The second round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2019 will be held this weekend at the MMRT track at nearby Sriperumbudur with the focus to be on FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R bike set to tbe launched by Honda.
While the NSF 250R besides the CBR 150, which is part of the Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup, a one-make championship organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club is bound to create a buzz, the attention will be on the National Championship races including the two premium Pro-Stock categories.
Completing the card this weekend will be TVS Racings One-Make Championship in two categories, the Open (TVS Apache RTR 310) and Novice and Girls (TVS Apache RTR 200), a press release said.
Like in the first round, races in all the categories are likely to be competitive, the release said.
As in the first round at Coimbatore last month, the number of entries has exceeded 150 with some 15 teams, a record for the National Championship in itself, supporting the riders. Both the Pro-Stock categories will be run on slick tyres provided by the title sponsors MRF Tyres.
In a bid to fast-track their programme to identify and nurture talent, Honda has put an age cap of 19 for the CBR 150 category while the NSF 250R bikes would be ridden by hand-picked riders who have undergone extensive training.
TVS has also been on pace in their talent quest, especially in the Girls category where the riders, following a pan-India selection process, have been shortlisted from 33 entrants to 16 who make up the race grid.
The weekend card has a total of 16 races spread over Saturday and Sunday with qualifying sessions scheduled for Friday.
About Honda's plans for Indian motorsports,Prabhu Nagaraj,vice-president, Brand & Communication, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said, "This weekend, Honda starts a new era of Indian motorsport. The structured development platform of Talent cup is giving a 360-degree boost of Indian motorsport."