Krishnan makes it four wins in a row in the premier class; KY Ahamed wins Pro-Stock 165cc Open race in photo finish.
Ten-time national champion Rajini Krishnan remained unbeatable in the 2022 MRF MMSC Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship (INMRC). He followed up his double victory at the Kari Motor Speedway with two more back-to-back wins in Round 2 at the Madras International Circuit (earlier MMRT).
The round also saw KY Ahamed put up a spirited performance from P9 on the grid to take a photo-finish victory in the Pro-Stock 165cc class. We recap all the action.
- Krishnan undefeated in Pro-Stock 301-400cc class
- 0.1 sec separated top three finishers in Pro-Stock 165cc Race 2
- Clean sweep for Chavan in Honda India Talent Hunt
Pro-Stock 301-400cc
Riding a Yamaha R3, Krishnan scored a comfortable lights-to-flag win in Race 1, despite making contact with KY Ahamed, who crashed out. With Ahamed out, TVS’ Deepak Ravikumar and Speed Up Racing’s Anand Rajendran completed the podium.
Krishnan upped the ante the next day, winning Race 2 by a margin of over 10 seconds in just eight laps. KY Ahamed was second, followed by teammate Ravikumar.
Results:
Race 1
1. Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power1) – 11mins 31.191secs
2. Deepak Ravikumar (Petronas TVS Racing) – 13mins 36.221secs
3. Anand Rajendran (Speed Up Racing) – 13mins 38.032secs
Race 2
1. Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power1) – 15mins, 15.889secs
2. KY Ahamed (Petronas TVS Racing) – 15mins 26.410secs
3. Deepak Ravikumar (Petronas TVS Racing) – 15mins 26.729secs
Pro-Stock 165cc Open
After being unable to score any points in Round 1, Petronas TVS Racing scripted a grand recovery in the Pro-Stock 165cc category. Ravikumar won the first race, ahead of Honda SK69 Racing’s Rajiv Sethu and Pacer Yamaha’s Mathana Kumar, who had won both the races in the previous round.
TVS missed out on a 1-2 finish as Ahamed crashed out of this race too. But he staged a remarkable comeback the next day, making his way up from P9 to win Race 2. It was a tense photo-finish, with just 0.1 sec separating Ahamed, Kumar and Sethu at the end.
Results:
Race 1
1. Deepak Ravikumar (Petronas TVS Racing) – 11mins 57.737secs
2. Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) – 12mins 00.159secs
3. Mathana Kumar (Pacer Yamaha) – 12mins 09.991secs
Race 2
1. KY Ahamed (Petronas TVS Racing) – 15mins 55.678secs
2. Mathana Kumar (Pacer Yamaha) – 15mins 55.722secs
3. Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) – 15mins 55.726secs
Novice (Stock 165cc)
Axor Sparks Racing’s Sarvesh Balappa was another rider who scored his fourth-straight win. He finished the weekend with a double victory on the back of his two wins in the first round to remain unbeaten in the Novice (Stock 165cc) class.
Results:
Race 1
1. Sarvesh Balappa (Axor Sparks Racing) – 8mins 48.748secs
2. Kayan Zubin Patel (Axor Sparks Racing) – 8mins 49.154secs
3. Rohan R (Axor Sparks Racing) – 8mins 52.856secs
Race 2
1. Sarvesh Balappa (Axor Sparks Racing) – 13mins 06.383secs
2. Md Samrul Zubair (Raceists Motorcycle Club) – 13mins 08.978secs
3. P Vignesh Goud (Raceists Motorcycle Club) – 13mins 10.293secs
Girls (Stock 165cc)
After a disappointing run in the opening round, reigning champion Ryhana Bee bounced back to win the Girls (Stock 165cc) race. Aditi Krishnan ended up second after Lani Zena Fernandez was handed a 15-second penalty for “causing an avoidable collision” with early race leader Ann Jennifer.
Results:
Race 1
1. Ryhana Bee (Pacer Yamaha) – 11mins 01.483secs.
2. Aditi Krishnan (Winverve Apex Racing Academy) – 11mins 51.191secs
3. Jagruti Penkar (Axor Sparks Racing) – 11mins 18.793secs
Stock 301-400cc (Support race)
The Stock 301-400cc was once again part of the championship’s support bill. Continuing his fine form in the previous round, Mihir Vijay Sakpal bagged yet another win ahead of privateers Jayanth Prathipati and Ashwin R.
Results:
Race 1
1. Mihir Vijay Sakpal (Winverve Apex Racing Academy) – 12mins 35.053secs
2. Jayanth Prathipati – 12mins 35.073secs
3. Ashwin R – 12mins 49.139secs
Petronas TVS One Make Championship
Top performers in this year’s Petronas TVS One Make Championship will progress to the TVS Asia One Make Championship.
Mohan Babu P and S Vivek Pillai both collected a win and a second-place result each in the Apache RR310 Open category. Chiranth Vishwanath made it four out of four wins in the Rookie category after winning both races in Round 2 as well. Aditi Krishnan won the race in the Girls’ category.
Results:
Apache RR310 Open Race 1
1. Mohan Babu P – 11mins 47.933secs
2. S Vivek Pillai – 11mins 48.064secs
3. Manoj Yesuadiyan – 11mins 48.694secs
Apache RR310 Open Race 2
1. S Vivek Pillai – 11mins 54.105secs
2. Mohan Babu P – 11mins 54.125secs
3. Kannan S – 11mins 56.367secs
Rookie (Apache RTR 200) Race 1
1. Chiranth Vishwanath – 12mins 34.972secs
2. Shreyas Hareesh – 12mins 46.371secs
3. Abdul Basim RS – 12mins 54.237secs
Rookie (Apache RTR 200) Race 2
1. Chiranth Vishwanath – 12mins 25.916secs
2. Shreyas Hareesh – 12mins 35.302secs
3. Abdul Basim RS – 12mins 35.447secs
Girls (Apache RTR 200) Race 1
1. Aditi Krishnan – 11mins 19.322secs
2. Ananya Awasthi – 11mins 35.324secs
3. Vrishika Vijay Baikar – 11mins 45.098secs
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup
It was a clean sweep for NSF250 championship leader Sarthak Chavan, who sealed a double win. Mohsin Paramban finished second in both races.
The CBR150R category saw a similar scenario with Raheesh Mudassar Khatri winning both races in Round 1. The 14-year-old has enjoyed a truly dominant start to the season, having won every single race so far.
Results:
NSF250R Race 1
1. Sarthak Shrikant Chavan – 11mins 26.629secs
2. Mohsin Paramban – 11mins 28.643secs
3. AS James – 11mins 28.995secs
NSF250R Race 2
1. Sarthak Shrikant Chavan – 18mins 45.396secs
2. Mohsin Paramban – 18mins 55.514secs
3. Shyam Sundar 18mins 55.663secs
CBR150R Race 1
1. Raheesh Mudassar Khatri – 13mins 01.799secs
2. Shyam Babu – 13mins 23.491secs
3. Rajender Beedani – 13mins 23.541secs
CBR150R Race 2
1. Raheesh Mudassar Khatri – 12mins 54.900secs
2. Shyam Babu – 13mins 27.093secs
3. Harshith V Bogar – 13mins 27.429secs
Honda Hornet 2.0
Kayan Zubin Patel and G Balaji finished on the podium in both Honda Hornet 2.0 races. Patel won Race 1, with Prabhu V and G Balaji second and third respectively. Race 2 was won by G Balaji, with Patel second and Romario John third.
Results:
Race 1
1. Kayan Zubin Patel – 13mins 45.599secs
2. Prabhu V – 13mins 45.906secs
3. G Balaji – 13mins 50.976secs
Race 2
1. G Balaji – 13mins 32.712secs
2. Kayan Zubin Patel – 13mins 32.851secs
3. Romario John – 13mins 38.944secs
Also see:
2022 INMRC: Rajini Krishnan kicks off season with double wins