MMRT race track hosted the 5th and concluding round for the 2015 MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship and Honda MMSC One-Make Championship last weekend. The two day event started from Saturday saw total of 11 races as the grand finale of championship which was earlier postponed due to rains in December last year.
The weekend’s programme also included support races for the Media and Ladies on the Honda bikes.
Day One – Jagan Kumar, TVS Racing chalked up his 5th win of the season despite starting last on the grid to seal the title in the top-end Group B, Open Class. The stunning win took him to 137 points. His nearest rival and team-mate Harry Sylvester, finished 3rd with 102 points. KY Ahamed, who started from the pole position finished at 2nd.
Also taking a decisive step towards the title was Mathana Kumar of Ten10 Racing who took the honours in the Group C (Open) category that was run along with the faster Group B bikes.
Mathana also chalked up his fifth win of the season which boosted his points tally to 133 for a 14-point lead over his nearest rival Ananth Raj of Kingdom Racing India who finished a disappointing seventh.
Jagan, among the lightest of riders, came up with yet another eye-catching position after a battery failure in the qualifying session that forced him to start last on the grid. Yet, by the end of the first lap, he had cut through the field and stepped up the pace to win with much to spare.
Championship leader in Group D (165cc, Novice) class, Kannan Karnan finished second behind Kishoar VS in the only other race of the day, but picked up crucial 18 points to remain at the top of the leaderboard with 120 points as against the other title contender Aravind Balakrishnan whose third place finish fetched him 15 points for a tally of 109.
Earlier, Sumit Lucas Toppo of Prolap Racing grabbed the pole position in the CBR 250 class of the Honda MMSC One-Make Championship while Kishoar VS will start first on the grid for the CBR 150 race, ahead of joint title leaders Sivanesan Sethu and Aravind Balakrishnan, both of whom are tied on 141 points.
International rider Sarath Kumar of Ten10 Racing has already clinched the title in the CBR 250 class and opted to skip the race.
Meanwhile, a nine-rider, all-ladies grid took to the track for the qualifying session ahead of Sunday’s double-header with Pune’s Pooja Dabhi taking the pole position. It was the first time ever that an exclusive race for women is being held in the history of Indian motor sport.
The results (provisional):
Group B (Open) – Race 1 (6 laps): Jagan K (TVS Racing) 1 (11mins, 51.099secs); KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) 2 (11:54.198); Harry Sylvester (TVS Racing) 3 (11:54.458).
Group C (165cc, Open) – Race 1 (6 laps): S Mathana Kumar (Ten10 Racing) 1 (12:42.929); Rajiv Sethu S (Pvt) 2 (12:47.648); Shyam Shankar (Thunderbolt Racing) 3 (12:48.029).
Group D (165cc, Novice) – Race 1 (6 laps): Kishoar VS (pvt) 1 (13:14.458); Kannan Karnan (Moto-Rev Yamaha ) 2 (13:14.569); Aravind Balakrishnan (United Tech Torque Racing) 3 (13:23.535).
Day Two – Jagan Kumar, TVS Racing clinched the championship by giving a repeat performance in the second outing on Sunday for a grand double with team-mates KY Ahamed and Kannan Subramani.
Jagan Kumar thus finished the 2015 championship with six wins and a tally of 162 points ahead of team-mate Harry Sylvester (114) and Ahamed (113). It was Jagan’s fifth National title following his success in 2009 (125cc Novice), 2012 (165cc, Group B), 2013 and 2014 (Group C, Open).
Jagan Kumar said – “I am very happy to win the championship this year. I had a bad start to the season with a puncture and mechanical problems in the early rounds, but this weekend was a nice way to finish.”
In the Honda MMSC One-Make Championship, Kishoar VS won both the CBR 150 races, but finished only third in the title race with 145 points, behind Aravind Balakrishnan (177) and Sivanesan Sethu (156).
The title in the CBR 250 class was won by Sarath Kumar (186 points) with a round to spare and he opted to skip the final round which saw Sumit Lucas Toppo of Pro Lap Racing and Dinesh Kumar (United Tech Torque Racing) share the honours by winning a race apiece on Sunday. Toppo, who crashed in the second race, finished second in the championship with 146 points, ahead of Dinesh Kumar (112).
Chennai’s Rehana Reya topped in the Honda Ladies race, the first of its kind in India, Pooja Dabhi from Pune came 2nd with Soundari A from Chennai at 3rd in the four-lap race.
The results (Provisional):
National Championship – Group B (Open) – Race 2 (6 laps): 1. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) (11mins, 57.799secs); 2. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (12:00.172); 3. Kannan Subramani (TVS Racing) (12:03.529). Champion rider: Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing).
Group C (165cc, Open) – Race 2 (6 laps): 1. S Mathana Kumar (Ten10 Racing) (12:48.359); 2. Rajiv Sethu (Ten10 Racing) (12:54.644); 3. Shyam Shankar (Pvt) (12:54.799). Champion Rider: S Mathana Kumar (Ten10 Racing).
Group D (165cc, Novice) – Race 2 (6 laps): 1. Kannan Karnan (Moto-Rev Yamaha) (13:26.074); 2. Vishwadev Muralidharan (Sparks Racing) (13:27.073); 3. Aravind Balakrishnan (Pvt) (13:28.516). Champion rider: Kannan Karnan (Moto-Rev Yamaha).
Honda MMSC One-Make Championship: CBR 250 (Open) – Race 1 (6 laps): 1. Sumit Lucas Toppo (Pro Lap Racing) (12:31.775); 2. Mathana Kumar (Ten10 Racing) (12:34.839); 3. Hari Krishnan R (Ten10 Racing) (12:34.978). Race 2 (6 laps): 1. Dinesh Kumar D (United Tech Torque Racing) (12:49.293); 2. Rajiv Sethu (Ten10 Racing) (12:49.293); 3. Harikrishnan R (Ten10 Racing) (12:49.914). Champion rider: Sarath Kumar.
CBR 150 (Novice) – Race 1 (Short loop, 6 laps): 1. Kishoar VS (Coimbatore) (7:53.076); 2. Aravind Balakrishnan (Chennai) (8:00.248); 3. Sivanesan Sethu (Chennai) (8:00.268). Race 2 (6 laps): 1. Kishoar VS (07:48.673); 2. Aravind Balakrishnan (07:48.719); 3. Anish Shetty (Hubballi) (07:51.708). Champion rider: Aravind Balakrishnan.
Support Race: Honda Ladies Race (Short loop, 4 laps): 1. Rehana Reya (Chennai) (06:17.491); 2. Pooja Dabhi (Pune) (06:18.559); 3. Soundari A (Chennai) (06:22.444).
Sunil Gupta represented xBhp in the Honda One Make Race. He’ll be sharing his experience shortly.
