The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Vishwanath and Ganesh steal the thunder

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 02, 2005

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Sport - Racing : Motor

Vishwanath and Ganesh steal the thunder

Sports Reporter

Coimbatore: T.K. Vishwanath of Team Yamaha Racing and Chennai's Ganesh Prasad of TI Diamond Chain scored a double each in the opening leg of the UCAL-Rolon National racing championship for two-wheelers at the Kari Motor Speedway in Chettipalayam, near Coimbatore, on Sunday. Team TVS riders K. Rajini and Preetam Dev Moses also finished with a double each.

The Group C (two-stroke 111 to 150cc category) turned out to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller for the large number of racing enthusiasts at the track. Starting third on the grid, Vishwanath, after a strenuous battle, pipped favourite Preetam to signal his first win of the season. In the process, he recorded the fastest lap timing of 01:17.296s.

In the second race, Vishwanath wasted no effort. He capitalised on an early lead and converted it into a comfortable win for a sweet double.

In the Group D two-stroke 111 to 150cc class, reigning champion and pole-sitter Ganesh Prasad, nursing a hairline fracture in his right wrist, showed no effect of the injury on his way to a commanding victory.

Ganesh almost repeated the act in his second race with a blistering performance that saw him take the chequered flag about 30 seconds ahead of his nearest rival Hari Prasad. "I was pretty much pleased with my performance. Of course, I did feel the pain in my wrist while taking the corners, but I managed to pull along. Thanks to it, I have managed to finish on top," said Ganesh after the race.

The Group D (4-stroke 80-110cc) races saw a tough battle all the way to the podium between pole leader Rajini, Preetam and Sriskandaraja. But, in both races, Preetam turned out to be the master. So was Rajini in the Group D (four-stroke 111-150cc). There was none to really challenge the TVS rider to the chequered flag.

The results: Group D: 4-stroke 80-110cc: Race 1: 1. Preetam Dev Moses 08:17:197, 2. Sriskandaraja, 3. K. Rajini. Race 2: 1. Preetam 12:24:682, 2. K. Rajini, 3. Sriskandaraja.

2-stroke 111-150cc: Race 1: Ganesh Prasad 07:36:108, 2. A. Murugan, 3. S. Kumar. Race 2: 1. Ganesh Prasad 11:43:093, 2. M. Hari Prasad, 3. A. Murugan.

4-stroke 111-160cc): Race 1: 1. K. Rajini 07:28:267, 2. Emmanuel Clarke, 3. Emmanuel Jebaraj. Race 2: 1. K. Rajini 11:48:057, 2. Emmanuel Clarke, 3. Emmanuel Jebaraj.

Group C: 2-stroke 111-150cc: Race 1: T.K. Vishwanath 10:31:570, 2. Preetam Dev Moses, 3. K. Rajini.

Novice class: Group D: 4-stroke 80-110cc: 1. R. Ramesh 08:29:377, 2. M.D. Vasantha Kumar, 3. R. Karthikeyan. 111-160cc: T.R. Saravanan 08:09:673, R. Ramesh, 3. C. Senthil Kumar. Moped class: 1. V. Sekar 07:09:203, 2. R.G. Gopal, 3. V. Mahalingam.

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