Sinan Francis dominates dual classes in 2W Rally Sprint Championship; Bengaluru's Asad Khan, Suhail Ahmad also excel

Bengaluru (Karnataka)[India], July 22 : The FMSCI Indian National Rally Sprint Championship 2024 South Zone 2W Qualifiers held at the Stella 23 Farms in Sarjapur, saw stand-out performances from the likes of Sinan Francis, Suhail Ahmad, Asad Khan, Naresh VS and Sanjay Somashekar. The marquee competition saw over 140 entries registered to participate and featured an unprecedented one-make EV category with the Ather 450X.
In the Open Class Up to 550cc, Bengaluru's Asad Khan (7:36.500) achieved the top position, showcasing exceptional skill and speed. Suhail Ahmad (7:44.500) followed closely, securing a strong second place, while Nataraj R (7:45.600) completed the podium with a commendable performance.
In the upto 550 cc class (Privateer only), Sinan Francis was the quickest to cross the finish line, clocking 7:37:500, in close pursuit were Nataraj R (7:39:800) and Suhail Ahmad (7:44:900) who came in second and third respectively.
The 131cc upto 165cc class saw Yogesh P lead the category with a timing of 8:07:900, followed by Abdul Rahman (8:09:000) and Abdur Pasha (8:17:400). The 160cc to 260cc class unfolded as Karan Kumar (7:47:800) bag the first place while the experienced Bengaluru racer Sachin D (7:48:300) and Uday Kumar (7:54:200) finished behind him.
In another class, that mandated 260cc upto 400cc entries, Donesh Deepak Joshi, Hemant Gowda and Venu Rameshkumar secured the top three places.
In their second triumph of the day, Sinan Francis (8:00:500) and Suhail Ahmad (8:08:600) finished first and second respectively in the upto 550 class (Bullet). The third-placed Naresh VS (8:14:100) would finish nearly 14 seconds behind Sinan Francis.
The upto 210 CC class (scooter) was dominated by N Karthik (9:04:800) while Gautham N (9:08:700) and G Ganapathy (12:45:000) made up the podium
In the upto 260CC category, clinched first place with a time of Yogesh P (8:13.400) followed closely by the seasoned Asad Khan (8:15.600) and Sanjay Somashekar (8:16.300) while the 261cc to 450cc category saw Sharath Kumar (8:24.800) secure first place with an impressive performance. Naresh (8:31.700) came in second, followed by Suhail Ahmad (8:32.300) in third.
For the first time in Indian Motorsport, the off-road sprint featured an EV category - with the Ather 450X. Mohammed Zaheer (9:16.500) took the lead, followed by Subramanya T (9:19.900) in second place. Varun Kumar (9:23.500) secured third, with Suhail Ahmad (9:26.300) narrowly missing another podium and finishing in fourth.
The star of Karnataka category featured Sanjay Somashekar (7:54.000) who led the field with a standout performance. Bharath L (8:13.400) followed in second place, while Abrar Ahmed (8:14.000) took third.
The Veterans class, a new addition this season, saw Jose AJ (9:09.400) lead the field, with Venu Rameshkumar (9:11.600) finishing soon after. In the Ladies Class Up to 260cc, Panchami LS (9:56.600) secured the lead, with Tanaya Singh (10:12.400) in second place. Lani Zena Fernandes (10:39.800) and Vandyashree (10:50.800) completed the lineup.