Rajiv Sethu’s unbeaten run continues with sixth win

CHENNAI: Bengaluru teenager Chiranth Vishwanath (Petronas TVS Racing) and Chennai veteran Prabhu Arunagiri (Pacer amaha) shared honours by winning a race apiece in the premier Pro-Stock 165cc Open category while Rajiv Sethu (RACR Castrol Power1) continued his unbeaten run in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open class in the fourth round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the Madras International Circuit, here on Saturday.

Another Bengalurean, 22-year-old six-footer Manvith Reddy (RACR Castrol Power1), bided his time to win the Novice (Stock 165cc) race after a couple of front-runners, including pole-sitter Vignesh Goud, retired, while his team-mate Puducherry’s Lani Zena Fernandez made the best of pole position start to score a comfortable victory, her second win of the season, in the Girls (Stock 165cc) class of the National championship.

Chiranth, only 16, was impressive in winning Race-1 of the Pro-Stock 165cc Open category. He showed a big heart for a close fight to overcome championship leader Rajiv Sethu, who despite starting P12 after a disastrous qualifying session, led briefly. However, a loose footrest and then a broken gear lever saw Sethu pull out of his battle with Chiranth and was content to finish second. Earlier, pole-sitter Sarthak Chavan, the 16-year-old from Pune, retired after a high-side crash at Turn-1 in the very first lap, but walked away unhurt, clearing the way for Chiranth to hit the front.

In Race-2 of the same category in the evening, Prabhu Arunagiri fully capitalised on a set of new tyres to a run-away win, while behind him his Pacer Yamaha team-mate Mathana Kumar did well to hold up the traffic that included Sarthak Chavan, who eventually finished second ahead of KY Ahamed. Mathana, who had scored a double in the first round in June, came fourth.

Sarthak suffered yet another crash after coming together with his Petronas TVS Racing team-mate KY Ahamed in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open race, a little later. With the two out of contention, Sethu stormed into the lead and fought off Hyderabad’s Rahil Pillarisetty (KTM Gusto Racing) for his sixth consecutive win of the season.