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The famous Monsoon Scooter Rally is back with its 29th edition at Nashik, Maharashtra. Close to 34 riders including two teams from different parts of the country participated in what is famously called the “Monsoon Scooter Rally”.
The Scooter rally has been going on for 28 long years under the name “Gulf Oil Monsoon Scooter Rally organized by Sportscraft. This year however, the rally was organized by JK Tyre and Sportscraft, and powered by TVS Racing. Due to unfortunate reasons, the rally venue also had to be shifted from Mumbai to Nashik.
“I am very happy that we managed to pull off the rally. We barely had 10 days to put everything in place after our original venue had to be abandoned due to reasons beyond our control,” said Shrikant Karani, Founding Member, Sportscraft.
Veteran rider from Mumbai, Venkatesh Shetty clinches the top spot at the JK Tyre Monsoon Scooter Rally 2018 held at Nashik. Piloting an Aprilia SR150, the defending champion of the Monsoon Scooter Rally charged through the dirt track that was marked in the village of Sarul, Nashik with the fastest time in the 80cc To 210cc, 4 Stroke Group B category. Shetty showed immense control during the loops, clocking the fastest time of 5.57 minutes during his second run out of the three.
Another Mumbaiker, Zeeshan Sayed finished almost two minutes behind the leader, placing him in second position overall. TVS Racing’s Syed Asif Ali finished in a commendable third place astride the TVS Racing Ntorq SXR. Shamim Khan of TVS Racing who also rode the TVS Ntorq SXR, managed to finish in 10th place overall.
“The monsoon scooter rally features a small track, which means there is no time for errors. The terrain is uneven with a lot of slush and pothole, which hampers the speed during the rally. There’s also the fear of the scooter going off due to fueling or ignition, but overall its always a lovely experience rallying a scooter” said TVS Racing rider, Syed Asif Ali.
Team Aprilia’s Pinkes Thakkar had to retire from the second stage as some debris flew into his eyes. This was an unfortunate incident as Pinkes was comfortably placed behind the leader and had chances of finishing top three overall.
Stay tuned as we get insights on TVS Racing’s super scooter, the TVS Ntorq SXR
Mumbai’s Venkatesh Shetty wins JK Tyre Monsoon Scooter Rally
Nashik, August 25: Braving wet and slushy conditions, defending champion Venkatesh Shetty annexed the JK Tyre 29th Monsoon Scooter Rally title here on Saturday afternoon.
The veteran rider from Mumbai completed the 5-kilometre loop thrice over in picturesque Sarul Village in just 19 minutes and 13 seconds. He was in his elements as he was the first to be flagged off. He needed just 6.13 minutes in his first run and 6.03 in the third; he recorded the fastest time, a sensational 5.57 minutes in the second run, making it the fastest time of the day.
Cheered on by enthusiastic fans even as light rain lashed the mountainous terrain, Shetty showed amazing control, confidence and courage to tame the dirt track.
Zeeshan Sayed, also from Mumbai, claimed the second place while TVS Racing’s Syed Asif Ali took third place, finishing the entire stretch in 21.36 and 22.19 respectively.
The popular FMSCI-approved scooter rally, organised by Sportscraft and Powered by TVS Racing, had been shifted from Mumbai to Nashik at the last moment but still proved to be a huge success.
As many as 34 riders from different parts of the country, including Mumbai, Pune, Bhopal, Vadodara, Raigad, Panvel and Nashik took part. There were two lady riders too who enjoyed the challenge of wading through massive pools of water.
Two teams, Aprilia and TVS, fielded their teams too to underline that scooter rallying retains its charm.
“I am very happy that we managed to pull off the rally. We barely had 10 days to put everything in place after our original venue had to be abandoned due to reasons beyond our control,” Shrikant Karani, the well-known organiser, said. “The competitors showed faith in our event and came over to Nashik and rode brilliantly to the delight of the local fans. The local association and the entire city gave us a lot of support,” he added.
Aprilia’s Pinkes Thakkar, among the early favourites, will count himself unlucky as he had to pull out of the rally when he was comfortably placed behind the leader. Some debris flew into his eye in the second loop and he had no other option but to retire.
The winners were rewarded with trophies and cash awards.
RESULTS :
Overall Winners: 1. Venkatesh Shetty; 2. Zeeshan Sayed; 3. Syed Asif Ali
Above 80cc Upto 110 CC – S1 — 2 Stroke (Group B): 1. Rohan Thakur; 2. Nilesh Thakare; 3. Mohasin Shaikh
Scooter Above 110cc Upto160 CC S2 — Geared Scooter (Group B): 1. Manjit Singh Bassan; 2. Chinmay Bisht; 3. Vicky Jaskaransingh
Scooter 80cc To 210cc (S-1 to S-3) — 4 Stroke (Group B): 1.Venkatesh Shetty; 2. Zeeshan Sayed; 3. Syed Asif Ali
Ladies Class -Open (Group B): 1. Amruta Guruji; 2. Priyanka Singh
Best performance by a first timer In two-wheeler rally: 1. Niraj Wanjale; 2. Saddam Hussain Vanniyar;
