Mikail clocks a stunning lap record in 250cc bikes; Jagan takes pole

David Bodapati September 6, 2019

660 1 minute read

Md Mikail who qualified for pole position in the Honda NSF 250R .category. Photos: Anand Philar

Chennai, 6 Sept 2019: Fifteen-year old Md Mikail from Chennai lit up the fourth and penultimate round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship by setting a record of sorts at the MMRT here on Friday and grabbed pole position in the Honda NSF 250R category while TVS Racing’s ace rider Jagan Kumar qualified first in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc category.

Also qualifying for pole positions in their respective National championship categories were Ann Jennifer of Sparks Racing (Girls, Stock 165cc), Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing’s Anish Shetty (Pro-Stock 201-300cc) and Venkatesan I (Novice, Stock 165cc) of Team Motomaniacz.

Mikail, riding the FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R bike in the Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup one-make championship, clocked a blistering lap of 01minute, 47.887secs around the 3.717-km MMRT circuit in the qualifying session. It was the fastest lap ever in a National championship event for bikes up to 250cc.

Second behind Mikahil who is full time into racing and studies from home, was another Chennai teenager, Varoon Sadasivam (01:49.327) with Pune’s 12-year-old Sarthak Shrikant Chavan (01:51.342) qualifying third.

“I am very happy with my qualifying session, but I am working hard to do even better,” said Mikail who is leading the championship in his category.

As well as these teenagers rode, the spotlight was on the Pro-Stock 301-400cc qualifying session where seven-time National champion in the lower category Jagan Kumar, lying a distant ninth on the leaderboard after a string of disappointing performances, showcased his mettle by putting in a hot lap of 01:54.037 for pole position. Former National champion in this class, Amarnath Menon (Team Alishaa Racing) was second in 01:54.807 while TVS Racing Deepak Ravikumar (01:55.221) completed the front row on the grid for tomorrow’s race.

Bengaluru-based Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) topped the qualifying session in the Pro-Stock 201-300cc category with a flying lap of 01:57.646. Erula Racing’s Mithun Kumar (01:58.310) was the second quickest and Aravind Balakrishnan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) qualified third in 01:59.192.

Jagan Kumar who qualified for pole position in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc class.

Earlier, international Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing), leading the championship in the Pro-Stock 165cc class, put the hammer down by topping the Free Practice session with a flying lap of 01minute, 59.115 seconds, pipping his closest rival, TVS Racing’s Jagan Kumar (01:59.239). Sethu’s team-mate Sarath Kumar, also in the championship reckoning and trailing Jagan by just one point, was third quickest in 02:00.103, ahead of TVS Racing’s Kevin Kannan (02:01.102). The qualifying session is scheduled for Saturday.