Double delight for Rajiv, Mathana Kumar, Vignesh

Rajiv Sethu (80) charging to victory in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open race (June 4) [Photo : SNS]


Rajiv Sethu, Mathana Kumar and Vignesh Goud notched a double apiece in their respective categories as the Rolon Round of the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship concluded at Kari Motor Speedway here on Sunday.

Rajiv Sethu (RACR Castrol Power 1 Ultimate), determined to resurrect a sagging career, swept the honours in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open category while Mathana Kumar did much the same in the other top-end class, the Pro-Stock 165cc Open. Both had won Race-1 on Saturday quite comfortably and it was a virtual re-run in the second outing today. 

Hyderabad’s 19-year-old Vignesh Goud (Race’ists Motorcycle Club) was equally commanding in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category as he won both the races this weekend while Puducherry’s Lani Fernandez (RACR Castrol Power 1 Ultimate) took the honours in the Girls (Stock 165cc) class after starting from P5 on the grid. 

In the Pro-Stock 165cc Open race , the Pacer Yamaha duo of Mathana and Prabhu Arunagiri, who had finished in that order in yesterday’s Race-1, looked poised for another 1-2 finish. However, Arunagiri packed up after nine of the 14 laps due to mechanical issues while Sarthak Chavan who was running second, also retired with a clutch problem in the 11th.

It left Mathana all on his own in the front as he finished a comfortable winner ahead of Bengaluru youngster Chiranth Vishwanath who did well to hold off his Petronas TVS Racing team-mate and the more experienced KY Ahamed.

Alwin Sundar (Chennai) started the day’s proceedings with a comfortable win in the 301-400cc Open (Apache RR310), starting from pole position. Finishing second behind him was Manoj Yesuadiyan (Chennai) who made five spots while Senthil Kumar C (Coimbatore) was third. Alwin went on to win Race-2 to also score a double with Senthil Kumar coming in second and Yesuadiyan third. 

Bengaluru schoolboy Copperam Hareesh Shreyas also achieved a splendid double in the Rookie category with another comfortable victory. Fellow-Bengalurean Savion Sabu finished second ahead of Nandanan (Chennai). 

Chennai’s Kavin Quintal, for the second time this weekend, destroyed the NSF 250 field to complete a double. Having won the first race yesterday with great ease, Kavin’s dominance was even more pronounced in the second outing today over 14 laps.  Finishing a distant second was Rakshith Dave (Chennai), while Prakash Kamath (Steel City) was third.