Notwithstanding his defeat in the opening round, Aravind KP, the defending National Supercross and two-wheeler Rally champion, remains the hot favourite at the two-wheeler MRF MoGrip FMSCI National Rally Championship’s double-header in Maharashtra over the next two weekends.
Aravind was toppled by his TVS Racing mate Abdul Waheed Tanveer in the opening round in Bengaluru earlier this month, but the defending champion remains the biggest challenger in the second round in Nashik on May 14-15, a release from the organisers said. Round 3 will be held in Pune.
Challenging Aravind will be last year’s runner-up R Natraj, D Uday Kumar and Phalguna Raghavendra.
“The riders will experience different terrains over the two weekends —Nashik offering mountainous track, while in Velhe (near Pune) it will be off-road, dusty terrain — testing the riders to the hilt,” said Shyam Kothari, Director of Godspeed Racing, the promoter.
The Nashik Rally will provide stunning view of the Bhahubai Dam for the final 5-6 km of the 19.5 km competitive route.
Starting from Khadkhed village overlooking the Kalsubai Ranges, the rally will pass through tarmac, dirt-tarmac and gravel route before reaching the dam view area.
Three lady riders will be taking part, the release said. There will be a total of seven classes in the National Championship, of which Group A will have no engine capacity restrictions. Group B is split into six classes, namely Super Sport 130, Super Sport 165, Super Sport 260, Super Sport 400, Super Sport 650, and the Scooter 210 class. There will also be a Star of Nashik and Star of Pune exclusively for local riders.
