Petronas TVS Racing’s Abdul Wahid Tanveer cashed in on his teammate R.E. Rajendra’s rear brake failure in the final stage to emerge the champion of the Rally of Coimbatore, the third round of the FMSCI MRF MOGRIP Indian National Rally Championship for two-wheelers, at the Kethanur windmill farm near Palladam here on Sunday.
It was neck-and-neck between the championship leader Rajendra and Tanveer from the start. If the former finished on top in the first stage (Black Thunder, 18.20kms), the latter did so in the second (Thunder World, 14.99kms).
It looked like anybody’s race going into the second loop (repeat of the morning stages) but Rajendra did one better in the third to gain a nine-second edge over Tanveer going into the final stage. But, as luck would have it, Rajendra ran into brake issues which cost him towards the end.
“We had a healthy competition but it was unfortunate that he had a brake failure. I pushed that extra bit, however, in the final stage and it did a world of good as it was only five seconds that separated us at the finish line,” said Tanveer.
Rajendra was obviously disappointed. “I gave my best from the beginning but could not do much after the brake failure.”
Both riders agreed that the Thunder World stage, with fast flowing straights and some sharp and mild curves, was quite challenging.
The results (provisional): Overall: 1. Abdul Wahid (Petronas TVS Racing) 00:56:49.928; 2. R.E. Rajendra (Petronas TVS) 00:56:54.443; 3. Samuel Jacob (Petronas TVS) 00:57:14.986.
Class 1 (Super Bike, Pro Expert): Group A: 1. 1. Abdul Wahid 00:56:49.928; 2. R.E. Rajendra 00:56:54.443; 3. Samuel Jacob 00:57:14.986.
Class 2 (Super Bike, Expert): Group A: R. Nataraj 00:58:35.799; 2. Suhail Ahmed; 3. Aman Prabhakar Pawade.
Class 3: Super Sports 165cc Group B: 1. P. Yogesh 01:07:08.212; 2. Abrar Pasha; 3. P.V. Francis.
Class 4: (Super Sport 260) Group B: 1. Imran Pasha 01:00:36.501; 2. D. Sachin; 3. T. Arun.
Class 5 (Super Sport 400) Group B: 1. Akhand Pratap Singh 01:05:02.310); 2. Russel Jossy; 3. Aakash Aithal.
Class 6 (Super Sport 550) Group B: 1. V.S Naresh 01:06:36.009; 2. Mohammed Zaheer; 3. Jeemon Antony.
Class 7 (Scooters up to 210 CC): Group B: 1. Syed Asif 01:10:40.975; 2. Shahim Khan; 3. N. Goutham.
Class 8: Women, Group B): 1. Tanika Shanbhag 01:09:48.803; 2. Tanaya Singh; 3. U. Fazeela.
Class 9 (Super Stock upto 450 cc, Group B): 1. M.M. Mohammed Arshad 01:07:10.443; 2. Sabarish; 3. Nitish Bharadwaj.
Class 10: Star of Tamil Nadu: 1. A. Tharun 01:09:47.943; 2. G. Jagadeesh; 3. Ricarius Venchaslaus.
