KY Ahamed led TVS Racing to an emphatic 1-2 finish on Friday. He won against his mentor and multiple champion Jagan Kumar in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc race in the first round of the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the MMST.
Later, international Rajiv Sethu brought some cheer to the Honda camp with a commanding win from pole position in the Pro-Stock 165cc class race, ahead of Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) and Mathana Kumar, the other Eneos Honda Erula Racing rider.
Other winners in the National championship races of the day were 22-year old Bengalurean, UllasSantrupt in the Novice (Stock 165cc) class and local lass Ann Jennifer who took the honours in the Girls (Stock 165cc) race with ease.
Meanwhile, another Bengalurean, Abshikesh Vasudev chalked up a fluent win in the TVS One Make Championship (Open) and Navneeth Kumar from Puducherry topped in the Novice category.
In the Pro-Stock 301-400cc race, Ahamed and pole-sitter Jagan fought a thrilling battle with the latter initially in the lead before his team-mate upped his pace to move into the front midway through the six-lap race. Thereafter, the duo opened up a sizeable lead over the rest of the pack for a 1-2 finish for TVS Racing. Completing the podium was Hyderabad’s Karthik Mateti (Gusto Racing).
The Pro-Stock 165cc race saw Sethu taking a sizeable lead at the start. Behind him, Jagan, Mathana Kumar and Senthil Kumar, the other Eneos Honda Erula Racing rider were involved in a close fight for podium spots. Jagan finally pulled off a brilliant move over Mathana at the last corner of the last lap to finished second.
Earlier, starting fifth on the 40-bike Novice race grid, Santrupt clawed his way through the field and eventually forged ahead to win from fellow-Bengalurean Nithin and privateer Mohan Babu with less than a second separating the trio. The final outcome was in suspense until the last couple of laps with the front-runners dicing hard for positions until Santrupt moved ahead and hung on to his slender lead.
The results :
National Championship:
Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race-1): 1. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (11mins, 47.347secs); 2. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) (11:48.059); 3.KarthikMateti (Gusto Racing) (11:51.430).
Pro-Stock 165cc (Race-1): 1. Rajiv Sethu (Eneos Honda Erula Racing) (12:08.653); 2. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) (12:13.410); 3. S Mathana Kumar (Eneos Honda Erula Racing) (12:13.445).
Novice (Stock 165cc, Race-1): 1. UllasSantrupt (RACR Castrol Power Racing) (13:06.057); 2. Nithin S (Sparks Racing) (13:06.281); 3. Mohan Babu (Pvt, Chennai) (13:06.512).
Girls (Stock 165cc, Race-1, 5 laps): 1. Ann Jennifer (Sparks Racing) (10:58.872); 2. LaniZena Fernandez (Gusto Racing) (11:14.395); 3.Alisha Abdullah (Sparks Racing) (11:14.456).
TVS One-Make Championship (Open, Race-1): 1. AbhishekVasudev (Bengaluru) (11:48.941); 2. KarthikMateti (Hyderabad) (11:54.768); 3.Anand R (Chennai) (11:54.954). Novice: 1. Navneeth Kumar (Puducherry) (13:20.647); 2. SudheerSudhakumar (Delhi) (13:24.196); 3.Teja TVR (Hyderabad) (13:24.218). A hearty congratulations from team SaachiBaat to all the athletes who participated and those who won. Looking forward to the remaining races.
Bhavna Chaudhary
Author & Wellness Enthusiast
