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Bhopal: A Record of 239 entries
received for the second round of the Gulf Dirt Track National
Championship, a Round of FMSCI Championship for two-wheelers which
is set this Sunday (November 13) at Nashik.
According to a Press release the November 12-13 event, sponsored
by Gulf Oil Corporation Limited and organized by Sportscraft-Mumbai
in association with Nashik Automotive Sports Association, (NASA),
promises top class action, at the Shivaji stadium, opposite
District court in Nashik. The event will be flagged off on
November 13 (Sunday) at 10.00 a.m.
However from the 239 entries only 221 entries could be
accommodated; as per the rule the organisers could not take more
than 25 entries per class. The riders are among the best in the
business of dirt track racing. Top riders of the country who will
be seen in action include: H. K. Pradeep, Pramod Joshua and R.
Natraj, Arvind KP, Shamim Khan, Vineeth Kurup, Maansingh Thakur,
Suraj Kute, Harshal Kadbhane, Suhail Ahmed, K. Santosh Kumar, Syed
Asif Ali Bhopal and Mohammad Ali Khan and Adnaan Ahmed.
Meanwhile, the other rounds of the Gulf Dirt Track National
Championship have been fixed for Round 3: December 22-23 and Round
4 December 24, at Bhopal.
For those unfamiliar with the event, dirt track racing is like an
F1 race on motorcycles, where riders, after a mass start, speed
around a serpentine track, often slushy at places, looking to
cross the finish first. The race is an exercise in judicious
maneuvering and good balance of the bike around the many sharp
bends and gravel-laden slushy track.
TVS Racing riders, led by superb performances from their Bangalore
riders H. K. Pradeep, Pramod Joshua and R. Natraj, proved a class
above the field in the first round at Jodhpur, and are likely to
continue their dominance. However, the aforesaid mentioned riders
could find it tough as the entry list for the Nashik event has
quite a few leading riders who gave the Jodhpur event a miss.
Prominent among them is another TVS Racing rider, Arvind K. P.
This Bangalore rider had done well in last season’s dirt track
races and is sure to pose a stiff challenge to Pradeep, Natraj and
Joshua, who leads the Indian Expert up to 260cc, Group B, with 40
points.
Pradeep leads the Foreign Motorcycle Class with 40 points, but the
top positions could change with those who missed the event at
Jodhpur coming into the fray.
Much is being expected of Shamim Khan, who heads the local
challenge along with Vineeth Kurup, Maansingh Thakur, Suraj Kute,
Harshal Kadbhane. Fans will be looking forward to solid action
from the local riders, particularly Shamim, who gave a good show
in the Jodhpur leg, winning the scooters class, astride a Mahindra
Rodeo. He has entered in the Private Expert class for foreign
motorcycles this time and cannot be written off.
Bangalore’s Suhail Ahmed and Coimbatore’s A. Anand, who both have
37 points from the first round, will have to come up with
something extraordinary to keep Shamim out of points contention.
K. Santosh Kumar of Coimbatore, Syed Asif Ali and Mohammad Ali
Khan of Bhopal, who also did well in the Jodhpur leg, will be
looking to climb up the placing.
In the Indian Novice Class 130cc – 4 stroke, Adnaan Ahmed had a
good outing in Jodhpur, finishing first in one race and second in
the other. A good showing in Nashik could seem in consolidate his
position ahead of the last two rounds, the release added.
(pervezbari@eth.net)
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