Keen contest in offing in Nashik dirt track racing

Nashik: The second round of the Gulf Cup dirt track racing series will be held here from January 8 next year. The two-day event has so far attracted record 130 entries, which will be restricted as per rules in qualifying rounds on January 8, Shrikant Karani of Sportscraft, Mumbai told reporters today. He said the rally is sponsored by Gulf Oil Corporation limited and organised by Sportscraft, mumbai in association with Nashik Automotive Sports Association (NASA). The year`s first motorsport event promises thrills aplenty following the engrossing fare witnessed in the first of the three rounds held at Hyderabad on December 4-5. Bangalore-based TVS racing team riders C S Santosh, H K Pradeep and Arvind K P cornered the glory in the Indian expert class for foreign motorcycles Group A and B at Hyderabad and will be looking to build on their fine show and garner more points to seal berths in the final round, which is billed as the clash of the titans, he said. However, this Nashik leg, which will be staged at the Idgah ground, golf club could see local riders and those from Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune.The private expert class should also witness stiff competition as Nashik`s Vineeth Kurup showed much promise at hyderabad leg winning one of the two races in group A for foreign motorcycles upto 250cc. Nagpur`s Jatin Jain who won one race and Mumbai`s seasoned campaigner Badal Doshi, who stood second in both the races. The locals who are in fray are: Shamin khan, Vineeth Kurup, Ganesh Lokhande, Kaustubh Machhe, Kalyan Jambekar, Jatin Jain, Badal Doshi, Snehal, Pinkesh Thakkar and Mansingh Thakur. With over Rs one lakh prize money and trophies up for grabs, the second leg at Nashik should provide rich and entertaining fare, Karani added. The closing date for late entries is January 4 and should reach sportscraft office in Mumbai through www.sportscraftindia.com. PTI