By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net,
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. ([email protected])