Double Slam for Ganesh Prasad, Preetam, Rajini & Vishwanath

On a hot May Day the sweltering heat did not deter hordes of racing enthusiasts from turning out in large numbers to witness the first round of the National Racing Championship 2005 at the Kari Motor Speedway. And the racers did not disappoint them.

The public were entertained to a great display of motor racing at its fastest with cream of Indian motor cycle racers showcasing their driving skills. Also seen in action were a few imported 1000 cc bikes in a demo drive which enthralled the spectators.

Group "D" :: 4 Stroke :: 80-110 cc

The first championship race of the day began with the Group D 4 stroke 80 to 110 cc class. Right from the start it was a battle for the podium between Team TVS racers - pole leader Rajini, Preetam Dev Moses and Sriskandaraja. A very closely fought race saw Preetam and Sriskandaraja edge out Rajini to take the first and second positions respectively. Rajini had to settle for 3rd place. Preetam recorded the fastest lap timing of 01:30:615. Race 2 once saw a battle royal for the first place with Preetam and K. Rajini getting involved a neck to neck race. Preetam ultimately managed to overtake and then ward off Rajini’s attempts to get past him to just finish ahead by a squeaker. Sriskandaraja ended up third. Preetam had the fastest lap timing of 01:30:195. Starting 2nd on the grid Preetam ended up winning both the races.

Group "D" :: 2 Stroke :: 111-150 cc

In Race I in the Group D 2 stroke 111 to 150 cc class, it was reigning champion and pole leader Ganesh Prasad who swamped the opposition with an awesome display of his powerful racing skills. With the fastest lap timing of 01:24:813 Ganesh won his race with a lead of over 3 seconds over his nearest rival R.Murugan . S.Kumar starting 2nd in grid finished 3rd. Race 2 saw the continuing dominance of Ganesh Prasad who once again came up with yet another blistering performance which saw him taking the chequered flag almost 30 seconds of his nearest rival Hari Prasad. The battle for the 2nd place was a thriller with 3 riders Hari Prasad, Murugan and S.Kumar vying for honours. Hari Prasad took the second place while A. Murugan finished third. The fastest lap was by Ganesh with a timing of 01:25:580.

Group "D" :: 4 Stroke :: 111 -150 cc

K. Rajini of Team TVS starting 2nd in grid capitalized on a good start to grab the lead and retain the same to finish first in the 1st race of the Group D 4 stroke 111 to 150 cc category. . There was a three way tussle for the second place between Emmanuel Clarke, Emmanuel Jebaraj and Sriskandaraja. Despite a spirited effort from Sriskandaraja who had the fastest lap with a timing of 01:26:047 Clarke managed to settle for 2nd place. Emmanuel Jebaraj starting 4th in grid took the third place by edging out Sriskandaraja for whom things did just not work out. Race 2 was a complete repeat of race 1 with top 3 retaining their places in the podium. K. Rajini won with a comfortable margin followed by Emmanuel Clarke and Emmanuel Jebaraj respectively. The fastest lap timing was by Rajini – 01:26:386.

Group "C" :: 2 Stroke :: 111-150 cc

In the premium race of the day – Group C 2 stroke 111 to 150 cc category - it was T.K.Vishwanath of Team Yamaha staring 3rd on the grid emerging victorious after a seesaw battle with Preetam Dev Moses of Team TVS. With the lead changing hands a couple of times it needed a final and desperate surge from Vishwanath to enable him take the chequered flag just fraction of a second ahead of Preetam. K.Rajini finished in the 3rd place. The fastest lap was recorded by Vishwanath with a timing of 01:17:296. Race 2 once again saw T.K.Vishwanath grabbing the lead to win the race.Finishing second was team mate and veteran racer R.A.Abdullah who fought his way from 7th on the grid to finish runner up. Sriskandaraja took the third place and also had the fastest lap timing of 01:17:762.

Mopeds

Earlier, the first race of the day began with the moped category. Pole leader V. Sekar had no difficulty in maintaining a winning lead and took the chequered flag. R.G.Gopal finished second while V. Mahalingam who started 9th drove a good race to finish 3rd. This was followed by the Novice category races in the Group D 4 stroke 80 to 110 cc and 111 to 160 cc categories. In the 80 to 110 cc class, 2nd in grid R.Ramesh took the lead from pole leader Alisha Abdulla to finish first. M.D.Vasantha Kumar finished 2nd whil R.Karthikeyan took the 3rd place. Alisha finished 4th. In the 111 to 160 cc category pole leader T.R.Saravanan emerged a comfortable winner while 2nd in grid R.Ramesh also retained his 2nd place. In the 3rd was C. Senthil Kumar.

Results

Group D 4 stroke 80 - 110 cc

Group D 2 stroke 111 - 150 cc

Group D 4 stroke 111 - 160 cc

Group C 2 stroke 111 - 150 cc

Novice – Group D 4 stroke - 5 laps

Category : Mopeds - 4 laps

1. V. Sekar :: 07:09:203
2. R.G.Gopal :: 07:34:638
3. V.Mahalingam :: 07:42:648
Tuner : Kumar

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