Buddh International to host bike races this weekend

The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) here will play host to the MMSC Race Fest 2015 involving 16 races in all with 12 in the One-Make Championship for Honda, TVS and Suzuki motorcycle manufacturers besides four in the Toyota Etios Motor Racing Trophy (4-wheeler) this weekend.

While free practice and qualifying sessions will be held on Friday, the races are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday with the promise of some high octane action since championship titles will be decided in the TVS and Suzuki Gixxer Cup events.

The presence of 1993 World 500cc champion Kevin Schwantz of the United States, who rode in 105 races for Suzuki with 25 wins and 59 podium finishes, will add lustre to the weekend.

The Honda One-Make Championship will see the fourth and penultimate round while the Toyota EMR is a one-off event with the driver aggregating most points over four races winning the trophy.

Among the races that will be keenly followed will be the Suzuki Gixxer Cup for Novice riders as only two points separate leader Vishwadev Muraleedharan (162) and Amarnath Menon (160), while Satish Kumar (80) and Akhand Pratap Singh (77) are locked at the top in the TVS RTR 180 Novice category.

However, one of the star attractions of the weekend is international rider Sarath Kumar of Ten10 Racing who heads the leaderboard in the Honda CBR 250 (Open) class with 136 points, ahead of arch-rival Sumit Lucas Toppo of Prolap Racing (101) who too has raced abroad.

The two have been involved in a few tight battles through the season and there is unlikely to be any let-up in the rivalry this weekend as Sarath Kumar, who scored a double in the previous round in Chennai, would be looking to consolidate his position at the top.

The Honda CBR 150 Novice class has Sivanesan (123) and Aravind B. (91), who won one race apiece in the last round, going head to head while talented Ananth Raj (156) is comfortably placed in Suzuki Gixxer Cup (Open) ahead of Abhishek Vasudev (117).

Aravind Ganesh (83) goes into the final round of the TVS RTR 180 (Open) class with a nine-point lead over teenager K.Y. Ahmed whose riding skills have caught the eye of the connoisseurs. Both Ganesh and Ahmed have won two races apiece.

In all, the two-wheeler races have attracted over 80 entries while 15 drivers will take part in the Toyota Etios Trophy.