SportsPosted at: Oct 29 2026 2:16PM


Stage set for sizzling action, focus on young guns, 130 in fray for Rd-3 2W Challenge

Chennai, Oct 29 (UNI) With the stage set for some high octane action, the focus would be on young guns who would be keen to burn
the rubber, when the third round of the MRF Indian National Racing Challenge 2W 2026 resumes at the Madras International Circuit
at Irungattukottai, about 40 km from here, here this weekend (Oct 30-Nov 1), after a six-week break.
The field has attracted a total of 130 entries with 18 races scheduled in the weekend racesbeing organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club.
With stakes being high, the competitors will have their hands full in striking a fine balance in prioritising scoring points and pushing for a win in the third round. The situation makes for some intriguing contests as was the case in the previous two rounds.
One of the highlights of the season so far has been the emergence of a fresh crop of young talent that has spiced up the proceedings while keeping the established riders on their toes. The fearless riding of the young guns as they attacked every corner and rival provided for many heart-stopping moments.
Heading the youth brigade are three teenagers from Petronas TVS Racing, Sarthak Chavan (Pune), who has three wins from four starts, Rakshith Dave (Chennai) and Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru) who occupy the top three spots on the leaderboard in the premier Super Sport 301-400cc Open class.
The trio’s arch-rival, Hyderabad’s Rahil Pillarisetty (RACR Castrol Power1) who has shown the pace and race craft to keep himself in the hunt, is sitting out the round following a surgery to his right arm. He was injured in Round 2 when he crashed in the TVS Electric RTE race.
Replacing Rahil on the grid is his team-mate16-year-old Kabilesh Rajini Krishnan from Chennai and son of 11 times National champion, Rajini Krishnan. Kabilesh will be making his debut in this premier class, astride a Yamaha R3 prepared by his father.
Incidentally, Kabilesh, in his first full domestic season, has performed exceedingly well in the Super Stock 301-400cc class which he heads with three consecutive wins across two rounds.
Similarly, former women’s National champion Ann Jennifer, also from Chennai, has emerged as the standard bearer for her team, Motul Sparks Racing after winning all four races this season in the Super Stock 165cc Intermediate class defeating more experienced male riders in the mixed-gender grid.
The two Novice categories, Stock 301-400cc and Stock 165cc, both boasting of huge grids, have witnessed fierce competitions with multiple winners in the two rounds, as is the case in the Pro-Stock 200cc class.
The Petronas TVS One-Make Championship has proven itself to be a true nursery of talent with hand-picked riders for all their categories – the Expert (Apache RR 310), Rookie (RTR 200) and Women (RTR 200) – after pan-India trials followed by on-track training to those shortlisted to race.
The Expert class has some experienced riders among whom Hyderabad’s Rajender Beedani and Kamal Navas from Chennai have won two races apiece. Likewise, Bengaluru’s 16-year-old Dev Agastya and Vignesh Pothu from Mancherial, Telangana, topped two outings each in the Rookie category.
Another Bengaluru rider, Poojitha Anil Kumar is one of the most improved riders in the women’s category, and she underlined her potential by winning both races this season with a measure of comfort.
Looking forward to the weekend’s races, Chairman of the Event and Race Director Manoj Dalal said: “The MRF Indian National Racing Challenge 2W has proven itself as an event of immense quality. The competition among the riders has been fierce up and down the grid and across all categories. The event is an eyeopener in terms of the plethora of talent that is on parade. We extend a warm welcome to the competitors from across the country and the stakeholders to a weekend of exciting races.”
UNI GV 1410
Tags: #Stage set for sizzling action# focus on young guns# 130 in fray for Rd-3 2W Challenge
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