Jagan Kumar of TVS Racing begins title defence with a pole

Irungattukottai (Near Chennai), 20 August 2021: Multiple National champion Jagan Kumar of TVS Racing began the defence of his title in the premium Pro-Stock 165cc Open category by clinching the pole position as the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2021 commenced at the MMRT, here on Friday.

Sparks Racing’s Allwin Xavier, a 22-year old Chemical Engineering student from Thrissur, put in some consistent laps in the qualifying session, to grab pole position, clocking 02:09.552 in the Stock 165cc Novice category which overflows with a strong grid of 39 riders taking the start in Saturday’s Race.

Udayi Prakash of Rockers Racing, Coimbatore, clocked 02:09.556 and Sarvesh Hanumannavar of Sparks Racing, Hubballi posted a time of 02:09.580 to complete the front row. Incidentally, less than one second separated the top-eight qualifiers.

Jagan, the 32-year 8-time National champion, clocked a best lap of one minute 57.043 seconds to top the qualifying session, followed by teammate Deepak Ravikumar (01:58.043) with Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing’s Senthil Kumar (01:59.309) completing the front row of the grid.

The other leading Honda rider, Rajiv Sethu qualified fourth in 01:59.423 while last year’s runner-up KY Ahamed of TVS Racing, who was second quickest behind Jagan in the free practice session earlier in the day, had a disastrous qualifying as he failed to post a time after his bike stopped due to “technical issues”.

Also qualifying for pole positions in their respective categories were Navaneeth Kumar from Puducherry (TVS One-Make Championship, Open), Baddam Deepika Reddy from Hyderabad (Girls, TVS One-Make Championship) and Prakash Kamat from Bokaro Steel City (Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup, CBR 150).

Earlier, Chennai’s 16-year old Kavin Quintal put the hammer down with a blistering lap of one minute, 49.351 seconds to top the free practice session in the NSF 250R class of the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup, ahead of last year’s Sartak Chavan, the 14-year old talent from Pune (01:50.888) and Geoffrey Reviven Emmanuel (16), also from Chennai (01:50.672).

The results (Qualifying):

National Championship – Pro-Stock 165cc Open: 1. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) (01min, 57.043secs); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) (01:58.043); 3. Senthil Kumar (Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) (01:59.309).

Novice (Stock 165cc): 1. Allwin Xavier (Sparks Racing, Thrissur) (02:09.552); 2. Udayi Prakash (Rockers Racing, Coimbatore) (02:09.556); 3. Sarvesh Hanumannavar (Sparks Racing, Hubballi) (02:09.580).

TVS One-Make Championship – Open (Apache RR 310): 1. Navaneeth Kumar (Puducherry) (01:56.916); 2. Yashas RL (Bengaluru) (01:57.130); 3. Jagadeesh N (Bengaluru) (01:57.741). Girls (Apache RTR 200): 1. Baddam Deepika Reddy (Hyderabad) (02:14.675); 2. Rakshita Srihari Dave (Chennai) (02:15.381); 3. Adlin Seles (Chennai) (02:18.090).

Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – CBR 150 (Novice): 1. Prakash Kamat (Bokaro Steel City) (02:11.914); 2. Rakshit S Dave (Chennai) (02:12.157); 3. Vivek Gaurav (Patna) (02:12.469).

You can watch the races live on YouTube

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 MMRT circuit 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 purchased 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.