National Racing Challenge 2W: Chiranth Vishwanath, Kamal Navas snatch pole positions
Chennai, Aug 14
Two teenagers and Petronas TVS Racing teammates Chiranth Vishwanath from Bengaluru and Pune's Sarthak Chavan showcased their pace and talent to qualify for the top two spots on the grid in the premier Super Sport 301-400cc class to provide a rousing start to the inaugural round of the Indian National Racing Challenge 2W - 2026, at the Madras International Circuit in Chennai on Friday.
Completing the front row behind Chiranth and Sarthak, who have shed weight and appear sharper on the track following his recent stint in Europe, was Hyderabad's Rahil Pillarisetty (RACR Castrol Power1), a result that was to be expected.
Less than a second separated the three riders, thus promising thrilling battles in the double-header to be run over the next two days. Incidentally, Sarthak had clocked the fastest time, but it was deleted due to an infringement, thus pushing him to P2 and elevating Chiranth to P1.
Chennai's Kamal Navas of Team Rockers Racing took the pole position in the Super Stock 301-400cc category ahead of RACR Castrol Power1 duo of Allwin Xavier (Thrissur) and 16-year-old Kabilesh Rajini Krishnan (Chennai), the son of 11-time National champion Rajini Krishnan, with less than a second separating the trio.
Former National women's champion Ann Jennifer (Motul Sparks Racing) from Chennai comfortably outpaced the field for pole position in the Super Stock 165cc Intermediate class, ahead of the Ipone Yakuza Racing India pair of Ajai Xavier M and Anand Kumar S.
Faruk Ali Sohtun (Motul Sparks Racing), who has made the long haul from East Khasi, Meghalaya, topped the qualifying session in the Stock 165cc (Novice) class, as did Bengaluru's Ashwin R in the Stock 301-400cc Novice category.
In a stunning result, Bengaluru's Poojita Anil Kumar qualified for pole position in the Women's category of the Petronas TVS Racing One-Make Championship, riding the Apache RTR 200. In just her third competitive season, the 18-year-old Poojita marked her improvement as she took P1 for Saturday's race with over four seconds separating her from second-placed Dhrisha Nair from Pune.
Kamal Navas, enjoying a fruitful day, finished on pole position in the Open (Apache RR 310), ahead of Rajender Beedani (Hyderabad) and AS James (Bengaluru).
The results - Qualifying (top 3 best laps):
Super Sport 301-400cc Open:1. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru, Petronas TVS Racing) (01:48.032); 2. Sarthak Chavan (Pune, Petronas TVS Racing) (01:48.213); 3. Rahil Pillarisetty (Hyderabad, RACR Castrol Power1) (01:48.333).
Super Stock 301-400cc Open:1. Kamal Navas (Chennai, Team Rockers Racing) (01:54.214); 2. Allwin Xavier (Thrissur, RACR Castrol Power1) (01:56.116); 3. Kabilesh Rajini Krishnan (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1) (01:56.135).
Stock 301-400cc (Novice):1. Ashwin R (Bengaluru, Pvt) (02:01.515); 2. Venugopalan S (Chennai, Motul Sparks Racing) (02:01.758); 3. Kavicholaiarasan (Trichy, Speed-Up Racing) (02:03.516).
Super Stock up to 165cc Intermediate:1. Ann Jennifer AS (Chennai, Motul Sparks Racing) (02:06.970); 2. Ajai Xavier M (Nagercoil, Ipone Yakuza Racing India) (02:09.008); 3. Anand Kumar S (Chennai, Ipone Yakuza Racing India) (02:09.281)
Stock Up to 165cc (Novice):1. Faruk Ali Sohtun (East Khasi, Motul Sparks Racing) (02:09.825); 2. Hari Haran R (Coimbatore, RACR Castrol Power1) (02:09.939); 3. Aditya Vyas (Rishikesh, Motul Sparks Racing) (02:10.202).
Petronas TVS Racing One-Make Championship
Open (TVS Apache RR 310):1. Kamal Navas (Chennai) (01:55.387); 2. Rajender Beedani (Hyderabad) (01:55.766); 3. AS James (Bengaluru) (01:56.503).
Women (TVS Apache RTR 200):1. Poojitha Anil Kumar (Bengaluru) (02:14.196); 2. Drishya Nair (Pune) (02:18.509); 3. Kinjal Raj (Vadodara) (02:19.386)
— IANS
Reader Comments
Kamal Navas is on fire today! Pole in two categories - Super Stock and Open RR 310. Chennai's own boy showing everyone how it's done! 👏👏
Great to see Poojita Anil Kumar taking pole in the Women's category at just 18! She's been improving steadily and this 4-second gap shows her dominance. Indian women's racing is definitely on the rise. Also, Faruk Ali from Meghalaya making that long journey worth it - fantastic effort!
Impressive field this year. The young talent coming through - Kabilesh at 16 being the son of Rajini Krishnan, Poojita at 18 - the future of Indian motorsport looks bright. The Madras International Circuit always delivers great racing. Would love to see more international exposure for these riders.
Respect to all the riders! But I must say, the deleted lap for Sarthak is a bit unfortunate. Rules are rules though. The competition is so tight this year - makes for great viewing. Also nice to see Ann Jennifer back on top in her category. Women's racing in India needs more visibility! 💪
This is what Indian motorsport needs - more grassroots participation and young talent. Thrilled to see riders from Meghalaya, Trichy, Rishikesh - all over the country. The 2W racing scene is growing beyond just the metros. Kudos to TVS and all the teams for supporting this!
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.