National Motorcycle Racing C’ship: Sethu clinches grand double
He followed it up with another win, surviving a huge high-side scare, before ending the day with a victory in the Pre-Stock 165cc class. Off to a fine start from pole position, Sethu showed strong pace to open a small lead in the very first lap of the six-lap outing.
CHENNAI: Rajiv Sethu of RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate stamped his authority on the two premium Pro-Stock categories, 301-400cc and 165cc, as he won a race in both to headline the second round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2023 at the Madras International Circuit here on Saturday.
Vignesh Goud of Race’ists Motorcycle Club continued his win-spree by emerging triumphant in the Novice (Stock 165cc) race, his third triumph after a double in the first round in Coimbatore last month. Sethu, who had been struggling to get his racing career back on track after a couple of disappointing seasons, continued his dramatic turnaround following a double in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc category in Coimbatore.
He followed it up with another win, surviving a huge high-side scare, before ending the day with a victory in the Pre-Stock 165cc class. Off to a fine start from pole position, Sethu showed strong pace to open a small lead in the very first lap of the six-lap outing.
In the next lap, he survived a massive moment as he escaped a high-side crash but slipped to the second spot behind TVS Petronas Racing’s Deepak Ravikumar. However, Sethu then used his pace to regain the lead and never looked back. Finishing third was Petronas TVS Racing rider KY Ahamed, who gained the podium spot after teammate Sarthak Chavan crashed midway through the race.
In the Pro-Stock 165cc race, 16-year-old Bengaluru boy Chiranth Vishwanath from Petronas TVS Racing had caused a huge buzz by qualifying for pole position in a highly-experienced and quality grid. Chiranth, in his debut season at this level, even led the race for a while before crashing after making contact with another rider. By then, Sethu had taken the lead.
RESULTS (PROVISIONAL): Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open: Race 1: 1. Rajiv Sethu (RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) (11 minutes, 13.782 seconds); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Petronas TVS Racing) (11:18.209); 3. KY Ahamed (Petronas TVS Racing) (11:23.380). Pro-Stock 165cc Open: Race 1: 1. Rajiv Sethu (RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) (11:49.749); 2. Mathana Kumar (Pacer Yamaha) (11:49.865); 3. Prabhu Arunagiri (Pacer Yamaha) (11:50.099).Novice (Stock 165cc): Race 1: 1. Vignesh Goud (Race’ists Motorcycle Club) (13:04.013); 2. Abdul Basim RS (Rockers Racing) (13:04.542); 3. Sangeeth Sundar (Rookies Racing) (13:06.615)
