Superbike ‘sabotage’ mars Nat’l Racing
GREATERNOIDA: The final round of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Racing Championships at the Buddh International Circuit was marred by controversy after a racer alleged that his superbike was sabotaged at the pits, forcing him to pull out of the two races over the weekend.
K Rajini, former national champion and international racer, made the allegation that someone tampered with his bike (2014 Kawasaki Ninja ZX 10R) on Saturday, after he had taken pole for the JK Super Bike 1000cc race. He made Facebook posts as well, with photographs of the damaged parts.
“Yesterday, after qualifying, someone poured water inside my petrol tank with the intention of preventing me from racing,” said Rajini, who is one of the few international motorcycle racers India has produced, having taken part in the Malaysia Super Series as well as Asian Road Racing Championships.
“I use a specialised race fuel tank and so it could be opened without a key. My engine has been destroyed,” added Rajini, who is semi-retired and runs a training academy for racers.
The 36-year-old added he has never faced or seen such a situation in his 17-year racing career.
“It is a sad day for Indian motorsports,” he added. “Bikes kept in a secured pit garage is tampered with. When you consider my experience and achievements, there was no need for me to race at the JK Championship. I just rode to set a new official lap record . But jealous rivals didn’t want that to happen.”
NO COMPLAINT
However, the national governing body, Federation of Motorsports Clubs of India (FMSCI), is yet to investigate the matter as Rajini has not filed an official complaint.
“We can’t take action on it or investigate it without an official complaint and the FMSCI is yet to receive any,” said Sujith Kumar, two-wheeler racing commission chairman of the federation. “The FMSCI can’t take action based on a social media post.”
Rajini justified not making an official complaint saying nothing could be done to reverse the damage done to his expensive bike.
“If I complain that will drag me into further controversy,” said Rajini. “It will not change anything. The organisers should have ensured security for our equipment.”
Then again, in racing pits, it is also the responsibility of the racers and their teams to keep their equipment safe. The BIC does provide internal security, but, to make things more murky, the CCTV cameras, apparently, were not working at the pits on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad’s Anindith Reddy and Kolhapur’s Chittesh Mandody were crowned Euro JK 2017 and LGB 4 series champions on Sunday.
Chennai’s Joseph Mathew took home the Suzuki Gixxer Cup despite finishing fourth in the final race of the season. He won the title by 15 points (total 64 points), beating Ahmedabad’s Sachin Chaudhary (49) and Aizawl’s Malsawmdawnglia Na (43).