Hyderabad riders crowned champions at National Motorcycle Racing Championship
Rahil Pillarisetty and Rajender Beedani win titles in their respective categories in the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2025
By Praharsha Majeti
Chennai: Hyderabad riders Rahil Pillarisetty and Rajender Beedani were crowned champions of the 2025 Indian National Motorcycle Racing at the Madras International Circuit on Sunday.
The fifth and final round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2025, held in Chennai from January 9 to 11, saw over 150 entries across various categories. The weather was overcast due to a cyclone and it was drizzling for most of the race weekend, making the situation challenging.
Rahil Pillarisetty of Team RACR Castrol Power1, competing in the Pro-stock 301-400cc category (premier class), secured pole position in the qualifying session on Friday with a lap time of 1 min 48.775 sec around the 4 km Madras International Circuit, giving him a solid opportunity to convert his 21-point lead over his arch rival Sarthak Chavan (Pune) of the Petronas TVS Racing team into victory.
In Race-1, Rahil had an amazing launch from the starting grid and quickly got into a strong battle with defending champion Sarthak Chavan (Pune), Chiranth Vishwanath (Chennai) and Rakshith Dave (Chennai) from the Petronas TVS Racing team. They had an intense battle over the first couple of laps, but Rahil and Sarthak broke from the pack with their breathtaking pace and engaged in a duel. To ease off the pressure, Rahil trailed Sarthak closely for the last few laps and executed a terrific block pass in the last corner of the last lap, completing the race in first position. This victory provisionally secured the championship for Rahil with one last race to spare in the 2025 season.
In Race-2, Rahil dominated right from the word go with his superior pace and brilliant racecraft. He engaged in a titanic tussle with Sarthak, Chiranth and Rakshith from Team TVS Racing, but the trio could not keep up with Rahil’s intense pace. They exchanged positions multiple times, but Rahil tactically brought his teammate Rajini Krishnan into the fight, thereby securing valuable team championship points. Rahil finished Race-2 in first position, clearly showcasing his racing mettle.
Rahil said, “The wait is finally over! I have been giving my everything for the last eight years to become the premier class champion. This year I had the perfect machine, superb support from my team and all my friends and family. I am extremely grateful to my father (Sunil Pillarisetty), who stood by me in my ups and downs, and I would like to dedicate this championship to him. I had a great season this year, all thanks to my amazing competitors who had a fair and clean battle with me.”
Another Hyderabad racer, Rajender Beedani of Motorsports Academy of India (formerly known as Race’ists Motorcycle Club), competing in the Stock 165cc Novice category, clocked the fastest lap at 2 min 7.808 sec in the qualifying session on Friday and took pole position for the upcoming races.
In Race-1, Rajender had a great launch from the start line and quickly got into a commanding position. He had a wonderful fight with Hariharan (Chennai), Kedarnath (Tirupati) and Vignesh Pothu (Hyderabad), exchanging positions multiple times over the course of the race. Rajender kept his cool without getting carried away by the heat of the battle and maintained consistent lap times to stay with the top bunch. He capitalised on every single opportunity to move forward and successfully completed Race-1 in first position, thereby conquering the Novice class championship.
In Race-2, Rajender quickly got into position to attack at the front with a little support from his teammate Vignesh Pothu as a wingman. Rajender got into a furious battle with Lal Nunsanga (Aizawl) and Faruk Ali of Team Sparks Racing India, along with Vignesh. These four riders battled so intensely that they broke away from the rest of the pack by six seconds. Rajender gave his best till the last lap in a duel with Lal and completed Race-2 in second position.
Rajender said, “I am very happy to win the novice class championship. This is a dream come true moment for me and it did not come easily. A lot of hard work went in and a lot of sacrifices had to be made. I would like to thank my father and my mentor Peddu Harsha, who have been the biggest support in my racing career, and I would like to dedicate this championship to them.”
Another racer from Hyderabad, Mohammed Samrul Zubair of Motul Sparks Racing Team, competing in the Super Stock 165cc Intermediate category, qualified in third position with a lap time of 2 min 5.979 sec.
In Race-1 and Race-2 of the Super Stock 165cc Intermediate category, Zubair had a fantastic launch off the line and quickly got into a fight with his teammate Rajkumar (Chennai) and local boy Kamal Navas (Chennai), where the trio exchanged positions multiple times. The overcast weather conditions over the race weekend limited riders from pushing to their limits. Zubair, with his consistent race pace, secured second position in both Race-1 and Race-2, thereby becoming the runner-up champion of the Super Stock 165cc Intermediate category.
Zubair also participated in the TVS Apache RR310 Open category. In Race-1, Zubair had a fantastic battle with Chennai riders Mohan Babu and Balaji. The trio engaged in a breathtaking contest till the last lap, and Zubair managed to complete the race in third position. In Race-2, unfortunately, Zubair had to retire due to a technical issue with his bike.
The Motorsports Academy of India (formerly known as Race’ists Motorcycle Club), a Hyderabad-based two-wheel racing academy, put three of its racers — Akarsh Jangam, Pothu Vignesh and Raivat Dhar — on the podium over the course of the race weekend.pt
