Norris. The Alfa Romeo pair of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu slotted in eighth and ninth without having stopped, as Ricciardo passed both Ocon and Alonso in a solid move to be 10th.
Alonso was anyhow furious with Ocon after he was pushed towards the wall at the start. The two jumped to hard tyres and the Frenchman came out just in front of the Spaniard on the track when he was being chased by Ricciardo in the fight for track position.
As Alonso tried a move on Ocon, it allowed Ricciardo to sneak through both on the inside and secure track position. At the front, Leclerc closed in on Russell lap by lap and tried a move on him for couple of laps but the Brit had a solid defence.
He eventually ran out of it on the main straight as Leclerc took the outside line to take the F1 Hungarian GP lead from Russell who then had Sainz on his tail. Verstappen was a bit far off in fourth from Hamilton, Perez, Norris and Ricciardo.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll did well to be in ninth ahead of Ocon in the Top 10, as Vettel passed Alonso for 11th with the two Alpine drivers struggling a bit on the hard tyres. The German also caught the back of the Frenchman for the final point.
AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, meanwhile, had a spin on his own in the left-hander after losing slight control as teammate Pierre Gasly did well in 13th after starting from the pitlane using his fourth power unit which he took along with third for both the Red Bull drivers.
The second round pit stops saw Sainz and Hamilton extend their strategy along with Perez. But with Leclerc switching to hard tyres, it allowed Verstappen to catch him and pass him for track position. But he couldn’t keep up the place for long.
A moment in the left-hander send him into a spin which allowed Leclerc to retake the place as Verstappen held off Russell. The recovery was quick for the Dutchman as he back on tail of the Monegasque and passed him for fourth place.
In the lower half of the Top 10, there was contact between Ricciardo and Stroll when the Canadian tried a move around the outside in the curve corner. It dropped them to outside of the Top 10 as the Australian was handed a 5s time penalty.
At the front, Verstappen took the F1 Hungarian GP lead after Hamilton’s pit stop. Leclerc was second but came under tremendous pressure from Russell as his hard tyres just didn’t give him any grip. He eventually passed him for second at Turn 1 going around the outside.
The strategy didn’t work as Leclerc eventually pitted for soft tyres to drop behind Sainz, Hamilton and Perez in sixth. Norris stationed in seventh from Alonso and Ocon, where the Spaniard got ahead of the Frenchman in the latter laps.
Bottas held to 10th but had Stroll and Vettel on his tail in the fight for the final point. The Finn lost out to both with the Canadian making it in the Top 10 from teammate, much like how it was at Paul Ricard where the German was chasing him for the final point.
At the front, Verstappen was out in the distance as Hamilton passed both Sainz and Russell to move up to second. It was a good fight between the two teammates as Sainz, Perez and Leclerc more or less settled down in the order.
In the lower half, Vettel passed Stroll for the final point as the VSC period was deployed when Bottas stopped on track with a problem. At the front, amid drops of rain Verstappen took the F1 Hungarian GP from 10th on the grid ahead of the Mercedes pair.
Hamilton ended up second from Russell with Sainz in fourth from Perez who fended off a late charge from Leclerc. Norris was seventh from Alonso, Ocon and Vettel in the Top 10. Stroll was 11th from Gasly, Zhou, Haas’ Mick Schumacher and Ricciardo in Top 15.
The Australian dropped back after his penalty, with Magnussen in 16th from Albon, Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, Tsunoda and Bottas where the Finn was classified despite not finishing the race – everyone from Alonso ended up a lap down with Tsunoda being two laps down.
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Gaurav Gill takes early lead on Saturday ahead of Karna Kadur
Coimbatore, 30 July 2022: Speed maestro Gaurav Gill, along with experienced co-driver Musa Sherif, led the overall standings after Day 1, in the Rally of Coimbatore, the second round of the Blueband Sports fmsci Indian National Rally Championship 2022 for four wheelers, organised by Coimbatore Auto Sports Club, here on Saturday.
Championship leaders Karna Kadur and co-driver Nikhil Pai, who won the first round in April, also drove their MRF Tyres-shod Polo cautiously to place themselves in the second position to protect their advantage as table toppers. Mangaluru’s Aroor Arjun Rao, along with co-driver Sathish Rajagopal were overall third after the first two Special Stages on Saturday. Four more Special Stages will be run on Sunday. The 19.65-Km Black Thunder stage and 14.75-km Thunder World stage will be run twice each alternately at the familiar Kethanoor windmill farms.
Gill, the seven-time overall INRC champion, supported by JK Tyre, was hell bent on stopping the streak of mechanical failures that he suffered in the last few rallies. The Arjuna Awardee confessed that this was probably his slowest ever rally in his career. Nevertheless, the three-time APRC champion was still the quickest on the dirt tracks, posting the fastest time in both the runs on the 26.6-km Special Stage ‘SM Agro’ on Saturday. The Agro special stage was the longest in recent years in INRC, and Gill’s team did not take any chances with the performance of the car. “This car has never done such a distance in the rally. Non-stop driving at high speed for over 20 minutes will be too much for the car… The engines, drive shafts and gears are not designed for such heat. So the focus is to bring the car back home safely,” Gill told the reporters.
Brothers Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan, the 2019 overall champions, combine once again after a gap, to take the lead in their class, the INRC2, after Day 1 in the Rally of Coimbatore, the INRC Round 2 on Saturday. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan Bengaluru’s Chetan Shivram, is back with his brother Dilip Sharan as co-driver. The duo who won the 2019 Overall title, are leading the INRC2 class in a Polo on Yokohoma tyres, ahead of defending champions Aditya Thakur and Virender Kashyap of Himachal Pradesh. The Chettinad Sporting duo supported by MRF, are just three seconds behind and kept themselves at a striking distance with four stages to be run on Sunday. Another strong contender Fabid Ahmer (Sanath G), the reigning INRC2 champ began well but suffered drive shaft issues. He had mechanical problems in Round 1 too.
Chandigarh teenager Jahaan Singh Gill along with Bengaluru co-driver Suraj Keshava Prasad are leading INRC3 while Bengaluru INRC4 defending champions Deepak Chandra (co-driver Mahesh Nandy) are ahead in the 2-car INRC4 field.
Women in Motorsports: Bengaluru pair Pragathi Gowda and Trisha Alonkar are leading among the ladies teams with a creditable overall 23rd among 53 cars that took the start on Saturday.
Provisional Classification after Day 1 /Saturday:
Overall: 1. Gaurav Gill, Delhi /Musa Sherif, Kasargod, INRC (Privateer/Mahindra XUV 300) 47 minutes, 22.000 seconds; 2. Karna Kadur/ Nikhil Pai, both Bengaluru, INRC (Arka Motorsports/VW Polo 1.0) 48:53.300; 3. Aroor Arjun Rao, Mangaluru / Sathish Rajagopal, Bengaluru, INRC (Mandovi Racing/ Maruti Baleno RS) 49:12.800; 4. Chetan Shivram/ Dilip Sharan, both Bengaluru, INRC2 (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6) 49:20.200; 5. Aditya Thakur, Solan, / Virender Kahsyap, Shimla, INRC2 (Chettinad Sporting/ VW Polo1.6) 49:23.200; 6. Dean Mascarenhas, Mangaluru / Gagan Karumbaiah, Kodagu, INRC (Pvt/ Baleno) 49:40.600; 7. Aroor Vikram Rao, Mangaluru / Somayya AG, Kodagu, INRC2 (Snap Racing/ VW Polo 1.6) 49:48.500.
INRC: 1. Gaurav Gill/Musa Sherif, (Privateer/Mahindra XUV 300) 47 minutes, 22.000 seconds;2. Karna Kadur/ Nikhil Pai, (Arka Motorsports/VW Polo 1.0) 48:53.300; 3. Aroor Arjun Rao, / Sathish Rajagopal, (Mandovi Racing/ Maruti Baleno RS) 49:12.800;
INRC2: 1. Chetan Shivram/ Dilip Sharan, both Bengaluru, (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6) 49:20.200; 2. Aditya Thakur, Solan/ Virender Kahsyap, Shimla (Chettinad Sporting/ VW Polo1.6) 49:23.200; 3. Aroor Vikram Rao / Somayya AG, Both Mangaluru (Snap Racing/ VW Polo 1.6) 49:48.500.
INRC3: 1. Jahaan Singh Gill, Chandigarh/ Suraj Keshava Prasad, Bengaluru (Pvt./ VW Polo 1.6) 50:06.800; 2. Syed Salman Ahmed, Mysore / BK Rishabh, Mangaluru (Pvt/ VW Polo 1.6) 50:31.100; 3. Kuber Sharma, Solan / Kunal Kashyap, Shimla (Pvt./ VW Polo 1.6) 50:33.700; 4.
INRC4: 1. Deepak Chandra, /Mahesh Nandi, Both Bengaluru, (Pvt/Honda City) 55:41.000; 2. Ninu Mohan, Trivandrum / Goutham CP, (Pvt/Honda City) Chikmagalur, 1:03:42.400; 3.
Non-Championship – fmsci Gypsy Challenge: 1. Himanshu Arora, New Delhi /Vikram Thakur, Chandigarh (Pvt) 52:55.100; 2. Samrat Yadav, Chandigarh/ Chandrashekar, Bengaluru, (Pvt) 53:13.000; 3. Dheeraj KV/ Pramod Raman, Both Bengaluru (Pvt).
