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Tag: Madras International Circuit
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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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Hemanth Muddappa begins campaign with a triple; Alimon bags Unrestricted class
Chennai, 24 July 2022: Multiple Indian National champion Bengaluru’s Hemanth Muddappa (Mantra Racing) continued his domination in the MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Drag Racing Championship with a triple crown in the season-opener which concluded at the Madras International Circuit, here on Sunday.
Muddappa, the nine-times National champion, participating in four different categories, emerged triumphant in three (one of them a support race), but his exploits notwithstanding, it was Alimon Saidalvi (Bengaluru) who was the quickest rider over the weekend as he topped the Unrestricted category, clocking a blistering 07.775 seconds for the 302-metre dash on a Kawasaki Ninja.
Muddappa, astride a Suzuki Hayabusa, topped in the Super Sport 1051-1650cc category in which he has remained unbeaten over the past few years. Earlier, riding a BMW S1000RR, Muddappa was the quickest in the Super Sport 551-850cc category after winning in the Super Sport 851-1050cc support race atop a Kawasaki ZX6R machine.
Mumbai’s Hussain Khan won in the Super Sport Indian 361-550cc category ahead of Aiyaz from Bengaluru and local rider Bharath Raj.
The results (all 4-Stroke):
National Championship – Unrestricted: 1. Alimon Saidalvi (Bengaluru) (07.775secs); 2. Attaullah Baig (Bengaluru) (08.090s); 3. Siddharth Ratan Parmar (Mumbai) (08.254s).
Super Sport 1051-1650cc: 1. Hemanth Muddappa (Bengaluru, Mantra Racing) (08.228s); 2. Vignesh Purushotham (Bengaluru) (08.309s); 3. Hafizullah Khan (Bengaluru) (08.398s).
Super Sport 551-850cc: 1. Hemanth Muddappa (Bengaluru, Mantra Racing) (08.614s); 2. Siddharth Ratan Parmar (Mumbai) (08.788s); 3. Saurabh Parab (Mumbai) (09.086s).
Super Sport Indian 361-550cc: 1. Hussain Khan (Mumbai) (12.247s); 2. Aiyaz (Bengaluru) (12.350s); 3. Bharath Raj (Chennai) (12.691s).
Support race – Super Sport 851-1050cc: 1. Hemanth Muddappa (Bengaluru, Mantra Racing) (08.013s); 2. Khaja Awais Ahmed (Hyderabad) (08.281s); 3. Saurabh Parab (Mumbai) (08.325).
Support race – Super Sport 166-225cc: 1. Badhusha M (Chennai) (13.639s); 2. Srikkanth P (Bengaluru) (14.054s); 3. Karthik M (Chennai) (15.324s).
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Sindy hoists AS Motorsports flag high; Aiyaz, Chandra, Madhan win
Chennai, 23 July 2022: Active motorsports couple Soundari ‘Sindy’ and her tuner Ananthraj ‘Andy’ combined successfully to hoist the AS Motorsports flag high taking the honours in the Girls ‘Stock up to 165cc’ category in the first round of the MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Drag Racing Championship 2022 which commenced at the rechristened Madras International Circuit (MIC) here on Saturday. Bengaluru’s Chandra Shekar N topped in the Super Sport Indian up to 165cc while local rider Madhan Kumar and Aiyaz of Bengaluru also won their respective classes.
Ananthraj and Soundari, the proud motorsports couple! “This win is awesome and it is an unforgettable moment for me as a rider. It is also special for me because, as a rider I won and got my husband his first tuner trophy. As a couple it is a historic day for us. Today the bike setup is perfect and competing with competitive young girls as a mom, makes that feeling great,” said Sindy, who also volunteers as an active official for many motorsports events.
The Drag Nationals promoted by Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (fmsci) has attracted a record 145 entries as the 2022 season got off to a bright start with Soundari, popular known as Sindy, edging out Puducherry’s Lani Zena Fernandez of RACR Castrol Power 1, in a close battle with a tenth of a second separating the two. Mumbai’s Sarah Khan of Axor Sparks Racing completed the podium.
Chandra Shekar was in his elements in winning from Bharath Raj of Rockers Racing from Chennai with another Bengalurean, Gowtham R finishing third fastest in the Super Sport Indian upto 165cc class.
Bengaluru’s Aiyaz wins 2-stroke Super Sport (131-165cc) class.
All photos by Srinivasa Krishnan/INDIAinF1Aiyaz from Bengaluru emerged a comfortable winner in the 2-stroke Super Sport (131-165cc) category ahead of Madhan Kumar R of Chennai and Abudul Shaikh, also from Bengaluru, finished third.
Madhan Kumar, however, came up trumps in the 2-stroke Super Sport (up to 130cc) category with local rider Aravind Ganesh of AP Motorsports taking second ahead of Abdul Shaikh of Bengaluru in third.
The two-day event concludes on Sunday, July 24, which will see races in six more categories, including the high-end Above 1000cc class and the Unrestricted Open where 9-time National Champion, Hemanth Muddappa, is set to begin his campaign in four different classes.
The (Provisional) results :
4-Stroke – Girls (Stock Up to 165cc): 1. Soundari Ananthraj (Chennai, AS Motorsports) (16.491secs); 2. Lani Zena Fernandez (Puducherry, RACR Castrol Power 1) (16.571s); 3. Sarah Khan (Mumbai, Axor Sparks Racing) (17.023s).
Super Sport Indian (up to 165cc): 1. Chandra Shekar N (Bengaluru) (13.989s); 2. Bharath Raj (Chennai, Rockers Racing) (14.292s); 3. Gowtham R (Bengaluru) (14.469s).
2-Stroke – Super Sport Up to 130cc: 1. Madhan Kumar R (Chennai) (13.449s); 2. Aravind Ganesh (Chennai, AP Motorsports) (13.582s); 3. Abdul Shaikh (Bengaluru) (13.777s).
Super Sport 131-165cc: 1. Aiyaz (Bengaluru) (12.845s); 2. Madhan Kumar R (Chennai) (13.310s); 3. Abdul Shaikh (Bengaluru) (13.313s).
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KY Ahamed clinches a thriller; Rajini, Balappa score a double
Chennai, 10 July 2022: While Rajini Krishnan and Sarvesh Balappa pouched their fourth straight win, KY Ahamed won an absolute thriller that lit up the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2022 which concluded at the Madras International Circuit, here on Sunday. But INDIAinF1’s hero of the day is Md Samrul Zubair of Hyderabad who came only second but his ride from 33rd on the grid to a valiant podium is the story of the day.
The Race’ists Motorcycle Club in Hyderabad is formed by a group of enthusiastic riders a few years back led by champion riders like Karthik Mateti, Peddu Sriharsha and Rahil Pillarisetty. Of-late they have been a regular feature on the podium in different classes.
Starting P9 for the eight-lap race in the popular Pro-Stock 165cc Open race, Petronas TVS Racing star Ahamed, who endured two crashes on Saturday, showed poise and aggression to rise like a phoenix as he snatched a dramatic win from Pacer Yamaha’s Mathana Kumar and Rajiv Sethu of Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing, with just one-tenth of a second separating the trio at the finish line. The eventual outcome was in suspense as the three front-running riders exchanged lead after two other contenders, Deepak Ravikumar, also of Petronas TVS Racing, and Prabhu Arunagiri of Pacer Yamaha, retired in the second half of the race. Ahamed then pulled out a last-gasp win in a photo-finish that would be remembered for long.
Meanwhile, in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open category, Rajini Krishnan, the founder of RACR Castrol Power1, riding Yamaha R3 with a lighter frame than last year’s, was simply unstoppable while posting a fluent win that underlined his class and calibre, as he destroyed the field. His victory margin was over 10 seconds in the eight-lap race with the Petronas TVS Racing duo of KY Ahamed and Deepak Ravikumar coming in second and third, respectively. It was Rajini’s fourth win on the trot this season, following his double in the first round at Coimbatore last month.
Ryhana Bee, after a disappointing first round in Coimbatore last month, bounced back to win the National Championship Girls race (Stock 165cc) to put her campaign on track. She took the top honours ahead of Bengaluru’s Aditi Krishnan (Winverve Apex Racing Academy) who moved up a spot after second-placed Lani Zena Fernandez (Speed Up Racing) was docked a 15-second penalty which dropped her to fourth behind Axor Sparks Racing’s Jagruti Penkar from Mumbai. Lani was penalised for “causing avoidable collision” that involved early race leader Ann Jennifer (Alpha Racing) who finished fifth.
Hubballi’s Sarvesh Balappa (Axor Sparks Racing) continued his dream run as he finished the weekend with a double on the back of his two wins in the first round to remain unbeaten in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category. Finishing second was Md Samrul Zubair (Hyderabad) of Raceists Motorcycle Racing Club who started the race from P33 and worked his way up. His team-mate P Vignesh Goud, also from Hyderabad, was third.
Also scoring four consecutive wins were Sarthak Shrikant Chavan (Pune) and Raheesh Mudassar Khatri (Mumbai) in the NSF 250R and Novice (CBR 150) categories of the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup, besides Bengaluru schoolboy Chiranth Vishwanath in the Rookie class of the Petronas TVS One-Make Championship.
Provisional results (all 6 laps unless mentioned):
National Championship – Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. Rajini Krishnan (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1) (15mins, 15.889secs); 2. KY Ahamed (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (15:26.410); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (15:26.729).
Pro-Stock 165cc Open (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. KY Ahamed (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (15:55.678); 2. Mathana Kumar (Trichy, Pacer Yamaha) (15:55.722); 3. Rajiv Sethu (Chennai, Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) (15:55.726).
Novice (Stock 165cc) Race-2: 1. Sarvesh Balappa (Hubballi, Axor Sparks Racing) (13:06.383); 2. Md Samrul Zubair (Hyderabad, Raceists Motorcycle Club) (13:08.978); 3. P Vignesh Goud (Hyderabad, Raceists MC) (13:10.293).
Girls (Stock 165cc, 5 laps): 1. Ryhana Bee (Chennai, Pacer Yamaha) (11:01.483); 2. Aditi Krishnan (Bengaluru, Winverve Apex Racing Academy) (11:51.191); 3. Jagruti Penkar (Mumbai, Axor Sparks Racing) (11:18.793).
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250R (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Sarthak Shrikant Chavan (Pune) (18:45.396); 2. Mohsin Paramban (Malappuram) (18:55.514); 3. Shyam Sundar (Chennai) (18:55.663).
Novice (CBR 150, Race-2): 1. Raheesh Mudassar Khatri (Mumbai) (12:54.900); 2. Shyam Babu (Chennai) (13:27.093); 3. Harshith V Bogar (Bengaluru) (13:27.429).
Support race – Hornet 2.0 (Race-2): 1. G Balaji (Chennai) (13:32.712); 2. Kayan Zubin Patel (Mumbai) (13:32.851); 3. Romario John (Chennai) (13:38.944)
Petronas TVS One-Make Championship – Open (RR 310, Race-1): 1. Mohan Babu P (Chennai) (11:47.933); 2. S Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (11:48.064); 3. Manoj Yesuadiyan (Chennai) (11:48.694). Race-2: 1. S Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (11:54.105); 2. Mohan Babu P (Chennai) (11:54.125); 3. Kannan S (Chennai) (11:56.367).
Rookie (Apache RTR 200, Race-2): 1. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru) (12:25.916); 2. Shreyas Hareesh (Bengaluru) (12:35.302); 3. Abdul Basim RS (Chennai) (12:35.447).
