INDIA in F1

Tag: Rakshith Dave

  • Rakshith Dave misses Malaysian SBK Championship title by a whisker

    Rakshith Dave misses Malaysian SBK Championship title by a whisker

    Sepang, 19 December 2023: Indian teenager Rakshith Dave bagged two podium places in the third and final round to clinch a creditable runners-up spot, in his debut season, in the Malaysian Superbike Championship 2023, which concluded here at the Sepang International Circuit.

    Rakshith, who made his international debut in Round 1 with a stunning double victory in his class went on to bag the second place in the highly-competitive Championship in Malaysia.

    In Round 3, Rakshith won two podiums, a second and a third place in the MSBK 250 B Race category but had to be content with the second in the overall standings of his class for the championship. In the in the 8-lap Race 1, he timed 20min, 53.558sec and later clocked 20:41.903 for a second place in Race 2.

    Earlier, astride a Honda CBR250RR, Rakshith won both the Round 1 races in his class in the Malaysia SBK 250cc category (B category), at the famed MotoGP circuit, the Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur. Rakshith bagged the ‘Week-end Warrior Trophy’ in the first round.

    Rakshith Dave in action at Sepang in the first round in August 2023. INDIAinF1 image

    Chennai’s Rakshith, 15, a Class X student of Lady Andal, said: “I am very happy to take a second place in the prestigious Malaysian Super Bike Championship. I am really elated and this gives me a push to continue my dreams. I thank my family, my team and crew who have worked really hard for this season and I hope to launch a new and better season soon.”

    Rakshith made his debut at the Madras International circuit in 2020 after he was selected for the Honda India Talent Cup and took a podium in his very first race. In the next two years, he scored many victories and podiums and graduated to NSF 250 class and went on to take part in the inaugural MiniGP India series in 2022. In 2023, he not only won the second place in the Idemitsu Honda 2023 Championship but also won the overall title in the teenage class of the MMSC Sprint Rally.

    The highlight of 2023 for Rakshith came when he was selected to represent India in the Asia Talent Cup 2024 to be held over six rounds across as many countries. He was one among the 10 riders to be selected from the Asia Pacific Region.

    The MSBK championship consisted of six races over three rounds at the same venue in Sepang. After winning both the races in Round 1, he came back strongly to win the second race in Round 2 after some technical issues with the bike prevented him from starting Race 1. In Round 3, he achieved another two podiums to finish the season on a bright note with 111 points, just 4 points behind Muhd Izrul Huzaimie Amran who won the 250B class title.

  • Sachin double at MMSC Sprint rally; Rehana bags Ladies class

    Sachin double at MMSC Sprint rally; Rehana bags Ladies class

    Chennai, June 25, 2023: Bengaluru’s Sachin D capped himself with glory by winning titles in two categories as riders from Karnataka dominated with a haul of six in the MMSC Two-Wheeler Sprint Rally Series 2003 Powered by Vamcy Merla which concluded at the Madras International Circuit here today.

    Sachin took the honours in Group B (Up to 260cc) winning all four rounds that were held over two consecutive weekends and the Open (Up to 750cc) with two wins and as many podiums.

    The organisers, Madras Motor Sports Club, ran the event on a dirt track specially prepared for the event and measuring about six Kms. While Round 1 was held on June 17, the remaining three rounds were run on June 24-25.

    Former National racing champion Rehana Reya from Chennai, astride an Xpulse for the first time, remained unbeaten over four rounds to claim the title in the Women’s class.

    “The terrain was fast in the last round after a slushy third round and I enjoyed the dry run. It was fun to race on such a speedy terrain. MMRT looked very different for me this time as I am riding for the first time on the unique rally track and not on the Tarmac. The organisers never disappoint the riders as they provided a challenging terrain with a portion of Tarmac where I was able to gain much traction. The experience helped me to clock a better timing of 4min 57sec. I am also happy to be in the top-10 with the boys in the Overall classification,” said Rehana Reya. She also thanked Vamcy Merla and MMSC for providing a good platform for the riders to experience more seat time in the Sprint rally format.

    I put my hands on newly set up machine for this race, I never rode a Xpulse before this was a good opportunity to give it a try riding my race spec bike on this track , I felt I’m learning to improve and getting better on the bike , all thanks to my tuner VINODH and team 56 racing for good work ..
    mostly I want to thank vamcy Merla sir for giving us such a great platform for all the good riders in our motorsport community with all the trust and confidence .Iam very happy I’m able to represent VM foundation.
    Looking forward for my next race to perform better ..

    The competition in the Teenagers Class produced a nail-biting finish with Chennai’s Rakshit S Dave topping the category despite finishing fourth in the final round which his closest rival, Shreyas Hareesh (Bengaluru) won. Rakshit finished with 70 points to Shreyas’ 68.

    Chikmagaluru’s Asad Khan (Group D, up to 260cc) and Abrar Pasha from Shivamogga (Group B, up to 165cc) also won all four rounds in their respective categories to emerge champions.

    Suhail Ahmed from Bengaluru topped the Group A (up to 750cc) category winning two rounds over the weekend while Uttarkhand’s Akhand Pratap Singh pouched the title in the Group B up to 400cc class with an all-win record.

    Notching three wins in four rounds, Bengaluru’s Naresh VS bagged the series title in the Royal Enfield category.

    MMSC Vice-President Vicky Chandhok said: “MMSC is grateful to Vamcy Marla for sponsoring the event that was held over two weekends. We also thank all the competitors for their involvement.”

    The Series champions:

    Open (Up to 750cc): Sachin D (Bengaluru)

    Group A (up to 500cc): Suhail Ahmed (Bengaluru, Alisha Racing).

    Group B (up to 165cc): Abrar Pasha (Shivamogga).

    Group B (260cc):D Sachin (Bengaluru).

    Group B (400cc): Akhand Pratap Singh (Uttarkhand).

    Group D (260cc): Asad Khan (Chikmgaluru).

    Royal Enfield: Naresh VS (Bengaluru).

    Teenagers: Rakshit S Dave (Chennai).

    Women: Rehana Reya (Chennai).

  • Rakshith & Rakshitha, the Chennai twins blossom at MMSC bike races

    Rakshith & Rakshitha, the Chennai twins blossom at MMSC bike races

    Irungattukottai, 21 August 2021: Talented teenage twins, Rakshith and Rakshitha, from Chennai, blossomed together to notch-up easy maiden victories in their respective one-make Championships at the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship, 70-km from Chennai, here on Saturday.

    The 8th Standard students of Chettinad Harishree Vidyalayam, Chennai, gave themselves a belated birthday gift as they took the top spot on the podium today. The talented duo, who completed 13 years on August 8, made their debut in the first round last December, and are only in their second season.

    It was Rakshith Srihari Dave, who took the stage first, dominating the Idimetsu Honda CBR 150 Novice Class Race 1 as he clocked 13 minutes, 12.373 seconds over six laps. Taking the lead at the first corner into the second lap, he soon increased the gap and put in consistent laps with steady riding to grab an easy win beating Prakash Kamath of Bokaro Steel City by a huge 4.8 second margin even as Theopaul Leander, also from Chennai, finished third. “I enjoyed my race and feel happy to get my first victory. I thank my team and my parents,” said Rakhsith in the pitlane after the win.

    Rakshita Srihari Dave, the 13-year Chennai lass, follows suit his twin brother to a maiden race victory on Saturday. A screen grab of MMSC live streaming

    In the third race of the day, the TVS RTR200 for Girls Race 1, Rakshitha S Dave also took a thrilling victory defeating Baddam Deepika Reddy and Adlin Seles. Later, Deepika was penalised 10-seconds for a jump start. Thus, Adlin came second and Nishita Palani took the final podium place ahead of Deepika in fourth. “I am very happy with my victory as I gave a good fight. I am also glad because this is my maiden win which was made possible by my bike. I thank TVS racing for giving me this wonderful platform to perform,” quipped Rakshitha, who made her Debut on 11th December last year and got a podium the very next day in the Girls Stock 165cc class of the National Championship. She also partnered with Deepika and won a second place in the girls section of the Endurance event conducted by Madras Motors Sports Club in March this year sharing a tiring-47 laps with the Hyderabad lass, before the pandemic stopped all sports activity. She says, she enjoys riding and is looking forward for more racing, says the youngest participant on the grid.

    Rakshith Srihari Dave, who won his maiden race at MMRT on Saturday.

    The kids get their inspiration from their dad Srihari R Dave, who used to race for fun and turned his passion into profession as he continues in the automobile business. “I feel blessed and proud of my twins,” he said after the double delight today. Their mom, Vidya Srihari, is visibly pleased too. Though she was reluctant initially, to allow the kids go racing bikes for fear of injuries, she was convinced by all the three, and now understands the safe environment at MMRT for racing. “I don’t watch the race as I am still afraid but am happy and thrilled that they both won today. My husband convinced me. Also, it is not just racing, they learn how to take failures in equal stride, that helps them grow in life,” she said.

    Currently, Rakshitha is coached by Mohamed Haneef of Speed Demon Motorsports, Chennai and Rakshit is under the umbrella of Idemitsu Honda Racing India. Both the riders underwent Level I training by Ramji at the basic camp at Ten10 Racing Academy in Bengaluru in 2018. They had a few podiums last season but this is their maiden victory and both are the youngest on their respective grids. This year, both were shortlisted for the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup, which was scheduled for October 2021 in Malaysia, before the pandemic played spoilsport and the event was put-off. If groomed and nurtured properly, the kids would `go places’…