Interesting battles are in store in the fourth and penultimate round of the MRF MMSC-FMSCI National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2019 at the MMRT at nearby Sriperumbudur over the weekend.
The country's top two-wheeler racers and manufacturers
Honda, TVS, Yamaha and KTM will return to action as the race for top honours intensifies.
The Pro-Stock categories comprising the premium 301-400cc class besides 201-300cc and the 165cc, all run on MRF slick tyres, have witnessed thrilling battles through the season.
Going into the fourth round, Chennai-based TVS Racing pair of Deepak Ravikumar (101 points) and KY Ahamed (98), both with two wins apiece from six starts, head the 301-400cc class where defending champion Satyanarayana Raju (Gusto Racing) is placed sixth with 51 points with just one win.
In the 201-300cc class, Bengaluru-based Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) is comfortably placed with 90 points following a hat-trick of victories, well ahead of team-mate and fellow-Bengalurean Abhishek Vasudev (63).
The popular Pro-Stock 165cc class has seen long-time rivals Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing and TVS Racing, locked in a fierce fight.
Honda's international rider Rajiv Sethu of Chennai, after missing the first round due to his commitments in Japan, won four races in a row to lead the championship with 100 points, ahead of seven-times National champion Jagan Kumar of TVS Racing (94) who in turn enjoys a one-point lead over Honda's Sarath Kumar.
Both Jagan and Sarath have won one race apiece.
The Novice class (Stock 165cc), with its 40-bike grid and packed with talent, has Chennai's I Venkatesan (Moto Maniacz Racing) in the lead with 98 points with Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing, 80) from Jind, Haryana, and Bengaluru's Annish Samson (Speed Up Racing, 70) in tow.
Ryhana Bee (Sparks Racing), having won two consecutive races, is closing in on Girls title with a tally of 68 points, while defending champion and team-mate Ann Jennifer (40) is third behind private entrant Nivetha Jessica (42).
The active involvement of two-wheeler manufacturers in the championship has cast the net wider and snared a clutch of fresh talent.
The championship received a massive boost with Honda introducing FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R bikes, the fastest in the championship and ridden by hungry-for-success teenagers, all part of the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup programme designed to unearth and nurture talent.
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