2021 INMRC: Rajini Krishnan inches closer to title after Round 4

The 2021 MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship returned to action after a three-month break, with Round 4 held at the Madras Motor Race Track. The penultimate round saw superbike racing ace Rajini Krishnan move a step closer to clinching the 2021 title after picking up yet another win. Meanwhile, Ryhana Bee sealed the title in the Girls (Stock 165cc) category.

Pro-Stock 301-400cc

Krishnan picked up another 50 points to add to his tally. Racing for his team, RACR Castrol Power Ultimate, he finished Race 1 in second place behind TVS Racing’s Vorapong Malahuan. But with the Thai racer ineligible to score any points, Krishnan picked up the full 25 points on offer.

The 41-year-old followed that up with a win in Race 2 on tyres that were wearing down. After four rounds, he leads with a total of 168 points. His closest rival is Race Concept’s Anish Damodara Shetty with 121 points. Shetty finished the two races in third and second respectively.

Results

Race 1

1. Vorapong Malahuan (TVS Racing) - 11min, 18.244sec

 2. Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power Ultimate) – 11min 18.657sec

3. Anish Damodara Shetty (Race Concepts) 11min 18.921sec

Race 2

1. Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power Ultimate ) – 15min 04.127sec

2. Anish Damodara Shetty (Race Concepts) – 15min 04.297sec

3. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) – 15min 04.454sec

Pro-Stock 165cc

TVS Racing bagged a 1-2 finish in the first race, with Deepak Ravikumar winning ahead of defending champion Jagan Kumar, followed by Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing’s Rajiv Sethu.

A highlight of the round was Prabhu Arunagiri scoring a maiden win for Pacer Yamaha, a team returning to the National Championship after a 12-year break. Race 2 was red-flagged following an opening lap incident and reduced to just five laps. But that was enough for Arunagiri to hold off the rest of the field and take victory as Ravikumar crashed with just one lap to go.

Kumar leads the standings with 159 points. But it’s going to be a tight battle for second place with Ravikumar holding 118 points and Sethu just two points adrift with 116 points.

Results

Race 1

1. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) – 11min 48.162sec

2. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) – 11min 48.484sec

3. Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) – 11min 50.454sec

Race 2

1. Prabhu Arunagiri (Pacer Yamaha) – 09min 57.247sec

2. Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) – 09min 57.505sec

3. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) – 09min 57.655sec

Novice and Girls (Stock 165cc)

Alwin Sundar won the Novice (Stock 165cc) race as he fought his way through the field after losing position early on. This is his fourth win this season and draws him on level with Anfal Akdhar, both with 128 points.

Ryhana Bee reclaimed the title in the Girls (Stock 165cc) category after two years. Bee had to sit out the 2020 season due to an injury. She staged an impressive recovery to catch up with early race leader Ann Jennifer and pulled off a lap-lap pass to win the race. With her fourth straight win, Bee managed to wrap up the title with a round to spare.

Results

Novice (Stock 165cc)

1. Alwin Sundar (AS Motorsport) – 13min 03.215sec

2. Sarvesh Balappa (Sparks Racing) – 13min 05.798sec

3. Anfal Akthar (Rockstar Racing) – 13min 05.856sec

Girls (Stock 165cc)

1. Ryhana Bee (RACR Castrol Power Ultimate) – 11min 02.702sec

2. Ann Jennifer (Sparks Racing) – 11min 02.886sec

3. Lani Zena Fernandez (Speed Up Racing) – 11min 03.512sec

Honda Hornet 2.0 One Make Race

It was a tightly fought Honda Hornet 2.0 race with Kevin Kannan, Alwin Sundar and Ajay Xavier constantly trading places. But it was Kannan who ultimately triumphed, ahead of Xavier and Prabhu V.

Results

1. Kevin Kannan – 13min 29.346sec

2. Ajay Xavier – 13min 29.437sec

3. Prabhu V – 13min 29.655sec

Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup

The two NSF250 races saw championship leader Kavin Quintal take the back seat as Sarthak Chavan won both the races. Meanwhile, CBR150 leader Prakash Kamat solidified his lead with yet another race win.

Results

NSF250 Race 1

1. Sarthak Chavan – 11min 11.037sec

 2. Kavin Quintal – 11min 14.091sec

3. Geoffrey Revinen Emmanuel – 11min 15.060sec

NSF250 Race 2

1. Sarthak Chavan – 14min 47.030sec

2. Kavin Quintal – 14min 47.277sec

3. Geoffrey Revinen Emmanuel – 14min 59.460sec

CBR150

1. Prakash Kamat – 13min 04.485sec

2. Rakshith S Dave – 13min 04.735sec

3.Vivek Gaurav – 13min 06.764sec

TVS One-Make Championship

Amarnath Menon finished on the podium in both races in the TVS Apache RR310 Open category, even winning Race 1. Manoj Yesudian won the next race. Elsewhere, the TVS Rookie (RTR 200) race was won by Jinendra Kiran Sangave.

Results

TVS Apache RR310 Open Race 1

1. Amarnath Menon – 11min 46.925sec

 2. Jagadeesh N – 11min 47.761sec

3. Manoj Yesudian – 11min 47.899sec

TVS Apache RR310 Open Race 2

1. Manoj Yesudian – 11min 47.967sec

2. Ananthraj P – 11min 48.088sec

3. Amarnath Menon 11min 49.172sec

TVS Rookie (RTR 200)

1. Jinendra Kiran Sangave – 12min 55.139sec

2. Chiranth Viswanath – 12min 55.220sec

3. Shreyas Copparam Hareesh – 12min 56.356sec

Also see:

2021 INMRC: Rajini Krishnan extends lead after Round 3