Chennai, Aug 16 (IANS) Rakshith Dave, a gifted rider from Chennai and only 18 years old, who survived a horrific crash on Saturday, was handed the biggest victory of his career as he got promoted to the top step of the podium following a 30-second penalty to the race winner Chiranth Vishwanath from Bengaluru in the premier Super Sport 301-400cc class as the first round of the Indian National Racing Challenge 2W-2026 concluded at the Madras International Circuit, here on Sunday.
Earlier, 16-year-old Kabilesh Rajini Krishnan, riding for his father’s team, RACR Castrol Power1, and in just his second full season, scripted his maiden win in domestic competition by topping the Super Stock 301-400cc race while equally impressive was another Chennai rider, Ann Jennifer (Motul Sparks Racing), a former National woman champion, who won the Super Stock 165cc race in which she was the only female competitor. She thus completed a grand double, having won Race-1 on Saturday.
Also notching a double was Hari Haran (RACR Castrol Power1) from Coimbatore in the Stock 165cc (Novice) category in a tight finish while young Abdul Basim (Chandra LGE Racing) took the honours in the Pro-Stock 200cc Open race with a couple of front-runners crashing out. Undoubtedly, this was the closest race of the weekend with a bunch of five riders in the frame to win before the last lap crash which decided the podium finishers. Amarnath Menon (MadRabbit Racing) from Kozhikode, returning to racing after a four-year break, finished second and ahead of Chennai’s Soorya PM (Chandra LGE Racing).
In the weekend’s final race, the Stock 301-400cc (Novice), Bengaluru’s private entrant Ashwin R yet again trumped the field for his second win of the weekend. Another Bengalurean Lokesh V (Speed Up Racing) came in second while local rider Venugopalan S (privateer) was third.
Much of the attention today was on the Super Sport 301-400cc race which was fiercely contested. The trio of Hyderabad’s Rahil Pillarisetty (RACR Castrol Power1), Chiranth Vishwanath and his Petronas TVS Racing team-mate Sarthak Chavan from Pune, swapped lead positions in the first half of the race. Chiranth then moved to the front, hotly chased by Sarthak with a struggling Rahil in P3.
In the last lap, Sarthak passed Chiranth on the Turn-3 left-hander, but the two came together on the exit of the corner. The Pune rider crashed, but got up and rejoined the race, while Chiranth went on to win ahead of Rakshith, who had started last on the grid, and Rahil. Following a post-race inquiry, Chiranth was docked a 30-second penalty which dropped him to seventh while Sarthak limped home in eighth.
Earlier, Ann Jennifer (Motul Sparks Racing) rode the race of her life to win the Super Stock 165cc Intermediate race despite a bad start due to a missed gear shift which dropped her to fourth from pole position. She lost another two spots after contact with another rider. However, she kept her composure to slice through the field for a brilliant win. “Yes, it was the best race of my career,” remarked Ann Jennifer, the only female rider on the grid.
Kabilesh, the son of legendary Rajini Krishnan, an 11-times National champion, started last on the grid, but made his way through to the front and then hung on for a brilliant win. “Of course, I am very happy that Kabilesh won, but there is still a long way to go,” said Rajini Krishnan. Incidentally, Kabilesh was laid off for 10 months after breaking his thigh bone in a massive crash during a race in Malaysia last year.
Chennai’s Kamal Navas, who started last on the grid, came up with a stunning ride to win the Expert (RR 310) race edging out Saturday’s Race-1 winner Rajender Beedani (Hyderabad) at the finish line. Hari Haran from Coimbatore finished third.
Bengaluru’s 15-year-old Dev Agastya topped the race in the Rookie class, bettering his P6 finish on Saturday while Rehbar Islam Baktoo of (J & K) was placed second, followed by Pothu Vignesh from Mancherial.
--IANS
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