Pune: Team TVS Racing rider R Natraj was back at the helm with a commanding win over Suhail Ahmed from Bengaluru as the he opened up 28-point lead at the end of fourth round in the six-leg MRF MoGrip FMSCI National two-wheeler rally championship, in Nashik on Saturday.
Natraj completed the three special stages in Sarul mountainous region in the outskirts of Nashik in 31 minutes 56 seconds even as his closest challenger and teammate Rajendra RE faltered after last week’s high in Pune to finish 8th overall.
Riding his powerful RTR 450FX through Tarmac, dirt-tarmac and gravel route in the mountains being mined for stones, Natraj showed his grip over the course to complete each stages in just over 10 minutes, while Rajendra, who took 11 minutes 44 seconds for SS1 and 13:28 for SS2, let slip his challenge.
The MRF Rally of Nashik marked the end of two-wheeler championship’s western region swing. The remaining two rallies will be held in South, the fifth round in Coimbatore and the season-finale in Mangalore post monsoon.
Asif wins scooter class
Defending champion Syed Asif Ali brought home NTRQ in 40:12 ahead of Mumbai’s Venkatesh Shetty. Pune’s Pinkesh Thakkar, who won back-to-back in Indore and Pune on his Aprilia, was down to fourth position.
Aishwarya triumphs
TVS Racing rider Aishwarya Pissay gave yet another display of her command over TVS RTR 2004V bike to record her fourth straight win in the championship to take her tally to 100 points.
Results:
Overall: 1. R Nataraj (TVS Racing, RTR 450FX) 31 min 56 secs; 2. Suhail Ahmed (Bengaluru,TVS RTR 200) 33:17; 3. Samuel Jacob (TVS Racing, RTR200) 33:30.
Class 1 (Superbike ProExpert): 1. R Nataraj (TVS Racing, RTR 450FX) 31:56.
Class 1A (Superbike ProExpert-A): 1. Badal Doshi (Mumbai, Honda CRA 450) 36:19; 2. Jatin Jain (Nagpur, Husqvarna FE450) 36:30.
Class 2 (Super Sport 130B): 1. Rakesh Kumar V (Bengaluru, Yamaha YBX)39:52; 2. Jose Sabastian (Kochi, Gladiator) 41:34; 3. Vignesh M (Coimbatore, Yamaha YBX) 42:03.
Class 3 (Super Sport 165B): 1. Imran Pasha (TVS Racing, TVS RTR 160) 33:53; 2. Sachin D (Bengaluru, Hero Impulse) 34:00; 3. Saravana Kumar (Coimbatore, Hero Impulse) 35:16.
Class 4 (Super Sport 260B): 1. Suhail Ahmed (Bengaluru,TVS RTR 200) 33:17; 2. Samuel Jacob (TVS Racing, RTR200) 33:30; 3. Rajendra RE (TVS Racing, RTR200) 36:04.
Class 5 (Super Sport 400B): 1. Venu Rameshkumar (Coimbatore, KTM Duke 390) 37:00; 2. Shaunak Netragaonkar (Pune, KTM Duke 390) 52:02.
Class 6 (Super Sport 550B): 1. Vineet Sharma (Indore, Himalayan) 38:42; 2. Shivam Wani (Indore, Himalayan) 41:18; 3. Nilesh Thakare (Nashik, Himalayan) 41:42.
Class 7 (Scooter): 1. Syed Asif Ali (TVS Raving, NTRQ) 40:12; 2. Venkatesh Shetty (Mumbai, Aprilia SR150) 40:18; 3. Yash Pawar (Nashik, Yamaha Rayz) 40:43.
Class 8 (Ladies): 1. Aishwarya Pissay (TVS Racing, TVS RTR 200 4V) 42:41; 2. Fazeela U (Palakkad, Hero Impulse) 43:59; 3. Gumail Kaur (Vadodara, Hero Impulse) 45:23.
Class 9 (Locals): 1. Ankit Gajjar (Yamaha RX100) 39:04; 2. Amit Suryavanshi TVS Apache) 46:45; 3.Kaustubh Machhe(Yamaha YBX) 47:03.
