Motorsports: Rajini Krishnan tops in Group B race

Seasoned campaigner Rajini Krishnan of Moto-Rev Yamaha Racing team came up with a superb ride to win the showpiece Group B (165cc) Open class race in the third round of the MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship which concluded at the MMRT track here on Sunday.

After failing to finish in the first race run on Saturday, 34-year-old Rajini Krishnan cut his way through the field from the fourth position to pull off a fine win after early leader Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) suffered problems with his bike and finished eighth.

It was a repeat of the second race of the previous round when Jagan Kumar, after winning the first outing, dropped off with a puncture while Rajini won.

Finishing second behind Rajini was TVS Racing's Harry Sylvester who was very much in the frame until the finish while teammate K.Y. Ahamed completed the podium.

"I started fourth and moved up the field. I caught up with Jagan, but something went wrong with his bike and moved to the front. I am happy that I won," said Rajini Krishnan.

Also enjoying a profitable weekend was Mathana Kumar of Ten10 Racing who achieved a double in the Group C (165cc) Open category as also Vishwadev Muraleedharan in Group D (165cc) Open and international rider Sarath Kumar in the Honda CBR 250 category.

Sarath Kumar, with a wealth of experience, was class apart as he won both the CBR 250 races with his closest rival Sumit Lucas Toppo unable to mount a serious challenge.

Another impressive ride came from Shyam Shankar who won a tight race in the Yamaha R15 Open category while Kannan K completed a double in the Novice class with back-to-back wins.

Ahamed and Akhand Pratap Singh scored impressive wins in the Open and Novice categories of the TVS RTR 160 One-Make series, respectively.

Provisional results (all 6 laps):

National Championship

Group B (165cc) Open: Rajni Krishnan (Moto-Rev Yamaha Racing) 1 (11mins, 46.641secs); Harry Sylvester (TVS Racing) 2 (11:47.123); KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) 3 (11:58.425).

Group C (165cc) Open: Mathana Kumar S (Ten10 Racing) 1 (12:35.363); Harikrishnan R (Ten 10 Racing) 2 (12:45.396); Shyam Shankar (Thunderbolt Racing) 3 (12:45.537).

Group D (165cc) Novice: Vishwadev Muraleedharan (Sparks Racing) 1 (13:26.425); Aravind B (United Tech Torque Racing) 2 (13:26.841); Kishoar VS (Apex Racing Academy) 2 (13:26.848).

One-Make Championship

Honda CBR 250 (Open): Sarath Kumar (Ten 10 Racing) 1 (12:22.440); Sumit Lucas Toppo (ProLap Racing) 2 (12:26 964); Mathana Kumar S (Ten10 Racing) 3 (12:27.541).A

Honda CBR 150 (Novice, Short Loop): Sivanesan S (Chennai) 1 (7:40.204); Aravind B (Chennai) 2 (7:40.415); Shane Thompson P (Bangalore) 3 (7:41.095).

Suzuki Gixxer Cup (Open): Ananth Raj P (Chennai) 1 (13:24.292); Meka Vidhuraj (Chennai) 2 (13:25.318); Vivian Gladwin David (Kanpur) 3 (13:25.928).A Novice (Short Loop): Amarnath Menon (Kerala) 1 (7:49.736); Vishwadev Muraleedharan (Coimbatore) 2 (7:50.205); Antony Peter E (Coimbatore) 3 (7:50.328).

Yamaha - R15 Open (6 laps): Shyam Shankar 1 (13:29.951); Mithun Kumar PK 2 (13:31.584); Ramesh Kumar PK 3 (13:32.575). Novice (Short Loop): AKannan K (Chennai) 1 (7:57.023); Vishal S (Chennai) 7:58.487; Daniel Shoham John Philip (Chennai) 3 (8:00.231).

TVS - RTR 160 Open: KY AhamedA (Chennai) 1 (13:21.752); Kannan S (Chennai) 2 (13:21.921); AArvind Ganesh R (Chennai) 3 (13:22.044). Novice (6 laps - Short Loop): Akhand Pratap Singh (Roorkee) 1 (8:04.494); Veerapandian (Chennai) 2 (8:04.845); Sathish Kumar L. (Chennai) 3 (8:05.350).