Chennai, Sep 2 (IANS) Going into the fourth and penultimate round of the MRF FMSCI National Motorcycle Championship here this weekend, the titles in various classes are up for grabs and the competition is expected to peak at the two-day event.
Krishnan Rajini, arguably the best two-wheeler rider in the country at the moment, has been a dominant force in the premier Superbikes (600cc) class, but a non-finish in the first race of the second round denied him of crucial points and can ill-afford to relax.
While Rajini is on 50 points from five outright wins, the talented 23-year old Deepak Ravikumar is just two adrift and would be only too keen to wipe off the deficit and get ahead, something that is easier said than done. A close battle between the two is very much in the offing.
Deepak, who set a record for the fastest lap on this track at Sriperumbudur with a time of one minute, 56.6 seconds, though is very much in the running for the title in the Group B (165cc, Open) class with three wins.
However, Deepak still has a lot of work ahead of him to catch up with leader Jagen Kumar of TVS Racing (51), also with three wins.
Likewise, the championship leaders in the other classes too will have to keep an eye on other contenders. Shyam Shankar (Moto-Rev India) enjoys a comfortable lead in the Group D (165cc, Open) with a tally of 58 points, inclusive of five wins, ahead of team-mate D Dinesh Kumar (27).
The 165cc Novice class has been a four-cornered contest involving Abhishek N of Moto-Rev India (46), Arjun EB of Apex Racing (34), Madhan (32) and S Parthiv (30). All will be pushing hard for valuable points.
In the 130cc Novice category, Parthiv with 46 points is narrowly ahead of two TVS Racing bikers Rajesh Ratna Kumar (40) and Anand P (34).
The competition in the two single-make series, Honda and Yamaha, has been no less keen. Shyam Shankar is on top in the Yamaha R15 class with 58 points and also in the Honda CBR 250 Open with 26, with M Gautham just four behind.
Probably the closest contest has been in the Honda CBR 150cc Open class where Dinesh Kumar and Arvind Ganesh are tied on 22, followed by Sudhakar Kesavan and Thammarai Kannan, both 18 while M Sudhakar leads the Honda CBF Stunner title race with 48 points.
Similarly, Madhan and J Allwyn Jebaz are tangled in a bitter struggle with each on 50 points in the Yamaha R15 Novice class.
— Indo-Asian News Service
aph/vs/dg
