- Rajiv Sethu (Honda) won the Pro-Stock 165 class
- Sarath Kumar (Honda) finished second in Pro-Stock 165cc race
- Pro-Stock 200cc-300cc class was also dominated by Honda riders
Round 3 of the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship (INMRC) hosted by MRF MMSC FMSCI kickstarted on a thrilling note at the Madras Motor Race Track kickstarted. The paddock of almost every team was echoing with cheers as the riders put up an admirable show in the competition.
The Honda riders pushed hard on day one itself to book five podiums finishes, which included two victories in different categories. Starting with the Pro-Stock 165cc category, it was majorly dominated by Honda riders who clinched first and second spots in the race. While TVS Racing’s Jagan Kumar finished third, the first and second positions were clinched by Honda’s Rajiv Sethu and Sarath Kumar, respectively. Notably, this was Rajiv’s third consecutive win in the ProStock 165cc category.
The young riders competing in the Novice (Stock 165cc) class also exhibited an intense race to make it an exciting event. Winning this category was Venkatesan of Motomaniacz Racing who was followed by Mohan Babu of Rockers Racing and Abhimanyu Gautam of Sparks Racing.
Moving higher up in the classes, the Pro-Stock 200cc-300cc category saw the podium claimed by all Honda riders including Anish Shetty, Abhishek Vasudev and Aravind Balakrishnan who finished first, second and third, respectively. Furthermore, the Pro-Stock 300cc-400cc category witnessed TVS Racing’s Deepak Kumar and KY Ahamad settling for second and third position while Rahil Shetty of Sparks Racing outpaced everyone and won this race.
Now, talking about the One-Make Championship by Honda, the IDEMITSU Honda Talent Cup – CBR150R class comprised of nail-biting action with nine young racers battling it out for the title. Leading the pack for the third time in this season, Lal Nunsanga set the fastest lap time and grabbed the victory in this class. Closely following him were Samuel Martin (second) and Deepak Kumar (third) who were trailing the winner at a minute distance.
One of the main highlights of the INMRC is the IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Cup NSF250R class, which gives an opportunity to the young Indian riders to race on the Moto3-spec machines, and prepare for one of the world’s premier classes of racing. Flying on the 84kg (kerb) NSF250R, which pumps out a staggering 48bhp, were eight riders who were shortlisted from previous races. Now, this category witnessed 15-year old Mohd. Mikhail emerging victorious by maintaining a staggering eight-second lead from the runner up. Meanwhile, Varoon and Kritik Habib grappled to secure the second and third positions, respectively.
