Stage set for penultimate round at MMRT
Chennai: The heat is on in the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship as the fourth and penultimate round gets underway at the MMRT track, here this weekend with every point worth its weight in gold.
With the title contenders in various categories of the National Championship are bunched tightly, the pressure is on the riders to make every outing this weekend count. The previous three rounds witnessed close contests as the fortunes ebbed and flowed, thus making for riveting action which also threw up some young talent.
The action kicks off in earnest on Friday with qualifying sessions following practice runs the previous day. Saturday and Sunday will see early start and finish to accommodate the third round of the MMSC fmsci Indian National Drag Racing Championship.
Also on the card are the One-Make Championships for Honda (CBR 250 and CBR 150) and TVS (Apache RTR 200 Open and Novice) with highly competitive grids along with support races for girls.
Among the major highlights this season have been the twin initiatives of the Madras Motor Sports Club whose persistent endeavour to promote the sport at grass-root.
The introduction of a category for Girls as part of the National Championship has been an unqualified success as also the Novice class (Stock, up to 165cc) that has consistently attracted 50-plus entries, requiring two heats followed by a final, points-scoring race.
While the showpiece Super Sport Indian (up to 165cc) class has as many as four contenders for the title, the situation is similar in the Pro-Stock (up to 165cc) where it is a three-way battle while Amarnath Menon of Gusto Racing (125 points) enjoys a healthy lead over Rockers Racing’s Vivek Pillai (87).
To say the least, the battle between TVS Racing and Honda Ten10 whose Rajiv Sethu (105), the ever-improving 18-year old from Chennai, and Mathana Kumar (91) head the table, has been engrossing.
Jagan Kumar, the spearhead of TVS challenge, has had an up-and-down run this season as he finds himself fourth in the championship with 72 points.
