FIM MiniGP World Series India 2022: Triple crown for Jinendra Sangave

Bengaluru, August 30: Kolhapur's Jinendra Kiran Sangave won three of the four races while local lad Shreyas Hareesh topped the other in the FIM MiniGP World Series India 2022 held at the Meco Kartopia circuit in Bengaluru over the weekend.

Due to inclement weather conditions, it was decided to drop Hyderabad as venue for Rounds 2 and 3 and conduct them at the Meco Kartopia which had hosted the inaugural round last month.

As per a media release received, it has been confirmed that Rounds 4 and 5 will also be held at the same venue on September 3 and 4.

FIM MiniGP World Series India 2022: Bengaluru girl Nithila Das breaks new grounds and the gender barriers FIM MiniGP World Series India 2022: Bengaluru girl Nithila Das breaks new grounds and the gender barriers

Each round comprises two races. The series is restricted to riders in the age-group of 10-14 years.

The 13-year-old Jinendra, who had won a double in Round-1 last month, repeated the feat in Round-2 last weekend with Shreyas Hareesh and Chennai's Nandanan Mahendran finishing second and third, respectively.

The riders finished in the same order in the first race of Round-3, but in the next outing later in the day, Jinendra crashed in the very first lap, but managed to rejoin to finish third behind Shreyas and Nandanan.

After three rounds, Jinendra leads the series with 141 points, ahead of Shreyas (125), Nandanan (94) and Kochi's Muhammed Zain Correya (64).

Nithila Das, who excelled in Round 1, completed both the races, finishing in fourth and fifth respectively.

For the records, the FIM MiniGP World Series India, comprising a total of 10 races spread over five rounds, is part of the global programme run across 15 countries, and initiated by the FIM -- the global governing body for two-wheeler racing, in conjunction with Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holders of MotoGP.

The FIM launched the MiniGP Series in 2021, as part of the Road To MotoGP programme, aiming to create an equal platform for young riders around the world to begin their motorcycle racing careers.

All riders compete on equal Ohvale GP-0 160 machinery (Mini bikes), manufactured in Italy, while Pirelli is the official single tyre supplier for all the FIM MiniGP World Series.

The top two riders based on points at the conclusion of the India series will represent the country in the FIM MiniGP World Series finals to be held in Valencia, Spain, in November.

Results (all 15 laps):

Round-2

Race-1:

1. Jinendra Kiran Sangave (Kolhapur) (16mins, 09.931secs)

2. Shreyas Hareesh (Bengaluru) (16:13.057)

3. Nandanan Mahendran (Chennai) (16:28.164).

Race-2:

1. Jinendra Kiran Sangave (16mins, 07.864)

2. Shreyas Hareesh (16:07.949)

3. Nandanan Mahendran (16:32.601).

Qualifying (top 4):

1. Jinendra Sangave (01:04.572)