Jinan scores a fine double

COIMBATORE

C.D. Jinan of Petronas TVS Racing clinched a grand double in the prestigious SX1 Foreign Open class in the third round of the MRF MoGrip FMSCI National Supercross championship at the CODISSIA grounds here on Sunday.

The 46-year-old Jinan from Kerala, who was on a TVS RTR 300, did not have a great start to the season having crashed in Pune followed by flat tyres in the second round. But he put that aside when it mattered most to pull off an incredible performance and claw his way back into contention for the championship.

“The track was very technical and you cannot afford to go full throttle. If you are over aggressive on a track like this you will struggle to keep the flow going,” said Jinan, who was in total control in both the races.

The second race was hotter still, both in terms of the heat and the competition. But, Jinan, an experienced supercross rider as he is, beat both to complete a fine double.

“The table tops were too high and you had to be careful with your landing as you may rebound. That was the main challenge but then the rest was pretty easy,” he said.

Sarthak Chavan of Pune did likewise scoring a super double in the SX2 class. In the junior SX2, it was Akshat Hupale, also from Pune, who won both the races.

The Joker Lane, reintroduced after several years, made it all the more tight for the riders but the best planned it right.

Shyam Kothari of Godspeed, the man behind the show, was pleased that the event not only pulled a large gathering but was incident free.