Former national champion and international racer K Rajini alleges that his superbike was damaged in the pits. Rajini states that his Kawasaki Ninja ZX10R had water poured into its fuel tank soon after he took pole position for final round of JK Super Bike 1000cc race in JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship at Buddh International Circuit. This sabotage forced him to pull out of two races over the past weekend.
Photographs of the damaged parts were put up on the racer’s Facebook page and the 36 year old racer states that this is the first time in his career that he has faced such a situation. Rajini said that he uses a specialized race spec fuel tank which can be opened without a key.
Statement by Rajini , " I was on pole in qualifying yesterday and was hoping for a good race ,today. Yesterday after…
Posted by RACR – Rajini Academy of Competitive Racing on Saturday, 18 November 2017
Even as Rajini tried to race during the start of the 1st lap of Race 1, he was forced to pull out into the pits after a lap. He complained that the bike did not respond well and struggled to reach higher RMP. The bike normally revs to 14000 rpm but started spluttering between 5000rpm and 11000rpm before cutting off. The racer also noted harsh engine sounds and that handling was bad especially during turn and flip into corners.
Stripping of the bike and examining the fuel pump found water spilling out of it and while all the fuel was pumped out to reveal a mix of water. The race control officials were informed of this and it was surmised that this was deliberately done to sabotage Rajini’s participation and performance in the race. The officials on their part have apologized for the incident and have announced that all bikes will be stored in a private closed garage.
The 36 year old racer who has a 17 year racing career has stated that he has never faced such a situation ever before. Even as the organizers JK Tyre and Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) have been informed of the incident, the racer has not filed any official complaint as he did not want to be dragged into any controversy.
Surprisingly, the winner of the race posted the update below on his page.
Finally won JK Tyre National Championship 2017 after all stressfull weekend with my best lap timings of 1:58. FP1-0 ,…
Posted by Simran King on Sunday, 19 November 2017
