Rajini posts dominant win

COIMBATORE: Mathana Kumar and Prabhu Arunagiri delivered a 1-2 finish for the Pacer Yamaha team in the Pro-Stock 165cc Open category while Sarvesh Balappa (Axor Sparks Racing) was handed a victory in the Novice (Stock 165cc) race despite finishing third as the Rolon Round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2022 headed to a climax at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Saturday.

Meanwhile, veteran Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power 1), riding his refurbished Yamaha R3, restored normal service by comfortably winning the premium Pro-Stock 301-400cc race as the expected fight from known rivals dissipated amidst crashes and penalties.

Mathana and Arunagiri delivered a top-two finish for Pacer Yamaha after 12 years, while the Petronas TVS Racing duo of Jagan Kumar and KY Ahamed exited the contest due to mechanical issues with their bikes. The Pacer Yamaha riders had little to contend with as the pair finished well ahead of the third-placed Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda SKRacing 69).

The Novice category race witnessed a nail-biting finish. Md. Samrul Zubair and Vignesh Goud produced a 1-2 finish for Race’ist Motorcycle Club while Balappa came third after the race was cut to seven laps from the scheduled 10 following a red flag stoppage in the first lap. However, both Zubair and Goud were disqualified on “technical grounds” after the race.

The revised results pushed Balappa to first place, followed by V Chiranth (Rookies Racing) and Aldrin Babu (RACR Castrol Power 1). Racing at the Kari Motor Speedway for the first time since 2015, Rajini, who had qualified second behind Ahamed, was in a league of his own after rocketing off to a flying start.

RESULTS (PROVISIONAL): Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open (Race 1): 1. Rajini Krishnan (12 minutes, 26.700 seconds); 2. Jagan Kumar (12:30.167); 3. R Anand (12:41.745).

Pro-Stock 165cc Open (Race 1): 1. Mathana Kumar (13:07.483); 2. Prabhu Arunagiri (13:07.875); 3. Rajiv Sethu (13:16.228).

Novice (Stock 165cc) (Race 1): 1. Sarvesh Balappa (10:12.279); 2. V Chiranth (10:13.555); 3. Aldrin Babu (10:23.920).

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