Yamaha, Honda launch motorbike championships

CHENNAI - The SIDVIN-FMSCI National Motorcycle Racing Championship, commencing here at the weekend, has shifted to a higher gear with two global brands, Yamaha and Honda, deciding to concurrently run a separate single-make series.

The Yamaha series, to be conducted in two classes, Novice and Expert, will see the 150cc, liquid-cooled, six-speed YZF-R15 bikes modified with the Daytona Racing Kit, including the racing exhaust system, racing ECU, high-lift camshaft and petal shaped large disc brakes.

As an incentive for the participants, Yamaha will select a rider each from the two categories for the 2010 Yamaha Asean Cup and the Asia Road Racing Championship (600cc), said Y.Tarada, Director, Marketing and Sales, Yamaha India, at a media conference here Wednesday.

On their part, Honda will be running the CBR150 bikes in the Expert category and the CBF Stunner 125 in the Intermediate section, according to N.K. Rattan, Operations Head, Sales and Marketing, Honda India.

That apart, Honda will also have a non-championship series for their CB Twister (Novice category), he said.

Vicky Chandhok, Racing Commission Chairman, Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India and Vice President, Madras Motor Sports Club, the organizers of the championship, appealed to the two manufacturers to consider an integrated series next year.

“We are providing you a platform and I request you to consider cc-based championship next season,” he said.

Clerk-of-the-Course (CoC) Amit Arora said the National championship will also comprise of five classes - Group D (130-165cc, 4 Stroke) Novice and Intermediate; Group B (130-165cc, 4 Stroke) Expert; Group B (up to 135cc, 2 Stroke) Open and Group A 600cc (Super Stock).

Arora announced that a team championship has been introduced and it will be based on the points accrued by the two top riders during the series. As of now, three teams - Ten10 Racing, Moto-Rev India and TVS Racing - have confirmed their participation while a couple of more team entries were expected, he added.

Arora said a total prize-money of Rs 17 lakhs is on offer while the entry fee has been pegged at Rs 500 per race for Indian bikes and Rs 1,000 for the Super Bikes (600cc).

The calendar of the championship, sponsored by Bangalore-based software company SIDVIN, is: June 4-6 (round 1); July 2-4 (round 2); July 30-August 1 (round 3); September 3-5 (round 4) and December 3-5 (round 5).