2015 FMSCI INMRC: Mathana Kumar of Ten10 Racing wins in the Group C (165cc) Open Class

The first round of the FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship was held at the MMRT race track in Chennai from June 6-June 7, 2015. The two-day event witnessed some intense racing action as he youngsters battled hard to prove their mettle. Here is a comprehensive report of the races.

Vishwadev Muraleedharan of Sparks Racing who claimed a double in the Group D (165cc) Novice class

Day One
Day One turned out to be a spectacular showcase of racing talent in India. In the Group D (130cc) Novice Class, 20-year old Deva Umapathy won top honours in the 10-lap race. Starting from P2, Umapathy took the lead into the first corner and managed to stay there till the chequered flag was waived.

Pole sitter Kanan K, who races for TVS Racing, failed to capatilise on his start position. In an attempt to regain lost ground he careened into the gravel trap in C1 on two successive laps thus losing out on a chance to atleast salvage a podium position. Yashvin Kumar finished second after overtaking Sivansenan on the final lap.

Abhishek V who took the pole position in the Suzuki Gixxer Cup Open class

The qualifying rounds too witnessed some intense battles. In the Group C Open Class, Ten10 Racing's Mathana Kumar took pole with a blazing lap time of 1 minute and 16.958 seconds.

Kishore VS of Apex Racing grabbed pole position in the Group D (165cc) Novice Class by setting a time of 1:21.353.

Kishore VS who grabbed pole position in the Group D Novice (165cc) class

The Suzuki Gixxer Cup which debuts this year saw Abhishek Vasudev take the first pole in the Open Class. His lap time of 1 minute and 23.461 seconds was just a shade above Rajanikanth R's time of 1 minute and 23.911 seconds. In the Novice Class, Keralite Amarnath Menon took pole after setting a lap time of 1 minute and 23.518 seconds.

Day Two
The second day of the FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship was the scene of hard fought victories as young, Indian racing talent took to the MMRT race track.

In the Group C (165cc) Open Class, Mathana Kumar of Ten10 Racing rode a brilliant race from pole position and won both the races. The 23-year old was astride a Honda CBR and he won in a commanding fashion.

Abhishek Vasudev from Bengaluru who achieved a double in the Suzuki Gixxer Cup Open class

Vishwadev Muraleedharan of Sparks Racing, was also a double race winner in the Group D (165cc) Novice Class. The 22-year old finished over 4 seconds ahead of Amarnath Menon K.

The third racer to score a double win was Abhishek Vasudev. The racing instructor from Bengaluru won in the Suzuki Gixxer Cup Open Class. Amarnath Menon K won in the Novice Class of the one make series with a two second lead over the next rival.

Kannan Karnan (2nd from left), Yashwin Kumar R, Mathana Kumar S and Vishwadev Muraleedharan

In the Group D (130cc) Novice Class, Kannan Karnan won the second race after a heroic ride at the MMRT. The 20-year old had sustained injuries in race one after crashing at the first corner and was riding in Race Two with stitches on his left palm. He passed Yashwin Kumar on Lap Six and maintained the position till the end of the race.

Kannan Karnan of TVS Racing who won the second race of the Group D (135cc) Novice class with four stitches on his left hand

The sore point in the two day event was the disqualification of Deva Umapathy.The winner of Race One in the Group D (130cc) Novice Class, he was found guilty of a technical contravention, thus handing the win to Yashwin Kumar.