Jagan Kumar of TVS Racing recorded his fifth win of the season, despite starting last on the grid, to seal the title in the top-end Group B (Open) class in the fifth and final round of the MMSC FMSCI Indian National motorcycle racing championship at the MMRT track
The stunning win took Jagan Kumar’s tally to 137 points, well clear of his nearest rival and team-mate Harry Sylvester (102) who finished third behind another TVS Racing rider and pole-winner K.Y. Ahamed.
With one more race to be run on Sunday and a maximum of 25 points at stake, Jagan Kumar is assured of the championship in his class.
Also taking a decisive step towards the title was Mathana Kumar of Ten10 Racing who took the honours in the Group C (Open) category that was run along with the faster Group B bikes.
Mathana’s fifth win
Mathana also carved out his fifth win of the season which boosted his points tally to 133 for a 14-point lead over his nearest rival Ananth Raj of Kingdom Racing India who finished a disappointing seventh.
Championship leader in Group D (165cc, Novice) class, Kannan Karnan finished second behind V.S. Kishoar in the only other race of the day, but picked up crucial 18 points to remain at the top of the leaderboard with 120 points as against the other title contender Aravind Balakrishnan whose third place finish fetched him 15 points for a tally of 109.
Meanwhile, a nine-rider, all-ladies grid took to the track for the qualifying session ahead of Sunday’s double-header with Pune’s Pooja Dabhi taking the pole position.
It is the first time ever that an exclusive race for women is being held in the history of Indian motorsport.
The results (provisional): Group B (Open):
Race 1 (Six laps):
1. K. Jagan (TVS Racing) (11mins, 51.099secs);
2. K.Y. Ahamed (TVS Racing) (11:54.198);
3. Harry Sylvester (TVS Racing) (11:54.458).
Group C (165cc, Open): Race 1 (Six laps):
1. S. Mathana Kumar (Ten10 Racing) (12:42.929);
2. Rajiv Sethu S (Pvt) (12:47.648);
3. Shyam Shankar (Thunderbolt Racing) (12:48.029).
Group D (165cc, Novice): Race 1 (Six laps):
1. V.S. Kishoar (Pvt) (13:14.458);
2. Kannan Karnan (Moto-Rev Yamaha ) (13:14.569);
3. Aravind Balakrishnan (United Tech Torque Racing) (13:23.535).
