Rajini Krishnan on verge of record 11th National title
Chennai, October 1: KY Ahamed of Petronas TVS Racing completed a hat-trick of wins in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc category, but veteran Rajini Krishnan moved within one point of clinching the title after a third-place finish in the fifth and final round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championshp 2022 at the Madras International Circuit, here on Saturday.
Later, Petronas TVS Racing’s Jagan Kumar notched his second win of the season in the Pro-Stock 165cc Open category, but not before surviving a hectic scramble in the last lap. Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing’s Rajiv Sethu edged out championship leader Mathana Kumar (Pacer Yamaha) for second place to narrow the points deficit to 14 with one more race to be run on the morrow.
In the Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open race, pole-sitter Ahamed led a 1-2 finish for his team with Deepak Ravikumar in tow, while Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power1), starting from P4, struggled with a clutch pedal issue, but used his vast experience to good effect and managed to scramble to third position. The result means that defending champion Rajini needs just one point from tomorrow’s concluding race to seal his 11th career National title. Ahamed trails the champion by 25 points with Ravikumar in third, a further eight behind.
Earlier, Coimbatore’s Rohan Ramesh fashioned a 1-2 for Axor Sparks Racing in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category ahead of Kayan Zubin Patel (Mumbai) with Vignesh Goud, a privateer from Hyderabad in third. Hubballi’s Sarvesh Balappa, also of Axor Sparks Racing, came in fourth, but he has effectively clinched the title in this category as he leads by 54 points going into tomorrow’s Race-2.
In the Rookie class of the Petronas Racing One-Make Championship organised by MMSC, Bengaluru’s Chiranth Vishwanath posted his ninth win in as many races as did Mumbai youngster Raheesh Mudassar Khatri in the Novice (CBR 150) category of the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup.
Provisional results (all 6 laps unless mentioned):
National Championship – Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open (Race-1): 1. KY Ahamed (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (11min, 20.954secs ); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (11:21.029); 3. Rajini Krishnan (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) (11:22.050).
Pro-Stock 165cc Open (Race-1): 1. Jagan Kumar (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (11:50.902); 2. Rajiv Sethu (Chennai, Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) (11:51.067); 3. Mathana Kumar (Tiruchirapalli, Pacer Yamaha) (11:51.308).
Novice (Stock 165cc, Race-1): 1. Rohan Ramesh (Coimbatore, Axor Sparks Racing) (13:00.141); 2. Kayan Zubin Patel (Mumbai, Axor Sparks Racing) (13:02.912); 3. P Vignesh Goud (Hyderabad, Pvt.) (13:04.091).
Support race (Stock 301-400cc, Novice): 1. Ashwin R (Race Abilities) (12:31.762); 2. Naresh Shobha Kaname (Pvt) (12:37.897); 3. Jayanth Prathipati (Pvt) (12:39.376).
Qualifying (best lap, top 3): Girls (Stock 165cc): 1. Ann Jennifer (Chennai, Alpha Racing) (02:08.446); 2. Jagruti Penkar (Mumbai, Axor Sparks Racing) (02:08.399); 3. Ryhana Bee (Chennai, Pacer Yamaha) (02:09.858).
Petronas TVS One-Make Championship: Girls (Apache RTR 200) 5 laps: 1. Nithila Das (Bengaluru) (10:59.765); 2. Ananya Awasthi (Chennai) (11:22.981); 3. Aditi Krishnan (Bengaluru) (11:33.456).
Rookie (Apache RTR 200, Race-1): 1. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru) (12:46.968); 2. Jinendra K Sangave (Kolhapur) (12:56.733); 3. Abdul Basim RS (Chennai) (13:15.111).
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup: NSF 250 Open (Race-1): 1. Sarthak Shrikant Chavan (Pune) (11:15.886); 2. Mohsin Paramban (Malappuram) (11:16.828); 3. Shyam Sundar (Chennai) (11:17.075).
Novice (CBR 150, Race-1): 1. Raheesh Mudassar Khatri (Mumbai) (12:58.554); 2. Harshith V Bogar (Bengaluru) (13:06.690); 3. Siddesh Sawant (Kolhapur) (13:06.845).
Support Race – Honda Hornet 2.0: 1. G Balaji (Chennai) 13:37.031); 2. Kayan Zubin Patel (Mumbai) (13:46.308); 3. T Ramakrishnana (Valliyor) (13:46.649).
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 its racing activities from Sholavaram to its present location, the Madras International Circuit (earlier MMRT), 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. Parallelly, MMSC imported timing equipment specifically for Drag racing. 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. MMSC also constructed a 500-capacity grand stand with provision for garages / storage below. In another upgrade, the MMSC installed Digi flags from TAG Heuer Chronolec that will be positioned strategically around the track. The facilities are also extensively used by various vehicle manufacturers for testing their products, displays and corporate days.
