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Tag: MMSC
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Rajiv Sethu, Jagan Kumar all set for fourth round of the National Racing Championship
File photo of Rajiv Sethu (80),(Round 3 Pro-Stock 165cc race) by Anand Philar Chennai, 5 Sept 2019: India’s top two-wheeler racers along with manufacturers, Honda, TVS, Yamaha and KTM, will return to action in the fourth and penultimate round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2019 at the MMRT, here on Friday.
The 2019 season has been a roller-coaster with reputations taking a beating and the race for the title in various categories is thrown wide open. The weekend’s races assume significance as the contenders go wheel-to-wheel for precious points as the championship enters its last leg.
The Pro-Stock categories comprising the premium 301-400cc class besides 201-300cc and the 165cc, all run on MRF slick tyres, have witnessed thrilling battles through the season.
Thus, going into Round 4, Chennai-based TVS Racing pair of Deepak Ravikumar (101 points) and KY Ahamed (98), both with two wins apiece from six starts, head the 301-400cc class where defending champion Satyanarayana Raju (Gusto Racing) is placed sixth with 51 points with just one win. In contrast, Bengaluru-based Anish Shetty (Honda Ten10 Racing) is comfortably placed with 90 points in the 201-300cc class following a hat-trick of victories, well ahead of teammate and fellow-Bengalurean Abhishek Vasudev (63).
The popular Pro-Stock 165cc class has seen long-time rivals Honda and TVS, locked in a fierce fight. Honda’s international rider Chennai’s Rajiv Sethu, after missing the first round due to his commitments in Japan, won four races in a row to lead the championship with 100 points, ahead of seven-times National champion Jagan Kumar of TVS Racing (94) who, in turn, enjoys a one-point lead over Honda’s Sarath Kumar. Both Jagan and Sarath have won one race apiece.
The Novice class (Stock 165cc), with its 40-bike grid and packed with talent, has Chennai’s I Venkatesan (Moto Maniacz Racing) in the lead with 98 points with Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing, 80) from Jind, Haryana, and Bengaluru’s Anish Samson (Speed Up Racing, 70) in tow.
Ryhana Bee (Sparks Racing), having won two consecutive races, is closing in on Girls title with a tally of 68 points, while defending champion and team-mate Ann Jennifer (40) is third behind private entrant Nivetha Jessica (42). Incidentally, all three are from Chennai.
The active involvement of the two-wheeler manufacturers in the championship has cast the net wider and snared a clutch of fresh talent.
The championship received a massive boost with Honda introducing FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R bikes, the fastest in the championship and ridden by hungry-for-success teenagers, all part of the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup programme designed to unearth and nurture talent. The NSF 250R replaced the CBR 250 while the CBR 150 category, boasting of a big grid, has been retained.
TVS have showcased their Apache RR 310 in the Open class for experienced riders beside the RTR 200 (Novice and Girls) has attracted sizeable and highly competitive grids, while KTM and Yamaha have strong presence in the Pro-Stock, Novice and Girls categories of the National championship.
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10-car pile-up stops MRF F1600 races; Double for Arjun Balu, Rithvik Thomas
Arjun Balu (centre), winner of Race-3 in ITC category, flanked by second-placed Aditya Patel (left) and Dhruv Shivaji Mohite. Photos by Anand Philar Chennai, 18 August 2019: On a day which began in heavy showers and ended in bright sunshine, Coimbatore veteran Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) completed a grand double in the Indian Touring Cars class to head the leaderboard as the fourth round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship concluded at the MMRT, here today. Also achieving a double was Bengaluru’s Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) in the Super Stock category.
Overshadowing the day’s proceedings was the 10-car pile-up in the MRF F1600 race that started in heavy showers and lasted barely 300 metres. as pole-sitter Yash Aradhya spun when he put wheels into a puddle, thus losing grip. The cars behind him, with nowhere to go, crashed into one another resulting in the abandonment of the race. None of the drivers suffered injuries barring cuts and bruises, but with 10 cars badly damaged, it was decided to cancel today’s scheduled three races and run them in the next round in September.
Hyderabad’s Jeet Jhabakh (No.5) in action while winning Race-2 in VW Ameo Class.“The next round in September, will thus have seven races in MRF F1600 category. It was an unfortunate incident with Yash running into a puddle and spinning. With so many cars badly damaged, we decided to put off today’s three races and have them in the next round,” said Chairman of the Meet Vicky Chandhok.
In Race-1 of the ITC category, that was declared “wet”, Balu and Patel were locked in a thrilling fight at the head of the field. Starting from pole, Balu maintained his position with Patel in close attendance. Three laps from the finish, Patel moved past Balu, but slipped back to second in the next lap when he ran wide at the last corner. Balu moved to the front and went on to win.
In Race-2, run in fair weather and reverse grid, the three VW Ventos of Patel, Dhruv Shivaji Mohite and Ishaan Dodhiwala, switched to slicks, while Balu, starting eighth, remained on wet tyres. It was not long before the four moved to the front with Mohite pulling off a fine win ahead of Patel and Balu. The third race in this category, was a virtual procession with Balu, starting from pole, winning comfortably and unchallenged, followed by Patel and Dodhiwala. His two wins this weekend, took Balu’s tally to 148, way ahead of Mohite (119).
Arjun Balu (No.39), who won a double in action .Spearheading a podium sweep for Race Concepts team, Sudanand Daniel, an airline pilot based in Singapore, won a dramatic wet first race in the Super Stock category for his maiden success of the season, with Rithvik Thomas and R Rajashekar in tow. RP Rajaran (Performance Racing) took the honours in Race-2 ahead of Rithvik Thomas and Daniel. In the next outing, Thomas survived a close fight with Daniel for his second win of the weekend. Rajarajan completed the podium.
Jeet Jhabakh (Hyderabad) and Pune’s Prateek Sonawane won a race apiece in the Volkswagen Ameo Class category. After eight races over three rounds this season, Mumbai’s Saurav Bandyopadhyay (305 points), winner of the first race yesterday, leads the championship in this category followed by Sidharth Mehdiratta (298) from Lucknow and Sonawane (294).
The results (Provisional):
Indian Touring Cars (Race-1, 6 laps): 1. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) (12mins, 49.794secs); 2. Aditya Patel (Rayo Racing) (12:50.491); 3. Dhruv Shivaji Mohite (Rayo Racing) (12:58.907).
Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Dhruv Shivaji Mohite (Rayo Racing) (21:19.565); 2. Aditya Patel (Rayo Racing) (21:20.682); 3. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) (21:28.378).
Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Arjun Balu (15:11.978); 2. Aditya Patel (15:17.508); 3. Ishaan Dodhiwala (Team Rayo Racing) (15:28.324).
Super Stock (Race-1, 6 laps): 1. Sudanand Daniel (Race Concepts) (14:15.475); 2. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) (14:15.787); 3. R Rajashekar (Race Concepts) (14:45.952).
Race 2 (10 laps): 1. RP Rajarajan (Performance Racing) (22:15.115); 2. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) (22:27.432); 3. Sudanand Daniel (Race Concepts) (22:28.759).
Race 3 (8 laps): 1. Rithvik Thomas (16:15.162); 2. Sudanand Daniel (16:15.951); 3. RP Rajarajan (16:40.747).
Volkswagen Ameo Class (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. Jeet Jhabakh (Hyderabad) (20:09.577); 2. Aiman Sadat (Bangladesh) (20:12.811); 3. Siddharth Mehdiratta (Lucknow) (20:13.363).
Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Prateek Sonawane (Pune) (16:00.024); 2. Sidharth Mehdiratta (Lucknow) (16:01.383); 3. Shobhomoy Ball (Bengaluru) (16:06.481).
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Sohil Shah takes MRF F1600 championship lead with a facile win
Chennai, 17 August 2019: Bengaluru teenager Sohil Shah made the best of the pole-position start to notch a fine win in the premier MRF F1600 category and head the leaderboard in the Round 4 of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship at the MMRT here today, that had a delayed start owing to the rains in the morning.Due to the late start, only two of the four races scheduled for the day could be completed. The remaining races would be added to the six slated for tomorrow which will have an early start 8.15 am. It was a difficult day with changing weather conditions leading to several changes in the schedule.
In the day’s other action, Mumbai’s Saurav Bandyopadhyay took the honours in the Ameo Class race while Coimbatore ace Arjun Balu of Race Concepts (01:51.474) and team-mate Bengaluru’s Rithvik Thomas (01:59.425) grabbed pole positions in the Indian Touring Cars and the Super Stock categories, respectively.
Sohil Shah photos by Anand Philar The lights-to-flag win today was Sohil’s third success in a row, having won the last two races in the previous round last month. With three more races are scheduled for this category tomorrow, Sohil heads the championship with 81 points, well clear of Mumbai’’s Nayan Chatterjee (63).
The finish to the six-lap race (reduced from eight laps), which Sohil dominated while enjoying a commanding lead, was under the Safety Car which came out following an incident on Lap 5. As the Safety Car came in on the last lap, Sohil, rolled his car over the finish line ahead of Chennai’s Sandeep Kumar and Manav Sharma (Faridabad).
“I enjoyed a good lead through the race until the Safety Car period. We all bunched up behind the Safety Car, and I played it safe before crossing the finish line,” said Sohil who has taken a “gap year” after completing 12th standard.
Further down the grid, Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) who was leading the championship coming into this round, and Vishnu Prasad (Chennai) received 30-second penalties for overtaking under yellow flag, denying them any points.
The results (Provisional):
MRF F1600 (Race-1, 6 laps): 1. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) 1 (11mins, 26.939secs); 2. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (11:28.164); 3. Manav Sharma (Faridabad) (11:28.569).
Volkswagen Ameo Class (Race-1, 6 laps): 1. Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Mumbai) (11:38.169); 2. Shubhomoy Ball (Bengaluru) (11:42.374); 3. Pratik Sonawane (Pune) (11:43.025).
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Aditya Patel to race against Arjun Balu in ITC class: Indian National Racing Championship
Chennai, 16 August 2019: Popular international driver Aditya Patel will replace Karthik Tharani Singh for the Volkswagen Works team in the ITC class and he will be racing against his mentor and former coach Arjun Balu, as the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2019 flows into a critical phase with the fourth and penultimate round scheduled to start at the MMRT on Saturday.
Karthik Tharani escaped with a one-race ban after a grave violation in the third round. Though he is serving only one-race suspension, Volkswagen Motorsport, who promised `clean racing’ as they made their debut in the National Championship this year at Coimbatore, decided to keep him out for the entire round and Tharani will miss three races. Incidentally, Aditya is set to make his saloon car debut in the championship and will be racing at this track after a lapse of 11 years.
With the front-runners in the championship stakes tightly bunched in all the categories that will be on view this week-end. The expectations of close racing are high in all the classes including premier MRF Formula 1600, Indian Touring Cars and Volkswagen Ameo Class.
Aditya Patel is set race against his mentor and former coach Arjun Balu, left, in the ITC races on Saturday for Volkswagen team. Photo: Anand Philar In the previous rounds, winner-picking was a hazardous guess and it would be much the same this weekend with a clutch of India’s top racing drivers, ranging from bubbling teenagers to battle-hardened veterans, lining up on the grid, each seeking precious championship points.
The MRF F1600, with four races scheduled over two days, and a maximum of 100 points on offer, has four drivers – Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai, 63 points), Chennai’s Vishnu Prasad (58), teenager from Bengaluru Sohil Shah (56) with two wins from four starts and A Bala Prasath from Coimbatore (43) – heading the leaderboard, but wary of others who have them in their sights.
The popular Indian Touring Cars category, a triple-header for this round, has developed into a bitter fight involving veteran racer from Coimbatore Arjun Balu (80 points), driving a Race Concepts-prepared Honda Vtec car, and championship leader Chennai’s Karthik Tharani (86) in a factory-supported Volkswagen Vento. Tharani, winner in two of the five outings, failed to take a drive-through penalty and ignored the black-flag in the previous round to attract the suspension.
Tharani is replaced by Aditya Patel, the 2007 Formula Rolon champion, who has been a participant in various international touring cars series abroad (VW, Audi, GT Asia) in the past decade.
“Obviously, I am quite excited to be racing at the MMRT, virtually my home circuit, after over a decade (his last outing was in 2008, a one-off race). Interestingly, my Formula Rolon car in 2007 when I won the championship for NK Racing, was prepared by Arjun Balu and his brother Sanjay. So, it’s quite extraordinary that this weekend, I am racing against Arjun!” said Aditya.
The Super Stock category, to be run on a combined grid with the ITC class, presents a similar picture with Bengaluru’s Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) leading RP Raja Rajan (Performance Racing) from Chennai by eight points. The pair has won three races apiece and with three more to be run this weekend, a thrilling battle between the two is on the cards.
The VW Ameo Class, which was upgraded to National Championship status, and boasting of 18-car grid, has three drivers, Pratik Sonawane (Pune), Jeet Jhabakh (Hyderabad) and Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Mumbai), in that order separated by eight points with Delhi’s Anmol Singh Sahil in fourth, a further nine points behind.
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MMSC delivers another first – Night sessions at MMRT circuit
Night Fest, testing for night sessions in progress at MMSC on Wednesday. Photos by Anand Philar Chennai, 8 August 2019: The Madras Motor Sports Club made history on Wednesday, August 7 as it took first baby steps towards full-fledged night racing in the future at the MMRT by conducting a four-hour floodlit test session, the first of its kind in India, that attracted over 100 participants, a clutch of “super cars”, including a Rolls Royce Phantom, first-timers and battle-hardened professional racing drivers in the fully-prepared racing cars, all of whom gave the initiative a thumbs-up.
The first-timers were all excited at the rare opportunity to drive on the track at pace in the night. The professionals, like former Formula 1 racer Karun Chandhok, Aditya Patel, Chetan Korada, Arfath Mohammed, Karthik Tharani, Ishaan Dodhiwala and ex-rally driver Ranjit Ballal suggested improvements in the lighting while hailing MMSC’s efforts to provide another dimension to motor racing in India.
Karun Chandhok, who has raced at night at Le Mans and F1 testing in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, said: “I think what they (the MMSC) have done is very good. We should do more of these events as they will whet the appetite of the people for the sport. I did a few laps here tonight.
“The visibility was much better than what I expected. Everyone at the club knows the areas to improve. I think, night racing is entirely doable with saloon cars, but with single-seaters, I think there is still a lot of work to do. A huge amount of investment is required to get the level of lighting up to what you need for single-seaters. Aditya (Patel) and I raced each other in saloon cars and were doing 1:55.4, 1:55.0. That is the pace what people do during daytime. So, it shows the level of lighting is good to race at night with a little improvement.”
The night session was conducted in a full-fledged racing environment with temporary floodlight towers in place at select locations, besides Marshals manning the posts around the circuit and other safety precautions.
Volkswagen Motorsport India provided a few race-tuned cars for the night session All the participants attended a mandatory pre-session briefing by MMSC Vice-President and former racer Vicky Chandhok on racing regulations and safety. The first-timers were taken around the in a convoy behind the Safety Car to learn the racing lines before being allowed to drive at pace. Helmet for the drivers was compulsory. Volkswagen Motorsport provided race-spec Polo, Vento and Ameo cars on hire while some participants opted to drive their own vehicles.
MMSC president Ajit Thomas said: “It is a very exciting evening for us. Globally track days are a great way to get people interested in the sport and we realised that with the hot weather in Chennai we needed to do something different. It is the first time that we opened the track up for people to drive at night which makes sense in Chennai. The weather is great and the atmosphere is fantastic. We have some temporary lighting in place as a test, but if we are going to do this on a long-term basis, we will be getting a higher grade lighting on the track. The response has been great with a cross-section of drivers – beginners and professionals.
“Based on this response and interest, we are hopeful of running a few events. Initially, may be more track days, some short events and then endurance races. As far as the costs are concerned, the MMSC has always been constantly ploughing back funds, both from the club and the Trust (the Madras Motor Race Trust) for the overall development of the sport. We have already invested heavily (about Rs 20 Crores) in upgrading the track, the paddock and various facilities and racing equipment. So, going forward, I think we can manage night racing in the future.”
An elated Vicky Chandhok said: “I go strictly by the reactions of the participants. The fact that they are smiling ear-to-ear is really important for me. Going by the lap times of the pro drivers, they have matched those done during the day. We will have to make the lighting a bit more brighter. Overall, it is nice to see people having a great time here. We are trying to make motorsport fun and develop more fans to come here and enjoy themselves as against serious, hardcore racing.”
Former racer and rally champion Harish Samtani applauded MMSC’s latest initiative. “No question that this is a brilliant idea. Globally, night racing, F1 for instance, is catching up. It brings a different paradigm in motorsport. Of course, this is just the beginning. I have spoken with the drivers, both the pros and the newbies. They like the format. It is now up to MMSC to set up a proper, safe lighting environment where one can do serious racing. Definitely, it (night racing) is here to stay.”
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 from Sholavaram to its present location 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. 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. The facilities are also extensively used by various vehicle manufacturers for testing their products, displays and corporate days.
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Rajiv Sethu makes it four wins in a row; Double for Anish Shetty, Venkatesan; Ryhana stars
Rajiv Sethu (80), winner of the Pro-Stock 165cc race ahead of KY Ahamed (33) at MMRT on Sunday. Photos: Anand Philar Chennai, 4 August 2019: Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) showed why he is arguably India’s top racing rider at the moment by scrambling to a heart-stopping win, his fourth in a row in the Pro-Stock 165cc class, as the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship concluded at the MMRT, here today.
KY Ahamed brought some cheer for TVS Racing on a day dominated by Honda as he topped the premier 301-400cc class by a comfortable margin to move within three points of his team-mate Deepak Ravikumar (101 points) on the leaderboard. Ravikumar finished third today behind yesterday’s Race-1 winner, Rahil Shetty (Sparks Racing).
Also hogging the limelight were Bengaluru-based Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) and Chennai’s Venkatesan I (Moto Maniacz Racing) who both achieved a double this weekend in the Pro-Stock 201-300cc and Novice (Stock 165cc) categories, respectively, while Ryhana Bee (Sparks Racing), also from Chennai, took the honours in the Girls race.Sethu, who is growing in stature with each outing and scored a double win in the previous round, held off a late-charging KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) despite a bad start and issues with his bike as the duo crossed the finish line in close formation within one-hundredth of a second between them. Sethu’s team-mate and fellow-international, Sarath Kumar, completed the podium. The victory took Sethu to the top of the leaderboard with 100 points, ahead of Jagan Kumar of TVS Racing (94) and Sarath Kumar (93).
The Honda ace, who again failed to capitalise on a pole-position start, yielded ground to seven-times National champion Jagan Kumar who was quick off the grid from third position and built up a commanding lead. However, in the third of the eight-lap race, Jagan retired due to engine issues and Sethu forged to the front with Ahamed hot on his heels. The pair fought tooth and nail and were almost inseparable at the finish line.
Anish Shetty, in notching his third win in a row, cemented his position at the top of the championship in his category with 90 points. Shetty again led a 1-2-3 finish for his team like yesterday with Abhishek Vasudev and Aravind Balakrishnan in tow in that order.
Chennai’s Ryhana Bee, with the win today, her second in three rounds, took a sizeable lead in the championship with 68 points. Defending champion and team-mate Ann Jennifer crashed in the last of the five laps after Ryhana overtook her. Alisha Abdullah (Alishaa Racing) was second followed by private entrant Nivetha Jessica who is now second on the leaderboard with 42 points ahead of Ann Jennifer (40) with two more rounds to be run in the coming weeks.
Later, Md Mikail, the 15-year old from Chennai, won his second race of the weekend riding the FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup, putting in a hot lap of 01:47.974, in the process.
The results (Provisional, all 8 laps unless mentioned):
National Championship:
Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race-2): 1. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (15mins, 32.793secs); 2. Rahil Shetty (Sparks Racing) (15:35.179); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) (15:44.637).
Pro-Stock 201-300cc (Race-2): 1. Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (16:13.776); 2. Abhishek Vasudev (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (16:26.707); 3. Aravind Balakrishnan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (16:31.680).
Pro-Stock 165cc (Race-2): 1. Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (16:07.022); 2. Ahamed KY (TVS Racing) (16:07.032); 3. Sarath Kumar (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing)(16:15.267).
Novice (Stock 165cc) Race-2 (6 laps): 1. Venkatesan I (Motomaniacz Racing) (13:13.563); 2. Lokesh V (Speedup Racing) (13:14.839); 3. Annish Samson (Speedup Racing) (13:21.887).
Girls (Stock 165cc, 5 laps): 1. Ryhana Bee (Sparks Racing) (11:09.174); 2. Alisha Abdullah (Alishaa Racing) (11:12.948); Nivetha Jessica (Pvt) (11:32.874).
One-Make Championship:
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250R (Race-2): 1. Md Mikail (Chennai) (14:48.615); 2. Kritik Vasant Habib (Gadag) (14:51.398); 3. Kavin Samaar Quintal (Chennai) (14:51.669). CBR 150 (Novice, Race-2, 6 laps): 1. Samuel Martin (Bengaluru) (13:15.112); 2. Lal Nunsanga (Aizwal) (13:15.162); 3. S Deepak Kumar (Chennai) (13:18.127).
TVS – Open (RR 310, Race-2): 1. Aravind Ganesh (Chennai) (16:06.657); 2. Karthik Mateti (Hyderabad) (16:06.806); 3. Anup Kumar (Chennai) (16:07.154). Novice (RTR 200, Race-2, 6 laps): 1. Venkatesan I (Chennai) (13:12.481); 2. Lokesh V (Bengaluru) (13:20.336); 3. Alwin Sundar (Chennai) (13:20.372).
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Rajiv Sethu records 3rd win; Double for Venkatesan; Rahil Shetty, Anish Shetty, Mikail win
Rajiv Sethu (80), winner of the Pro-Stock 165cc race on Saturday. Photos by Anand Philar Chennai, 3 August 2019: International rider Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) notched his third win in a row in the Pro-Stock 165cc class while Hyderabad’s Rahil Shetty (Sparks Racing) kept his nerves and wits to pull off a brilliant victory in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc category on the second day of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship Round 3 at the MMRT, here today.
Also scoring impressive wins on the day in the National Championship were Bengaluru-based Anish Shetty who led a podium sweep for Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing in the Pro-Stock 201-300cc category and Venkatesan who topped the Novice (Stock 165cc) race.
Venkatesan (59), on way to winning the Stock 165cc (Novice) Race 1 on Saturday. He also got a double later as he won Novice Class RTR 200 Race 1 also. Sethu, who missed the first round due to international commitments, is in a catch-up mode in the championship stakes, and his hat-trick of wins took him to third on the leaderboard with 75 points behind TVS Racing’s Jagan Kumar (94) and team-mate Sarath Kumar (78) going into tomorrow’s second race.
The trio was involved in a thrilling battle that went down to the wire with Sethu, having overcome a poor start from pole position, managed to get past seven-times National champion Jagan on the last lap for a well-deserved win while Sarath followed the TVS Racing ace home. Less than a second separated the three podium finishers.
Equally superb win was that of 21-year old Rahil Shetty who battled not just his rivals but also his own error-filled riding before squeezing past TVS Racing pair of Deepak Ravikumar and KY Ahamed in the last lap. “I made too many mistakes today, but somehow managed to pull through,” said a relieved Shetty who started on P3. Despite the second-place finish, Ravikumar continues to lead the championship in this category with 86 points, followed by Ahamed (73) while Shetty (35) is placed seventh.
Racing on the same grid as the 301-400cc bikes, Bengaluru-based Anish Shetty logged his second consecutive win with team-mates Abhishek Vasudev and Aravind Balakrishnan following him home. Today’s win took Anish’s tally to 65, well ahead of Mathan Kumar of Erula Racing (47) and Vasudev (45).Earlier, in yet another close race, Venkatesan also registered his first win of the season in the Novice class after battling Mohan Babu (Rockers Racing) and Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) over six laps. Lakshmipathy Balaji (Alpha Racing) missed out on the podium by a whisker as the four crossed the finish line covered by less than a second. Abhimanyu, though, continues to head the leaderboard with 80 points, trailed by Venkatesan (73) and Mohan Babu (57) going into the second race tomorrow.
The results (Provisional, all 6 laps unless mentioned):
National Championship:
Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race-1): 1. Rahil Pillari Shetty (Sparks Racing) (11mins, 41.443secs); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) (11:41.990); 3. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (11:42.201).
Pro-Stock 201-300cc (Race-1): 1. Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:11.667); 2. Abhishek Vasudev (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:20.100); 3. Aravind Balakrishnan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:20.245).
Pro-Stock 165cc (Race-1): 1. Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:01.973); 2. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) (12:02.073); 3. Sarath Kumar (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:02.833).
Novice (Stock 165cc) (Race-1): 1. Venkatesan I (Motomaniacz Racing) (13:06.397); 2. Mohan Babu P (Rockers Racing) (13:06.447); 3. Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) (13:06.628).
One-Make Championship: Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250R (Race-1): 1. Md Mikail (Chennai) (11:04.391); 2. Varoon Sadasivam (Chennai) (11:12.581); 3. Kritik Vasant Habib (Gadag) (11:13.432).
CBR 150 (Novice, Race-1): 1. Lal Nunsanga (Aizwal) (13:16.118); 2. Samuel Martin (Bengaluru) (13:16.240); 3. S Deepak Kumar (Chennai) (13:16.528).
TVS – Open (RR 310, Race-1): 1.S Kannan (Chennai) (11:54.079); 2. Soorya PM (Chennai) (12:02.607); 3. Aravind Ganesh R (Chennai) (12:02.680).
Novice (RTR 200, Race-1): 1. Venkatesan I (Chennai) (13:24.694); 2.Lakshmipathy Balaji (Vellore) (13:25.047); 3.Ullas Santrupt Nanda (Bengaluru) (13:25.380).
Girls (RTR 200, 5 laps): 1. Nivetha Jessica (Chennai) (11:30.986); 2. Lani Zena Fernandez (Pondicherry) (11:31.075); 3. Lakiya Lee Charles (Chennai) (11:32.354).
ends
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Sivanesan, Anish Shetty take pole; Ryhana Bee tops girls’ class: Bike Natioinals
Chennai, 2 August 2019: Sivanesan Sethu pulled off a stunning flying lap to lead a 1-2 for TVS Racing in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc category qualifying session as the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship got off to a storming start at the MMRT, here today.Sivanesan, clocked a sizzling 01min, 54.325secs followed by team-mate and fellow-Chennai rider KY Ahamed (01:54.871), with Hyderabad’s Rahil Shetty of Sparks Racing (01:55.001) completing the front row for tomorrow’s race.
Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing, led by Bengaluru riders Anish Shetty (01:57.384), and Abhishek Vasudev (01:59.890), and Chennai’s Aravind Balakrishnan (02:00.969), qualified for the top three spots in that order in the Pro-Stock 201-300cc class.
Championship leader Ryhana Bee of Sparks Racing (02:11.216), team-mate Ann Jennifer (02:12.189) and Speed Demonz Racing’s Lani Zena Fernandez (02:14.007) were the top three qualifiers in the Girls category.
Lighting up the day’s proceedings was a bunch of teenagers, led by 15-year old Mohammed Mikail from Chennai, scorched the track in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup riding the FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R bikes. All the eight riders comfortably went under two minutes in the qualifying session, with Mikail grabbing pole position (01:48.949), ahead of two other Chennai riders, 14-year old Kavin Samaar Quintal (01:50.345) and 16-year old Varoon Sadasivam (01:51.198). Charan Thangavel, also from Chennai, who finished eighth and last, timed 01:56.828.
Meanwhile, Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing), who scored a double in the previous round, but is trailing team-mate Sarath Kumar by 13 points and championship leader Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) by 26, set the early pace in the Pro-Stock 165cc class by topping the only free practice session, with a flying lap of 01:59.956.
Jagan, a seven times National champion, had a disappointing run with a 02:03.413 to come in ninth as against his team-mate KY Ahamed who was second quickest in 02:00.848, ahead of Yashas RL (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing, 02:01.414). However, the riders are expected to clock better timings in the qualifying session on Saturday.
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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.
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Double for Sohil Shah; Karthik Tharani banned for a race: Car Racing Nationals
MRF F1600 race winners (L to R) – Nayan Chattjerjee (Mumbai), Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) who won a double and Vishnu Prasad (Chennai) on Sunday. Photos by Anand Philar Chennai, 21 July 2019: Bengaluru schoolboy Sohil Shah completed a fine double in the premier MRF F1600 category as the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship drew to a close at the MMRT, here today.
Elsewhere, VW Motorsport’s Ishaan Dodhiwala from Hyderabad notched his maiden win in the Indian Touring Cars class after his team-mate Karthik Tharani was disqualified for a couple of infringementse.
Ishaan Dodhiwala The stewards subsequently banned for one race, while Bengaluru’s Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) chalked up his third win of the season in the Super Stock category.
Other winners of the day were Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) in the Formula LGB 1300 race and Mumbai’s Saurav Bandyopadhyay who took the honours in the Volkswagen Ameo Class.
Sohil Shah, who scored a double in the MRF F1600 category on Sunday. The saloon car race was fiery with Tharani being disqualified for his violations. The Stewards subsequently slapped a one-race ban which will take effect for the next round of the championship scheduled for August 16-18. Consequent to the disqualification, team-mate Dodhiwala was declared winner followed by Nikanth Ram (ARKA Motorsports) and Arjun Balu (Race Concepts).
The Stewards, following the post-ITC race hearing with Tharani, ruled: “The competitor was called to give the explanation as to why he ignored the ‘drive through’ penalty board for five laps and ignored the ‘black flag’ for the remaining three laps of the race.
“In view of the fact that the competitor is a highly experienced driver and he is also a driver-trainer, the Stewards were of the opinion that exemplary sanctions should be imposed on this driver and a sentence of not being permitted a start in the next race of this championship (One race only).”Ireland’s Lucca Allen completed a double by winning both the Formula 4 SEA races to make up for disappointing outings in yesterday’s double-header.
The results (Provisional – all 8 laps unless mentioned):
MRF F1600 (Race-3): 1. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (13mins, 28.460secs); 2. A Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (13:34.321); 3. Manav Sharma (Faridabad) (13:34.945). Race-4: 1. Sohil Shah (13:25.572); 2. Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) (13:27.330); 3. Vishnu Prasad (Chennai) (13:30.166).
Indian Touring Cars (Race-2): 1. Ishaan Dodhiwala (VW, Hyderabad) (15:41.905); 2.Nikanth Ram (Arka Motorsports, Coimbatore) (15:42.130); 3. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts, Coimbatore) (15:51.488).
Super Stock (Race-2): 1. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) (16:27.646); 2. RP Rajarajan (Performance Racing) (16:28.805); 3.R Rajashekar (Race Concepts) (16:41.742).
Formula LGB 1300 (Race-2, 7 laps): 1. Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) (17:43.357); 2. Sohil Shah (M Sport) (17:43.957); 3. Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motorsports) (17:46.458).
Volkswagen Ameo Class (Race-2): 1. Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Mumbai) (15:49.972); 2. Pratik Sonawane (Pune) (15:52.896); 3. Avik Anwar (Bangladesh) (15:53.007).
Formula 4 SEA (Race-3, 11 laps): 1. Lucca Allen (Ireland) (21:16.050); 2. Shihab Al Habsi (Oman) (21:16.480); 3. Muizz Musyaffa (Malaysia) (21:19.262). Race-4 (13 laps): 1. Allen (21:29.615); 2. Al Habsi (21:31.570); 3. Elias Sappanen (Finland) (21:34.061).
