Tag: MMSC

Coimbatore, 8 June 2019: Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) and Sankar Sarath Kumar (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) survived a day of drama and crashes to post deserved wins in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc and Pro-Stock 165cc categories, respectively, as the first round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2019 sparked to life at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Saturday.

The results are provisional as a late evening protest is yet to be decided by the stewards.

Starting sixth, Ravikumar, nursing injuries he suffered during last week’s testing, overcame pain and discomfort to score a merited win in the premium Pro-Stock 301-400cc race after pole-sitter Prabhu Arunagiri (Team Alisha Abdullah) and Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) came together in the second of the 10-lap race. While Arunagiri retired, Jagan Kumar, who had started second on the grid, got up and continued to finish eighth.

In second place behind Ravikumar was TVS Racing’s KY Ahamed, followed by Gusto Racing’s Satyanarayana Raju who was nursing a collar-bone fracture.

Earlier, the two outstanding riders in the Pro-Stock 165cc race were the eventual winner Sarath Kumar and third-placed Jagan Kumar. Sarath, 26, overcame a poor start that pushed him to sixth before he climbed his way to the front for a comfortable win by over five seconds.

Behind him, seven-times Super Sport National champion Jagan, starting from the pit-lane after the chain snapped during the formation lap, requiring quick repairs, rode like the wind as he cut through the field to finish third behind team-mate KY Ahamed who also did extremely well after starting eighth on the grid following this morning’s qualifying session.

Reflecting on his first win in three years, Sarath said: “It feels great to win a race after I think three years. I did not have a good start and was running sixth going into Turn-1, but I was confident of making up and by the second lap, I was ahead. Thereafter, it was fairly comfortable.

“It has been a frustrating three years during which I was part of the development programme. I also put on weight during that time, going up to 76 Kgs which is far too heavy for a 165cc bike. So, I reduced my weight to 66 Kgs, but still concede about 12 Kgs to Jagan. I had a strategy today, but unfortunately, he had a technical issue, so, I didn’t need to employ that strategy. Tomorrow, I know, he will be with me, but I am confident.”

Jagan, who was chaired to the garage after the post-race weigh-in by his team members, said: “The chain snapped and so I had to start from the pitlane after repairs. Otherwise, it was a good race and am happy to finish third considering the circumstances. Hopefully, I will have a better race tomorrow.”

The day started with Sparks Racing’s Vijay S taking the honours in the Stock 165cc (Novice) race that was red-flagged after just two laps following crashes.

Varoon (Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup, CBR 150), Anish Samson (TVS 200 RR, Novice), Lani Zena Fernandez (TVS 200 RR Girls) and Anand R (TVS 310RR Open) were the other winners of the day.

The results (Provisional):

National Championship – Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race 1, 10 laps): 1. Deepak Ravi Kumar (TVS Racing) (11 mins, 40.315 secs); 2. KY Ahemed (TVS Racing) (11:41.960); 3. Satyanarayana Raju (Gusto Racing) (11:58.709).

Pro-Stock 165cc (Race 1, 10 laps): 1. Sarath Kumar (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:23.441); 2. Ahamed KY (TVS Racing) (12:26.672); 3. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) (12:27.061).

Stock 165cc (Race 1, 7 laps): 1. Vijay S (Sparks Racing) (09:29.877); 2. Manoj Y (Pvt) (09:31.371); 3. Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) (09:36.358).

One-Make Championship – Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup (CBR 150) Race 1 (10 laps): 1. Varoon (13:31.952); 2. Lalrinuala Tlau (13:51.910); 3. Charan T (14:11.186).

TVS (Open, RR 310) Race 1 (10 laps): 1. Anand R (12:17.045); 2. Aravind Ganesh (12:18.822); 3. Soorya PM (12:18.865).

Novice (RR 200) Race 1 (4 laps): 1. Anish Samson (05:34.808); 2. Manoj Y (05:34.860); 3. Ullas Santruptnanda (05:36.011).

Girls (RR 200): 1. Lani Zena Fernandez (04:19.084); 2. Nivetha Jessica (04:19.766); 3. Shifa Shabir Ahmed (04:35.568).

Coimbatore, 7 June 2019: Prabhu Arunagiri of Team Alisha Abdullah scorched the track at the Kari Motor Speedway as he qualified for pole position in the premium Pro-Stock 301-400cc class as the first round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship commenced here today.

Arunagiri came up with the flier in his very second lap, clocking one minute, 09.241 seconds, while TVS Racing duo of Jagan Kumar (01:09.269) and KY Ahamed (01:09.270) completed the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s race. Finishing a close fourth was young Rahil Shetty (Sparks Racing) with a best of 01:10.130.

TVS Racing’s Jagan Kumar yet again underlined his caliber and class with a brilliant performance to top the practice session in the Pro-Stock 165cc class with a flying lap of 01:13:529 ahead of Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing’s Sarath Kumar (01:13.544) and team-mate KY Ahamed (01:13.688). The trio was separated by less than a second, pointing to an exciting battle tomorrow when the qualifying and first of the two races are to be run.

Jagan, who last season clinched his seventh National title in the Super Sport Indian 165cc class which was not in the first round here, has since moved to the Pro-Stock category, but adapted himself well to top the timesheets. Sarath and Ahamed also participated in the Super Sport category last year.

There was plenty of action elsewhere with riders in the Honda and TVS One-Make Championships, and the Novice class entrants getting a feel of the conditions during the practice sessions that occupied much of the day’s 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 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.

Coimbatore, 6 June 2019: The 2019 season of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship, commencing at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Friday, June 7, will move up a couple of notches in quality and competitiveness with country’s leading 2-wheeler manufacturers Honda and TVS, playing key roles in the process.

With 178 entries and a record 15 teams, the highest-ever in the championship’s history, in the fray, the weekend card has 17 races scheduled. The National Championship will be headlined by the Pro-Stock 301-400cc class, besides Pro-Stock 165cc, Pro-Stock 201-300cc and Stock 165cc (Novice and Girls). That apart, the One-Make Championships by Honda (Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup, CBR 150) and TVS Racing (Apache RTR 310 Open, RTR 200 Novice, and Girls), will be run concurrently.

Title sponsors MRF will provide slick tyres for Pro-Stock 165cc and Pro-Stock 301-400cc classes. The slicks were introduced for the 2018 season and met with immediate approval and appreciation from the riders for the better grip, especially through the corners.

MMSC President Ajit Thomas said: “We at the MMSC have been actively working towards our vision of providing a strong platform for young riders to express their talent on the race track before moving on to the next level. In this regard, we acknowledge the active involvement of our long-time partners MRF Tyres who have spared no effort to provide us with high-quality racing tyres. The MMSC also have kept pace with changing times by constantly upgrading equipment and infrastructure to make racing more safer and competitive.”

Over the past couple of seasons, the competition in every category has become sharper and closer, resulting in exciting fare, and there are pointers that it would be even more so in the new season.

The two top manufacturers, Honda and TVS, have also contributed hugely to the National championship with their respective one-make series. This season, in a landmark move, Honda will be introducing FIM Moto3 spec NSF250R that will replace the CBR 250 in their One-Make Championship from the next round. It is part of the Honda India Talent Cup programme designed to unearth young talent that can be groomed for participation in various international events, including the World Championship.

The Honda Novice class (CBR 150) will see a grid of 15 riders, all under 19 years of age, thus emphasising the focus on young talent with a long-term development programme.

Similarly, TVS Racing, through their talent-spotting programme, have shortlisted riders for their Novice and Girls categories through an exhaustive selection process. The grid for the Girls race will have 16 riders who were chosen from 33 entrants who received training from TVS Racing’s experienced riders prior to the selection run.

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-looped 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.