Keen duel expected in Rally of Pune
TVS Racing riders R. Natraj and Rajendra R. E. will go into the third round national twowheeler rally championship as top contenders on their RTR rally spec bikes as the temple town of Bhimashankar near Pune readies for the event on Sunday.
The two lead the overall standings after two rounds and performances will be keenly followed in Velhe around the Panshet dam area that was the venue last year too, when Rajendra got the better of Natraj.
Natraj leads the championship with 50 points while Rajendra is second overall with 36 points. Privateer Suhail Ahmed from Bengaluru is third with 30.
Last year Natraj struggled in the rugged terrain surrounding the Panshet dam while Rajendra made the most of the opportunity.
There are a record 60 entries in nine different categories including those for the locals class.
A scooter class will be another important attraction as local driver from Team Aprilia Racing, Pinkesh Thakkar, would like to continue his winning run as he did in Indore beating TVS Racing’s Syed Asif Ali.
In the ladies class, Aishwarya Pissay of TVS Racing is the clear leader with 50 points.
“We have organised this six- round championship in a way that the riders get to ride enough when they tour one region. After starting in Baroda we had the second round in Indore before the riders headed towards Western Maharashtra for the double header,” said Shyam Kothari, director of championship promoters Godspeed Racing.
The riders will be experiencing of riding in different terrains over the two weekends — Nashik offering mountainous tracks while in Velhe it will be off- road dusty terrain,” said Kothari.
The rally will be flagged off from Shirkoli village with three stages of 51 kilometres to complete for a total distance of 190 km.