Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship: Sarthak Chavan (Petronas TVS Racing), the 16-year-old from Pune, scorched the track and qualified for pole position in both the premier Pro-Stock Open categories (301-400cc and 165cc) to kick-start his campaign in the fourth round of the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2023 at the Madras International Circuit, here on Friday.Sarthak, fresh from a win (Super Sport 400cc) in the OR BRIC Superbike Championship in Thailand last weekend, clocked a hot lap of 01 minutes, 50.764 seconds, ahead of championship leader Rajiv Sethu (01:51.223) of RACR Castrol Power1 team and Deepak Ravikumar (01:51.831), also of Petronas TVS Racing in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open.
Late in the evening with storm clouds gathering, Sarthak qualified for pole position in the Pro-Stock 165cc Open category, piping team-mate Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru), also 16.
Sarthak clocked a top lap of 01:56.179 as against Chiranth’s 01:56.218 while KY Ahamed (01:57.332), who last week took part in the Moto3 World Championship at the MotoGP Bharat in Noida, completed a Petronas TVS Racing front-row sweep.
Hyderabad’s Vigesh Goud (Race’ists Motorcycle Club), seeking his sixth win this season, yet again took pole position in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category, comfortably outpacing the pack with a time of 02:09.665.
Earlier, the TVS Apache RTE (Racing Throttle Electric), the first electric race-spec motorcycle to participate in the National Championship, made its debut with a practice session for the eight riders, including Ann Jennifer (Chennai).
The only female competitor on this grid, who has been selected to participate in the TVS E-Invitation Race.
Bengaluru’s 16-year-old Chiranth Vishwanath was the quickest with a lap of 01:51.343, followed by Thailand’s guest rider, Vorapong Malahuan (01:52.097) and Sarthak Chavan (01:52.108) who also recorded a top speed of 186 kmph.
Former girl’s National champion Ann Jennifer from Chennai became the first female rider in India to ride an electric motorcycle in race trim.
Earlier, Chennai youngster Kavin Quintal, who is in hot form this season, led the pack in the practice session for the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (NSF 250R), clocking a best of 01:51.812, nearly three seconds ahead of closest rivals.