Double slam for Senthil Nathan and K. Rajini

Vishwanath, Ashwin, Preetam and Sriskandaraja sparkle

The threat of rains looming large and intermittent drizzles accomp anied by winds  may have brought an air of the chill to the atmosphere at the Kari Motor Speedway but it faded in the heat generated by the races which saw the racing enthusiasts and connoisseurs being entertained to a  thrilling session of scintillating  racing at the 5^th leg  of the FMSCI National Racing Championship 2005 held today.   While young Ashwin Sundar endeared  everyone with breath taking performances, also keeping the viewers on their toes were the performances from  T.K. Vishwanath, K.Rajini, Preetam Dev Moses, Sriskandaraja and Senthil Nathan.

The best races of the day  were in the Group C 2 stroke 111 to 160 cc category. Battling it out for honors were the championship leader  T.K. Vishwanath from Team Yamaha , Sriskandaraja and  Rajini.  In Race 1  Vishwanath  4^th in the grid got to a fast start to grab the lead  in the 1^st lap but failed to maintain the tempo and had to fall back   and settle for third place. With Preetam Dev Moses  who started 3^rd on the grid having to pull out after one lap due to technical problems the battle for the top slot was between pole leader Rajini and  Sriskandaraja.  However Rajini  with the fastest lap timing of 01:15:683 did hold on his lead and  went on to win  the race comfortably  ahead of Sriskandaraja.   Race  2 saw T.K.Vishwanath once again starting 4^th in the grid.  And in one of his   best ever races Vishwanath drove like a champion to move and grab the lead. As the race progressed Vishwanath built  up a mammoth lead which then opened the   battlefield   for the second place between Sriskandaraja and Preetam Dev Moses both from Team TVS. However Sriskandaraja  fell off  the vehicle as his tyre got a puncture and had to withdraw from the race after 5 laps. This enabled Preetam Dev Moses to move up and grab the second place. Senthil Nathan finished third.  Vishwanath had the fastest lap timing of  01:16:227.

Race 1 in Group D 2 stroke 111 to  160 cc category saw pole leader Senthil Nathan of Team Yamaha  and 2^nd in grid championship leader Ganesh Prasad fighting out a duel  for the top slot. Despite Ganesh Prasad coming up with a tremendous effort and  having the fastest lap timing of 01:24:525 Senthil Nathan was able to retain the lead  and  keep Ganesh at bay  till the  finish. Emmanuel Jebaraj finished  in third place. Race 2 saw the dominance of Senthil Nathan  continuing   as  he emerged a very comfortable winner with a winning  margin of 8 seconds + over his nearest rival Emmanuel Jebaraj.  Ganesh Prasad was unlucky  to fall off from his vehicle in the 6^th lap but was back in action  immediately and had to be content with a 5^th place finish. 

Race 1 in Group D 4 stroke 111 to 160 cc category  saw some outstanding  racing as  tiny Ashwin  Sunder of Team TVS  starting 8^th on the grid  came up with a scintillating  display of driving skills and speed to move up past six riders ahead of him and finished a close  2^nd  behind pole leader  K.Rajini also from Team TVS who took the checkered flag.  In third place was Emmanuel Jebaraj.  Ashwin also had the fastest lap timing  of 01:25:769. In Race 2 it was yet another blistering performance from young Ashwin as this time romped past all the seven before him including pole leader K. Rajini   to win the race. Rajini finished second and a far third was Emmanuel Jebaraj.   Ashwin had the fastest lap timing of 01:25:556.

Championship leader Preetam Dev Moses  of  Team TVS  starting 2^nd on the grid  came with  a winning performance to win  Race 1 just a whisker ahead of pole leader K. Rajini in the Group D 4 stroke 80 to 110 cc category.  Ashwin Sunder  finished a very close third.  Although he had the fastest lap timing of  01:33:268  veteran racer Srisksndaraja also from Team TVS had to settle for 4^th place.  However Sriskandaraja made amends  by winning Race 2.  Starting 3^rd in the grid Sri moved past Preetam Dev Moses and  K. Rajini  to take the checkered flag . Ashwin Sunder finished third and also timed the fastest lap of 01:30:920.  Preetam who faltered  had to settle for the 4^th place.

The moped category races was won by Sekar with a overall timing of  07:53:591.  Pole leader Mahalingam failed to make to a good start and finished in third place behind  R.G.Gopal.

In the races for the novice  categories Ramesh was the winner in the Group D 4 stroke 80 to 110 cc class  with a timing of 08:18:174 followed by Usha and R. Karthikeyan . In the 111 to 160 cc class  Saravanan  had a comfortable win . R.N.Suresh Kumar and  R. Ramesh  finished  2^nd and 3^rd  respectively.

Results

Category : Group D 4 stroke 80 to 110 cc

               Race 1 – 5  laps                       Race 2 -  8 laps

                       Category :  Group D 4 stroke 111 to 160 cc

                        Category :   Group D 2  stroke  111 to 160 cc

         Race 1 -   8 laps                                        Race 2  -  12 laps

Category : Group C 2 stroke 111 to 160 cc

Novice Category – Group D 4 stroke

            80 to 110 cc                                          111 to  160 cc

Category : Mopeds  -  4 laps