Motorsport
Rajini Krishnan notches a double at National Motorcycle Racing Championships
Veteran Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power 1) continued his winning ways by notching a double in the premier pro-stock 301-400cc category.
Rajini Krishnan (Source: DriveSpark)
Veteran Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power 1) continued his winning ways by notching a double in the premier pro-stock 301-400cc category as did Pacer Yamaha's Mathana Kumar (pro-stock 165cc) and Hubballi's Sarvesh Balappa of Axor Sparks Racing (Novice Stock 165cc) on the concluding day of the Rolon Round of the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2022 that concluded here on Sunday.
While winning both the races in the pro-stock 165cc category, Mathana Kumar led a podium sweep for Bengaluru-based Pacer Yamaha as teammates Prabhu Arunagiri and Mithun Kumar followed him home in a race that was a disaster for the two big teams -- Petronas TVS Racing and Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing, none of whose top riders finished the race.
The Pacer Yamaha riders gave a near-flawless performance and were a cut above the rest in both pace and finesse even as their key rivals dropped out due to various reasons. "All credit to the riders who performed extremely well this weekend. It has been a decade since Pacer Yamaha had a podium sweep whether Saturday's 1-2 or today's 1-2-3 finish. Yes, it brought back memories of our team's halcyon days," said Pacer Yamaha owner Shekar Bhojanna, 61, who began tuning bikes in 1976.
Earlier, in a virtual repeat of Saturday's race, last year's champion Rajini grabbed the lead early in the 14-lap outing today and put in another command performance for a comfortable victory while Petronas TVS Racing's KY Ahamed and guest rider from Thailand Vorapong Malahuan finished second and third respectively.
In the novice race, Balappa, unlike on Saturday when he was declared winner of the first race after the two riders who finished in front of him were disqualified, dictated the pace from his pole position start and was never really troubled or challenged while posting a fine win.
The results of the girls (stock 165cc) race were revised after winner Lani Zena Fernandez (RACR Castrol Power 1) from Puducherry was disqualified for a "technical infringement" which elevated former champion Ann Jennifer (Alpha Racing) to the top spot with Aditi Krishnan from Bengaluru (Winverve Apex Racing Academy) and Mumbai's Jagruti Penkar (Axor Sparks Racing) completing the podium.
Also to be disqualified for an infringement was Jagathishree Kumaresan (Pacer Yamaha) who had finished fifth. Defending champion Ryhana Bee (Pacer Yamaha), winner of all five rounds last year, came in a disappointing 10th following a crash on the last lap.
The results (Provisional): MMSC National Championship – Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open (Race-2, 14 laps): 1. Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power 1, Chennai) (17mins, 24.801secs); 2. KY Ahamed (Petronas TVS Racing, Chennai) (17:30.128); 3. Vorapong Malahuan (Petronas TVS Racing, Thailand) (17:31.642).
Pro-stock 165cc Open (Race-2, 14 laps): 1. Mathana Kumar (Pacer Yamaha, Chennai) (18:22.071); 2. Prabhu Arunagiri (Pacer Yamaha, Chennai) (18:22.128); 3. Mithun Kumar (Pacer Yamaha, Chennai) (18:41.533).
Novice (Stock 165cc, Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Sarvesh Balappa (Axor Sparks Racing, Hubballi) (14:33.419); 2. Chiranth V (Rookies Racing, Bengaluru) (14:38.810); 3. Aldrin Babu (RACR Castrol Power 1, Chennai) (14:46.913).
Girls (stock 165cc, 8 laps): 1. Ann Jennifer (Alpha Racing, Chennai) (11:53.085); 2. Aditi Krishnan (Winverve Apex Racing Academy, Bengaluru) (11:56.205); 3. Jagruti Penkar (Axor Sparks Racing, Mumbai) (12:03.051).
Petronas TVS One-Make Championship – Apache RR310 Open (Race-1, 10 laps): 1. Rahil Pillarisetty (Hyderabad) (13:04.172); 2. Ananthraj P (Chennai) (13:05.484); 3. Navaneeth Kumar S (Puducherry) (13:06.797).
Race-2 (8 laps): 1. Jagadeesh N (Bengaluru) (10:29.569); 2. Rahil Pillarisetty (Hyderabad) (10:32.080); 3. Venkatesan I (Chennai) (10:34.880).
Rookie (Apache RTR200, Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Chiranth V (Bengaluru) (13:51.474); 2. Shreyas Hareesh (Bengaluru) (13:51.852); 3. Abdul Basim (Chennai) (14:06.275).
Media (Apache RTR 200, 8 laps): 1. Ishan Lee (Pune) (12:47.978); 2. Mandar Sawant (Pune) (12:52.501); 3. Stephen Neil Gershom (Bengaluru) (12:54.566).
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF250 Open (Race-2, 14 laps): 1. Sarthak Shrikant Chavan (Pune) (12:24.097); 2. Shyam Sundar (Chennai) (12:34.188); 3. AS James (Bengaluru) (12:44.324).
Novice (CBR 150, Race-2, 14 laps): 1. Raheesh Mudassar Khatri (Mumbai) (20:28.652); 2. Siddesh Sawant (Kolhapur) (20:54.257); 3.
Harshith V Bogar (Bengaluru) (21:08.255).
Support Race (Hornet 2.0, Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Ullas Santrupt Nanda (Bengaluru) (15:08.672); 2. Allwin Xavier (Thrissur) (15:10.826); 3. Romario (Chennai) (15:10.868).
