INDIA in F1

Tag: MMSC

  • Night races after evaluation tests: Chandhok

    Night races after evaluation tests: Chandhok

    Chennai, 21 July 2019: Confirming that night races, the first in India, at the MMRT circuit here were definitely on, Vicky Chandhok, the Chairman of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship and vice-president of MMSC, said the club has earmarked funds to install floodlights at the FIA certified Grade 2 track.

    Vickey Chandhok addressing media at MMRT on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar

    Speaking to the Media here today on the sidelines of the third round of the National car racing championship, Chandhok said: “A very professional lighting expert has given us a quote of Rs.16 Crores do up the lights just like the Singapore circuit. But we are going for low lighting just like they have at Le Mans. We are planning to install basic lighting that can help the Marshals and Officials see the incidents on track so that they make sure that `no one is injured’. Safety is one aspect which I and everyone at the Club, are very particular,”

    To this end, the MMSC has scheduled a “test run” on August 7 between 6 pm and 11 pm to evaluate the possibility of full-fledged night races in the near future, he affirmed.

    Chandhok, the former president of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India, said the Club planned to upgrade many facilities at the MMRT and was keen on taking the green path. On the anvil is a Solar Park to support their needs while a huge compost pit would come up soon.

    “In the long-run, we would like to host a lot of Endurance races and we are also planning to upgrade the track to support racing in the anti-clockwise direction which needs about 56 changes to the track,’’ the veteran administrator who brought F1 to India, said.

    “At MMSC, we have always set the standards. But we will be very conscious of safety. On August 7, we have night testing and once the evaluation process goes through, we will decide if we need more lighting and we will definitely have night races starting with saloon cars,’’ he added.

  • Ashwin Datta leads podium sweep for Momentum Motorsports; Arjun Balu, Vishnu, Nayan win

    Ashwin Datta leads podium sweep for Momentum Motorsports; Arjun Balu, Vishnu, Nayan win

    Chennai, 20 July 2019: Chennai young gun Ashwin Datta spearheaded a momentous podium sweep for his team Momentum Motorsports in the highly competitive Formula LGB 1300 category, holding off two Bengaluru schoolboys while Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) and local challenger Vishnu Prasad won a race apiece in the premium MRF F1600 class on Day Two of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship at the MMRT, here today.

    Also in the limelight was Coimbatore veteran Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) who shrugged off a poor qualifying session where he finished fifth, and won the popular Indian Touring Cars race with a measure of comfort, while Chennai’s RP Rajarajan took the honours in the Super Stock category after a tough fight and Pune lad Pratik Sonawane topped in the Volkswagen Ameo Class race.

    Datta, 20, who was runner-up to Sohil Shah in the LGB 1300 championship last season, overcame a sluggish start when he dropped from second to third before recovering to grab the lead and chalk up his second win of the season. Finishing second and third behind him, respectively, were two Bengaluru schoolboys, Tijil Rao (16), who had started from pole position and Chirag Ghorpade, only 14.

    In the first MRF F1600 race, Chatterjee benefitted from a drive-through penalty for pole-sitter Sohil Shah from Bengaluru for jump start and once in front, he opened up a comfortable lead to win from Chennai’s Nirmal Umashankar and Coimbatore’s Bala Prasath. Sohil Shah, who posted the fastest lap of the race, eventually was placed ninth. In the next race, Vishnu Prasad, starting fourth on the grid, rocketed off the blocks to take the lead in the first lap itself and then hung on to win ahead of two other Chennai drivers, Sandeep Kumar and Raghul Rangasamy.

    Ace drdiver Arjun Balu from Coimbatore after winning the ITC Race on Saturday.

    Earlier, Balu, who had a poor qualifying session due to a technical hitch with his car, was not to be denied when the eight-lap race got underway. Some four corners before the end of the first lap, the Coimbatore star jumped four positions to take the lead and never looked back.

    Behind him, after the initial jostling for track positions, Karthik Tharani (VW Motorsport) seemed content to hold his second spot behind Balu while further back, Nikanth Ram (ARKA Motorsports) won a tight battle with another VW factory driver Ishaan Dodhiwala, to complete the podium.

    Meanwhile, Oman’s Shihab Al Habsi and Finn Elias Seppanen shared the top honours in the two Formula 4 SEA races.

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

    MRF F1600 (Race-1): 1. Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) (13mins, 31.977secs); 2. Nirmal Umashankar (Chennai) (13:34.309); 3. A Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) (13:34.805). Race-2: 1. Vishnu Prasad (Chennai) (13:34.363); 2. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (13:35.140); 3. Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram) (13:35.732).

    Indian Touring Cars (Race-1): 1. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) (15:22.141); 2. Karthik Tharani (VW Motorsports) (15:31.209); 3. Nikanth Ram (Arka Motorsports) (15:38.667).

    Super Stock (Race-1): 1. RP Rajarajan (Performance Racing) (16:23.257); 2. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) (16:25.808); 3. Sudanand Daniel (Race Concepts) (16:27.363).

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race-1): 1. Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motorsports) (15:23.678); 2. Tijil Rao (Momentum Motorsports) (15:25.447); 3. Chirag Ghorpade (Momentum Motorsports) (15:33.840).

    Volkswagen Ameo Class (Race-1): 1. Pratik Sonawane (Pune) (15:36.937); 2. Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Mumbai) (15:41.501); 3. Jeet Jhabakh (15:45.786).

    Formula 4 SEA (Race-1, 11 laps): 1. Shihab Al Habsi (Oman) (20:40.847); 2. Elias Seppanen (Finland) (20:43.526); 3. Alister Yoong (Malaysia) (20:44.174). Race-2 (12 laps): 1. Seppanen (19:57.398); 2. Young (19:57.948); 3. Al Habsi (19:58.826).

  • Bengaluru teenagers Sohil Shah, Tijil Rao take pole; Pratik qualifies quickest in VW Ameo Class

    Bengaluru teenagers Sohil Shah, Tijil Rao take pole; Pratik qualifies quickest in VW Ameo Class

    Bengaluru’s Tijil Rao, who qualified for pole position in the Formula LGB 1300 category on Friday. Photos by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 19 July 2019: Bengaluru teenagers Sohil Shah and Tijil Rao took pole positions in the MRF F1600 and Formula LGB 1300 categories, respectively, to set alight the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship at the MMRT, here today.

    Meanwhile, Pune’s Pratik Sonawane qualified for the pole position in the Volkswagen Ameo Class (One-Make Championship) and Coimbatore ace Arjun Balu, driving a Race Concepts-prepared Honda VTec, put the hammer down by emerging the fastest in the two practice sessions in the saloon cars category.

    Sohil Shah, who qualified for pole position in the MRF F1600 class on Friday.

    Sohil Shah, 18, came up with his best lap of one minute, 39.218 seconds, much quicker than his timings in the two Free Practice sessions earlier in the day. Less than one second covered the top eight qualifiers, indicating a close fight in all the four races scheduled for this weekend. In second spot was Nayan Chatterjee, followed by Manav Sharma and Nirmal Umashankar.

    Tijil Rao (Momentum Motorsports), 16, put in a fine performance in the Formula LGB 1300 class with a hot lap of 01:53.523, nearly a second quicker than his best in the practice sessions earlier today. With the top-five qualifiers separated by less than a second, Tijil led a 1-2-3-4 sweep for Momentum Motorsports as Ashwin Datta, Chirag Ghorpade and Deepak Ravikumar were placed second, third and fourth, respectively, ahead of Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing).

    Balu, 44, who made a comeback to racing last year after a long break, scorched the track to top the timesheets in both the practice sessions as he was two seconds quicker than championship leader in the Indian Touring Cars class, Karthik Tharani, who was piloting a factory-prepared Volkswagen Vento. Tharani had scored a double in the Coimbatore round triple-header while Balu was placed third in two races and fifth in another.

    Arjun Balu, quickest in the saloon car class

    “We had turbo issues in the previous round in Coimbatore and it reflected in our performance. For this round, we have put a new turbo and everything seems to be fine. However, race is another matter, but I am happy where we are at this moment. I could have probably gone faster today but for the traffic as the ITC cars are running on the same grid as the Super Stock. So, it was a bit difficult to find clean air in front,” said Balu.

    The VW camp admitted that the Ventos were off the pace as compared to Balu. “We are having a few issues and so, this weekend is a washout for us as we are very much off the pace. However, I will be happy if we could take at least two other podium spots,” said Sirish Vissa, head of Volkswagen Motorsport India.

    In the FIA Formula 4 South-East Asia series, Oman’s Shihab Al Habsi topped the practice session with a flying lap of 01:37.862 while the three Indians in the fray, Yash Aradhya, Mira Erda and Sneha Sharma were fifth, seventh and eighth fastest, respectively.

  • Full grid for MRF Formula 1600 as MMRT gears up to host 14 races: Racing Nationals

    Full grid for MRF Formula 1600 as MMRT gears up to host 14 races: Racing Nationals

    File photo of MRF 1600s in action at MMRT in 2018. Photo by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 18 July 2019: With a clutch of innovative initiatives on the horizon, the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship gets underway, featuring 14 races, at the MMRT here on Friday.

    The programme includes races in the two single-seater categories, the MRF F1600 and the Formula LGB 1300, besides the popular saloon cars which figure in both the premium Indian Touring Cars class and the Super Stock class, besides the Volkswagen Ameo Class which has been accorded National Championship status this year. The four Formula 4 SEA races will also run concurrently.

    Even as the National Championship season is in full swing, the promoters Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) are planning to initiate a slew of long-term plans that include night racing, the first of its kind in India.

    Taking an overview of this weekend’s races, Chairman of the Championship Vicky Chandhok said: “We are offering a racing menu with a variety this weekend. Beginning with the junior level Formula LGB 1300 leading up to the MRF F1600 which is the first step towards Formula racing, besides of course the saloon cars. We will see a galaxy of foreign and Indian racers this unique weekend when MMSC hosts both international and National racing championship at our very own circuit. So, plenty of action for sure.

    “Going forward, we at the MMSC, in keeping with our efforts to move with the changing times, plan to introduce night events with racing under lights. With a view to evaluating the possibilities of night racing, we have planned a test session on Wednesday, August 7, from 18:00 hrs. to 23:00 hrs  Primarily, this first session will be only for saloons with mandatory headlights. Depending on the testing, we will expand it to the 1300cc single-seater cars as well. Further, for the next round (August 16-18), we plan to run the races in the anti-clockwise direction. The response, thus far, has been tremendous.”

    The MRF F1600, a proven platform for young aspirants looking to break into the international arena, will be running to the full grid with four races scheduled, while the Formula LGB 1300, an excellent option for those graduating to single-seater racing, has again attracted 20-plus entries.

    The two categories in the saloon cars, ITC and Super Stock, will be run on the combined grid, and as in the previous round in Coimbatore last month, competition is expected to fierce with the factory-supported turbo-powered Volkswagen Vento cars likely to extend their domination.

  • Fresh winds blowing in Indian motor racing

    Fresh winds blowing in Indian motor racing

    By Anand Philar

    It’s monsoon time with some fresh, cool air along with rains envigorating the Indian landscape. Something similar is happening in Indian motor racing with Volkswagen and Honda picking up the gauntlet to take the sport to the next level.

    In the past month, VW made a stunning entry into the top-end Indian Touring Cars (ITC) class with the turbo-charged Vento in the National four-wheeler championship while Honda made history by introducing the FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R in the two-wheeler racing segment.

    VW Vento setting the standard in the Indian National Championship. Photos Anand Philar

    Last season, Volkswagen quietly introduced the Vento in the Turbo sub-class of the highly competitive and very popular ITC category. The intention then was to develop the Vento to be on pace with the pack before even competing.

    “It’s still a work in progress. We are still at the development stage. Our first target is to get our cars on pace and maybe, if all goes well, compete in the 2019 season. At this time, there is still a lot of work to be done. We are collecting data and using it to improve the cars,” SirishVissa, head of Volkswagen Motorsport India had said then.

    VW certainly burnt the midnight oil and the product of their endeavours was unveiled in the Round 2 of the MRFMMSCfmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore last month. The results were astonishing, to say the least.

    Sirish Vissa, Head of Motorsport, Volkswagen India in a jubilant mood during a race weekend. Photo: Anand Philar

    The three Vento cars, driven by Karthik Tharani, Ishaan Dodhiwala, and Dhruv Shivaji Mohite, dominated the entire weekend, from practice to qualifying to the double-header race card. The Vento left the field in its wake and barring Coimbatore veteran Arjun Balu, a former racing and rally champion in his Race Concepts-prepared Honda Vtec, the VW factory team faced the challenge from none other.

    The June weekend was an eye-opener to the racing aficionados. Some of the competitors, mostly in their old faithful modified Maruti Esteem, that they had flogged for many years, conceded that the Vento, powered by a 1.8 litre TSi engine mated to a six-speed sequential gearbox, was the way forward. “It is time to pack up the Esteem and go with the Vento,” was the honest admission by veteran Vidyaprakash, one of the few survivors of the hoary Sholaravam past.

    A joyous Vissa could hardly contain his emotions. “Honestly, the performances of our cars far exceeded our expectations. Last year, it was about getting on pace with the competition and during the off-season, we had worked long and hard on these cars, sorting out various issues, especially compensating for the weight factor. Winning both the races here in Coimbatore? Wow! But I can’t say how much of a game-changer this will be since I am not sure whether other competitors would switch to Vento in the foreseeable future,” he said.

    In a way, it was a double-delight for VW as their Ameo Class, a one-make series had received National Championship status from the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), the sport’s National governing body. Coupled with the showing of the Vento in the ITC, the excitement in the VW camp was palpable and understandable.

    A HISTORIC MOMENT – HONDA UPS THE ANTE

    Cut to the MMRT, a fortnight later, for the second round of the MRFMMSCfmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2019. The motorsport wing of the Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI)showcased the FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R imported from Japan that replaced the CBR 250 in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup One-Make Championship.

    Md Mikail on a Honda NSF 250R during a race week-end at MMRT, Chennai.

    It was a landmark moment in the history of two-wheeler racing in India. The eight-bike grid comprised riders in the age-group of 12 to 19 years, all trained and primed over the past several months to become race ready.

    In a conversation with me at the MMRT, Prabhu Nagaraj, Vice-President – Brand and Communications, HMSI Pvt Ltd, said: “As you are aware, two-wheeler racing at the global level is getting younger in terms of the riders. We thought we will invest in youngsters, in the preferred age-group of 12-18 years on a long-term programme. Eventually, we hope that at least one of the riders would make it to Moto3.

    “We have gone to a great extent to train these youngsters in not just racing, but also help them develop as individuals. For this season, we shortlisted eight riders who were put through a rigorous training programme, and hopefully, the grid would get bigger in the seasons to come. We have other plans too for the coming season.”

    Sarthak Chavan from Pune, youngest rider (Honda NSF 250R) on the track at just 12 years

    Back in 2015, Honda won the Moto3 constructor’s Championship with the NSF250R. The race bike, shoed with Dunlop tyres, is powered by a 249.3cc single cylinder liquid-cooled engine, putting out a maximum power of 47.6 HP at 13,000 rpm and 28 Nm of torque at 10,500 rpm. The engine is mated to a 6-speed gearbox.

    These kids on the NSF 250R bikes rode fearlessly and their timings through the weekend were astounding. The top five boys were quicker than the fastest 400cc bike in the championship. Those in the know believe that the NSF 250R bikes can lower the timings even more, to maybe 1:45 or thereabouts, as against the weekend’s best of 1:48 for a hot lap.

    The 84-Kgs NSF 250R is built for young teenagers who easily fit into the saddle. Among the youngest of the riders was Pune’s Sartak Srikant Chavan, just 12 years old, but who performed like he was born to ride. The grid also contained two “veterans” in 15-year old Md Mikail from Chennai and Kritik Habib, 19, from Gadag, Karnataka, both of whom had participated in the Thailand Talent Cup race recently. That experience reflected in their performance with Mikail winning the first of the two races, ahead of Habib.

    Also, Honda made a welcome entry in the Pro-Stock 165cc with their race-spec CBR 150R, and much to their delight, Rajiv Sethu, their standard-bearer, won both the races. Sethu has come a long way and his recent performances in the Asia Road Racing Championship besides the Endurance race in Japan as part of the Honda team, have certainly boosted his confidence. In both National championship races over the weekend, Sethu defeated his nemesis and seven-times champion Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing).

    Volkswagen and Honda deserve all the kudos for taking the initiative to give a leg-up to Indian motor racing. These are baby steps yet, but the signs are very positive. Hopefully, we can look forward to acche din!

  • Double for Sethu, Ravikumar, Abhimanyu; Easy win for Ryhana Bee: MMSC Bike Nationals

    Double for Sethu, Ravikumar, Abhimanyu; Easy win for Ryhana Bee: MMSC Bike Nationals

    Deepak Ravikumar (centre), who scored a double in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc category, flanked by KY Ahamed 2nd (left) and Amarnath Menon 3rd, at MMRT on Sunday. Photos by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 7 July 2019: Bitter rivals on the track, TVS Racing and Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing shared the honours on the concluding day of the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the MMRT, here today.

    Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) and Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) completed a double apiece in contrasting styles. Ravikumar was in a league of his own with an authoritative win by the proverbial country mile in the premium Pro-Stock 301-400cc race, his second of the weekend, while behind him, Amarnath Menon (Team Alisha Abdullah) denied TVS Racing another 1-2 by pipping KY Ahamed.

    Sethu repeated his yesterday’s Race 1 win over TVS Racing’s Jagan Kumar for a double in the Pro-Stock 165cc class. After exchanging leads with Jagan through the race, Sethu made a heart-stopping pass on the last corner of the last lap to pull off a superb win while Ahamed scrambled to third spot.

    Bengaluru-based Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) survived a close fight with Mathan Kumar (Erula Racing) to win the Pro-Stock 200-300cc race with Abhishek Vasudev, also from Bengaluru, a distant third.

    Also achieving a double was Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) in the Novice (Stock 165cc) class, sparing nearly three seconds to Venkatesan I (Motomania) while Mohan Babu (Rockers Racing) completed the podium.


    Ryhana Bee, winner of the Girls race

    Meanwhile, defending champion in the Girls (Stock 165cc) category, Ann Jennifer suffered a rare defeat as she finished third behind her Sparks Racing team-mate Ryhana Bee and Alisha Abdullah (Team Alisha Abdullah) in the five-lap race. It was Bee’s maiden win in the championship as she made capital of a favourable situation that had pole-sitter Jennifer fumbling at the start and then getting caught up in traffic. While Bee disappeared in the distance, Jennifer could not pass Alisha and decided to hold position with an eye on the championship points.

    In the hot mid-afternoon sun, Chennai youngsters Varoon Sadasivam, Kavin Samaar Quintal and Geoffrey Emmanuel finished in that order on the FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R bikes in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup One-Make Championship after favourites, Md Mikail (Chennai), winner of Race-1 yesterday, and Kritik Vasant Habib (Gadag, Karnataka) retired early in the eight-lap race. Mikail crashed at the start, while Habib too went off in the third lap.

    The results (Provisional):

    National Championship:

    Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) (15mins, 31.358secs); 2. Amarnath Menon (Team Alisha Abdullah) (15:45.432); 3. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (15:45.558).

    Pro-Stock 200-300cc (Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (16:22.798); 2. Mathan Kumar (Erula Racing) (16:22.876); 3. Abhishek V (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (16:55.918).

    Pro-Stock 165cc (Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (16:07.033);  2. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) (16:07.152); 3. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (16:09.355).

    Novice – Stock 165cc (Race 2, 6 laps): 1.Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) (13:10.877); 2. Venkatesan I (Team Motomania) (13:13.508); 3. Mohan Babu P (Team Rockers Racing) (13:15.079).

    Girls (Stock 165cc, 5 laps): 1. A Ryhana Bee (Sparks Racing) (11:11.579); 2. Alisha Abdullah (Team Alisha Abdullah Racing) (11:20.990); 3. Ann Jennifer AS (Sparks Racing) (11:21.078).

    One-Make Championship:

    Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – Honda NSF 250R (Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Varoon Sadasivam (Chennai) (14:53.899); 2. Kavin Samaar Quintal (Chennai) (15:03.271); 3. Geoffrey Emmanuel (Chennai) (15:32.943).

    Honda CBR 150 (Race 2, 6 laps): 1. Lal Nunsanga (Aizwal) (13:28.925); 2. Lalrinzuala Tlau (Aizwal) (13:29.167); 3. Samuel Martin (Bengaluru) (13:30.521).

    TVS Open (Apache RTR 310, Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (16:01.298); 2. Karthik Mateti (Hyderabad) (16:16.321); 3. Soorya PM (Chennai) (16:18.106).

    Novice (Apache RTR 200, Race 2, 6 laps): 1. Venkatesan (Chennai) (13:13.644); 2. Manoj Y (Chennai) (13:14.210); 3. Lakshmipathy Balaji (Vellore) (13:15.231).

  • Deepak Ravikumar leads 1-2 for TVS Racing in Pro-Stock 301-400cc class; Rajiv Sethu tops 165cc

    Deepak Ravikumar leads 1-2 for TVS Racing in Pro-Stock 301-400cc class; Rajiv Sethu tops 165cc

    The 14-year old Md Mikail, winner of the inaugural Honda NSF 250 race at MMRT on Saturday. Photo by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 6 July 2019: Deepak Ravikumar led a 1-2 finish for TVS Racing in the premium Pro-Stock 301-400cc class, while Rajiv Sethu, fresh from an international outing in Japan, scored a thrilling win in the Pro-Stock 165cc category to bring some cheer for Honda in the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the MMRT, here today.

    Starting from pole position, Ravikumar held off team-mate KY Ahamed for a commanding win, while Sethu, who missed the first round in Coimbatore last month, fought tooth and nail to beat favourite and pole-sitter Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing), sealing the win in the last lap.

    Mathan Kumar (Erula Racing) also chalked up a last-gasp win over Aravind Balakrishnan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) in the Pro-Stock 200-300cc class that was run on a combined grid with the 301-400cc category while Bengaluru’s Abhimanyu Gautam, starting from third on the 39-rider grid, topped the Stock 165cc (Novice) race which went down to the wire.

    Earlier, 14-year old from Chennai, Md Mikail underlined his potential by comfortably winning the inaugural race in the newly-introduced Honda NSF 250R category of the Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup One-Make championship. Varun Sadasivam, also from Chennai, came in second ahead of another 14-year old local schoolboy Kavin Samaar Quintal.

    Ravikumar, starting from pole, gradually increased his lead over Ahamed and had plenty to spare at the finish. Amarnath Menon, who too sat out the first round last month, finished third in his debut race for Team Alisha Abdullah.

    The win was some consolation for Ravikumar who lost a third place battle in the Pro-Stock 165cc race to Bengaluru’s Yashas RL (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) behind Sethu and Jagan after some of the front-runners lost track position due to issues with their bikes.

    Reflecting on his win, Sethu said: “I had problems with the grip levels, and I thought I might go off. But I used my experience to stay behind Jagan and eventually passed him on the penultimate lap at the Bridge Complex left-hander. It was a tough race and I had to fight all the way to win.”

    Jagan, a seven-times National champion in the erstwhile Super Sport 165cc class, said: “I did my very best today and was on the limit, but just couldn’t hold back Rajiv. The bike was fine and there were no issues. Today, this was the best I could do.”

    The results (Provisional – all Six laps unless mentioned):

    National Championship:

    Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race 1): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) (11mins, 41.479secs); 2. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (11:47.446); 3. Amarnath Menon (Team Alisha Abdullah) (11:48.814).

    Pro-Stock 200-300cc (Race 1): 1. Mathan Kumar (Erula Racing) (12:11.742); 2. Aravind Balakrishnan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:11.774); 3. Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:34.687).

    Pro-Stock 165cc (Race 1): 1. Rajiv Sethi (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (11:59.724); 2. K Jagan (TVS Racing) (11:59.820); 3. Yashas RL (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:11.089).

    Novice – Stock 165cc (Race 1): 1. Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) (13:08.136); 2. Venkatesan I (Team Motomania) (13:08.647); 3. Lokesh V (Team Speedup Racing) (13:09.568).

    One-Make Championship:

    Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup – Honda NSF 250R (Race 1): 1. Md Mikail (Chennai) (11:14.583); 2. Varoon Sadasivam (Chennai) (11:16.963); 3. Kavin Samaar Quintal (Chennai) (11:18.128). Honda CBR 150 (Race 1): 1. Samuel Martin (Bengaluru) (13:18.183); 2. Lalrinzuala Tlau (Aizwal) (13:18.604); 3. Lal Nunsanga (Aizwal) (13:18.754).

    TVS Open (Apache RTR 310, Race 1): 1. Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (11:58.964); 2. Sivanesan Sethu (Chennai) (12:10.737); 3. Arun Muthukrishnan (Chennai) (12:13.757). Novice (Apache RTR 200, Race 1): 1. Venkatesan (Chennai) (13:16.007); 2. Manoj Y (Chennai) (13:16.163); 3. Annish Samson (Bengaluru) (13:24.783). Girls (Apache RTR 200) (5 laps): 1. Nivetha Jessica (Chennai) (11:27.421); 2. Lakiya Lee (Chennai) (12:02.771); 3. Sayali Pawar (Mumbai) (12:10.872).

  • Historic day at MMRT as Moto3-spec Honda NSF 250R bikes up the ante

    Historic day at MMRT as Moto3-spec Honda NSF 250R bikes up the ante

    Md Mikail, the fastest rider on the track, who qualified for pole position in the Moto3-spec Honda NSF 250R class in Chennai on Friday. Photo by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 5 July 2019: Madras Motor Race Track  saw another historic day in the Indian Motorsport as FIM Moto3-spec bikes made their debut in India. The second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2019 was off to a roaring start at the MMRT here on Friday with the FIM Moto3-spec Honda NSF 250R bikes, participating in the Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup, raising the standard bar in a stunning fashion during the qualifying sessions.

    The top-five qualifiers in the NSF 250R were quicker than TVS Racing’s Deepak Ravikumar who took the pole position in the premium Pro-Stock 301-400cc class, with a best lap of one minute, 54.298secs. As against this, Chennai lad Md Mikail, only 14 years old, topped the NSF 250R qualifying clocking 01:48.889, with fifth placed Kavin Samaar Quintal posting a best of 01:53.111.

    Also grabbing pole positions in their respective categories were Mathan Kumar of Erula Racing in the Pro-Stock 201-300cc (01:59.786), Bengaluru’s Samuel Martin (02:11.964) in the Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup CBR 150 and Venkatesan from Chennai (02:10.859) in the TVS RTR 200 (Novice). Venkatesan (02:09.660) also took pole position in the Novice (Stock 165cc) class while Ann Jennifer of Sparks Racing topped in the Girls (02:12.289) category.

    Undoubtedly, the Honda NSF 250R bikes came under considerable scrutiny in their debut outing in India, and they exceeded expectations with all their eight riders, in the age-group of 12 to 18 years, putting in impressive performances.

    Not the least was Sarthak Shrikant Chavan, the 12-year old schoolboy from Pune who qualified eighth in the NSF 250R class, with a flying lap of 02:01.753. It was his maiden outing in track racing after having won a junior motocross event recently.

    While the timings from Free Practice dropped noticeably in the qualifying sessions, Mikail, who raced in Thailand recently along with Karthik Vasant Habib from Gadag, Karnataka, improved by nearly three seconds to take the pole position. Habib qualified second in 01:51.091, ahead of Chennai boys Varoon Sadasivam (01:52.435) and Geoffrey Emmanuel (01:52.801).

  • Honda to debut Moto3-spec NSF 250R in the MRF MMSC fmsci Bike Nationals

    Honda to debut Moto3-spec NSF 250R in the MRF MMSC fmsci Bike Nationals

    Action in the Bike Nationals at MMRT. File photo by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 4 July 2019: Expectations and excitement are on a high as the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2019 commence here at the MMRT on Friday with focus on one of country’s leading two-wheeler manufacturer Honda, who are set to introduce the FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R.

    While the NSF 250R besides the CBR 150, which is part of the Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup, a one-make championship organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club is bound to create a buzz, the attention will be as much on the National Championship races, including the two premium Pro-Stock categories, the 301-400cc and the 165cc. Also in the mix are the two Novice classes, Girls and Stock 165cc, that have been as competitive as the other categories.

    Completing the card this weekend will be TVS Racing’s One-Make Championship in two categories, the Open (TVS Apache RTR 310), and Novice and Girls (TVS Apache RTR 200). Races in all these categories witnessed extremely close competition in the first round at Coimbatore last month and likely to be no different this weekend.

    As in the first round at Coimbatore last month, the number of entries has exceeded 150 with some 15 teams, a record for the National Championship in itself, supporting the riders. Both the Pro-Stock categories will be run on slick tyres provided by the title sponsors MRF Tyres.

    In a bid to fast-track their programme to identify and nurture talent that could break into the international arena, Honda have put an age-cap of 19 for the CBR 150 category while the NSF 250R bikes would be ridden by hand-picked riders who have undergone extensive training.

    TVS have also been on pace in their talent quest, especially in the Girls category where the riders, following a pan-India selection process, have been shortlisted from 33 entrants to 16 who make up the race grid.

    The weekend card has a total of 16 races spread over Saturday and Sunday with qualifying sessions scheduled for Friday.

  • Talented Dean Mascarenhas stops a marauding Gaurav Gill to win INRC opener

    Talented Dean Mascarenhas stops a marauding Gaurav Gill to win INRC opener

    Team Champions’ Dean Mascarenhas(L) & Shrupta Padival(R) after winning the South India Rally at MMRT on Sunday. A Team Champions image

    Irungattukottai (Sriperumbudur), 30 June 2019: Team Champions’ Dean Mascarenhas survived a late but spirited onslaught from three-time APRC winner and WRC2 driver Gaurav Gill to win the opening round of the Champions Yacht Club – FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship here on a nail-biting Sunday.

    Going into the third and final leg with a 10-second overall lead and a handy 1.41 minutes over Gill, Mascarenhas (Shruptha Padival) would have hoped for a pressure-free day in the office. But an errant car and a possessed Gill saw his lead being steadily wiped out from both ends, raising the specter of a sensational last-minute upset.

    However, Team Mahindra’s Gill (Musa Sherif) who finished second in the day’s first stage and won all remaining four, suffered a massive blow in the penultimate stage. Just as he was racing like the wind, a herd of cows came in his path, costing him anything between 7 to 10 seconds.

    Dean gets an affectionate hug from his mother after winning the INRC opening round at MMRT on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar

    He was awarded 10 seconds by the Stewards for the unfortunate delay, catapulting him to the third position in the overall category. It was sufficient to win him the INRC category too but not good enough to dislodge Mascarenhas or Fabid Ahmer.

    Rahul Kanthraj (Vivek Bhatt), however, was edged out of the podium in the overall category by a mere one second.

     

    “We worked very hard to make up for the lackluster first two days,” Gill said. “We changed the tyres and the setup at every opportunity and it paid dividends until bad luck hit us,” he added.

    Gill’s JK Tyre partner Mascarenhas was, however, delighted with his breakthrough victory. “My car had lost one of the four cylinders on Saturday itself and it kept stalling, adding to the pressure. I, however, held my nerves and came through, making this one of my sweetest wins,” he said.

    The South India Rally, Round One of the INRC powered by MRF, turned out to be a thrill-a-minute blockbuster, with the 19-strong Team Champions stunning all and winning almost all the categories.

    Dean and Fabid Ahmer (Sanath G) made it a sensational 1-2 for the Shubhakar Rao-owned team, with Dean also taking the INRC 2 and Fabid the INRC 3. Vaibhav Marate (Arjun SSB) annexed the INRC 4.

    RESULTS

    INRC Overall

    1) Dean Mascarenhas & Shruptha Padival – 1:45.10.800 hr; 2) Fabid Ahmer & Sanath G – 1:45:24.400 hr; 3) Gaurav Gill & Musa Sherif – 1:45:27.800 hr

    INRC
    1) Gaurav Gill & Musa Sherif – 1:45:27.800 hr; 2) Phalguna URS & Srikanth Gowda – 1:48:04.500 hr

    INRC 2
    1) Dean Mascarenhas & Shruptha Padival – 1:45.10.800 hr; 2) Rahul Kanthraj & Vivek Bhatt – 1:45:28.600 hr; 3) Ritesh Guttedar.M & Lokaranjan H.J – 1:53:13.300 hr

     INRC 3
    1) Fabid Ahmer & Sanath G – 1:45:24.400 hr;  2) Arjun Rao & Shanmuga Sundaram – 1:46:40.200 hr; 3)  Daraius Shroff & Sheeraz Ahmed – 1:47:40.700 hr

    INRC 4
    1) Vaibhav Marate & Arjun SSB – 1:53:02.100 hr; 2) Rakshith Iyer & Chandrashekar – 1:54:30.700 hr; 3) Shirole Prakhyat. H & Bharath S.M – 1:59:19.700 hr