Biker Rajini Krishnan sizzles to win

Riding a near-flawless race on his Yamaha R15, veteran Rajini Krishnan of Moto-Rev Yamaha Racing team powered his way to a splendid victory in the top-end Group B (165cc, modified) class as the second round of the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship concluded at the MMRT track -- celebrating its Silver Jubilee -- here on Sunday.

Rajini, who had finished second behind Jagan Kumar of TVS Racing in the first race on Saturday, left nothing to chance when opportunity presented itself.

Jagan suffered a puncture at the end of the second lap when in lead and Rajini seized the opportunity to score a handsome win ahead of Harry Sylvester (TVS Racing). Sarath Kumar (Ten10 Racing) completed the podium and Jagan completed the remainder of the six-lap race despite the punctured tyre.

Meanwhile, Vishwadev Muraleedharan, the 23-year-old MBA graduate from Coimbatore, making his debut in the National Championship representing Sparks Racing, enjoyed a memorable weekend as he achieved a double in the Group D (165cc) Novice class to repeat his first round feat last month in Coimbatore.

Muraleedharan also dominated the Suzuki Gixxer Cup (Novice) category where he won both races this weekend.

Ananth Raj ascended the top step of the podium when he won an incident-filled Suzuki Gixxer Cup (Open) race that was red-flagged twice due to crashes and reduced to two laps from the scheduled six.

Sumit Lucas Toppo scored a fine win in the CBR 250 category of the Honda One Make Championship, seeing off an initial strong challenge by international rider Sarath Kumar. Toppo, hailing from Ranchi, had a lonely race up front after building on an early lead with Sarath unable to bridge the gap.

Provisional results:

Group B (165cc) Open (6 laps): Rajni Krishnan (MotoRev Yamaha Racing) 1 (11mins 53.132secs); Harry Sylvester (TVS Racing) 2 (11:56.599); Sarath Kumar (Ten10 Racing) 3 (12:04.685).

Group C (165cc) Open (6 laps): Ananth Raj (Kingdom Racing) 1 (12:52.761); Mathana Kumar (Ten10 Racing) 2 (12:54.206); Harikrishnan (Ten10 Racing) 3 (12: 54.925).

Group D (165cc) Novice (6 laps): Vishwadev Muraleedharan (Sparks Racing) 1 (13:29.846); Amarnath Menon (Apex Racing Academy) 2 (13:33.463); Shankar Guru 3 (13:34.610).

Honda One-Make Championship - CBR 250 Open (6 laps): Sumit Lucas Toppo (Pro Lap Racing) 1 (12:28.972); Sarath Kumar (Ten10 Racing) 2 (12:46.138); Harikrishnan R. (Ten10 Racing) 3 (12:50.970). CBR 150 Novice (6 laps - Short Loop): Sivanesan S. 1 (07:45.124); Mahesh Murali 2 (07:45.334); Aravind B. 3 (07:45.872).

Suzuki Gixxer Cup - Open (2 laps): Ananth Raj 1 (04:35.370); Arvind Ganesh 2 (04:35.387); Abhishek Vasudev 3 (04:36.909). Note: Race stopped at 50 percent distance - Only half points awarded. Novice (6 laps, Short Loop): Vishwadv Muraleedharan 1 (7: 45.498); Malsawmdawngliana 2 (7:46.583); Amarnath Menon 3 (7: 47.195).