INDIA in F1

Tag: Bike Nationals

  • Ryhana Bee in top form, wins girls race to mount title challenge; Chiranth, Sarthak notch wins

    Ryhana Bee in top form, wins girls race to mount title challenge; Chiranth, Sarthak notch wins

    Chennai, 7 Sept. 2024: Chennai’s Ryhana Bee, seeking to regain the National title in the Girls category (Stock 165cc) after three years, scored a lights-to-flag win after topping the practice and qualifying sessions with her new team, Rockers Racing.

    Meanwhile, teenagers and TVS Racing team-mates Sarthak Chavan (Pune) and Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru) split the day’s honours with a victory apiece in the two premier Pro-Stock categories on a day of stirring action in the fourth and penultimate round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2024 – Powered by STORM at the Madras International Circuit, here on Saturday.

    Sarthak overcame a poor start to post his sixth win in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open category ahead of Chiranth and veteran Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate). 

    National Championship Girls (Stock 165cc) race winner Ryhana Bee (centre) flanked by second-placed Jagathee Kumaresan (left) and third-placed Rakshitha Dave at the Madras International Circuit on 7 Sept 2024. Photos by Anand Philar

    The result in the Pro-Stock 165cc Open class race was the reverse with the Chiranth coming through an up-and-down six laps, the last of which saw him and Sarthak coming together, but staying in the saddle to complete the race with KY Ahamed, recovering from a viral fever, made it a 1-2-3 for TVS Racing.

    Mysuru’s 22-year-old Tasmai Cariappa (Motul Sparks Racing) kept his nerves in a tense finish to score his maiden win the Novice (Stock 165cc) race while Pradeep C, a private entrant from Bengaluru, wrote his own script in winning the Stock 301-400cc (Novice) race after starting from P4.

    TVS India One-Make Championship

    Sarthak Chavan celebrating his win in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open race (Sept 07)

    Coimbatore’s Raj Kumar C upstaged favourites to record his first win of the season in the Open (Apache RR 310) category as he finished well ahead of Manoj Yesuadian (Chennai) and championship leader Senthilkumar C (Coimbatore).

    CS Kedarnath from Tirupati held off Bengaluru’s Harshith Bogar and Akarsh Jangam (Hyderabad) in a tight finish as the trio finished the Rookie (Apache RTR 200) race in close formation that also included Tejash BA (Tumakuru) in P4. Less than a second separated the quartet. It was Kedarnath’s second win of the season.

    Later, SP Shuria from Trichy won a battle royal against Pune’s Saimah Ajaz Baig with a last lap overtaking to win the Girls (Apache RTR 200) race that was briefly interrupted by a red flag stoppage due to an on-track incident. Finishing third was Aisvariya of Coimbatore, ahead of Bengaluru’s Poojita Anil Kumar.

    Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup

    Mohsin Paramban from Malappuram extended his hold on the NSF 250R class with fourth win of the season that took him further away from the pack in the championship standings. Completing the podium were Kolhapur’s Siddesh Sawant and Prakash Kamat (Bengaluru). The outcome of the six-lap race was in suspense until the top three crossed the finish line within a second of each other.

    The results (Provisional, all 6 laps unless mentioned):

    National Championship:

    Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open (Race-1): 1. Sarthak Chavan (Pune, TVS Racing) (11mins, 06.531secs); 2. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru, TVS Racing) (11:07.005); 3. Rajini Krishnan (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) (11:07.445).

    Pro-Stock 165cc Open (Race-1): 1. Chiranth Vishwanath (11:36.813); 2. Sarthak Chavan (11:37.144); 3. KY Ahamed (Chennai) (11:39.098) (All from TVS Racing).

    Novice (Stock 165cc, Race-1): 1. Tasmai Cariappa (Mysuru, Motul Sparks Racing) (12:54.080); 2. Abdul Basim RS (Chennai, Rockers Racing) (12:54.197); 3. Kamal Niwas (Chennai, Rockers Racing) (13:10.998).

    Girls (Stock 165cc, Race-1, 5 laps): 1. Ryhana Bee (Chennai, Rockers Racing) (10:58.147); 2. Jagathishree Kumaresan (Chennai, One Racing) (11:05.691); 3. Rakshita Dave (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) (11:05.793).

    Chennai’s Ryhana Bee who won the Girls (Stock 165cc) race by a big margin (Sept 07)

    Stock 301-400cc (Novice, Race-1): 1. Pradeep C (Bengaluru, Pvt) (12:18.943); 2. Kaushik Subbiah Ganesan (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) (12:20.582); 3. Aldrin Babu (Chalakudy, RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) (12:22.718).

    Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (NSF 250R, Race-1): 1. Mohsin Paramban (Malappuram) (11:22.639); 2. Siddesh Sawant (Kolhapur) (11:23.163); 3. Prakash Kamat (Bengaluru) (11:23.280).

    TVS India One-Make Championship:

    Open (Apache RR 310, Race-1): 1. Raj Kumar C (Coimbatore) (11:48.043); 2. Manoj Yesuadiyan (Chennai) (11:48.455); 3. Senthilkumar C (Coimbatore) (11:48.567).

    Rookie (Apache RTR 200, Race-1): 1. CS Kedarnath (Tirupati) (13:29.012); 2. Harshith Bogar (Bengaluru) (13:29.760); 3. Akarsh Jangam (Hyderabad) (13:29.811).

    Girls (Apache RTR 200, Race-1, 4 laps): 1. SP Shuria (Trichy) (09:04.823); 2. Saimah Ajaz Baig (Pune) (09:04.888); 3. Aisvariya V (Coimbatore) (09:16.913).

  • Ahamed beats mentor Jagan in a photo-finish; Dave twins hog limelight

    Ahamed beats mentor Jagan in a photo-finish; Dave twins hog limelight

    Chennai, 15 June 2024: Two sets of siblings from Chennai hogged the limelight by winning four of the nine races on Saturday at the Madras International Circuit to light up the first round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2024.

    The 15-year-old Dave twins, Rakshith and Rakshitha took the honours in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (NSF 250R) and the National Championship Girls (Stock 165cc) races. It was a maiden win for both of them, in their respective categories.

    Two other siblings, 28-year-old KY Ahamed (Pro-Stock 165cc Open) and his 17-year-old brother Abdul Basim (Novice 165cc), also won a race apiece to set off celebrations in both families.

    Elsewhere, Sarthak Chavan, the 17-year-old from Pune, led a 1-2 finish for TVS Racing along with Bengaluru’s Chiranth Vishwanath, also 17, in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc category. The race was cut to four laps from scheduled six after a red flag stoppage following a Turn-3 crash (riders ok) and Sarthak, starting from pole, virtually destroyed the field on restart. Chiranth came in second, ahead of Hyderabad’s Sairahil Pillarisetty (Gusto Racing).

    Sarthak, however, had a disastrous outing in the Pro-Stock 165cc Open race as he crashed when in the lead. On his exit, Sathak’s two TVS Racing team-mates, KY Ahamed and multiple National champion Jagan Kumar, were involved in a tight finish. Ahamed pipped his mentor Jagan in a photo-finish with another TVS Racing ace, Deepak Ravikumar, who had started the race from the pit lane, completing the podium. Chiranth, who was running second, also crashed, but resumed to finish fourth.

    Also finishing on top step of the podium was Chennai’s Kaushik Subbiah Ganesan (RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) who won as he pleased in the Novice 301-400cc class that gained National championship status from this season.

    Earlier, pole-sitter Abdul Basim, held off a strong challenge from Mysuru’s Tasmai Cariappa (Motul Sparks Racing) who led briefly in the penultimate lap but conceded the advantage. Basim went on to win with Tasmai and Coimbatore’s Abhinav G (Chandra LGE Racing) finishing second and third, respectively.

    Rakshitha Dave, starting from P2, moved in front by Turn-2, deftly avoiding any jostling that was happening behind her, and enjoyed a trouble-free run for a commanding win. Another Chennai rider, Jagathishee Kumaresan (One Racing) and Ryhana Bee (Motul Sparks Racing) settled for second and third spots, respectively, while pole-sitter Ann Jennifer (Alpha Racing) came in a disappointing fourth.

    “I am very happy to score my first-ever win in the National championship. I had a good start today and a trouble-free run after going into the lead early in the first lap. The bike too performed very well,” said a delighted Rakshitha.

    Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup: Rakshith Dave reigned supreme in the NSF 250R race after initial battle with the more experienced Mohsin Paramban (Mallapuram) with Bengaluru’s AS James finishing third. It was Rakshith’s first-ever win in this class. Incidentally, Rakshith’s twin sister, Rakshitha made her debut in this class and finished 13th.

    TVS One-Make Championship: Coimbatore’s Senthilkumar C took the honours in the truncated Open (Apache RR 310) race that was reduced to three laps from six due to a red flag stoppage following an on-track incident. Jayanth Pratipathi (Chennai) came in second, ahead of Nagercoil’s Ajai Xavier M.

    Harshith V Bogar from Bengaluru notched a dominating win in the Rookie category with second-placed Saranjith KM (Thrissur) finishing some 10 seconds behind. Vijayawada’s Akarsh Jangam was a distant third.

    Mumbai’s Sarah Khan won the Girls (RTR 200) race untroubled from Pune’s Saimah Ajaz Baig and Aisvarya V (Coimbatore).

    The results (Provisional, all 6 laps unless mentioned):

    National Championship – Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open (Race-1, 4 laps): 1. Sarthak Chavan (Pune, TVS Racing) (7mins, 36.007secs); 2. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru, TVS Racing) (07:39.254); 3. Sairahil Pillarisetty (Hyderabad, Gusto Racing India) (07:41.470).

    Pro-Stock 165cc Open (Race-1): 1. Ahamed KY (Chennai, TVS Racing) (12:04.178); 2. Jagan Kumar (Chennai, TVS Racing) (12:04.192); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, TVS Racing) (12:14.569).

    Novice (Stock 165cc) Race-1: 1. Abdul Basim RS (Chennai, Rockers Racing) (12:55.808); 2. Tasmai Cariappa (Mysuru, Motul Sparks Racing) (12:56.136); 3. Abhinav G (Coimbatore, Chandra LGE Racing team) (13:04.554).

    Girls (Stock 165cc) Race-1 (5 laps): 1. Rakshitha Dave (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) (10:58.183); 2. Jagathishree Kumaresan (Chennai, One Racing) (11:03.012); 3. Ryhana Bee (Chennai, Motul Sparks Racing) (11:03.150).

    Novice (Stock 301-400cc) Race-1: 1. Kaushik Subbiah Ganesan (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power 1 Ultimate) (12:17.257); 2. Lokesh V (Bengaluru, Pvt.) (12:23.458); 3. Varun Nanjundegowda (Mysuru, Gusto Racing India) (12:27.927).

    Idemitsu Honda India Cup (NSF 250R) Race-1: 1. Rakshith S Dave (Chennai) (11:12.157); 2. Mohsin Paramban (Malappuram) (11:16.226); 3. AS James (Bengaluru) (11:16.669)

    TVS One-Make Championship – Open (Apache RR 310) Race-1 (3 laps): 1. Senthilkumar C (Coimbatore) (05:56.457); 2. Jayanth Pratipathi (Chennai) (05:59.277); 3. Ajai Xavier (Nagercoil) (06:02.953).

    Rookie (Apache RTR 200) Race-1: 1. Harshith V Bogar (Bengaluru) (13:43.666); 2. Saranjith KM (Thrissur) (13:53.770); 3. Akarsh Jangam (Vijayawada) (14:07.100).

    Girls (Apache RTR 200) Race-1 (5 laps): 1. Sarah Khan (Mumbai) (11:19.075); 2. Saimah Ajaz Baig (Pune) (11:21.156); 3. Aisvariya V (Coimbatore) (11:23.221).

  • MRF MMSC Indian National Bike Championship Round 3 to begin on Friday

    MRF MMSC Indian National Bike Championship Round 3 to begin on Friday

    Action during the bike Nationals at MMRT, Chennai. File photo by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 1 August 2019: India’s leading two-wheeler manufacturers will yet again go head-to-head in thrilling battle for points as the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2019 gets underway at the MMRT on Friday.

    Honda, TVS, Yamaha and KTM have strong presence in the 16-race card that will also showcase India’s top bike racers, including girls, representing a clutch of teams, some privately funded and others supported by the manufacturers in various forms.

    This weekend promises plenty of exciting action with riders jockeying for positions in their respective championship leaderboards with an eye on the points that are critical for National titles in various categories.

    The premier Pro-Stock classes of 301-400cc, 201-300cc and the 165cc, all run on MRF slick tyres, have dished out edge-of-the-seat competition in the previous rounds with little separating the front-runners. In the event, there is hardly any room for error as every championship point would be worth its weight in gold from here on.

    Further down the grid are the fruits of twin initiatives of promoters Madras Motor Sports Club – the Girls championship (Stock 165cc) which is still a work in progress and the Novice (Stock 165cc) class that boasts of 50-plus entries requiring split qualifying sessions to decide the eventual 40-bike grid for the points-scoring double-header. The championship stakes in both these categories are still wide open with promise of more close finishes.

    In the previous round last month, Honda caused a huge buzz by introducing the epoch-making, FIM Moto3 spec NSF 250R bikes ridden by youngsters in the age-group of 12 to 19 as part of the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup that also includes the CBR 150 class for Novice riders who made it to the grid following a pan-India selection process.

    Not to be left behind, TVS too have their One-Make Championship in three different categories – Open (RR 310), Novice and Girls (both RTR 200) – all boasting of sizeable and very competitive grids.

     

  • Over 200 entries as MMRT set for grand finale of Indian National bike championship

    Over 200 entries as MMRT set for grand finale of Indian National bike championship

    Chennai, 12 Dec 2018: The 2018 MRF MMSC Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship is set for a thrilling finish with close battles for the titles in various categories as the fifth and final round, boasting of over 200 entries, starts at the Madras Motorsports Race Trust (MMRT) circuit, here on Friday with 21 races, besides qualifying sessions, to be run over three days.

    The final round is organised by Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI).

    The card includes One-Make Championships by Honda (Talent Cup – CBR 250 Open and CBR 150 for Novice) and TVS (Apache 310 Open and Apache 200 for Novice), besides a support event, the Alisha Abdullah Inter-College Star Race (Formula LGB 1300) which will have a 11-car grid comprising college students, including 16-year old Deepika from Krishnagiri, and in a first, transgender Apsara Reddy, also a journalist, as a guest driver who will race on Sunday.

    It has been a season of surprises and close races. More notably, MRF Tyres provided a huge boost to the championship by offering slick tyres for the two top categories, the Super Sport 165cc and the Pro-Stock 301-400cc. The slick tyres met with unanimous approval of the riders who were able to put in faster lap times due to the higher grip levels, especially through the corners.

    Also, the initiative of Madras Motor Sports Club to unearth fresh talent has been an unqualified success with ever-increasing number of entries from first-timers competing in the Stock 165cc category. With about 50 Novice riders in the fray, MMSC introduced heats to arrive at the final grid for the point-scoring race. Hyderabad teenager Karthik Mateti of Sparks Racing and team-mate Aditya Rao from Bengaluru, exerted dominance to head the leaderboard with 86 and 70 points, respectively, winning three of the four races between them.

    Similarly, Honda and TVS attracted over 20 entries apiece for in both Open and Novice categories. The TVS race for girls also proved popular with about 15 riders on the grid. Also to be run is the final round of the TVS Media championship.

    While the titles in all the National Championship categories are still up for grabs, much of the attention will be on the premier Super Sport 165cc double-header. With a maximum of 50 points on offer, another bitter fight between TVS Racing and Honda Ten10 riders is on the cards. TVS Racing’s Jagan Kumar (148 points), eyeing his seventh title, enjoys a healthy lead over team-mate KY Ahamed (128). Honda Ten10 rider, Rajiv Sethu, has much work to do as he trails Ahamed by 23 points.

    The two races this weekend in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc category will also be closely watched. As many as four are riders in contention for the title. Leading the pack is Hyderabad’s Satyanarayana Raju (119 points), just ahead of his Gusto Racing team-mate Amarnath Menon (118) from Kozhikode. Behind the duo are Chennai’s Prabhu Arunagiri of Team Alisha Abdullah (114) and Hyderabad’s Peddu Sriharsha (91) of Sparks Racing.

    Likewise, it is a four-pronged battle for the title in the Pro-Stock 165cc category where Bengaluru-based Anish Shetty (131 points) of Honda Ten10 Racing leads, ahead of Chennai’s Kevin Kannan (115, Rockers Racing). Not far behind the two leaders are Coimbatore’s Senthil Kumar (106, Honda Ten10 Racing) and Hyderabad’s Rahil Pilarishetty (94, Sparks Racing).

    The National Championship for girls has been dominated by Chennai riders Ann Jennifer (Sparks Racing) who won three of the four races for a tally of 75 points, Shruthi Nagarajan (Apex Racing Academy) with 63, and Ryhana Bee (Sparks Racing) with 55.

    About Madras Motor Sports Club

    The Madras Motor Sports Club has been the pioneer in developing and promoting motorsport in India since 1953, and we look to further improve in the years to come. It is the club’s endeavor to provide more opportunities for competitors, and to this end, it has chalked out various progressive programmes. From the days of Sholavaram , MMSC built its own racetrack which was inaugurated in 1979 and secured its FIA Grade-2 international certification in 2014, making it the only club which owns such a facility that has been further upgraded with international-standard Paddock, complete with VIP hospitality suites, 20 spacious garages and a separate Paddock on the western side with its own circuit. The club has organised the Porsche Super Cup, Formula Campos, Formula Asia, Asian touring car championships, Formula 3, Tata Prima Truck racing championship, the FIM Asia Road Racing Championships (2-wheelers) besides a host of other motorsport events over the years. The club also has active participation for its events from vehicle manufacturers who also use the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) extensively for testing their products.

     

  • 200 entries for Rolon round of MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship

    200 entries for Rolon round of MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship

    • Bike Nationals 2017 file photo by Anand Philar

      200 entries for National bike Championship opener

    • Kari Motor Speedway set to host Rolon Round
    • Good response for TVS, Honda One-Make Championships

    Coimbatore, 7 June 2018: The Rolon Round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2018, commencing here at the Kari Motor Speedway on Friday, June 8, heralds a new season that promises plenty of top-drawer action amidst a few innovations designed to unearth fresh talent.

    The five-round National championship programme also includes One-Make Championships (OMC) for two of country’s leading two-wheeler manufacturers, TVS and Honda, both of whom have tweaked their respective events to make them more competitive and representative of pan-India talent.

    The National Championship comprises four categories – the top-end Super Sport Indian Open (165cc) which boasts of country’s top riders and dominated by TVS Racing and Honda Ten10 Racing teams, Pro-Stock 301-400cc, Pro-Stock 165cc and Stock 165cc (Novice and Girls).

    A big step forward this year is the decision by title sponsors MRF to provide slick tyres for bikes in Super Sport Indian (165cc) and Pro-Stock (301-400cc) classes from Round 2 to be held at the MMRT circuit in Chennai next month. The slicks which afford better grip than the conventional tyres, will see higher cornering speeds and consequently, improved timings.

    The growing popularity of two-wheeler racing is reflected in the fact that the organisers, Madras Motor Sports Club, have received close to 200 entries with a good mix of established and Novice riders.

    Last season, the Novice class that the MMSC has been actively promoting in a bid to rope in fresh talent, proved to be the most competitive and attracted riders in huge numbers, necessitating qualifying heats to identify the grid for the point-scoring race.

    Likewise, the “Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup 2018 organised by MMSC” generated encouraging response from across the country to the initial selection process that eventually whittled the number to 36 riders who will this weekend compete for the 16 slots available for the points-scoring race in the Open class (CBR 250). The Novice (CBR 150) class for those under 21 years of age, will join the championship from the next round in Chennai in July.

    The TVS One-Make Championship 2018 organised by MMSC has competitions in three categories – Open (Apache RR 310), Novice (Apache RTR 200) and Girls (Apache RTR 180) – besides races for Media (Apache RTR 200). The Open class has a string of riders of proven ability like Deepak Ravikumar, Vivek Pillai, Arun Muthukrishnan, Abhishek Vasudev and Amarnath Menon, last year’s champion in the 300-400cc category. The 15-strong grid for Girls is headlined by Rehana Bee, Haridharani and Haritha R.

    The weekend card has a total of 14 races apart from practice and qualifying sessions, and heats in the Novice class.

    About Madras Motor Sports Club

    The Madras Motor Sports Club has been the pioneer in developing and promoting motorsport in India since 1953, and we look to further improve in the years to come. It is the club’s endeavor to provide more opportunities for competitors and to this end, it has chalked out a progressive program for 2017. From the days of Sholavaram , MMSC built its own racetrack which was inaugurated in 1979 and secured its FIA Grade-2 international certification in 2015, making it the only club which owns such a facility. The club has organised the Porsche Super Cup, Formula Campos, Formula Asia, Asian touring car championships, Formula 3, Tata Prima Truck racing championship, the Asian 2-wheeler racing championships besides a host of other motorsport events over the years. The club also has active participation for its events from vehicle manufacturers who also use the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) extensively for testing their products.