CHENNAI, June 8: Hyderabad ace Rahil Pillarisetty (RACR Castrol Power1) pulled off his first win in four years as he pipped favourite Sarthak Chavan, the Pune teenager, to claim the honours in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open race even as the first round of the MRF MMSC-FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship came to an abrupt end due to a massive thunderstorm at the Madras International Circuit here on Sunday.
The heavy rains accompanied by strong winds early afternoon caused considerable damage to the facility while it also forced cancellation of day’s remaining two races which will be run in the second round in August.
Earlier, Ann Jennifer (RACR Castrol Power1) from Chennai, Bengaluru’s Varun Patil (Mad Rabbit Racing) completed a double apiece in the Girls (Stock 165cc) and Stock 301-400cc (Novice) categories, respectively, while young Kedarnadh (Motul KTM Gusto Racing) from Tirupati topped the Stock 165cc (Novice) race.
The day’s highlight was Rahil’s brilliant win in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open Race-2 as he overcame a strong challenge from yesterday’s Race-1 winner Sarthak Chavan (Petronas TVS Racing) with a late burst.
The pair was trailing Bengaluru teenager Chiranth Vishwanath (Petronas TVS Racing) who had taken the lead after a great start from P4.
Also in the mix was veteran Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power1), a multiple National champion, who was running P2 most of the race until yielding ground to Sarthak and Rahil.
The duo then moved past Chiranth with Rahil successfully defending his P1 spot. Sarthak finished second, ahead of Chiranth.
Meanwhile, Ann Jennifer (RACR Castrol Power1) made a strong start to her bid to regain the National title which she had last won in 2020. Showing good pace, she left the field chasing shadows for a repeat of her Saturday’s win in Race-1.
Ann Jennifer said: “I have made a good start to the season by winning both races. However, I feel the others might catch up as the season progresses, and so, I must continue working hard like I did during the off-season when I practiced with the Pro-Stock boys and learnt a lot from them. I feel good considering where I was last year when I suffered a head injury from a crash in Round-3. The doctors advised me to quit racing, but the sport is in my blood, and I just couldn’t stop myself from getting on a race bike. Despite the two wins this weekend, I feel there is scope for improvement, and I hope I can be a bit quicker in the next round.”
(UNI)
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