Sriperumbudur: TVS Racing rider Deepak Ravikumar won the final race of the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc to win the national championship, which was otherwise absolutely dominated by Honda racers across other categories, as the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2019 season ended at the Madras Motor Race Track here on Sunday.
Nonetheless the Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing had a field day in the fifth and final round winning two national titles with Sarath Kumar (Pro-Stock 165cc) and Anish Shetty (Pro Stock 201-300cc) winning their respective categories on a hot MMRT course that saw a few crashes as youngsters vied for that extra speed on the season-concluding day.
Shetty, who had sealed the championship on Saturday itself, finished the season with a double and seven wins on the trot, while Sarath won his first National championship title in nine years despite finishing third in his race.
The other National champions to emerge on the concluding day were Chennai riders Venkatesan I of Team Moto Maniacz in the Novice (Stock 165cc) and Ryhana Bee of Sparks Racing in the Girls category.
While Ravikumar had to fight hard for his crucial win, Sarath played it smart to finish third behind TVS Racing’s Jagan Kumar and a charging Kevin Kannan of Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing.
Likewise, Ryhana Bee rode carefully and was content to finish in third place that earned her sufficient points to win the championship. Finishing ahead of Ryhana in the race were 2018 champion Ann Jennifer and Alisha Abdullah.
“I am absolutely delighted to win a National championship after a lapse of nine years. We had a strategy for today’s race and I am happy that it worked well,” said Sarath Kumar, who had a brief stint in the FIM Moto3 World Championship a few years ago before a knee injury severely affected his racing career as the healing process took much longer than he expected.
The Pro-Stock 165cc race turned out to be a two-man show with Kannan and Jagan exchanging lead through the eight laps while Sarath seemed content to be in a lonely third spot while behind him, championship contender Rajiv Sethu, who had won six races on the trot earlier this season, gradually faded from the contest. By finishing third, Sarath picked up sufficient points to clinch the title ahead of Sethu and Jagan Kumar.
In the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup, Chennai’s Md Mikail notched eight consecutive wins for the title in the NSF 250R class (FIM Moto3 spec bikes). Aizwal’s Lal Nunsanga, who finished with seven wins, including a double in the final round, emerged champion in CBR 150 class.
“We started this season with an aggressive aim of leading across PS165cc & PS201-300cc categories of championship. Today, I am extremely proud of my riders who with their exemplary performances have met our targets and secured two ‘Triple Crown victories’. Such wins define Honda’s racing DNA in the world of motorsports and the hard work & dedicated practices by our riders to achieve such milestones,” said Prabhu Nagaraj, Vice President – Brand & Communications, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India.
Results
National Championship:
Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race-2, 7 laps): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) 13mins, 31.612secs; 2. Karthik Mateti (Gusto Racing) 13:32.042; 3. Rahil Shetty (Sparks Racing) 13:35.414.
Championship winners: Deepak Ravikumar (Rider), TVS Racing (Team), TVS (Manufacturer).
Pro-Stock 201-300cc (Race-2, 7 laps): 1. Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) 13:55.497; 2. Naresh Babu (Eneos Honda Chandra Racing) 13:55.727; 3. Aravind Balakrishnan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) 14:04.454.
Championship winners: Anish Shetty (Rider), Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing (Team), Honda (Manufacturer).
Pro-Stock 165cc (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) 15mins, 59.392secs; 2. Kevin Kannan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) 15:59.592; 3. Sarath Kumar (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) 16:10.802.
Championship winners: Sarath Kumar (Rider), Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing (Team), Honda (Manufacturer).
Novice (Stock 165cc) Race-2: 1. Venkatesan I (Motomaniacz Racing) 13:09.759; 2. Manoj Y (Motomaniacz Racing) 13:09.871; 3. S Aravind (Rockers Racing) 13:10.028.
Championship winners: Venkatesan I (Rider), Sparks Racing (Team), Yamaha (Manufacturer).
Girls (Stock 165cc, 5 laps): 1. Ann Jennifer (Sparks Racing) 11:07.846; 2. Alisha Abdullah (Alisha Racing) 11:16.374; 3. Ryhana Bee (Sparks Racing) 11:17.256.
Championship winners: Ryhana Bee (Rider), Sparks Racing (Team), Yamaha (Manufacturer).
One-Make Championship:
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (NSF 250R)
Race-2: 1. Md Mikail (Chennai) 11:04.901; 2. Kavin Samaar Quintal (Chennai) 11:09.254; 3. Charan Thangavel (Chennai) 11:24.314.
Race-3: 1. Md Mikail 14:26.574; 2. Kritik Vasant Habib (Gadag) 14:51.658; 3. Kavin Samaar Quintal 15:04.385.
Rider champion: Md Mikail.
CBR 150 (Race-2): 1. Lal Nunsanga (Aizwal) 13:11.665; 2. S Rajdaswanth (Trichy) 13:12.646; 3. Samuel Martin (Bengaluru) 13:19.680.
Rider champion: Lal Nunsanga (Aizwal).
TVS Open (RR 310) (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. Anand R (Chennai) 15:56.785; 2. Aravind Ganesh (Chennai) 15:58.363; 3. Soorya PM (Chennai) 15:58.607.
Rider champion: Aravind Ganesh.
Novice (RTR 200) Race-2: 1. Venkatesan I (Chennai) 13:17.268; 2. Manoj Y (Chennai) 13:17.325; 3. Anish Samson (Bengaluru) 13:21.648.
Rider champions: Venkatesan I (Chennai, Boys) and Nivetha Jessica (Chennai, Girls).
