2021 INMRC: Rajini Krishnan extends lead after Round 3

Rajini Krishnan, Rahil Shetty and KY Ahamed enjoyed a strong Round 3 at the 2021 MRF MMSC Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship. The action-packed round saw plenty of close racing. Here’s a recap of the round:

• Krishnan leads Pro-Stock 301-400cc championship by 17 points
• TVS dominates Pro-Stock 165cc

Pro-Stock 301-400cc

Rahil Shetty returned to the championship after skipping the 2020 season and picked up a win right off the bat. He put his KTM 390 on pole position and dictated the pace for the majority of the race. He ran wide on the penultimate lap and dropped to second, but managed to pass Krishnan on the last lap to clinch victory.

The two would tussle in Race 2 again, but this time, it was Krishnan who had the upper hand and took the win. “It was a tough race. Rahil is extremely fast. I also had an eye on the championship points and didn’t want to make any mistakes like in the previous round when I crashed,” said Krishnan.

With four wins out of six races, Krishnan has stretched his championship lead to 17 points from Shetty.

Results

Race 1

1. Rahil Shetty (Gusto Racing), 11mins 18.000secs

2. Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power Racing), 11mins 18.246secs

3. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) 11mins 18.340secs

Race 2

1. Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power Racing), 15mins 4.136secs

2. Rahil Shetty (Gusto Racing), 15mins 4.561secs

3. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing), 15mins 04.719secs

Pro-Stock 165cc

TVS dominated in the Pro-Stock 165cc category. KY Ahamed survived early contact with teammate Deepak Ravikumar and climbed his way up the order. He fended off Ravikumar and reigning champion Jagan Kumar (also racing for TVS) to win Race 1.

Ahamed won the second race too, after early leader Ravikumar suffered a heavy crash. Jagan Kumar finished second to hold on to the championship lead, while Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing’s Rajiv Sethu completed the podium.

Results

Race 1

1. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing), 11mins 44.563secs

2. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing), 11mins 44.697secs

3. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) 11mins 45.057secs

Race 2

1. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing), 15mins 40.885secs

2. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing), 15mins 41.020secs

3. Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing), 15mins 41.146secs

Novice Stock 165cc

Anfal Akdhar passed Allwin Xavier at the very last moment to win the first Novice Stock 165cc race of the weekend – just 0.052 sec separated the two at the finish line. Alwin Sundar shone the next day, climbing up from 34^th on the grid to win Race 2.

In the Girls Stock 165cc category, Ryhana Bee picked up her third consecutive win of the season.

Results

Novice Stock 165cc Race 1

1. Anfal Akdhar (Rockstar Racing), 13mins 03.524secs

2. Allwin Xavier (Sparks Racing), 13mins 03.577secs

3. Sarvesh Balappa (Sparks Racing), 13mins 07.658secs

Novice Stock 165cc Race 2

1. Alwin Sundar (AS Motorsports), 13mins 05.747secs

2. Sarvesh Balappa (Sparks Racing), 13mins 06.309secs

3. Allwin Xavier (Sparks Racing), 13mins 06.342secs

Girls Stock 165cc

1. Ryhana Bee (RACR Castrol Power Racing), 10mins 53.801secs

2. Ann Jennifer (Sparks Racing), 11mins 07.230secs

3. Jagruti Penkar (Sparks Racing) 11mins 09.601secs

Honda Hornet 2.0 One Make Race

Kevin Kannan once again continued his winning streak in the Honda Hornet 2.0 one-make championship winning Race 1. But that streak was broken the next day with Ullas Santrupt Nanda taking victory.

Results

Race 1

1. Kevin Kannan, 13mins 24.412secs

2. Alwin Sundar, 13mins 25.148secs

3. Ullas Santrupt Nanda, 13mins 25.661secs

Race 2

1. Ullas Santrupt Nanda, 13mins 20.440secs

2. Alwin Sundar, 13mins 20.867secs

3. Prabhu V, 13mins 21.107secs

Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup

Sarthak Chavan dominated the NSF 250R category, winning both races of the weekend. Kavin Quintal and Mohsin Paramban finished second and third respectively, in both races.

In the CBR 150 category, Ikshan Shanbhag and Prakash Kamat picked up a win each.

Results

NSF 250R Race 1

1. Sarthak Chavan, 11mins 10.598secs

2. Kavin Quintal, 11mins 10.751secs

3. Mohsin Peramban, 11mins 12.621secs

NSF 250R Race 2

1. Sarthak Chavan, 14mins 46.889secs

2. Kavin Quintal, 14mins 53.056secs

3. Mohsin Paramban, 15mins 02.291secs

CBR 150 Race 1

1. Ikshan Shanbhag, 13mins 10.362secs

2. Prakash Kamat, 13mins 10.401secs

3. Theopaul Leander, 13mins 19.412secs

CBR 150 Race 2

1. Prakash Kamat, 13mins 10.827secs

2. Ikshan Shanbhag, 13mins 13.736secs

3. Theopaul Leander, 13mins 26.125secs

TVS One-Make Championship

Jagadeesh N was another rider who enjoyed a strong weekend, with the Bengaluru racer winning both races in the TVS Apache RR 310 Open category. Shreyas Hareesh also won all the TVS Rookie (Apache RTR 200) races.

Autocar India’s own Soham Thakur clinched his second straight win in the TVS Media (Apache RTR 200) category. Meanwhile, Rakshita Dave won the TVS Girls (Apache RTR 200) race.

Results

TVS Apache RR 310 Open Race 1

1. Jagadeesh N, 11mins 47.095secs

2. Aditya Rao I, 11mins 48.755secs

3. Navaneeth Kumar S, 11mins 50.591secs

TVS Apache RR 310 Open Race 2

1. Jagadeesh N, 11mins 46.122secs

2. Venkat Prabhu, 11mins 49.456secs

3. Yashas RL, 11mins 49.969secs

TVS Rookie (Apache RTR 200) Race 1

1. Shreyas Hareesh, 12mins 50.036secs

2. Vignesh Goud, 12mins 50.143secs

3. Jinendra Kiran Sangave, 12mins 50.220secs

TVS Rookie (Apache RTR 200) Race 2

1. Shreyas Hareesh, 12mins 53.089secs

2. Jinendra Kiran Sangave, 12mins 53.628secs

3. Vignesh Goud, 12mins 53.660secs

TVS Media (Apache RTR 200)

1. Soham Thakur, 11mins 37.219secs

2. Manaal Mahatme, 11mins 47.104secs

3. Ajinkya Lad, 12mins 04.009secs

TVS Girls (Apache RTR 200)

1. Rakshita Dave, 11mins 21.032secs

2. Adlin Seles, 11mins 21.720secs

3. Aditi Krishnan, 11mins 22.140secs