Rajini hopeful of strong showing in Asia Road Racing

Indian champion Krishnan Rajini hopes to get some momentum in his campaign as he prepares for the fifth round of the FIM Petronas Asia Road Racing Championship here this weekend.

Presently in 27th position with just four points as against his Moto-Rev India team-mate Toshiyuki Hamagachi who is fifth with 64, Rajini, fresh from winning the National title in Chennai last week, hoped that he would put in a strong performance here.

"I am very excited to be back in China, because this is a bike-friendly track. In 2009, I was timing 1:42:200 around the ZIC (Zhuhai International circuit). So I cannot wait to see how much better I have got, through all the fitness programs combined with the superior technical ability of my team's Race Engineers," said Rajini, the 31-year old Chennai-based rider.

Hamaguchi said: "I had a bad crash last week in the JSB1000 race in Japan. But I am 100 percent fit and raring to go for the Zhuhai GP. We are surely targeting the podium."

Rajini among points in China

CHENNAI: It may have come a little too late in the season but national bike racing champion K Rajini finally got his act together, earning valuable points for his team Moto-Rev India with a top-10 finish in the fifth and penultimate round races of the FIM Petronas Asia Road Racing Championship at Zhuhai International Circuit in China on Sunday.

Rajini's good showing came on a day when Manual Tech-Beet Kawasaki Racing's Japanese rider Katsuaki Fujiwara rode a flawless Race 1 from pole to chequered flag to seal the 600cc Super Sport category title with 196.5 points. With just a round to go in the season, Malaysian Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman of Boon Siew Honda Racing (140 points) is too far away in the standings to catch up with Fujiwara. The race for second and third place is still on though with Malaysian Md Zamri Baba of Petronas Yamaha Malaysia (107 points) still having a theoretical chance to upstage his compatriot from second place.

For Rajini, the points finish came at a right time as the Indian, back to form, is now confident of a good show at next month's FIM World Endurance Championship race at Losail Circuit in Qatar.

In Race 1 of the 600cc Super Sport category on Sunday, Rajini, who started in 18th position, climbed eight spots to finish 10th and score six points. The 29-year-old Chennai biker continued his good form in Race 2 too, with a 15th place finish that earned him another point.

The weekend is Zhuhai was a mixed one for Rajini's team Moto-Rev India though.

The team's lead rider, five-time Asian champion Toshiyuki Hamaguchi of Japan had a massive 200-kmph crash which resulted in four broken ribs and a minor abrasion to his lungs. The Japanese rider underwent a surgery and is reportedly safe though he will have to remain in the hospital for two weeks.

Moto-Rev's second Japanese rider Makoto Inagaki had a better outing, finishing seventh in Race 1 to score nine points. He did not finish Race 2 though, crashing out in the second lap.

Hamaguchi is now in eighth place in the championship standings with 64 points while Rajini and Inagaki are in 25th and 26th spots on the table with 11 and nine points respectively.

This Rajini is a racing superstar

K Rajini

Adversity and success are strange bedfellows. Wherever man is faced with adversity, human determination comes to the fore to meet the challenge and eventually triumphs. From an auto mechanic to the fastest Indian on two wheels, K. Rajini has turned every bump on the road into a stepping stone to success. An elementary school dropout, Rajini, was shouldering the burden beyond a 16-year-old’s capacity. After the demise of his father, Rajini was sweating it out at his family-run auto lining workshop to make ends meet. Back then, racing was the least of his priorities.
However, a trip with a friend to the Irungattukot-tai race track, near Chennai, changed Rajini’s life for ever. “I fell in love with the sound of the revving engines. I started training on my own and the money I earned from the workshop paid for my racing pursuits. Had I continued with the auto lining work, I’m sure I would have made more money. But racing has given me a new identity,” said Rajini, who is a force to reckon with in the national championships with 10 titles already to his credit.
Rajini was an instant success at the race track. His fearlessness and hunger to achieve more saw him defeat his rivals effortlessly. After his stunning show in 2003, Rajini was signed up by TVS Racing for a two-year contract, which proved to be the turning point of his career. Till date, Rajini is the only Indian to get onto the podium at the Asian Road Racing Championship, the continent’s premier two-wheeler event.
With great difficulty, Rajini managed to come up with Rs 4 lakh, the participation fee for the 2006 Malaysian Super Series, where he won the Kawasaki Cup. India is the largest producer of two-wheelers, but the auto industry has done little to support this motor sport. “In other countries, being part of racing is a vital part of marketing. In the Indian national championship, TVS has been the sole factory-run team for more than a decade. The quality of racing will improve only when there is more competition. We drastically need the involvement of large brands like Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki in the racing arena,” said the 31-year-old Rajini.
With organisers of the i1 Series planning a “Super Bike” league next year and Moto GP set to foray into India, Rajini is keeping his fingers crossed. “i1’s initiative of the franchisee system such as the IPL will surely improve bike racing in India. We have been craving for television coverage, which is very important to take the sport to the masses,” he added. Like every biker, Rajini’s ultimate goal is to compete in MotoGP. “I need Rs 5.5 crore to complete a season in Moto2 (600cc). With the Indian GP drawing a lot of attention, I am hopeful of soliciting the help of some sponsors,” he said.

Rajini wins in National Motorcycle Championship

Chennai, Sep 3 (IANS) Krishnan Rajini of Moto-Rev India expectedly won the premium Group A (600cc) race very comfortably in the FMSCI National Motorcycle Racing Championship here Saturday.
The results:
Group A (600cc) 8 laps: Krishnan Rajini 1(Moto-Rev India) 1 (14:30.449); Deepak Ravikumar (Peethi Racing) 2 (14:35.334); M Gautham (Preethi Racing) 3 (14:44.375).
Group B (165cc Open) 6 laps: Deepak Ravikumar 1 (11:48.388); Sharat Kumar 2 (11:49.137); Jagan Kumar 3 (12:05.021).
Group D (165cc, Novice) 6 laps: Abhishek V (Apex Racing) 1 (13:32.693); S Madan 2 (13:38.133); Ramesh Kumar 3 (13:43.843).
Group D (130cc, Novice) 6 laps: Rajesh Rathina Kumar (TVS Racing) 1 (13:56.738); P Anand Raj (TVS Racing) 2 (13:59.244); Abdul Wahab 3 (14:02.651).

Double win for Kraisart in Supersport races of ARRC

CHENNAI: Decha Kraisart was unstoppable. Neither the sapping Chennai heat, nor the bumpy ride at the MMSC Race Track or the wheel-to-wheel, start-to-finish affairs with rivals could deter the defending champion from scoring a memorable double victory in the 600cc Supersport category at the third round races of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) on Sunday.

Thai Kraisart had missed out on the second round races in Indonesia due to a wrist injury. The Yamaha Thailand Racing rider, however, had made his intentions of storming back into the title race clear by taking pole after breaking the lap during qualifying on Saturday. And on race day, he just carried forward the form, breaking the lap record once again during Race 2, as he revved his way to the finish line.

With the win, Kraisart has jumped to fifth place in the championship table with 57.5 points. Japanese rider Katsuaki Fujiwara of Manual-Tech BEET Kawasaki, who finished seventh and sixth in Race 1 and 2, still leads the table with 114.5 points while Malaysians Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman of Boon Siew Honda Racing is second with 84 points followed by Mohd Zamri Baba (65 points) of Petronas Yamaha.

Moto-Rev India also had something to cheer when their lead rider Toshiyuki Hamaguchi of Japan finished fourth in Race 2 after starting from tenth position. The five-time Asian champion used all his experience to claw up the order, making up for an average outing in Race 1.

The Indian team's second rider, national champ K Rajini, had a poor outing at his home event though. The 29-year-old, fighting pain from a wrist sprain after a crash on Friday, finished 16th in Race 1 and failed to finish in Race 2.

But at the business end of the grid, Kraisart stamped his credentials as a champ. As he had predicted, he faced stiff challenge from Malaysians Baba and Kamaruzaman in both the races.

In Race 1, Baba made a flying start and overtook Kraisart in the first corner and maintained half a second advantage till the fifth lap when Kraisart made his move. At the start of the sixth lap, the Thai closed in on Baba in the first corner and made his pass after slip-streaming the Malaysian in the second.

There after Kraisart rode a flawless race, warding off the Malaysian challenge with some on-the-edge riding. The race was red-flagged prematurely in the 11th lap after Aussie Michael Edward Jones, who was running fifth, had a serious crash. Kraisart was declared the winner with Kamaruzaman and Baba finishing second and third.

Race 2 followed on similar lines with Baba, and Kamaruzaman taking over the lead from Kraisart during the race only to see the Thai champ regain his position. Kraisart crossed the chequered flag ahead of Baba and Aussie Aaron Morris of Yamaha Indonesia.

In the Underbone 115cc category, Rafid Topan Sucipto continued his literally unchallenged run in the season by scoring double victories. The Indonesian, riding for Yamaha CKJ TJM Racing, currently leads the standings with 125 points, followed by Hadi Wijaya of Kawasaki NHK Rextor (86 points). Hadi finished both the races in second place but way behind Sucipto.  

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Rajini looks for ARRC warm-up at National racing

COIMBATORE: Champion K Rajini is keen to keep his winning momentum going at the National Motorcycle Racing Championship, the second round of which will be held at the Kari Motor Speedway this weekend.

But more than a win, which by the way is likely to be his considering the form the Chennai biker is enjoying, Rajini will be looking to get some miles under his belt, preparing for the next round of the Asian Road Racing Championship (ARRC) that will be held in Chennai in August.

Two years ago, Rajini had a podium finish at the ARRC round in Chennai and the 29-year-old, who rides for Moto-Rev India is keen to repeat that feat in a very competitive field.

This weekend, however, Rajini will be facing much tamer opposition in the premier 600cc Superbikes category of the National series. He had won both the races in the opening round in Chennai last month by quite a margin and it will be interesting to see whether the chasing pack will be able to close in on the champion.

It is a much closer battle in the Group D (un-modified) 165cc open category where Shyam Shankar of MotorRev India, after his race win in the first round, leads K Jagan of TVS Racing by five points.

Both the riders have come up through the ranks of the national series the hard way and are almost on par as far as pace is concerned. Good news for fans as some wheel-to-wheel racing can be expected from the duo on Saturday and Sunday.

Jagan is also competing in the Group B (modified) 165cc four-stroke segment and is on top of the standings at the moment after decisive wins in Round 1.

Privateers rule the roost in novice categories with Madhan leading in the Group D (un-modified) 165cc segment with two wins out of two races. In the Group D (un-modified) 130cc Novice segment, S Prathiv will be looking to increase his lead in the championship. Parthiv had recorded a win and a second place finish in the first round.

The weekend will also witness action in the Honda (CBR 250cc, CBR 150cc & CB Stunner) and Yamaha (R15) one-make championship.

With 18 races scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, featuring the cream of Indian riders, it is a given that excitement is going to reach fever pitch at the Speedway. 

Read more: Times of India