The country’s best riders have confirmed for the third round of the Gulf Dirt Track National Championship 2012 – A Round of FMSCI Championship in Jodhpur on October 6 and 7.
After the resounding success of the previous rounds in Mangalore and Aurangabad, this third of five rounds of the FMSCI National Championship, sponsored by Gulf Oil Corporation Ltd. a leading lubricant manufacturing company of India, and organized by Mumbai’s Sportscraft, promises a treat for racing enthusiasts.
The event will be staged at the Polo Ground, Panchbatti circle, Ratnada. There will be 14 races — 9 Championship & 5 Open class races. The Open foreign class is for privateers only while two local classes will be held for Rajasthan riders only. There will be a special, additional Jodhpur class too for the Jodhpur riders.
Already, 90 entries have been received, of which are from Nashik, Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore, Mysore, Aurangabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Hyderabad.
While Bangalore-based TVS racing team riders R Natraj, Pramod Joshua, Harith Noah are the main contenders in the glamour class of the event – Foreign motorcycles upto 250cc — some new challengers from Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad could throw up a few surprises.
Leading the points table in the abovementioned category is R Natraj, who has 68 points from the previous two legs. Harith Noha and Joshua, also from Bangalore, follow in second and third places with 61 and 57 points respectively. Then there is Shamim Khan and Arvind KP who make up the rear with 40 points each.
These riders are also among the top contenders in the Indian Expert Class. So one can rest assured of some keen competition.
There are several other riders who can upset the calculations of the abovementioned riders. Like Bangalore’s S. Asif, Naresh VS, Adnan Ahmed, Yuva Kumar, Abhijeet Shetty and Madhu S.
Nashik riders, too, led by Shamin Khan, are likely to make an impact. Vineeth Kurup, Ganesh Lokhande, Harshal Kadbhane, Maansingh Thakur, Kaustubh Machhe, Abhinav Virkud, are experienced and can surprise.
Then there is Mumbai’s Kannan Naidu, Jagjit Singh and Kshitij Shukla Delhi’s Maninder Singh, Aurangabad’s Aakash Satpute, Ismail Shaikh and Firoz Khan. All the aforementioned riders have the skills and class to finish among the top riders of the meet.
In action will be the local heroes; Sandeep Parihar, Vinaypratap singh, Amit Kumar, Pukhraj Suthar and Ripu Daman from Jodhpur and oldest rider Praduman singh from Jaipur.
For those not familiar with dirt track racing, the event is something like an F1 race on motorcycles, where riders speed around a serpentine track, often slushy at places. The race is an exercise in judicious manoevering and good balance of the bike around the many sharp bends.
The popularity of dirt track racing over the last couple of years has prompted Gulf Oil to renew its commitment to the sport and offer riders a chance to show off their skills in a safe environment. That is why they are having two classes for Rajasthan riders.
There will be a total of 6 classes in Championship round. The riders will fight for the honor as well as the total Prize Money of Rs.1,75,000/- along with the trophies which will be awarded. Whereas for the Champions, who garners maximum points in all five rounds a Total Prize Money of Rs.4,50,000/- & trophies will be awarded.
The closing date of entries is October 2.
A maximum of 25 entries per classification will be accepted on first come basis for the Championship Class. However, only 15 entries will be accepted on first come basis in the Open Class.
Entries over the stipulated number received will be taken as reserve entries and accepted on first come basis if vacancies arise.
All entries including the local must be sent to Sportscraft office Chitrakut, 3rd floor, Siri Road, Chowpatty Bandstand, Mumbai – 400006, Tel – 23677631
For other details, like classes, supplementary regulation, entry forms, FMSCI license form & indemnity log on to www.sportscraftindia.com or call Tel. 022 23677631.
We ejoyed it!