Sports News | Mathana Kumar Leads 1-2 Finish at FMSCI National Motorcycle Championships

Coimbatore, Jun 11 (PTI) On a day of stunning reversals in fortunes, Mathana Kumar and Prabhu Arunagiri delivered a one-two podium finish for Bengaluru-based Pacer Yamaha team in the Pro-Stock 165 cc Open category while Hubballi's 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 was headed for a climax at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Saturday.

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

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Similarly, Mathana and Arunagiri trumped the Pro-Stock 165cc Open field with some fine riding for a top-two sweep for Pacer Yamaha after a gap of 12 years, while the top guns in this class, Petronas TVS Racing's Jagan Kumar and KY Ahamed, exited the contest due to mechanical issues with their bikes.

As such, the Pacer Yamaha riders had little to contend with as the pair finished well ahead of Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda SKRacing 69).

The Novice category race witnessed a nail-biting finish.,as Md Samrul Zubair, starting from pole position, scripted a 1-2 finish for the Race'ist Motorcycle Club, Hyderabad, ahead of Vignesh Goud and Balappa after the race that was cut to seven laps from scheduled 10 following a red flag stoppage due to an incident in the very first lap.

However, both Zubair and Goud were disqualified on "technical grounds" after the race and the revised results pushed Balappa to first place, followed by Bengaluru's Chiranth V (Rookies Racing) and Aldrin Babu (RACR Castrol Power 1) from Chalakudy.

“It is my first win in the Championship. Last year, I finished fourth in the championship standings. I am thrilled with the victory. Back home, I used to simply ride the bike here and there, before I decided to race,” said Balappa, a mechanical engineering student, now in his third season of racing.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)