Chennai, June 6 Hyderabad’s Rahil Pillarisetty made a rousing return to the front of the grid, clinching pole position in the premier Pro-Stock 301 - 400cc category and setting the tone for a dramatic opening day of the MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2025 at the Madras International Circuit.
Riding for RACR Castrol Power1, the 27-year-old ended a four-year wait for the pole, topping the timesheets in a fiercely competitive qualifying session that saw just 1.2 seconds separate the top six. Pillarisetty, who previously raced for Gusto Racing on a KTM, said the switch to RACR and his long-time familiarity with the Yamaha R3 made the difference.
“I’m not surprised. I’ve always practiced on the R3 and finally feel in sync again. I’m happy and ready for an exciting race tomorrow,” he said.
He edged out Hosur’s Alwin Sundar (Petronas TVS Racing), a former Novice National champion, while reigning national champion Sarthak Chavan of Pune had to settle for third.
The newly introduced Pro-Stock 165 - 200cc category saw a standout performance from 17-year-old Bengaluru rider Savion Sabu (Mad Rabbit Racing). Unfazed by looming rain clouds, Sabu stormed to the pole with a flying lap of 01:57.898, beating out veteran Senthil Kumar (RDX Torque Racing) and Chennai’s Venkatesan Iyappan (Rookies Racing). All riders in this category compete on the factory-supported GP 200R, based on the Apache RTR 200 4V.
The feel-good story of the day came from Aizawl’s Lal Nunsanga, who grabbed pole in the Novice Stock 165cc class for Motul Sparks Racing. Racing with the help of local sponsors and his team, due to financial constraints at home, Nunsanga dedicated the moment to his family. “We’ve been through a lot. My father can’t work, and we lost our elder brother. I do odd jobs and race for small prize money. This pole means everything,” he said. He last secured a pole six years ago in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup.
He will be challenged by Hyderabad’s Rajender Beedani (MAI Racing) and Visakhapatnam’s Yashwant Varma (Motul Sparks Racing) in what promises to be a tightly contested race.
In the Novice Stock 301 - 400cc category, Thiruvallur’s Mohamed Mikail (Mad Rabbit Racing), another graduate of the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup, topped the charts with a commanding performance. The Petronas TVS One-Make Championship saw Chennai’s Manoj Yesuadiyan grab the pole in the Expert (Apache RR 310) class, edging past former champion Kaushik Subbiah Ganesan and Mohan Babu.
The Girls' (Apache RTR 200) category delivered a surprise with Chennai’s Elakiya Ravi pipping reigning national champion Jagathishree Kumaresan to the pole. Bengaluru’s Shuriya SP rounded out the front row.
In the Honda CB300F class under the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup banner, Chennai riders swept the front row. R. Solomon led the way, followed by Ann Jennifer, multiple-time national women’s champion, and Deepak Kumar.
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