MMSC honours National Champions, celebrates 70 years
Chennai, 19 Feb 2023: The Madras Motor Sports Club celebrated its 70th anniversary while also presenting trophies to the winners of the recently-concluded MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle and Car Racing Championships here at Hotel Taj on Sunday.
Speaking on the occasion, MMSC president Ajit Thomas offered salutations to long-time sponsor MRF Tyres for their support over the past decades and also the riders and drivers for their participation in large numbers in the National Championships.
Arun Mammen, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, MRF Limited, who was the chief guest at today’s function, outlined the company’s involvement in motorsport since the 1980s and said: “With a pedigree for over four decades, the MRF Brand name in racing now competes and wins Globally. It is a matter of pride for India that MRF achieved yet another first – winning the 2022 European Rally Championship with tyres developed and manufactured in India. This is a firstfor any Asian Company that too in the home ground and backyard of MNCs.
“Today is the culmination of a hard-fought season which started at Coimbatore and the subsequent rounds at the Madras International Circuit in Sriperumbudur leading up to this afternoon’s function awarding the National Championships for both motorcycles and cars across various categories for the year 2022. The riders and the drivers have pushed their teams to extract every ounce of performance from their machines. It is also heartening to note that these Championships are enabling our riders and drivers to hone their skills and take it to International levels.”
Later, MMSC Vice-President Vicky Chandhok, presented a brief history of MMSC and the famous Sholavaram races to the eventual shifting of its racing activities to the present MIC facility. He announced that a CIK-approved go-karting circuit is being built at the MIC and expected to be ready for competitions in August.
MMSC Secretary Manoj Dalal proposed a vote of thanks.
The National champions were presented with the trophies in the two road-racing National Championships for two and four-wheelers, promoted by Madras Motor Sports Club, along with one-make Support Races and Cups.
2-Wheeler Racing
MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2022:
Pro-Stock 301-400cc:
National Champion: Rajini Krishnan (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1).
Team Champion: Petronas TVS Racing, Chennai. Manufacturer title: Yamaha
Pro-Stock 165cc:
National Champion: Mathana Kumar (Trichy, Pacer Yamaha)
Team Champion: Pacer Yamaha, Bengaluru. Manufacturer – Yamaha
Novice (Stock 165cc):
Rider – Sarvesh Balappa (Hubbali, Axor Sparks Racing). Team – Axor Sparks Racing, Chennai. Manufacturer – Yamaha.
Girls (Stock 165cc):
Rider – Jagruti Kiran Penkar (Mumbai, Axor Sparks Racing). Team – Alpha Racing. Manufacturer – Yamaha
Non-Championship one-make classes:
TVS Open (Apache RR 310):
Rider – Rahil Pillarisetty (Hyderabad).
TVS Novice (Apache RTR 200):
Rider – Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru).
TVS Girls (Apache RTR 200):
Rider – Aditi Krishnan (Bengaluru).
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – Open (NSF 250R):
Rider – Sarthak Shrikant Chavan (Pune).
Novice (CBR 150):
Rider – Raheesh Mudassar Khatri (Mumbai).
4-WHEELER RACING
MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2022
MRF Formula 2000:
Driver – Sai Sanjay (Salem).
Indian Touring Cars:
Driver – Arjun Balu (Coimbatore, Race Concepts). Team – Rayo Racing (Mumbai)
Indian Junior Touring Cars:
Driver – Akkineni Anand Prasad (Team Performance). Team – Team Performance Racing, Chennai
Super Stock:
Driver – Ritesh Rai (Chennai, Team Performance). Team – Redline Racing, Chennai.
Formula LGB 1300:
Driver – Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore, DTS Racing). Team – DTS Racing.
Non-Championship classes
Volkswagen Polo Cup:
Driver – Pratik Sonawane (Mumbai).
MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios):
Driver – Justin Singh (Gurugram, Redline Racing). Team – Redline Racing, Chennai.
