Did Pillarisetty Triumph on the Opening Day of the National Motorcycle Championship?

Chennai, June 6 (NationPress) Rahil Pillarisetty from Hyderabad made an impressive comeback to the forefront, securing the pole position in the prestigious Pro-Stock 301 - 400cc category, thus setting an exhilarating tone for the opening day of the MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2025 at the Madras International Circuit.

Representing RACR Castrol Power1, the 27-year-old rider concluded a four-year quest for the pole, dominating the qualifying session where merely 1.2 seconds separated the top six riders. Pillarisetty, who previously competed with Gusto Racing on a KTM, attributed his success to the transition to RACR and his extensive experience with the Yamaha R3.

“I’m not surprised. I’ve always practiced on the R3 and finally feel in sync again. I’m excited and prepared for an exhilarating race tomorrow,” he expressed.

He narrowly outpaced Alwin Sundar from Hosur, who rides for Petronas TVS Racing, a former Novice National champion, while reigning national titleholder Sarthak Chavan from Pune finished in third place.

The newly launched Pro-Stock 165 - 200cc category witnessed a remarkable performance by 17-year-old Savion Sabu from Bengaluru, who rides for Mad Rabbit Racing. Undeterred by the impending rain, Sabu clinched the pole with a remarkable lap time of 01:57.898, surpassing veteran Senthil Kumar from RDX Torque Racing and Venkatesan Iyappan from Rookies Racing. All competitors in this category raced on the factory-supported GP 200R, which is based on the Apache RTR 200 4V.

The heartwarming narrative of the day came from Lal Nunsanga of Aizawl, who achieved pole position in the Novice Stock 165cc class with Motul Sparks Racing. Supported by local sponsors and his team, Nunsanga races amidst financial challenges at home, dedicating this achievement to his family. “We’ve faced many difficulties. My father is unable to work, and we lost our elder brother. I do odd jobs and race for small prize money. This pole means everything,” he shared, recalling his last pole six years ago in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup.

Nunsanga will be up against Rajender Beedani from Hyderabad, racing for MAI Racing, and Yashwant Varma from Visakhapatnam, who competes with Motul Sparks Racing, in what looks to be a closely contested race.

In the Novice Stock 301 - 400cc category, Mohamed Mikail from Thiruvallur, another graduate of the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup, emerged as the leader with a dominant performance. In the Petronas TVS One-Make Championship, Manoj Yesuadiyan from Chennai achieved the pole in the Expert (Apache RR 310) class, surpassing former champion Kaushik Subbiah Ganesan and Mohan Babu.

The Girls' (Apache RTR 200) category surprised many as Elakiya Ravi from Chennai outperformed reigning national champion Jagathishree Kumaresan to secure the pole position, with Shuriya SP from Bengaluru completing the front row.

In the Honda CB300F class under the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup umbrella, Chennai riders dominated the front row, with R. Solomon leading, followed closely by Ann Jennifer, a multiple-time national women’s champion, and Deepak Kumar.