KY Ahamed ended Rajini Krishnan’s unbeaten record in the 2022 MRF MMSC Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship (INMRC) at Round 3 held at the Madras International Circuit. However, Krishnan bounced back to score his fifth win this year and hold on to his overall lead.
The round also saw Honda’s Rajiv Sethu secure his first win of the season. Still recovering from a wrist injury, TVS’ Jagan Kumar marked his return to racing with a win as well.
Pro-Stock 301-400cc
On the back of four consecutive wins, Krishnan remained undefeated going into Round 3. But mechanical issues in Race 1 forced him off track and he could only recover to third place. Petronas TVS Racing’s KY Ahamed made a decisive move on teammate Deepak Ravikumar on the last lap to bag his first victory in the premier class this season.
But Krishnan, who is chasing his 11th national title, aced the mixed conditions in Race 2 to make his way up from third place. He successfully fended off Ravikumar and Ahamed to secure his fifth win this year. Krishnan now holds a 51 points lead over Ravikumar in the championship.
Results
Race 1
1. KY Ahamed (Petronas TVS Racing) - 11mins 18.989secs
2. Deepak Ravikumar (Petronas TVS Racing – 11mins 19.095secs
3. Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power1) – 11mins 28.348secs
Race 2
1. Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power1) - 15mins, 09.788secs
2. Deepak Ravikumar (Petronas TVS Racing) – 15mins 10.049secs
3. KY Ahamed (Petronas TVS Racing) – 15mins 11.842secs
Pro-Stock 165cc Open
The category delivered a tense Race 1 as leader Prabhu Arunagiri crashed in the closing stages of the six-lap race. Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing’s Rajiv Sethu won a tense battle against the TVS pair of Deepak Ravikumar and KY Ahamed to take home his first win this season.
Reigning champion Jagan Kumar returned to action after having to sit out Round 2 due to a wrist injury. Race 2 saw Sethu crash out early on, while new leader Ravikumar retired later as well. Kumar took full advantage of this and zoomed past teammate Ahamed and Pacer Yamaha’s Arunagiri to take victory – ending a drought of over 10 months. Pacer Yamaha’s Mathana Kumar finished fifth, but still leads the standings by 28 points over Sethu.
Results
Race 1
1. Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing – 11mins 48.625secs
2. Deepak Ravikumar (Petronas TVS Racing) – 11mins 48.900secs
3. KY Ahamed (Petronas TVS Racing) – 11mins 49.128secs
Race 2
1. Jagan Kumar (Petronas TVS Racing) – 15mins 50.649secs
2. Prabhu Arunagiri (Pacer Yamaha) – 15mins 50.794secs
3. KY Ahamed (Petronas TVS Racing) – 15mins 51.092secs
Novice (Stock 165cc)
Race 1 was reduced to just four laps following multiple crashes on the opening lap; all riders involved escaped with minor injuries. Sarvesh Balappa kept his cool and made his way up from fourth to take victory, chalking up his fifth win in a row.
Starting from P21, Md Samrul Zubair delivered a spirited performance in Race 2 to take the win. He may have ended Balappa’s victory streak, but the Axor Sparks Racing rider still holds a 36 points lead in the championship.
Results
Race 1
1. Sarvesh Balappa (Axor Sparks Racing) – 08mins 48.175secs
2. Chiranth Vishwanath (Rookies Racing) – 08mins 48.414secs
3. Aldrin Babu (RACR Castrol Power1) – 08mins 52.063secs
Race 2
1. Md Samrul Zubair (Race’ists Motorcycle Club) – 13mins 06.841secs
2. Kayan Zubin Patel (Axor Sparks Racing) – 13mins 07.254secs
3. Chiranth Vishwanath (Rookies Racing) – 13mins 08.310secs
Girls (Stock 165cc)
Ann Jennifer scored her second win of the season after the two front-runners, Ryhana Bee and Lani Zena Fernandez, crashed on consecutive laps at the same spot exiting the last corner. With this, Jennifer now moves to the top of the standings.
Results
Race 1
1. Ann Jennifer (Alpha Racing) – 11mins 00.636secs
2. Jagathishree (Pacer Yamaha) – 11mins 02.138secs
3. Jagruti Penkar (Axor Sparks Racing) – 11mins 09.459secs
Stock 301-400cc (Support race)
Privateer Jayanth Prathipati won the support race, while the Race Abilities duo of Shazan Khan and Vivek M completed the podium.
Results
Race 1
1. Jayanth Prathipati – 12mins 30.951secs
2. Shazan Khan (Race Abilities) – 12mins 33.847secs
3. Vivek M Race Abilities) – 12mins 34.581secs
Petronas TVS One Make Championship
Alwin Sundar and Rahil Pillarisetty scored a win each in the Apache RR310 Open category. Pillarisetty finished on the podium in both races, with a second place in Race 1, followed by victory in Race 2.
Chiranth Vishwanath remains unbeaten in the Rookie category after picking up two more wins. Meanwhile, Aditi Krishnan and Karan Singh won the races in the Girls and Media (Apache RTR200) races, respectively.
Results
Apache RR310 Open Race 1
1. Alwin Sundar – 11mins 45.653secs
2. Rahil Pillarisetty – 11mins 45.659secs
3. P Anantharaj – 11mins 47.459secs
Apache RR310 Open Race 2
1. Rahil Pillarisetty – 11mins 40.643secs
2. Jagadeesh N – 11mins 40.661secs
3. P Ananthraj – 11mins 42.608secs
Rookie (Apache RTR 200) Race 1
1. Chiranth Vishwanath – 12mins 26.838secs
2. Abdul Basim RS – 12mins 48.315secs
3. Tamizhinian KR – 12mins 48.431secs
Rookie (Apache RTR 200) Race 2
1. Chiranth Vishwanath – 12mins 30.498secs
2. Shreyas Hareesh – 12mins 40.139secs
3. Abdul Basim RS – 12mins 40.250secs
Girls (Apache RTR200)
1. Aditi Krishnan – 11mins 10.496secs
2. Ananya Awasthi – 11mins 20.938secs
3. Nishitha – 11mins 29.921secs
Media (Apache RTR200)
1. Karan Singh – 11mins 53.563secs
2. Ishan Lee – 11mins 54.038secs
3. Mandar Sheela Sawant – 11mins 57.498secs
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup
Both Sarthak Chavan and Raheesh Mudassar Khatri remain undefeated in the NSF250 and CBR150R categories after another pair of clean sweeps. Kavin Quintal claimed a pair of second place finishes in the NSF250 races.
Results
NSF250R Race 1
1. Sarthak Shrikant Chavan – 11mins 06.145secs
2. Kavin Qunital – 11mins 15.856secs
3. Shyam Sundar – 11mins 18.495secs
NSF250R Race 2
1. Sarthak Shrikant Chavan – 18mins 19.395secs
2. Kavin Quintal – 18mins 41.408secs
3. Shyam Sundar – 18mins 45.910secs
CBR150R Race 1
1. Raheesh Mudassar Khatri – 12mins 49.567secs
2. Rajender Beedani – 12mins 49.849secs
3. Harshith V Bogar – 13mins 01.044secs
CBR150R Race 2
1. Raheesh Mudassar Khatri – 12mins 58.915secs
2. Shyam Babu – 13mins 02.234secs
3. Siddesh Sawant – 13mins 02.345secs
Honda Hornet 2.0
Allwin Xavier won both the Honda Hornet 2.0 races. G Balalji was second in Race 1, followed by Romario John, who emerged on top of a battle with Kayan Zubin Patel.
Race 2 saw a photo finish to decide the remainder of the podium. Sudheer Sudhakar just about edged out G Balaji to finish second.
Results
Race 1
1. Allwin Xavier (Chennai) (13:27.649); 2. G Balaji (Chennai) (13:28.030); 3. Romario John (Chennai) (13:30.665)
Race 2
1. Allwin Xavier (Chennai) (13:23.706); 2. Sudheer Sudhakar (New Delhi) (13:25.265); 3. G Balaji (Chennai) (13:25.293)
Also see:
Rajini Krishnan continues dominant INMRC form in Round 2