16 races for final round of National Motorcycle Racing championship

Chennai, Oct 19 (IANS) The 2023 season of the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship reaches its climax and conclusion at the Madras International Circuit here this weekend (Oct 20-22) with the fifth and final round that will identify a fresh crop of champions across various categories, but not before they overcome strong challenges.

A card of 16 races has been framed with the two Pro-Stock Open categories – 301-400cc and 165cc – headlining the three-day event. The card also has competitions in the Novice (Stock 165cc) and Girls (Stock 165cc) categories, besides a support race in the 301-400cc Novice class.

“It has been a long season with its shares of highs and lows. This weekend will see the conclusion of the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2023. There are still a few titles up for grabs and as such, there will be no let-up in the intensity of competition that has been a feature all through the season. The introduction of electric motorcycles by TVS has been one of the high points and possibly, a pointer to the future. The MMSC is grateful to the title sponsors MRF Tyres, the competitors and the Media for the support extended to the championship,” said Ajit Thomas, MMSC President.

The Petronas TVS One-Make Championship has races in three classes – the 301-400cc Open (RR 310), Girls (RTR 200) and Media (RTR 200), besides two rounds of ‘Time Attack’ for the TVS electric motorcycles, while the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup will showcase races in the NSF 250R category that contains a clutch of talented young riders.

The titles in three of the four National championship categories are more or less decided. Chennai’s Rajiv Sethu (RACR Castrol Power1) in the PS 301-400cc Open, Vignesh Goud (Race’ists Motorcycle Club) from Hyderabad in the Novice and Puducherry’s Lani Zena Fernandez (RACR Castrol Power1) in Girls categories enjoy unassailable leads in the respective points table. The championship is still wide open in the Pro-Stock 165cc Open class with several riders in the hunt for the title.

Chennai’s Kavin Quintal needs only as few as six points to annex the crown in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (NSF 250R). Going into the final round, he leads Rakshith Dave, also from Chennai, by 45 points with a maximum of 50 on offer over the weekend.

In sharp contrast, Bengaluru’s Chiranth Vishwanath and Alwin Sundar (Chennai) occupy the top two spots in that order in the Petronas TVS Open category with just seven points separating the two. Another Bengalurean, Nithila Das is virtually assured of the title in the Girls (RTR 200) category with a 33-point advantage and a maximum of 25 to be had.