Team Chennai Crackers, Pune Panthers start as favourites

Indian two-wheeler motorsport is all set for a change with IPL-style Motorcycle Endurance League (MEL) ready to kick off at the Kari Motor Speedway (KMS) here this weekend.
India's first-ever MEL, promoted by the Indian Motorcycle League, will see eight franchises battling it out over a 90- minute endurance race distance. Franchises for the MEL has been bought by leading Indian motorsport figures including FIA GT star Armaan Ebrahim and reigning MRF 1600 National Racing Champion Ashwin Sundar.
The teams and riders arrived here with an air of excitement all around. The riders signed up for the MEL include international riding star K Rajni Krishnan, National Champion K Jagan, R Deepak, Harry Sylvester etc. The MEL was started with the objective of promoting two-wheeler racing and developing young riders in India. TVS Racing has signed on as the key partner and will Apache RTR 180 for all riders.

Rasheed Khan, Founder and Chairman of IML, said, "I am really happy and can't wait for the season to kick off tomorrow. We had only one objective when we thought about this concept, and that was to maximise the potential of these young Indian riders and give them the opportunity that they deserve."
A total of 40 riders will be seen in action for the inaugural season of MEL class. Each franchisee will have five riders per team. There will be two bikes per city team with two riders share a bike for a 90 minutes and a reserve rider.

A mandatory rider change after every 25-minute stint will add to the excitement. In order to help develop young riders there will be two junior categories with the Enduro 130 and Enduro 165 classes. These categories will be for novices who have a great opportunity to impress the franchisees for future rides.
K Rajni Krishnan, who was the only Indian rider to win internationally last year at Losail, said, "After a long time there is great excitement around motorcycle racing. MEL can change the landscape of motorcycle racing in India and I am happy to play a role on it."

Pre-season testing for the MEL took place at the KMS last month and Chennai Crackers was fastest ahead of the Pune Panthers. The Mumbai Dons was in third place with less than two-tenths off a second separating the top 3.