Blue Blazers
The race-prepared Gixxer is put through its paces at the second round of the National Racing Championship
SUZUKI HAVE BEEN RACING in India for a very long time, and this year’s Gixxer Cup sees the new Gixxer 150 hitting the track. The blue-liveried bikes are animmediate eye-catcher, and seem to fit right in at the races.
Novice Class
RACE ONE
Amarnath Rajan of Chennai took top honours in the first Novice Class race on Saturday morning by riding consistently through the four laps. He was followed across the line by Coimbatore’s Antony Peter, who threatened to pass at every corner, but finished just .030 of a second behind the leader. Third place went to Chennai’s Joseph Mathew, who set the fastest lap of the race (2:13.281), but this was not enough to pass the lead pair.
RACE TWO
The second race on Saturday could have been a repeat of the first, with Amarnath Rajan finishing first, .073 of a second ahead of Antony Peter, but this time Joseph Mathew crashed out of the race on the last lap, leaving third place to Peddu Sri Harsha of Chennai. RACE THREE Sunday’s Novice Class race was the most hardfought Gixxer Cup race of the weekend. Amarnath Rajan stamped his authority on the class by making it a hat-trick of wins, while Antony Peter set a fastest lap trying to pass him (2:13.971), but to no avail. Peter finished just .030 of a second behind Rajan, which just goes to show the level of competition between these two top racers. The last step on the podium was also highly contested, with C Raj Kumar, Peddu Sri Harsha and Joseph Mathew all vying for third place throughout the race. At the finish it was Kumar who crossed the line just ahead of Harsha and Mathew. Only half a second divided them at the finish.
Open Class
RACE ONE
The first Open Class race on Friday, it was Meka Vidhuraj from Nuzvid who fought his way to the top step of the podium. He was closely followed by R Rajinikanth of Chennai and Coimbatore’s Vishwadev Murleedharan in second and third places respectively. Vivian Gladwin from Kanpur set the fastest lap of the race (2:12.232), but this was not enough to secure a spot on the podium.
RACE TWO
Saturday’s race saw Meka Vidhuraj crash out on the second lap, leaving the top spot open to R Rajinikanth. Vivian Gladwin set another fastest lap (2:13.204) to finish second this time, while the third spot on the podium went to Vishwadev Murleedharan.
RACE THREE
Vivian Gladwin rode a flawless six laps to finally finish on the top step of the podium on Sunday’s Open Class race. He was followed across the line by Meka Vidhuraj in second place and Vishwadev Murleedharan, who set the fastest lap of the race (2:13.072), in third.