Chennai National Motorcycle: Mathana claims first win of 2017
Honda’s Mathana Kumar clinched his first Super Sport 165cc victory of the season in the the third round of the National Motorcycle Championship on Sunday.
Mathana Kumar
Srinivasa Krishnan
Saturday’s winner and TVS rider Jagan Kumar looked set to take a double victory until a technical issue with his bike dropped him down the pack.
Jagan’s troubles left a clear path for Mathana, who took the chequered flag to move within 14 points of championship leader Rajiv Sethu in the riders’ standings.
TVS Racing’s Harry Sylvester finished second, while Sethu himself finished third after surviving a contact with KY Ahamed. Jagan eventually crashed out on the final lap while nursing problems on his bike.
“I am very happy to score my first win of this season,” race winner Mathana said. “ I have had issues with the bike, but I was determined to win today. I kept myself in the front-running bunch and then passed Jagan, Rajiv and Ahamed, and then led all the way to the finish.”
Menon scores fifth win in Super Sport 300-400cc
In the Super Sport 300-400cc category Amarnath Menon notched his fifth victory in six races after a long duel with Antony Peter.
Team Alisha Abdullah’s Dinesh Kumar led the race until he lost control of his bike at a puddle in turn 1, leaving the fight for victory between Menon and Peter.
The two riders traded positions a few times before the Gusto Racing racer made a decisive move on the final lap to seal the victory. Deepak Ravi Kumar of MotoRev completed the podium positions.
“I had a bad start, but I managed to stay with Dinesh until he crashed at Turn-1,” Menon explained. “Thereafter, it was a close fight with Anthony Peter who overtook me once, but I regained my track position.
“It was very tight when we crossed the finish line. It is a huge relief for me after having crashed during practice, qualifying and the first race yesterday. So, I was keen to bring the bike home safely and glad that I did it.”
Harikrishnan, Sethu triumph in Honda races
Harikrishnan Rajagopal and Sethu were in a class of their own in the two Honda one-make races, scoring one win apiece.
Rajagopal won the first race by just 0.181s, with Sethu coming out in front by an equally slender margin in Race 2.
Privateer Abhishek Vasudev finished third in Race 1, with Amit Richard Topno completing the podium spots in Race 2.
Karnan and Sivanesan share TVS wins
In similar fashion to the Honda one-make championship, the TVS category saw a two-horse race between Chennai duo Kannan Karnan and Sivanesan S.
Karnan won the opening race of the weekend, with Sivanesan taking the top honours in Race 2. At both occasions, Yuvaraj S finished third.
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