Sports Bureau
CHENNAI: There are heightened expectations ahead of the fifth and final round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship to be held from Friday (Sep. 30) till Sunday (Oct. 2) at the Madras International Circuit (MIC) here.
Commanding most attention are the two premier categories, Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open and Pro-Stock 165cc Open where the battle for championships could go down to the wire, given the extremely close races this season.
Promoter Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC), celebrating its 70th anniversary, has put together a 20-race card for the weekend. “It has been an exciting season thus far with India’s top riders and two-wheeler manufacturers battling for honours. Our sponsors, MRF Tyres, have been providing invaluable support. The final weekend should see a continuation of the trend of close races that has kept everyone on the edge of the seat,” said MMSC president Ajit Thomas.
Veteran Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power1), in sight of his 11th National career title, has 161 points in the kitty going into the Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open double-header that offers a maximum of 50 points. Placed behind him on the leaderboard are Petronas TVS Racing’s K.Y. Ahamed (126) and Deepak Ravikumar (125). Thus, Rajini needs 16 more points this weekend to seal the championship.
It is a three-way battle in the Pro-Stock 165cc category involving Pacer Yamaha’s Mathana Kumar (126 points), Rajiv Sethu of Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing (109) and Prabhu Arunagiri (Pacer Yamaha, 104).
EOM