MOTORSPORTS | Rahil and Rajinder end title drought with a race to spare

The pair of Rahil Pillarisetty (RACR Castrol Power1, Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open) and Rajender Beedani (MAI Racing, Stock 165cc Novice) ended their title drought with a race to spare in the fifth and final round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship, at the Madras International Circuit on Saturday.

In the Stock 301–400cc class, Varun Patil of Mad Rabbit Racing secured the championship, while Raj Kumar (Motul Sparks Racing) moved to within a single point of the SuperStock Intermediate 165cc title after edging past his teammate Md Samrul Zubair.

Meanwhile, in the Girls (Stock 165cc) category, former national champion Ann Jennifer of Motul Sparks Racing claimed victory to rise to second place in the standings, trailing leader Jagathishee Kumaresan (One Racing) by 20 points heading into Sunday’s final race of the season.

The results (provisional – all 6 laps unless mentioned):Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open: 1. Rahil Pillarisetty (RACR Castrol Power 1) 11mins 02.369s; 2. Sarthak Chavan (Petronas TVS Racing) 11:02.661; 3. Rakshith Dave (Petronas TVS Racing) 11:05.699.

SuperStock Intermediate 165cc (3 laps): 1. Raj Kumar (Motul Sparks Racing) 06:26.315; 2. Mohamed Samrul Zubair (Motul Sparks Racing) 06:26.732; 3. Annish Samson (Speed Up Racing) 06:30.178.

Stock 301-400cc (Novice): 1. Jagadeesh Nagaraj (Motul Sparks Racing) 12:14.385; 2. Kamal Navas (Team Rockers Racing) 12:15.089; 3. Shyam Sundar (KYT Helmet ISBK Racing) 12:16.165.

Stock 165cc (Novice): 1. Rajender Beedani (MAI Racing) 12:56.975; 2. R. Hari Haran (RACR Castrol Power 1) 12:57.148; 3. Vignesh Pothu (MAI Racing) 12:58.358.

Girls (Stock 165cc, 5 laps): 1. Ann Jennifer (Motul Sparks Racing) 10:51.606; 2. Saimah Ajaz Baig (KYT Helmet ISBK Racing) 10:57.502; 3. Jagathishree Kumaresan (One Racing) 10:58.022.

Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (Honda CB 300F): 1. Raivat Dhar 12:49.086; 2. R. Solomon 12:54.279; 3. Alshin Thomas 12:57.513.

Petronas TVS One-Make Championship: Open (RR 310): 1. RS. Abdul Basim 11:46.679; 2. P. Mohan Babu 11:47.397; 3. Md Samrul Zubair 11:48.603.

Rookie (RTR 200, 3 laps): 1. Hari Haran 07:24.780; 2. Steve Waugh Sugi 07:33.054; 3. Akarsh Jangam 07:37.010.