For the second round of the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship, we visit the famous Madras International Circuit. Every racing opportunity is a possible showcase event for these young prospects, and in Chennai, it was no different from 4-7 July. Here is DRC’s report from the weekend.
Friday : battle for the starting positions
Qualifying for the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship ensued on friday in spectacular fashion. This weekend was the first time that the Pro Stock 301-400cc bikes were using slick tires. Hence, extra practice time was given to them.
Come the end of the 15 minute long qualifying session, it was Sarthak (1:49:383) who took the honours in the Pro Stock 301-400cc class by mere 0.043 seconds over Chiranth Vishwanath (01:49.426). KY Ahamed posted a time of 01:51.032 to come in P3.
Sarthak and Chiranth were reversed on the timesheets in the Pro-Stock 165cc Open category. Chiranth Vishwanath (01:54.388) snatched P1 from Sarthak (01:54.483) by just 0.093 seconds. Multiple National champion Jagan Kumar (01:55.580) came in P3.
In the Girls (Stock 165cc) category, Ann Jennifer (Alpha Racing India) went P1 with a time of 2:08:213. Ryhana Bee (Motul Sparks Racing)(02:09.070) followed her in P2 and Nadine Faith Balaji (Alpha Racing India, 02:09.864)) completed the top 3. Round 1 winner Raksh*tha Dave could only manage P5 due to a issue with her bike.
Abdul Basim (Rockers Racing(02:06.793)) took pole in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category. However he ended the session with a crash as he came down on the exit of the bridge complex. He walked away with just bruises, meaning he starts the race from P1 on Saturday. In P2 was Mysuru’s Tasmai Cariappa (Motul Sparks Racing(02:09.292)) followed by his teammate Lal Nunsanga from Mizoram.
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup
Mohsin Paramban(01:51.451) qualified in P1 in NSF 250R category, followed closely by AS James (01:51.941) and Prakash Kamat (01:52.206). Round 1 winner Raksh*th Dave missed this weekend for his commitment in the Honda Talent Cup in Thailand.
TVS One Make championship
In the TVS One make championship, Senthilkumar C (01:55.616) came in P1 in Open (Apache RR 310) category from V Lokesh (01:57.299) and Raj Kumar C (01:57.762).
In the Rookie (RTR 200) class, it was the Round 1 winner, Harsh*th V Bogar (2:10:975) who took pole. CS Kedarnath (02:12.133) from Tirupati and Thrissur’s Saranjit Singh (02:15.265) follwed to complete the top 3.
For the Girls (Apache RTR 200) qualifying session, Sarah Khan (02:14.227) took the P1 honours from V Aisvariya (02:16.120) and aimah Ajaz Baig (02:16.437).
In the TVS Electric RTE category, Sarthak Chavan posted a 1:49:524 to go at te top. Chiranth Vishwanath (01:50.578) came in P2 while Alwin Sundar was third in 01:51.748.
Saturday – Sarthak Chavan does the double
Sarthak Chavan, the 17 year-old from Pune was the man of the moment as he won in both Pro Stock 301-400cc class and Pro Stock 165cc class. He won the former with a lead of nearly 7 seconds. For the latter, however, he had to fight.
He got on the back of his teammaes to catch double slip streaming at Turn 8 on the Last Lap, eventually finishing the race in 1st. He also won the fastest lap of the day across all categories from Indian Oil.
Chiranth Vishwanath, his nearest rival, faced some issues with his bike to finish in P7. The Podium was completed by fellow TVS riders, KY Ahamed and Deepak Ravikumar.
The Novice (Stock) 165cc class was won by Abdul Basim (Rockers Racing), while Jagathishree Kumaresan (One Racing) scored her maiden win in the Girls (Stock 165cc) category. The Novice (Stock) 301-400cc category was won by Kaushik Subbaiah Ganesan (RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate).
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup
Mohsin Paramban won the NSF 250R race in his maiden wi of the season, followed home by Prakash Kamat and AS James in 2nd and 3rd.
TVS One-Make Championship
Senthilkumar C won again in the Open (Apache RR310) category from Manoj Yesuadian from Chennai and Jayanth P from Chennai as well.
In the Girl (Apache RTR 200) class, Saimah Ajaz Baig came home in P1 from SP Shuria of Coimbatore andd Sarah Khan of Mumbai.
For the Rookie (RTR 200) class, Harsh*th V Bogar completed a hatrick of wins. P2 went to CS Kedarnath and Akarsh Jangam took home P3.
Sunday – Too close for comfort
Sunday’s Pro(Stock) 165 cc race became very close towards its end. 10 time National Motorcycle Racing Championship winner Jagan Kumar and 17 year-old Sarthak Chavan crossed the finish line at the exact same time, something known as a dead heat finish. Ultimately, Jagan Kumar was given the win as he had the fastest lap of the race.
This meant that Sarthak couldn’t replicate his Saturday heroics. He still won in the Pro (Stock) 301-400cc category. Chiranth Vishwanath lost the lead when he missed a gear on the back sweep at the last lap. This meant that Chavan narrowly swept into the lead for a close finish.
In the Girls (Stock) 165cc category, Jagathishree Kumaresan swept the weekend as she came home 1st, followed by Ryhana Bee and Ann Jennifer.
Abdul Basim (Rockers Racing) won in the Novice (Stock 165cc) class while Pradeep C from Bengaluru got his maiden win in the Stock 301-400cc (Novice) race.
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup
Mohsin Paramban swept the wins off the weekend as his lead in the championship now sits at a healthy 37 points.The Podium was completed by Savion Sabu and AS James come the end of the eight lap race.
TVS One-Make Championship
In the Open (Apache RR310) category, winning laurels went to Manoj Yesuadian of chennai. He was followed to the finish line by Jayanth P and Lokesh V in P2 and P3.
Rookie (Apache RTR 200) Race-2: 1. Harsh*t V Bogar (Bengaluru) (13:20.972); 2. CS Kedarnath (Tirupati) (13:26.089); 3. Rajivsham AS (Tirpur) (13:44.946).
TVS Electric RTE (3 laps): 1. Sarthak Chavan (Pune) (05:34.704); 2. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru) (05:35.877); 3. Alwin Sundar (Chennai) (05:42.046).
In the Rookie (Apache RTR 200) race, Harsh*th V Bogar came home in P1, while CS Kedarnath and Rajivsham AS came home in P2 and P3.
In the TVS Electric RTE category, Sarthak Chavan won his second consecutive race in this class. Chiranth Vishwanath came in P2 while Chennai’s Alwin Sundar completed the podium.
Click here to read the report for Round 1 of Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship.
