• Rajiv Sethu notches eighth win in a row
• Big, surprise win for Senthil Kumar
• Savion Sabu records maiden win in Novice category

Chennai, October 21: Local ace Rajiv Sethu (RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) continued his dominant run in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open category by roaring to his eighth consecutive win while Coimbatore’s Senthil Kumar (LGE Racing) notched his first in five years with a surprise victory in a dramatic Pro-Stock 165cc Open class race, to light up the fifth and final round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2023 at the Madras International Circuit, here on Saturday.

The other deserving winner of the day was Bengaluru’s 17-year-old Savion Sabu (Axor Sparks Racing) who recorded his maiden win of the season in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category.
Sethu effectively sealed the championship in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open class with his win-spree as he extended his lead to 97 points with one more race to be run on Sunday and 25 points on offer. Hyderabad’s Rahil Pillarisetty (KTM Gusto Racing) and TVS Petronas Racing’s KY Ahamed finished a distant second and third, respectively, after being outpaced in the four-lapper, reduced from scheduled six following a red flag stoppage.
Meanwhile, pole-sitter Sarthak Chavan (Petronas TVS Racing) retired due to engine issues on the out lap and did not take the start.
The day’s big surprise result came in the Pro-Stock 165cc Open race that saw 22- year-old Senthil Kumar taking victory despite starting from P8 on the grid. He was running third towards the fag end of the six-lap race after some big names, including two Pacer Yamaha riders Prabhu Arunagiri and Mathana Kumar, besides Petronas TVS Racing’s KY Ahamed and Jagan Kumar, had dropped out of contention due to various reasons.

Chasing two teenagers from the Petronas TVS Racing team, Sarthak and Chiranth Vishwanath, the Coimbatore rider, whose last win in the National championship was in 2018 in the Novice category, suddenly found himself in front as the two youngsters tangled and crashed at the last corner of the last lap. However, both rejoined the race. Chiranth was docked a 10-second penalty for “causing an avoidable collision” and it dropped him to sixth while Sarthak moved up a spot to third behind Senthil Kumar and Bengaluru’s Ullas Santrupt Nanda.

Earlier, Savion Sabu finally took his first win of the season after a series of podium finishes, in the highly-competitive Novice (Stock 165cc) category that had a grid of 23 riders.

Starting from P5 on the grid, Savion cut through the front-runners by the end of Lap- 1, built up a sizeable lead that kept increasing as the race progressed. The Bengalurean eventually won by the proverbial country mile ahead of fast-finishing Chennai teenager Abdul Basim (Gulf Rockers Racing) who made considerable ground after a poor start form pole position. Another Bengalurean, Manvith Reddy (RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) completed the podium.
“Today, I was determined to win the race after having finished second or third in the previous outings. I pushed hard initially and did not look back. I wasn’t sure how far behind the rest of the riders were until I turned back after crossing the finish line,” said the teenager.
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup: Chennai’s Kavin Quintal scored his sixth win in eight races to assure himself of the title in the NSF 250 Open category going into Sunday’s final race of the season. Another Chennai youngster, Rakshith Dave finished second ahead of Belagavi’s Vivek Rohit Kapadia in the six-lap race.
Petronas TVS One-Make Championship: Bengaluru’s Chiranth Vishwanath virtually clinched the title in the Open (RR310) category with his fifth win. Chiranth held off a strong challenge from Coimbatore’s Senthilkumar C while Romario John (Chennai) was placed third.
Chennai girl Nadine Faith Balaji took the honours in the Girls (RTR 200) race for her first win that moved her to second spot behind Bengaluru’s Nithila Das on the championship table. Nithila, with three wins, emerged champion despite not participating in the final round. Coimbatore’s Aisvariya V finished third behind Pune’s Saimah Baig in today’s race.
Provisional results (all 6 laps unless mentioned):

National Championship – Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open (Race-1, 4 laps): 

1. Rajiv Sethu (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power 1 Ultimate) (07mins, 33.050secs); 

2. Rahil PIllarisetty (Hyderabad, KTM Gusto Racing) (07:37.596); 

3. KY Ahamed (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (07:38.116).

Pro-Stock 165cc Open (Race-1): 

1. Senthil Kumar C (Coimbatore, LGE Racing) (12:03.541); 

2. Ullas Santrupt Nanda (Bengaluru, RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) (12:14.513); 

3. Sarthak Chavan (Pune, Petronas TVS Racing) (12:20.898).

Novice (Stock 165cc, Race-1): 

1. Savion Sabu (Bengaluru, Axor Sparks Racing) (12:56.047); 

2. Abdul Basim RS (Chennai, Gulf Rockers Racing) (13:05.881); 

3. Manvith Reddy (Bengaluru, RACR Castrol Power 1 Ultimate) (13:06.284).

Support Race – 301-400cc Novice:

1. Aldrin Babu (Thrissur, RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) (12:41.728); 

2. Rajeswaran K (Chennai, KTM Gusto Racing) (12:42.084);

3. Rohith Prasad (Mandya, PRN Motorsports) (12:59.059).

Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup NSF 250R (Race1): 

1. Kavin Quintal (Chennai) (11:17.416); 

2. Rakshath S Dave (Chennai) (11:23.929); 

3. Vivek Rohit Kapadia(Belagavi) (11:26.456).

Petronas TVS One-Make Championship: Open (301-400cc, RR 310) Race-1: 

1. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru) (11:35.230); 

2. Senthilkumar C (Coimbatore) (11:35.969); 

3. Romario John (Chennai) (11:43.834).

Girls (Apache RTR 200) (5 laps): 

1. Nadine Faith Balaji (Chennai) (11:16.072); 

2. Saimah Ajaz Baig (Pune) (11:17.910); 

3. Aisvariya V (Coimbatore) (11:24.974).