Chennai, January 10: Two Hyderabad riders, Rahil Pillarisetty (RACR Castrol Power1) and Rajender Beedani (MAI Racing) ended a long wait for title as both sealed the championship in their respective category with a race to spare in the fifth and final round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the Madras International Circuit, here on Saturday.
To also seal the championship today was Bengaluru’s Varun Patil (Mad Rabbit Racing) in the Stock 301-400cc category while Raj Kumar (Motul Sparks Racing) from Coimbatore moved within one point of claiming the title in the SuperStock Intermediate 165cc category after surviving a close battle with team-mate Md Samrul Zubair (Hyderabad).
The day’s programme was affected by light rain and fading light leading to postponement of one race (Pro-Stock 200cc Open) to Sunday morning.
Rahil Pillarisetty, 28, who last won a national title in his debut season in 2017, swept to a thrilling win over his arch-rival Sarthak Chavan (Petronas TVS Racing) with a daring last corner move to top the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open race, and take an unassailable lead in the points table. It was his sixth win in nine starts.
“I am happy but not over the moon with winning the title today. It is more of a huge relief that my eight-year wait for a Championship finally ended. In the past seasons, I have always finished second or third in the championship. Going into the race today, I was very calm. I was very aware of the two TVS boys, Sarthak (Chavan) and Chiranth (Vishwanath) behind me. I let them pass and then slowly started attacking them. I got past Chiranth and in the last corner of the last lap, I saw a chance and took it. I moved on the inside and Sarthak did not close the door which helped me win,” said Rahil who is nursing a fever and cold.
Likewise, 21-year-old Rajender Beedani left nothing to chance as he made ground after slipping to fourth early in the race following contact with another rider. However, he fought his way back for a fine win, his fifth in nine races. “This is my fourth season in the National championship, and it is great to finally win a title. I thank my team and all those who backed me through the years,” said Rajender whose closest rival, Lal Nunsanga (Motul Sparks Racing) from Aizawl, finished fourth.
Later, 37-year-old Varun Patil, also known as a “Gentleman Rider”, did just enough to seal the championship as he was content to stay away from the front-running bunch to pick up six points for a mid-grid finish. Another Bengalurean, Jagadeesh Nagaraj (Motul Sparks Racing), won the race, his first of the season, ahead of local challenger Kamal Navas (Rockers Racing) and Shyam Sundar (KYT Helmet ISBK Racing) from Thiruvallur.
Meanwhile, former National champion Ann Jennifer (Motul Sparks Racing) won the Girls (Stock 165cc) race to move into P2 on the points table, behind Jagathishee Kumaresan (One Racing) who seemed happy to finish the race in third position behind Pune’s Saimah Ajaz Baig (KYT Helmet ISBK Racing). Jagathishree leads Ann Jennifer by 20 points going into Sunday’s final race of the season.
Petronas TVS One-Make Championship: Chennai youngster Abdul Basim recorded his maiden win in the Expert (RR 310) class ahead of championship leader Mohan Babu (Coimbatore) and Hyderabad’s Md Samrul Zubair.
Hari Haran R (Coimbatore) with his seventh win of the season, sealed the championship in the Rookie category with one race still to be run on Sunday. Trichy’s Steve Waugh Sugi came in second while Akarsh Jangam (Vijayawada) completed the podium.
The results (Provisional – all 6 laps):
National Championship – Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open: 1. Rahil Pillarisetty (Hyderabad, RACR Castrol Power 1) (11mins, 02.369secs); 2. Sarthak Chavan (Pune, Petronas TVS Racing) (11:02.661); 3. Rakshith Dave (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (11:05.699).
SuperStock Intermediate 165cc (3 laps): 1. Raj Kumar (Coimbatore, Motul Sparks Racing) (06:26.315); 2. Mohamed Samrul Zubair (Hyderabad, Motul Sparks Racing) (06:26.732); 3. Annish Samson (Bengaluru, Speed Up Racing) (06:30.178).
Stock 301-400cc (Novice): 1. Jagadeesh Nagaraj (Bengaluru, Motul Sparks Racing) (12:14.385); 2. Kamal Navas (Chennai, Team Rockers Racing) (12:15.089); 3. Shyam Sundar (Tiruvallur, KYT Helmet ISBK Racing) (12:16.165).
Stock 165cc (Novice): 1. Rajender Beedani (Hyderabad, MAI Racing) (12:56.975); 2. Hari Haran R (Coimbatore, RACR Castrol Power 1) (12:57.148); 3. Vignesh Pothu (Mancherial, MAI Racing) (12:58.358).
Girls (Stock 165cc, 5 laps): 1. Ann Jennifer (Chennai, Motul Sparks Racing) (10:51.606); 2. Saimah Ajaz Baig (Pune, KYT Helmet ISBK Racing) (10:57.502); 3. Jagathishree Kumaresan (Chennai, One Racing) (10:58.022).
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (Honda CB 300F): 1. Raivat Dhar (Jammu) (12:49.086); 2. Solomon R (Chennai) (12:54.279); 3. Alshin Thomas (Pune) (12:57.513).
Petronas TVS One-Make Championship: Open (RR 310): 1. Abdul Basim RS (Chennai) (11:46.679); 2. Mohan Babu P (Chennai) (11:47.397); 3. Md Samrul Zubair (Hyderabad) (11:48.603).
Rookie (RTR 200, 3 laps): 1. Hari Haran R (Coimbatore) (07:24.780); 2. Steve Waugh Sugi (Trichy) (07:33.054); 3. Akarsh Jangam (Vijayawada) (07:37.010).
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