Two-wheeler Racing Nationals to begin from Friday at MIC, sans Amit Arora

Chennai, 12 June 2024: There is plenty of hot action in store with 19 races scheduled for the first round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2024 at the Madras International Circuit, Irungattukottai, near here, from June 13 to 16. The event attracted over 100 entries from across India, representing 16 teams.

However, this the first event after General Manager (Operations) of Madras Motor Sports Club, the promoters, has left the club. Amit Arora, an efficient administrator, parted ways with MMSC as of May 30. He has been at the helm of affairs for over a decade and has been the trusted lieutenant of the club. His clock-work precision and firm dealing with both officials and athletes, saw things proceed smoothly in every round and every race. His expertise will be missing. But MMSC, the most-active club in the country has enough talented personnel and it needs to be seen, who takes over from Arora, who became a stalwart with his high knowledge and adept handling of things.

Coming back to the event, the two Pro-Stock classes – 301-400cc Open and 165cc Open – will yet again headline the card, while pitching the country’s top riders on TVS, Honda, Yamaha and KTM machines against one another.

Further down the grid are the Novice categories for Stock bikes –165cc (under-23), Girls (165cc) and 301-400cc which have attracted a sizable number of entries.

Also part of the programme are the two One-Make Championships (OMC) organized by the promoters Madras Motor Sports Club – TVS (Open, Rookie, Girls and Media), showcasing the RR 310 and Apache RTR 200 bikes, and the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup which will witness the super-quick NSF 250R machines. TVS also have one race for their Electric RTE bikes.

As in the previous years, both TVS and Honda conducted a series of trials across India to shortlist the riders for their respective categories with emphasis on youth and talent. Based on their performance, select riders have been sent to participate at the Asian level.

Meanwhile, the 301-400cc Novice category has been upgraded to National Championship status after hitherto being a support event.

In another initiative, the number of races in the National championship Girls category has been increased from the existing five to 10 with a double-header in each of the five rounds.

MMSC president Ajit Thomas said: “We are extremely pleased to have received well over 100 entries for the two-wheeler National Racing Championship which will commence this weekend. We extend a warm welcome to the competitors, our long-time sponsors MRF Tyres, the manufacturers and the Media for the 2024 season which, we are certain, will dish out its share of wheel-to-wheel racing, given the very competitive grids. The Championship has been a stepping stone for aspiring young riders who have competed in international races and won accolades. We are hopeful that the new season will throw up fresh talent.”