14-year-old lad impresses with facile win in 1st race

Fourteen-year-old Chennai lad Mohammed Mukail impressed with a facile win in the first race of the CBR 150R class in the IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Cup in the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the MMRT track at Sriperumbudur, near here.

Mukail beat his nearest rival Akshay Murali by 17 seconds to underline his skill.

The city lad, a fan of former Australian MotoGP world champion Casey Stoner, said he was drawn to the sport after watching MotoGP races in 2011.

"After watching MotoGP races I took a liking for motorcycle racing. I liked the way Casey Stoner rode and wanted to become like him," he added.

Having been identified through the Honda India Talent Hunt, Mukail said he had learnt a lot at Honda Ten10 Racing Academy.

"I am learning new things at the academy. I hope to get better in course of time," he added.

Prabhu Nagaraj, Vice-President, Brand & Communication, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said, "The performance of the six budding riders from the first leg of Honda India Talent Hunt is praise worthy.

The dedication displayed by Mohamed Mukail is really commendable. The strong performance put in by him helped him win his first ever race with a massive 17 second lead."