Bengaluru’s Suhail Ahmed shone bright in the first of the two South Zone qualifiers of the FMSCI Indian National Rally Sprint Championship 2024 held in Chennai at the Madras International Circuit. Suhail Ahmed bagged the first position in three categories to emerge as the most successful rider of the day.
With a timing of 8:36:870, Suhail Ahmed emerged as the comfortable winner in the Group A Upto 550cc class while Kousthuba M (8:47:723) and Rehana B (9:37:111) finished second and third respectively.
Suhail Ahmed also excelled in the Bullet class upto 550cc securing the premier position with a reading of 8:52:268 and finishing before Mohammed Zaheer (9:07:269) and Suhas SS (9:28:480).
In the Open Class upto 550cc, Suhail Ahmed led the all-Bengaluru podium with a time of 8:32:642. Meanwhile, Kousthuba M (8:43:627) and Hemanth Gowda (8:59:141) placed second and third.
The Sprint Star of Tamil Nadu upto 260cc category featured Coimbatore’s Sarvanakumar K (9:27:785) and Thangaraj (9:37:116) securing the top two positions.
Kodagu’s Stephen Roy found his form as he triumphed in two categories. In the 131cc upto 165cc class, Stephen Roy finished with a time of 9:07:319 with Vinoth Kumar on his heels at 9:36:458. Furthermore, Stephen Roy also won the 166cc upto 260cc, clocking 8:43:906 and finishing ahead of Deepan Kumar (9:46:134) and Thangaraj S (9:55:675).
With the day continuing to be a lucrative outing for riders from Bengaluru, Hemanth Gowda (9:07:28) and M Rajesh (9:59:271) secured the top two berths in the 261cc upto 400cc class.
Rehana B finished with the best timing of the day in the Ladies Class upto 260cc registering 10:49:248.
Karthickraja M emerged victorious in the 261cc upto 450cc class, posting a time of 10:26:778. Prabhu Sukumaran followed closely with a time of 10:48:102 while Kerala’s Shaheen Ayoobi secured the third spot, finishing with a time of 11:20:043.
The second leg of the South Zone qualifiers is scheduled for 20-21 July 2024 in Bengaluru