Apache Attack, Round III
The TVS Apache RTR 200 One-make Championship is progressing apace, with the riders getting to terms with their machines and putting up some sublime performances. Here’s all the action from the races
THE TVS APACHE RTR 200 ONE-MAKE Competition is an evolution of TVS Racing’s previous one-make race, the TVS RTR 180 Onemake Championship. As is clear from the name, in this year’s competition the racers are battling it out astride race-spec versions of TVS’ flagship Apache RTR 200, and now, with the third round under way, the riders have familiarised themselves with these machines. This has led to a competition that is even more intense in some cases, with some close-fought finishes in evidence at the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT).
TVS-MMSC Apache RTR 200: Open
The six-lap Open category is where all the action was, even though first place was comfortably captured by Kannan Karnan with over three seconds to spare, the second spot was anything but a foregone conclusion. Sri Lanka’s Jaden Gunawardena and home town boy Arvind Ganesh battled it out for second spot, the former clinching it at the end by just over half a second — the margins were that tight.
Race two saw Karnan continue to dominate; this time around he had a much bigger lead, too, and showed not just talent but also consistent performance at a high level to mop up the race with what was close to a staggering 14-second lead. Second place was awarded to Vivek Pillai, with T Ramakrishnan following close behind in third place.
TVS-MMSC Apache RTR 200: Novice
The Novice race, as is the norm, runs for only four laps, and the riders made the most of those laps to try and claim victory. Yashas R L was particularly impressive on the day, winning both races in round three with many seconds to spare. Kamran Alam also put up a good showing, finishing third in back-to-back races. In race one, second place was acquired by Hari Prasath R, and Yuvaraj S took the plaudits for first runner-up in race two. However, the latter in particular had an extremely close-fought battle with Alam, who eventually finished with a paltry 0.263 seconds to spare.